Semi OT, drip coffee makers

[Foxs Mercantile]

The absolute WORST cup of coffee I've ever had was an "in
flight" cup given to me by the flight engineer while I
was sitting in a jump seat behind the pilot on a Flying
Tigers freight run from Los Angeles to Orlando around 1985.
I swear they had to have made it with used hydraulic oil.


--
Jeff-1.0
wa6fwi
http://www.foxsmercantile.com

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

 

On Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 1:43:07 PM UTC-4, ohg...@gmail.com wrote:

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 8:18:11 PM UTC-4, whit3rd wrote:
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 7:59:36 AM UTC-7, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 5:47:39 AM UTC-4, Bruce Esquibel wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.


It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,

Yeah that might be part of it. I leave to warmer on and they now have
timers to turn it off after 2hrs or something.

The 'gold cup' SCAA coffee standard is 45 minutes. A local restaurant
a few years ago had timers and signs, and always had great coffee,
presumably partly because they followed that rule.

With nothing except my own palate to go on, I'd say that 45 minutes is three times to long. 15 minutes is the absolute maximum coffee can stay on direct heat in my opinion. Decanted into a prewarmed insulated carafe, coffee will still be quite potable for many hours with no loss of flavor or gain of bitterness IMO.

My wife and I both drink coffee black, which is why I believe we're particularly sensitive to overly heated coffee.

BTW, the best coffee I've ever had is coffee that's reconstituted from a cold brew concentrate in a coffee machine. I've had this several times in several fine restaurants, and it's amazing - enough so that the first time I had it I had to corner the manager and ask how they "brewed" it. Strong and complex flavors without a hint of bitterness or any defects such as aftertaste. Why this hasn't become a hit in the consumer end is beyond me.

BEST COFFEE EVER

So it's warmed up after cold brewing? I could handle that, make a big pot
and leave it in the frig for days. (As is I often dump 1/3 of the pot down
the sink.) I'll go read about cold brewing.

George H.

 

[rickman]

On 5/12/2017 1:07 PM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

On Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 1:43:07 PM UTC-4, ohg...@gmail.com wrote:
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 8:18:11 PM UTC-4, whit3rd wrote:
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 7:59:36 AM UTC-7, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 5:47:39 AM UTC-4, Bruce Esquibel wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.


It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,

Yeah that might be part of it. I leave to warmer on and they now have
timers to turn it off after 2hrs or something.

The 'gold cup' SCAA coffee standard is 45 minutes. A local restaurant
a few years ago had timers and signs, and always had great coffee,
presumably partly because they followed that rule.

With nothing except my own palate to go on, I'd say that 45 minutes is three times to long. 15 minutes is the absolute maximum coffee can stay on direct heat in my opinion. Decanted into a prewarmed insulated carafe, coffee will still be quite potable for many hours with no loss of flavor or gain of bitterness IMO.

My wife and I both drink coffee black, which is why I believe we're particularly sensitive to overly heated coffee.

BTW, the best coffee I've ever had is coffee that's reconstituted from a cold brew concentrate in a coffee machine. I've had this several times in several fine restaurants, and it's amazing - enough so that the first time I had it I had to corner the manager and ask how they "brewed" it. Strong and complex flavors without a hint of bitterness or any defects such as aftertaste. Why this hasn't become a hit in the consumer end is beyond me.

BEST COFFEE EVER

So it's warmed up after cold brewing? I could handle that, make a big pot
and leave it in the frig for days. (As is I often dump 1/3 of the pot down
the sink.) I'll go read about cold brewing.

You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on the
heat. Just turn off the burner once it is brewed and warm a cup at a
time in the microwave. It's not perfectly like fresh brewed, but it
doesn't get ruined.

Cold brewing is a whole different thing that produces much better coffee
to start with. I've never seen a way to do it that produces as much
coffee from the same amount of beans though. I remember a college
roommate who would put a percolator on the stove boiling furiously and
take a shower. The whole house would reek of the smell of burnt coffee.
He was using it solely for the drug content without regard to taste.

