003: Dark or light
It depends upon the quality of coffees
Hi Beanbuffs, like politics bhakti exists in coffee world too. There are blind lovers of dark coffees and light coffees. I have been guilty of being a dark coffee lover. Then, I saw the light. First, update about the espresso bar.
Update: Shack Coffee Co.
Shahpurjat is an urban village in South Delhi. It is a hub for freelancers, designers, agencies, indie clothing brands, cloud kitchens and creative professionals. I worked from Shahpurjat for ten years. I am considering to look for a place in Shahpurjat.
It’s is easy to reach. It has a community of its own. I am familiar with the place and its people. When I ran a manual bar in Hauz Khas village, it got crowded with restaurants and a homogenous crowd. Shahpurjat is different.
I researched Lelit Mara X. It is a tiny, yet commercial grade machine. It can pull espresso shots and steam milk at the same time. Also, it is not heavy on my pocket. It comes for INR 1,20,000. At the price point it is as good as costlier machines of the same category (Heat Exchanger machines).
Dark vs light
Light coffees offer notes of the origin and fruity notes. Dark coffees offer rich and intense notes of chocolate, caramel and sweetness. All coffees are not suitable for light roasts. It depends.
Most Indian coffees are commodity grade. Big coffee brands such as Nescafe, Kraft use Indian coffees for their instant coffees or cheap fillers. Unless the coffee meets the criteria of specialty grade, roasting them light will not bring out the notes of the region. In fact, roasting them dark will not make them sweeter as well.
2007 World Barista Champion James Hoffman did a video on dark coffees. He shares how one should brew it between 80–85 degrees, and use 14gms of coffee for 200gms of water.
I brew Shacoco Blend, a medium dark blend, with three different measurements. I make it with continuous pour. Link
One, I use 10gms of coffee with 180gms of water.
Two, I use 12gms of coffee with 180gms of water.
Three, I use 14gms of coffee with 180gms of water.
It will be interesting to know how you make your darker coffees.
Good resource: How to figure out temperature without thermometer Link
Indians are food agnostic
Indians are agnostic foodies. We eat oats in the morning, dal-chawal in the lunch, pizza in the evening, and spicy meals in the dinner. Indians have one of the widest palettes in the world. When Dominos came to India, they did not count Mcdoanld’s and KFC as their competitors. They counted dal, chawal and roti as their competitors. They have learnt to co-exist and not outcompete the food agnostic Indians.
Worth your time: Winning march of Domino’s Link
Cloth filters
Cloth filters cost less than filter papers. One can use them many times. Paper filters are for one time use. Japanese have been using cloth filter forever. Kolkata tea stalls use cloth filters to brew tea. As per retailer Prima Coffee, cloth filters sit in the middle, more body than filter papers, and sans sludge of the metal filters.
Indian cloth filter brand Wobh Coffee Labs offer different cloth filters for different brewing methods.
Japanese brand Hario offers cloth filters for Nel Drip Link
Indian roasterie Black Baza also offers cloth filters. Link
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Next Issue:
Which pour over brew method gives the best taste
Update about espresso bar