Happy National Coffee Day

After reading the post Desi Brew French eShtyle, a reader inquired what are the next steps. At first I was confused. Maybe I'd missed something. Probing through the ambiguity I found what the reader wanted to know was - How does this translate into a steaming cup of coffee in the morning.
My first thought was - Isn't it obvious?
Maybe not!
Like most professionals, after working in a field for some time, you lose perspective of the layman's mindset. Using jargon and acronyms which is common-speak of the industry.
So I set to rectify my error. I created this video tutorial.

This is my first attempt at creating a vlog. While I admit it is rough around the edges (and my voice is shaky), I'd love some feedback. Was the explanation clear? Too long?

Desi brew French eshtlye

Think outside the box

This phrase is often tossed around in brainstorming sessions. I've heard my share during a stint with an ad agency. For disruptive thinking, I often disrupt my daily routine.

I had been on a vacation visiting family in SoCal recently. The imposing heat which soared to 100F by mid-morning daunted me from the kettle for a rolling boil to pour into the French Press. But I sorely missed my caffeine fix. After a sweltering run in the nearby baseball court one morning, I grudgingly prepared a hot brew to thwart sleep, which would have meant I'd miss out on picking up my niece and nephew from their Montessori.

As I sat beside the air vent, blasted by the cool air sipping my freshly pressed coffee, an idea germinated -

What if I used the French Press for making a cold brew?

As you've read before on this blog, Cold Brew is something I've toyed with in the past. Chiefly, it is low in acid

approximately 67% less acidic than coffee brewed by conventional hot-brew methods

However, purchasing an expensive and bulky apparatus deterred me from introducing it into my daily ritual. Using a coffee filter, propped into a funnel turned out to be tacky and time consuming; let's not forget messy!

I ran the idea by my brother. He was skeptical but I promised that we'd try it only if he liked the result the next morning. So, before hitting the sack I measured 8 coffee spoons and 3 cups of normal water into the glass carafe. I stirred the grounds into the water and then stuck it into the refrigerator. The next morning, there was froth gathered in the carafe when we took it out.

Since my sis-in-law prefers a lukewarm coffee, I heated and frothed the milk, and then poured the cold brew for her cuppa. My brother and I had our coffee piping hot with a dash of cinnamon. We collectively agreed that the coffee was smoother and less bitter than the regular French Press brew. Moreover, there was no residual at the bottom of the cup as all the fine particles settled down during the 12 hours the coffee steeped in the cooler.

For the remainder of my stay, I would fix up the coffee carafe the night before, so we could grab our caffeine fix first thing in the morning, without waiting 15 long minutes for the grounds to stew. Time saved is time earned. In my case it was a treat of spending the time playing and chatting with my toddler nephew and infant niece before they headed to the Montessori.

South Indian coffee takes on Americano

Filter coffee served hot and frothy in a traditional tumbler and dabara (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During a holiday to India, I jetted to namma Bengaluru (Bangalore) to regale in the most exhilarating 3 years I had spent, living independently in an unknown city. When in Karnataka, does as the Kannidiga's do.

Thanks to generosity of a dear couple friend, every morning I woke up to the refreshing smell of freshly brewed coffee. Exhausted from the last evening's merriment, I sleepwalked and placed myself at the dining table. An early riser, my friend, a thoroughbred Kannadiga, cheerily placed a steaming mug in front of me. Caring not the beverage was scalding, I greedily drank it; mid-mug I'd pace myself down to savor its rich flavor. Although I'd grudgingly controlled  my coffee consumption to one cup in two days or less on account of a homeopathy medication, the frothy sweetness of fresh South Indian coffee delectably awakening my wits was a treat I couldn't resist.

Used to a medium-dark roast of Arabica or Sumatra beans, ahat makes the South Indian Filter Coffee so unique are two things - fresh coffee from the source and Chicory. The source is Coorg, one of the most beautiful hill stations in Karnataka. Coorg produces two vanities of coffee – Coffea robusta and Coffea arabica. The freshly ground beans are mixed in a 80-20 proportion with Chicory powder. Also spelled Chicoree, this root has been adopted as a coffee substitute plenty of time. In the filter coffee version though, it adds fuller flavor.

My request for acquiring a small package of Chicory bewildered her family's coffee supplier. He'd have thought me mad to ignore the beans and press for the commonplace root. Truth be told, I've searched high and low - online and offline, in Bombay and in USA. This was the only coffee supplier who agreed to sell me Chicory without coffee. My dependable coffee supplier Philips Coffee has long stopped selling coffee with Chicory.