--

Rick C

 

On Friday, May 12, 2017 at 1:07:54 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:

The 'gold cup' SCAA coffee standard is 45 minutes. A local restaurant
a few years ago had timers and signs, and always had great coffee,
presumably partly because they followed that rule.

With nothing except my own palate to go on, I'd say that 45 minutes is three times to long. 15 minutes is the absolute maximum coffee can stay on direct heat in my opinion. Decanted into a prewarmed insulated carafe, coffee will still be quite potable for many hours with no loss of flavor or gain of bitterness IMO.

My wife and I both drink coffee black, which is why I believe we're particularly sensitive to overly heated coffee.

BTW, the best coffee I've ever had is coffee that's reconstituted from a cold brew concentrate in a coffee machine. I've had this several times in several fine restaurants, and it's amazing - enough so that the first time I had it I had to corner the manager and ask how they "brewed" it. Strong and complex flavors without a hint of bitterness or any defects such as aftertaste. Why this hasn't become a hit in the consumer end is beyond me.

BEST COFFEE EVER

So it's warmed up after cold brewing? I could handle that, make a big pot
and leave it in the frig for days. (As is I often dump 1/3 of the pot down
the sink.) I'll go read about cold brewing.

George H.

The way it was explained to me is that the machine was analogous to getting Coke from a fountain dispenser. The coffee machine was preloaded with the concentrated mix, and when the button was pushed, the machine would mix the concentrate with boiling water and dispense it into the cup. Sort of like a Keurig in operation but with no disposable cups.

Never had a cup of coffee so tasty and smooth.

 

[Dave Platt]

In article <7656aebb-c4de-4bf4-8330-faa8b809a807@googlegroups.com>,
<ggherold@gmail.com> wrote:

So it's warmed up after cold brewing? I could handle that, make a big pot
and leave it in the frig for days. (As is I often dump 1/3 of the pot down
the sink.) I'll go read about cold brewing.

You make up the cold-brew in concentrated form... steep the ground
beans in cold water for a while, then filter. You can store the
filtered concentrate in the 'fridge for quite a while in a sealed
container. It might even freeze OK - I'm not sure.

To consume it, you dilute 1 part of the concentrate with several parts
of hot water. Balance the ratio, and the temperature to which you
pre-heat the hot water, to get the strength and temperature that you
prefer.

I don't think there's any need to microwave, stove-heat, or otherwise
warm the concentrate at all (and risk scorching it).

 

[Tim R]

On Friday, May 12, 2017 at 2:08:59 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:

Cold brewing is a whole different thing that produces much better coffee
to start with. I've never seen a way to do it that produces as much
coffee from the same amount of beans though.

I'd never heard of cold brew until this thread. I made some yesterday. I was surprised at how much the beans soak up, you're definitely right about the amount it makes. I used 4 cups water, thought I'd get 4 cups back, not even close.

The internet is all over the place on recipe ratios, mostly because people confuse weight and volume. Near as I can tell, a good ratio is about 1 coffee to 4 water by volume, or 1 coffee to 8 water by weight. (Or mass. Please let's not go there.)

My family buys a lot of expensive iced coffee, maybe this will save some money.

 

[rickman]

On 5/12/2017 3:33 PM, Tim R wrote:

On Friday, May 12, 2017 at 2:08:59 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
Cold brewing is a whole different thing that produces much better
coffee to start with. I've never seen a way to do it that produces
as much coffee from the same amount of beans though.

I'd never heard of cold brew until this thread. I made some
yesterday. I was surprised at how much the beans soak up, you're
definitely right about the amount it makes. I used 4 cups water,
thought I'd get 4 cups back, not even close.

