Brewing a Cup of Coffee
This article was first published February 11, 2022 and was part of our Food in Art series where we honor the culinary artists who combine flavors to express their visions, by taking you on a guided tour of food through the lens of curated works of art.
It’s funny what you discover when you look back. I was so excited about this column when I dreamed it up, I even have a folder filled with images of art to use for the column. But apparently, the shiny squirrel syndrome kicked in and I abandoned the column for something shinier, at least I think it was shinier.
In the first article, Gathering the Right Ingredients, I introduced the new article with Market Scene by Aksel Waldemar Johannessen, 1916, using the scene of an Oslo street market to discuss seasonality of fruits and veggies.
The second article, Breaking Bread, featured Les Pains by Jean Helion, 1951. The topic, the impact of the domestication of wheat on civilization, is so far reaching one could dedicate an entire newsletter to it.
As I re-read the third and final article I completed for the series, Brewing a Cup of Coffee, I was delighted to realize how each piece of art had inspired some very interesting topics. And because the final article included the reflections of some of our reader’s coffee rituals, I felt it most appropriate to share in this edition of the As We Eat Journal.
I do have a favor to ask. Once, you’ve had a read through, I’d love to know if you think Art In Food has a place in the As We Eat Journal, or should I put the brush down and step away from the canvas?
The essence of cooking, like art, is the transformation of mediums using different techniques into a final expression. It’s a way to communicate a feeling, a time, or a place.
Exploring how light falls across objects, Van Gogh reveals an interesting detail in the water jug in Still Life with Coffee Mill. Do you see it?
I postulate that our coffee rituals reveal a little something about us as well.
“My” Perfect Brew
Coffee. The seed of the coffee berry plant. For all intents and purposes its purpose is to reproduce. And yet this is a seed that has had one of the biggest impacts on culture and society. The beverage brewed from these roasted seeds has inspired creativity, fueled revolutions, energized business ventures, and created daily rituals.
A hot cup of freshly brewed coffee is the introduction to a new day. It’s heady aroma and deep, rich flavor prepare us for whatever lies ahead. And the ritual of brewing that cup of coffee is almost as important as the cup of coffee itself. It’s personal. It’s intentional. And it’s unique.
I surveyed friends and family and thumbed through some vintage cookbooks to discover some unique ways that this earthy beverage is ritualized. They’re a little revelatory.
☕️ “Be sure…that your drip-coffee pot is perfectly clean and has been well dried. See that the inside of the pot, and the spout, is freed, every day, from the substance which form on it.
After putting the grounds into the pot, pour on to them just enough boiling water to moisten well, and immediately put the top on and stop up the spout. In a minute, pour a little more water on the grounds and again hastily put the top back in place; and so on, a little boiling water at a time, till you have made all you want. To keep the coffee hot, set the pot in a pan of hot water.”
~ New Orleans Recipes by Mary Moore Bremer 1932
Mary Moore Bremer’s sincerity is demonstrated in each and every step of her coffee preparation. In no way does she want the coffee that she is serving to be anything but what it was intended to be. She cleans the drip-coffee pot to be free from any substance which could possibly taint the morning’s brew. She ensures that the aromas and flavors are maintained with each addition of water by “hastily” replacing the lid. And she maintains the proper serving temperature by setting the pot in a pan of hot water.
☕️ “If you add a pinch of salt to ground coffee before boiling it will improve the flavor.”
~ Gustav Adolph Lutheran Cook Book, 1944
The ladies of the Gustav Adolph Lutheran Church were a nurturing group. Taste was always at the forefront of whatever they were serving.
☕️ “I always prepare the coffee the night before. It’s just me now, so I only make a half a pot of coffee, unless there’s any left-over, then I just microwave it. Otherwise, I measure the coffee into the filter of the coffee maker and add the water. When I get up in the morning, I turn the coffee maker on, go outside to get the paper, and wait for it to finish. I pour a cup and sit in my chair and read the news.”
~ Darrel
Preserving traditions, even in the simple act of making coffee, becomes more important after the loss of a loved one. We take comfort in the sameness that rituals provide.
“I make Eric’s coffee every morning. I start the water when I get up. Almost always before he does. We use the Aeropress, so I measure the grounds into the tube. Once the water is ready - 205˚F - my kettle tells me - I pour a small amount over the grounds, stir them for 21 seconds, because that’s what the instructions say, then I fill the press with hot water, replace the filter and top - every once in a while I forget the filter - has this ever happened to anyone else? And then press the coffee into his coffee thermos. I top it off with more hot water and about 2 tablespoons of cold water. I set the thermos next to his chair, clean out the Aeropress and then make my pot of tea.”
