kit + knowledge = instant expert
4. Stove-top espresso
“They’re the classic Italian espresso
for a superbly strong coffee,” says
Giles. “This is the one I have every
morning for a big hit, but not during
the day.” Stove-tops work by forcing
hot water under pressure through
fine coffee grounds. The coffee has
a very distinctive flavour and
characteristic. A word of warning,
however: “They’re one of the most
sensitive brewing methods – the
opposite of a cafetiere. It’s easy to
boil the coffee, so you have to use
the right ground coffee and take it
off the heat in time.”
Stellar Art Deco 6 Cup
Espresso Maker
Harts Price: £70.94
7. