Journal of a Coffee Enthusiast
Join with me in my journey to a world of amazing coffee
My takes & learnings from my ongoing journey in coffee tasting. In my initial years of buying and brewing specialty coffee, I used to look at the bag’s flavour notes while sipping on the coffee and think “Where is the almond, the date, the sweet lime? All I can taste is coffee." I kept wondering… Continue reading Coffee Tasting 101: Why you may not taste the flavour notes as on your coffee bag?
My takes & learnings from my ongoing journey in coffee tasting. It always sounded intimidating to me, when I heard coffee roasters (their bags), experts and influencers mention about the specific fruit or nut they could taste in the coffee. For a long time I was very under-confident about my coffee tasting skills. All I… Continue reading Coffee tasting 102: Chuck the flavor notes, to find your own
Time was something easier to measure with a stopwatch on mobile phones, so I executed it right from the beningging with the french press and the aeropress. I never felt the need for anything further. However, if anyone is interested there are more options. Levels of gearing up Level 0: Use hunch (Zen mode) Level… Continue reading Measure: The Time and Extraction
When making coffee in my first brewer - moka pot, I never used to measure much. I used to fill the basket with as much pre-ground coffee as I could pack, and put it to brew. Later while making it in french press, I wasn’t really sure how much coffee to put and how much… Continue reading Measure: The Weighing & Ratio
I was strolling through Khan el-Khalili Bazaar in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo; packed with hawkers, shopkeepers, tourists and locals. Among souvenirs of unimaginable variety, my eyes fell on this Cezve. The unique design - a brass tumbler with decorative embossing and an attached rounded wooden handle. I fell in love with it. Even… Continue reading Turkish Coffee: How do I brew specialty coffee with Cezve?
Coffee brewing from Rookie to Geek, n00b to Ninja, and decisions for gearing up (or not). "You take the blue pill... the story ends, you go back to the cafe and order your favorite coffee. You take the red pill (read on)... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole… Continue reading Unofficial Roadmap for a Coffee Enthusiast
Often I see a great emphasis on consistency of coffee brewing, which left me wondering how important is it. This article summarizes my thoughts and opinion about it. Consistency: What is? Coffee extraction varies based on many parameters right from type of coffee used to grind size, temperature of water, amount of water to coffee,… Continue reading Measurement & Consistency in Brewing: Why bother?
In 2016, I was stunned by the coffee in Italy, and picked up a cute little brewer - Moka Express by Bialetti a.k.a. Moka Pot. It is as Italian as it gets for a home brewer. Apparently 90% of Italian homes had a Bialetti moka pot in 2010. Why do I love Moka Pot? To begin with, it was love at first sight as well as the first love, the first coffee brewer we had. I adore its design - simple yet iconic. It’s brew process - complex (easy to mess up) but satisfying. Lastly, the power to brew an espresso like shot as a base to prepare cappuccino to affogato to just savouring neat.
My 5+ years journey of brewing coffee at home, included a lot of experiments, mistakes, accidents, learnings, and lots of (mostly) amazing coffee. I wanted to jot down the list of basic learning that I would have liked to know at the very beginning, so that I can share it with anyone who is interested.… Continue reading Coffee Brewing at Home 101
If I were to get only one coffee brewing equipment, it would be AeroPress. Among many other brewing equipment, it provides the most versatile, delicious, clean cup of coffee. We use it at home on a daily basis, usually twice a day. The AeroPress; Photo – MemoriesByMegha After traditional Italian moka pot and quite common… Continue reading Why AeroPress is my favorite coffee maker; Interesting facts & resources
Journal of a Coffee Enthusiast 