~ Leigh
Food provides a way for me to communicate my feelings to those around me. Taking the steps to make the perfect cup of coffee for my perfect partner is the perfect way to start our day.
☕️ “Once the baby is settled in after his morning routine, I start the electric kettle. So much easier than having to monitor a kettle on the stovetop. We have a Nespresso - its amazing, but I do like to use the French Press too. I add 4 spoonfuls of coffee grounds, usually white coffee, and pour the water into the French press. Once it’s done steeping, about 3 minutes, I press down the plunger and pour it into my coffee cup, add a spoonful of brown sugar, a splash of milk and settle into my big, comfy chair, scroll through social media, and listen to Do, Re, Mi in the background. If you know, you know.”
~ Nicholle
Becoming a new parent brings with it so many new things. Combining the old with the new allows you to maintain a little bit of who you are with who you will become.
☕️ ”I always use my scale to make my beaten coffee, weighing out my instant coffee and sugar. But, as with everything, I have come to make my coffee the way I like it, and that might not match a more traditional version.
I like my coffee very strong, so I weigh out 7 grams of instant coffee per cup of liquid. My mugs usually hold 16 oz, so I go with 14 grams of coffee and about the same of sugar. Then I add a splash of hot water, maybe a tablespoon or so, and use my coffee frother to whip it into a thick foam. Sometimes I add a dash of ground cinnamon or another spice mix if I'm feeling fancy.
Meanwhile, I heat a mixture of whole milk and water until it's hot and steaming. That takes about 3 minutes in my microwave.
Once the coffee mixture is whipped into a thick foam, I pour in about half the milk and stir it really well. Then I add in the rest of the milk. If I work it right, I can even get the foam to rise above the rim of the mug by as much as 1/2". Then it looks like a souffle and I feel super fancy.”
~ Jenni
Precision is to a baker what accuracy is to a mathematician. I know Jenni and I can say that the way she makes her coffee is the way she approaches much in her life. Exactitude and delight.
☕️ “We use a Chemex with a conical metal filter to make our pour over. First, I measure out the beans. I like to use about 1 1/2 oz or 42 grams of beans for about 2 cups of water.
I grind the beans in our burr grinder on a medium-fine setting. If we happen to have pre-ground coffee, I just measure the grounds out straight into the filter.
I heat filtered water in our kettle (that whistles like a train!) until it reaches a boil. I take it off the heat, swirl the kettle for a moment to cool it down just a touch, then pour over about an ounce of water just to wet the grinds.
Then, I pour a little at a time, occasionally reheating the water so it doesn't cool down too much, until I have about 2 cups of coffee.
To finish, I sweeten with honey or sugar and add a generous splash of half and half.”
~ Jeffrey
Engineering a cup of coffee need I say more 😉
Fun Coffee Fact
During the Civil War, coffee beans were on the list of rations for both the Union and Confederate Armies. Several accounts confirm they were highly prized and sorely missed when supplies were low even affecting the morale of the troops. In 1863 A British officer, visiting one of the Confederate states reportedly stated, “The loss of coffee afflicts the Confederates even more than the loss of spirits; and they exercise their ingenuity in devising substitutes, which are not generally very successful.”
We talked briefly about parched orka seeds being used as a coffee substitute in our Juneteenth episode. To some this was not a completely unacceptable substitute, but one reader stated in a Tennessee newspaper, “We have been somewhat skeptical about the various substitutes that have been proposed for coffee….But, ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating.’ We have tried the okra coffee, and had we not known it to be okra, we should have supposed it the best of Laguyra or Java.” This coffee substitute was sold to both Confederate and Unions soldiers.
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I love this piece about the ritual of coffee making. It makes me want to reexamine my own method, a pour-over Hario drip, though it does deliver a pretty fine cup of joe. Food in art makes perfect sense. Both are sensual pleasure producers. Please keep going.
I love the ritual of making coffee and the individuality of the ritual. My method for making my daily cup differs greatly from my daughter and also from my husband; we use 3 different coffee making methods to achieve exactly how each of us prefers our cup. To think about it in terms of cooking, I would not advocate for cooking the same recipe 3 different ways, yet for brewing coffee it makes sense!