A Proper Cup of Coffee in a Copper Coffee Cup

This one, like most conversations about coffee, starts with Johnny Appleseed. Born John Chapman in 1774 in Leominster, MA, Johnny Appleseed was, in fact, a real person. He spent much of his life traveling around the midwest planting and tending to apple orchards and, apparently, wearing a pot upon his head. A 4-quart saucepan by my estimate. So he planted apple trees and tra la la la went on his merry way--but why does that make him a folk hero? People like eating apples, but not that much. As it is, the apples Mr. Seed was planting weren't the kind of apples you'd like to eat. Eating them wasn't the point at all. The point was to make hard cider. Not the hefty boozy stuff we have today, a mild kind of low-alcohol applejack. The reason this was so important was that during those days there wasn't a whole lot of potable water. Turning it into booze was the only sure way to sterilize the drinking water. And so, everyone just drank applejack all the time. And so, you have a population that was just a little bit sauced all the time. And you wonder why Johnny Appleseed is a folk hero.

By now I'm sure you're all wondering "where the hell is he headed with this?" And that's a reasonable question. Like most conversations about coffee, we're headed to the Industrial Revolution. It's 1894. You're an up-and-coming London steel tycoon. You've got these huge factories, sophisticated supply and distribution lines, and plenty of potential employees crowding into squalid apartments and desperate for dangerous, low-wage jobs. But they're all just a wee bit drunk. Getting them to work at 8am is sort of a hassle. What do you do? Replace that applejack and near-beer with coffee, of course. As much as technology, globalization, urban crowding, and the railroads drove the Industrial Revolution, so too did coffee. While it had been available to Europe for over 150 years, for much of that time coffee was seen as an indulgence, or even a sin. Nothing a few hundred temperance societies couldn't straighten out.

I love coffee. Of course applejack in the morning sounds nice too, but then I'm unemployed. I've held two different jobs that involved making straight coffee and espresso drinks, but still (or, perhaps, because of that) I struggle to make good coffee at home. I'm happy to write off my difficulty with good espresso at home for lack of proper equipment. Once you've used a professional espresso machine, my friends, I guarantee--you can never go back. But as for regular drip, I've tried everything. Cheap coffeemakers, expensive coffeemakers, home grinding, pre-ground, French Press, melitta method. Coffee is so simple--crushed roasted beans and water--yet so complex. The type of bean, roast, grind, water, temperature, extraction duration, and method all play a part in this complex dance. Brewing good coffee requires delicacy and precision: two things I lack before I've had a cup of coffee. Our French press broke, so for the past few years Laura and I have been using the melitta method, with which it is definitely possible to produce good coffee. But still, we struggle with consistency. Possibly due to the fact that we rarely buy the same kind of coffee. But I've recently come upon a local roaster, and plan to try and stick to one of their offerings.

In the meantime, it's becoming iced coffee weather. Nothing cures a crummy pot of coffee like letting it cool and pouring it over ice. Or, even better, carbonating it. With a Guinness-like head, carbonated iced coffee is a drink that almost bridges the gap between coffee and beer. You can have your Appleseed, and still get to work.