Shaista Fatima/ New Delhi

Though India has always been a tea hub but in recent years with millennials and gen z catching up with the trends, coffee brewing is slowly finding its place.

Thus as and when the foggy mornings of winter slide in, the Twitterati and Insta peeps take refuge in the soothing aroma of freshly brewed coffee, click a picture and religiously post it on the various social media handles.

While tea or chai lovers are peculiar with their choice of ingredients right from cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and at times saffron, the exact ratio of milk, coffee lovers are particular about the way it is brewed.

From freshly roasted and ground to medium or dark roasted beans used in the french press, filter mug, pour-over, Turkish or a simple espresso and cold brew, there are many ways in which a perfect cup of coffee is prepped with utmost love, care and emotions, and the social media feeds are filled with numerous ways and means of making one.

Though Mcdonald's, Cafe Coffee Day and later Tata acquired franchise Starbucks brought in a myriad of coffee flavours into the market, in the late 80’s and early 90’s kids grew up with their flavours and were made aware of the concept of coffee brewing.

More recently under the Make In India initiative and the e-commerce picking up pace, local firms like Rage, Blue Tokai, Country Bean, Sleepy Owl, The Coffee Co. and many more are bringing in the rich flavours of ground coffee.

Flavours like Hazelnut, Dark Chocolate, and Vanilla are most commonly found among them.

What is Brewing Time?

The amount of time that the water spends with the coffee grounds is another important flavour factor.

In a drip system (pour-over), the contact time should be approximately 5 minutes. If one is using the French Press, the contact time should be 2-4 minutes. Espresso has an especially brief brew time — the coffee is in contact with the water for only 20-30 seconds.

Cold brew, on the other hand, should steep overnight (about 12 hours). If one is not happy with the taste of the final product, they are likely either: Over-extracting - the brew time is too long or Under-extracting - the brew time is too short. 

It is said that one must experiment with the contact time until one gets the right balance for their taste.

What are the different types of Roast?

Originally coffee beans are green in colour with a grass-like flavour but when they come in contact with the flames they change colour and attain a nut-like flavour along with the rusty aroma.

Light Roast: The usual green colour coffee beans are slow roasted on medium flame and have a light brown colour

Medium Roast: Roasted for a longer time, the beans are brown in colour with a mild nutty flavour.

Dark Roast: Roasted till the beans turn dark brown and are easiest to crack, they carry maximum caffeine punch.

What are the different kinds of brews and how to prepare them?

French Press:  It normally comes in a transparent flask with a plunger. The plunger has 4 filters thus on pressing a clear brew is prepared on every serving.

Method:

In the plunger add 2 spoons of ground coffee, the preferred type of roast and pour in hot boiled water. The ratio is usually 2:15 where 2 is coffee and 15 is water. Let the water stay in contact with the grounds and then after 4-5 minutes push in the plunger. Voila! The coffee is ready to be consumed.

Pour-Over: The easiest kind of brew. In it, filter paper is used. The concoction attained is usually thick in consistency and can be mixed with milk or drank neat.

Method:

For fewer utensils take a mug and put filter paper on it in the shape of a cone, The ratio of water is usually equal as the two parts of coffee would normally consume 2 parts of water. After about 5 minutes a concentrate would be prepared. Add in more hot water or mix the milk of your choice, add sugar to taste and enjoy the brewed cuppa.

Turkish Coffee: It is prepped in a cezve, (a round-shaped pour-over utensil with a long handle usually made of brass or copper), with fine grounded dark or medium roast beans. The coffee grounds are not filtered. 

Method:

In the cezve take 2 to 3 spoons of coffee grounds, add water and keep it on the boil. Just as the mixture begins to froth and before it boils pour the upper layer in the cup, and repeat the procedure till the desired cuppa is attained.

Cold Brew: Coffee grounds are left in the water to seep overnight.

Method: Take 4 to 5 heap fulls of coffee grounds and let them seep in 3 to 4 cups of water overnight, say 12-15 hours. The concoction is ready to drink the next day with ice, milk or just plain. When consuming one may also add flavours to enhance the taste.

Thus when in doubt brew a cup of coffee and enjoy it under the sun or with a favourite book of your choice.

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