Matthew's Journal

That's slightly unfair. Let me expand a bit. I would distinguish between the following types, at a minimum and then move on to different grinds/roasts:


Stovetop espresso coffee
French press/cafetiere coffee
Percolator coffee
Filter coffee made with a cone filter and paper
Cowboy coffee (grounds poured into a saucepan of boiling water then filtered out with a tea strainer/handkerchief/bandanna or left to gather at the bottom of the cup)

Then obviously you have to determine whether you want a dark roast (I favour this, along with many Americans), an Italian roast which is good for cafetiere and espresso coffee, a French roast which is good for percolators, filters and French press or a light roast which is good for elderly maiden aunts with trembly nerve conditions. You have to consider the grind, too: espresso is much more finely ground than filter or French press, which is in turn finer than percolator. But you shouldn't grind the coffee and then leave it before using it, because with the increased surface area the oils go rancid quite quickly. You can keep it in the freezer but that does funny things to the oils, too cos of breaking down the cell walls, I expect.

Finally: cold milk, cream, steamed milk, heated milk and foam are all different things. Then you have to consider whether or not you want the cream to float on top as with fancy liquer coffee, in which case you pour it off the back of a spoon (were you around when I learned this? I am pretty sure it was in the company of robert_jones) and obviously you may want to add flavoured syrups, liquers or chocolate. I think the best way to make coffee into a mocha is to add fine chocolate powder to the milk, but some people like Hershey chocolate syrup instead.

Of the instant, we do not speak.