The internet is all over the place on recipe ratios, mostly because
people confuse weight and volume. Near as I can tell, a good ratio
is about 1 coffee to 4 water by volume, or 1 coffee to 8 water by
weight. (Or mass. Please let's not go there.)

I wouldn't worry about the ratios for brewing. Brew it strong and
dilute to taste.

You need to let the beans soak overnight to get a proper brew. A friend
who showed me this used a pound of coffee in a special container and
covered the grounds. Into the fridge overnight. The next day the plug
was removed from the bottom and a large felt filter let the coffee
liqueur was drained into a carafe along with some washing of the
grounds. Pour some into a coffee cup and dilute to taste. It didn't
make as much as hot brewing, but was soooo good.

The large felt filter made a world of difference. Using the Melita
paper filters is terrible because they quickly clog stopping the filtering.

My family buys a lot of expensive iced coffee, maybe this will save
some money.

Once she froze the liqueur in ice cube trays so that a cube would make a
cup of coffee. Then it would keep indefinitely. I think that would be
great for iced coffee.

--

Rick C

 

[Clifford Heath]

On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:

You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

Cold brewing is a whole different thing that produces much better coffee
to start with.

Yes. And it reheats better too.

 

[rickman]

On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:

On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated. In fact, some people don't care for cold
brewed coffee because it loses some of the taste they are used to. They
*like* the taste of hot brewed coffee when fresh. Cold brewed coffee
tastes almost like chocolate to me... not that I mind that...

I tried cold brewing a batch here where my water is from a well and full
of various things. It didn't turn out so well. I guess I could use
bottled water. The water isn't an issue with hot brewing.

Cold brewing is a whole different thing that produces much better coffee
to start with.

Yes. And it reheats better too.

If you say so.

--

Rick C

 

[Tim R]

We did taste tests today.

Drinking it black, cold brew was clearly better.

But none of us drink it black. My family adds huge amounts of creamer, and I put a tablespoon each of butter and coconut oil in every cup.

One advantage of concentrate is not having to wash the pot daily.

 

[rickman]

On 5/13/2017 11:59 AM, Tim R wrote:

We did taste tests today.

Drinking it black, cold brew was clearly better.

But none of us drink it black. My family adds huge amounts of creamer, and I put a tablespoon each of butter and coconut oil in every cup.

One advantage of concentrate is not having to wash the pot daily.

I think you should be locked away for your own good.

--

Rick C

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 05/13/2017 12:27 PM, rickman wrote:

On 5/13/2017 11:59 AM, Tim R wrote:
We did taste tests today.

Drinking it black, cold brew was clearly better.

But none of us drink it black. My family adds huge amounts of
creamer, and I put a tablespoon each of butter and coconut oil in
every cup.

One advantage of concentrate is not having to wash the pot daily.

I think you should be locked away for your own good.

It's called "bulletproof coffee", probably because you need a
bulletproof stomach.

Popular with the keto diet crowd.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

 

[Clifford Heath]

On 14/05/17 00:50, rickman wrote:

On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

 

[rickman]

On 5/13/2017 11:40 PM, Clifford Heath wrote:

On 14/05/17 00:50, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

That must be why so few people enjoy hot brewed coffee.

--

Rick C

 

[Clifford Heath]

On 14/05/17 13:48, rickman wrote:

On 5/13/2017 11:40 PM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 00:50, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

That must be why so few people enjoy hot brewed coffee.

You never pass up the opportunity to show how thick you are, do you?

 

[rickman]

On 5/14/2017 12:07 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:

On 14/05/17 13:48, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 11:40 PM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 00:50, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

That must be why so few people enjoy hot brewed coffee.

You never pass up the opportunity to show how thick you are, do you?

It's not hard to understand. Different people have different tastes.
As I have already said, not all people prefer cold brewed coffee. It's
that simple. Taste is a matter of... taste. It's a bit silly to say,
"to most people they taste bad even before they've been burnt." You said
that yourself. Obviously there are plenty of people who like hot brewed
coffee when done properly. So what are you going on about?