When I griped about this to a friend recently, he cautioned me that Chicory root is harmful for long-term consumption. The word he used was 'poisonous'. The claim seemed dubious, so I launched my own investigation.

Here are the facts about the Chicory plant

• its roots, leaves and flowers are used to make medicine
• it is used to balance the stimulant effect of coffee
• it looks and tastes something like coffee but is caffeine-free, and produces a more 'roasted' flavor than coffee does
• because it has a smooth and creamy texture, it enhances the richness of coffee 

Which makes it into a thick dark ambrosia you can savor in every sip.

Make coffee a sweeter treat

It's 3am on a Tuesday morning. The sun will not be rising for another three hours. However, I am up and about. I silently go downstairs from my loft room, avoiding the squeaking panels while ducking from the heavy oak beams which run at an eye level.

Before freshening up, I head to the kitchen and prep for a hot cup of coffee. And then, I sit down for a last revision.

This was my routine for all the Board exams - 10th, 12th and University.

Engulfed with darkness and quiet helped me concentrate. I would spend these last few hours memorizing the most important facts (I was really bad at rote learning).

Just as I would be heading out the door, mom would offer me a spoonful of sweetened curd. This is an ancient custom prevalent throughout India before setting out for some important work such as exams or interviews. Speaking Tree rationalizes that it helps you remain

cool, collected and energized when setting out to accomplish an important task.

Now scientists are endorsing that my sweet fetish has "a small side benefit." A study published in the journal HumanPsychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental showed the combination of caffeine, and glucose can improve the efficiency of brain activity.

a combination of caffeine and glucose has beneficial effects on attention (sequential reaction time tasks) and learning and on the consolidation of verbal memory, none of which were observed when the substances were consumed separately.

What I understood was this --

While I should stop getting friends to steal lumps of sugar for me from the order-desk at PVR Cinemas, dropping them into my coffee cup will make sure I remember the plot points and dialogues for tearing apart in my blog review later.

For the rest of you, it means your brain will be more efficient under the combined effect of the two substances, since it needs fewer resources to produce the same level of performance than required by those who only consume unsweetened coffee or suck on sugar cubes.

Labor of Love

Over the weekend, I was invited to a party. After contemplating on the dessert, I decided to make gajar ka halwa. I sought my dad's advise and decided to follow the recipe from the yellowed page my mum had written 5 years ago. The carrot soaked in the sweet milk and spices for 12 simmering hours, making it an instant hit with a renowned Sushi chef who was a guest at the dinner, among others. 

For weeks months I've been ruminating to hand-grind my coffee. I'd looked at burr grinders on Amazon, and have 3 shortlisted in my Wishlist. Another trekker, who also works out of his home office accounted how fresh-grinding of coffee for each brew gives his deltoides, bicep and flexors a thorough workout. 

This gave me the courage to finally take a plunge and get a hand-crank grinder. 

The apparatus is a mill attached to a ceramic pot where the fresh grounds collect.

You may notice that the crank has a vacated hole where the it should have a knob or some such. The thing is, this pretty pot had been gathering dust in the store for years. Every time I saw it, I'd pick it up, turn it around, and then leave it behind. Nobody else wanted it. Finally, I amassed some courage and asked the store manager if he'd got a 'newer' model. He promptly dusted off the thin film of dust on this desolate piece and offered a discount. Like a good Indian, I bargained, and got it for my asking price of $10.

A bit of oiling, scrubbing and what have we here! 40 beans of dark roast can be ground for a different apparatus of coffee-making every time I crave some caffeine. 

1. Coarse ground for a French press

2. Fine coarse for a drip brew

3. Super-fine when I need a shot of espresso.

At dinner today, I went to a Mediterranean restaurant which served Turkish coffee. The thick fine coffee just lifted the pain off my aching shoulders. So that's my next conquest - making a smooth shot of Turkish coffee.

What the world drinks

The lure of tea, tepid water with floating leaves has always put the English in a tizzy. While they enjoyed a Chicken Tikka Masala, spiced with Indian cloves and pepper, the rousing fragrance of tea pressured them to colonize the Indian sub-continent. They traded Indian opium for Chinese tea; eventually they just got Indians in the valleys of Darjeeling and Coonoor to grow the refreshing tips. 

The Economist has charted the bean's slow insurgence on the leaf.

Despite an invasion of American Starbucks in Indian metropolis, 

tea fuels the the fast growth of BRICS countries (save for coffee-producing Brazil) and dominates Asia

Morocco is a peculiar tea-lovers haven, nestled between Spain and border-sharing Algeria which drink coffee 86% and 77% of the time resp.

What gives?