Cowboy Coffee
Submitted by Legal Alien on Tue, 10/23/2007 - 09:32.
Another method of brew you may not know about is called Cowboy Coffee. It's not a kind of coffee but rather a method of brewing it. It refers to making coffee when you have very little means of doing so. Put simply, add grounds to coffee cup. Add hot water. Wait and drink. No filtering the coffee, just enjoy.
I'd place this method amongst one of my favorite methods to brew. The only real downside for me is emptying the grounds from the coffee mug and washing it. I suspect the issue of cleaning the coffee mug to be most of the reason why filtering the coffee began.
The more technical breakdown of creating the best cup you have ever had. Start with filtered water and freshly roasted beans. A good grind helps, but isn't something to stress about too much, just know it makes a difference at some point.
At a ratio of 1.45 grams of coffee to one ounce of water, this will have you adding about 14.5 grams of coffee to your average 10 ounce cup. There are coffee scoops you can buy just about anywhere now, those have been "calibrated" to roughly 7.25 grams of coffee. I even see them at dollar tree. Start with that scoop and you can dial in your dosing preference from there. Also, the average coffee mug I see around these days it is about 8-10 ounces. Adjust your dosage accordingly.
Start with a medium grind. Finer will make a stronger cup, but you run the risk of creating bitterness as well. Here again you can start at the medium grind and find your ideal from there.
Add your weighed/measured out ground coffee to your cup. Add your hot water that is just off boil. Ideally between 195-205 degrees.
I like to pour in two stages. When the coffee is fresh from the roaster it will "bloom" when the water is added. Gases trapped in the bean expeditiously escape thanks to the addition of the water. This will make the grounds rise up and bubble and foam. Kind of neat. I add about half the water needed on that first pour. This allows for the bloom to occur. After some settlement I finish adding the water in a circular motion.
Wait a couple minutes. Here is another area where you can define your preference. After a couple minutes stir the mix. This will make a neat foam at the top of your cup. Wait a little bit more to let the grounds find a home at the bottom of your tasty brew. Now skim off the foam at the top.
Enjoy.
When you get close to the bottom you'll find that you want to tip and sip quickly. This will help keep the grounds from sliding along the side of the cup and into your sip.
Cowboy Coffee is great when you're on the run or out of filters. The method used for cupping coffee isn't that far departed from this method. A whole standardization has been built on it. When you taste coffee brewed in this fashion, you really are tasting the coffee. Try it, you'll like it.
Never mind the grounds at the bottom,,,,what harm are they doing? Really?
Cowboy Coffee
One of the best Cowboy Coffees I've
encountered you can find at:
www.tuttlesouthernspur.com
It'll put hair on your chest without
the bitterness. They also have Cowgirl
Coffees.
Caffein Junkie
Thanks jeff
That's quite a first hand account. Will have to try the cold water trick. Since you're adding water again to the mix does this mean you make it quite stronger than usual?
Diablo
Cowboy Coffee - From a real cowboy
I grew up as a Cowboy in Montana. And we had cowboy coffee when we went on the cattle drives. The way that we made cowboy coffee is similar to your description, with one additional step to settle the grounds.
Remember the old western shows like Bonanza - when they had the coffee pot by the side of the fire? You add the coffee and the water - set beside the fire until the water boils. Then move the pot away from the fire. The key step is to slowly pour about three cups of very cold water into the pot. Since the cold water is more dense, it sinks and tends to push the grounds to the bottom of the pot. The pot has little filter at the pour spout that will filter some grounds. If you are careful - you can get a cup of coffee that is virtually free of grounds.
Manual Filter Cone Brew
Hey JoeJoe, you're right, that's a great cup of coffee. Most of the time the biggest key to a great cup boils down to hot water and fresh beans.
In fact, when we do the farmers market, or events like the Artza Palooza this weekend, we use a big version of the single cup Melitta to brew into an Air Pot. Great cup of coffee.
Diablo
brew by the cup
my favorite way to enjoy a cup of coffee is to brew by the individual cup.
i learned this technique when i was the manager at Kern St. Coffee. John was a total coffee snob! and thats a good thing to be. while im not as distinguished in my coffee drinking as he is i will say that nothing beats a good old fashioned hand pour.
for those of you who dont know how it works, here it goes:
1) take a triangle-shaped coffee filter, Melita works well, and place it in a holder. Something with a hole that will house the filter without squashing it and giving it plenty of room to hold water and grinds.
2) place a cup of coffee, preferrably one thats been pre-warmed and running hot water in it will do the job, under the filter so that its not touching it but barely sitting under it.
3) add finely ground coffee. it is a must that it is finely ground or you wont get the robust flavor of the coffee, rather it will taste terribly watered down.
4) here's the tricky part. you have to do this with patience and take your time because again, you can ruin a good cup of coffee if you simply dump the water in. you must slowly pour super hot water, almost boiling, into the filter and soak the grinds and let the grinds slowly absorb the water. dont let the grinds rise to the top of the filter or you just lost the game. let the water slowly seep thru the filter adding more little by little. what you'll see in the filter should resemble muddy quicksand as opposed to watery dirt. continue pouring the water to fill your coffee mug as you like. leave little or no room for cream.
what you'll be left with is a super fresh, full bodied, sumptuous cup of coffee.
yes, i said sumptuous.
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