--

Rick C

 

[Clifford Heath]

On 14/05/17 14:40, rickman wrote:

On 5/14/2017 12:07 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 13:48, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 11:40 PM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 00:50, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on
the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

That must be why so few people enjoy hot brewed coffee.

You never pass up the opportunity to show how thick you are, do you?

It's not hard to understand. Different people have different tastes. As
I have already said, not all people prefer cold brewed coffee. It's
that simple. Taste is a matter of... taste. It's a bit silly to say,
"to most people they taste bad even before they've been burnt." You said
that yourself. Obviously there are plenty of people who like hot brewed
coffee when done properly. So what are you going on about?

Baristas know that if the extraction is too hot or too long, the
taste is spoiled by the heavier oils and resins. Too short or too
cool and you don't get all the nice flavours. Popular taste is
around some middle point, with outliers on both sides, of course.
But it's a balance that must be struck.

Cold brew avoids the problem by getting almost all the nice flavours
(though very slowly - hours instead of seconds) without mobilising
the heavier elements. You can re-heat it without the worsening the
effect of those, because they basically aren't present. The only
reason it's not much more common is because it's not quick enough.

Did that make it easier for you to follow? Do your own reading on
the subject, you'll find that a lot of informed opinion agrees.

Since leaving Melbourne (one of the premier coffee-drinking cities
worldwide) I've gone "full Melbourne" in my own coffee tastes,
grinding my own beans right before every brew. I'm about to find
some coffee plants to grow my own - they fruit well in Sydney. Pity
that most of Sydney doesn't know how to make a good coffee!

 

[rickman]

On 5/14/2017 2:08 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:

On 14/05/17 14:40, rickman wrote:
On 5/14/2017 12:07 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 13:48, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 11:40 PM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 00:50, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on
the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

That must be why so few people enjoy hot brewed coffee.

You never pass up the opportunity to show how thick you are, do you?

It's not hard to understand. Different people have different tastes. As
I have already said, not all people prefer cold brewed coffee. It's
that simple. Taste is a matter of... taste. It's a bit silly to say,
"to most people they taste bad even before they've been burnt." You said
that yourself. Obviously there are plenty of people who like hot brewed
coffee when done properly. So what are you going on about?

Baristas know that if the extraction is too hot or too long, the
taste is spoiled by the heavier oils and resins. Too short or too
cool and you don't get all the nice flavours. Popular taste is
around some middle point, with outliers on both sides, of course.
But it's a balance that must be struck.

You are being silly. We are talking about personal tastes and you talk
about how a coffee shop has to hit a "sweet spot" to please the most
customers.

Cold brew avoids the problem by getting almost all the nice flavours
(though very slowly - hours instead of seconds) without mobilising
the heavier elements. You can re-heat it without the worsening the
effect of those, because they basically aren't present. The only
reason it's not much more common is because it's not quick enough.

Did that make it easier for you to follow? Do your own reading on
the subject, you'll find that a lot of informed opinion agrees.

You are still missing the point that what are good and bad tastes are
personal preferences. NOT EVERYONE PREFERS COLD BREWED COFFEE!

We seem to be getting nowhere in this. So I guess I'm done.

--

Rick C

 

On Sun, 14 May 2017 16:08:04 +1000, Clifford Heath
<clifford.heath@gmail.com> wrote:

On 14/05/17 14:40, rickman wrote:
On 5/14/2017 12:07 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 13:48, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 11:40 PM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 14/05/17 00:50, rickman wrote:
On 5/13/2017 7:15 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:
On 13/05/17 04:08, rickman wrote:
You can chill hot brewed coffee too. What kills it is sitting on
the
heat.

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

That must be why so few people enjoy hot brewed coffee.

You never pass up the opportunity to show how thick you are, do you?

