Once you’ve selected your preferential beans (try Cosa Nostras Best Kept Secret).
You can consider your method of madness in what gadget or appliance you need, for example:
Plunger, drip filter, percolator/ mocha pot, aero press, coffee syphon, espresso machines which come in manual and fully automated. Or for the very lazy addict there’s the pod machine.
If you go to different countries you will discover even more methods particular to the country, for eg. Turkish coffee.
Different gadgets produce different styles of coffee which can greatly alter the taste and experience of the exact same beans. For example you can make a stove top espresso (Short Black) using a peculator/mocha pot and knock your socks of with a hot, full bodied, concentrated caffeine hit. Or you could make it in a cold drip or a coffee syphon for a cold/hot, thin, crisp, clean and more refined experience.
It’s well accepted in coffee culture that a good cup of coffee does not require the addition of sugar/sweeteners. However in this day and age where sugar holds an even larger captive audience of addicts than caffeine. Coffee connoisseurs the world over have had to succumb to the growing demand of diabetes.
In Italy, they’ve perfected the short black with its full head or crema so that when you first put a teaspoon of sugar in… it will sit atop for a short time before dissolving and sinking to the bottom.
Then there’s the addition of milk, alternative milks and even cream and gelato.
Let’s discuss all differences and types of coffees commonly available in cafes or made at home in the next article.