It's not hard to understand. Different people have different tastes. As
I have already said, not all people prefer cold brewed coffee. It's
that simple. Taste is a matter of... taste. It's a bit silly to say,
"to most people they taste bad even before they've been burnt." You said
that yourself. Obviously there are plenty of people who like hot brewed
coffee when done properly. So what are you going on about?

Baristas know that if the extraction is too hot or too long, the
taste is spoiled by the heavier oils and resins. Too short or too
cool and you don't get all the nice flavours. Popular taste is
around some middle point, with outliers on both sides, of course.
But it's a balance that must be struck.

Cold brew avoids the problem by getting almost all the nice flavours
(though very slowly - hours instead of seconds) without mobilising
the heavier elements. You can re-heat it without the worsening the
effect of those, because they basically aren't present. The only
reason it's not much more common is because it's not quick enough.

Did that make it easier for you to follow? Do your own reading on
the subject, you'll find that a lot of informed opinion agrees.

Since leaving Melbourne (one of the premier coffee-drinking cities
worldwide) I've gone "full Melbourne" in my own coffee tastes,
grinding my own beans right before every brew. I'm about to find
some coffee plants to grow my own - they fruit well in Sydney. Pity
that most of Sydney doesn't know how to make a good coffee!

Where I live is a few miles from a small roaster. One of the owners is
a client of my wife. So she gets coffee from them. And boy is it good.
My wife makes excellent coffee. I'm the cook in the house but she is
the coffee master. Now I want to try this cold brewed coffee after
reading all about it. I guess I'm spoiled by the good coffee because I
won't even try to drink a mediocre brew. I'll wait or go without. I'm
not as particular about the beer I drink. Or the gin, as long as it's
at least a certain level of quality. I think the only thing I drink
that I'm as picky about is cognac. But The stuff I like is spendy
enough that I don't drink much.
Eric

 

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 05/14/2017 02:08 AM, Clifford Heath wrote:

Not entirely true. Sitting it on the heat mostly spoils the taste
by burning oily resins that don't get extracted in a cold brew.

What does that have to do with anything? Those components are only a
problem when overheated.

That's just not true. Hot brewing is a balance between not extracting
enough of the fine flavours, and extracting too many unpleasant bitter
ones. Cold brewing simply doesn't extract the bitter flavours that
come from heavier resins, etc. Obviously there will be people who
like bitter flavours anyhow; but to most people they taste bad even
before they've been burnt.

That must be why so few people enjoy hot brewed coffee.

You never pass up the opportunity to show how thick you are, do you?

It's not hard to understand. Different people have different tastes. As
I have already said, not all people prefer cold brewed coffee. It's
that simple. Taste is a matter of... taste. It's a bit silly to say,
"to most people they taste bad even before they've been burnt." You said
that yourself. Obviously there are plenty of people who like hot brewed
coffee when done properly. So what are you going on about?

Baristas know that if the extraction is too hot or too long, the
taste is spoiled by the heavier oils and resins. Too short or too
cool and you don't get all the nice flavours. Popular taste is
around some middle point, with outliers on both sides, of course.
But it's a balance that must be struck.

Cold brew avoids the problem by getting almost all the nice flavours
(though very slowly - hours instead of seconds) without mobilising
the heavier elements. You can re-heat it without the worsening the
effect of those, because they basically aren't present. The only
reason it's not much more common is because it's not quick enough.

Did that make it easier for you to follow? Do your own reading on
the subject, you'll find that a lot of informed opinion agrees.

Since leaving Melbourne (one of the premier coffee-drinking cities
worldwide) I've gone "full Melbourne" in my own coffee tastes,
grinding my own beans right before every brew. I'm about to find
some coffee plants to grow my own - they fruit well in Sydney. Pity
that most of Sydney doesn't know how to make a good coffee!

I couldn't get a decent cup of coffee in Melbourne two years ago. No
cream or even "half and half" -- only black or milk.

Perce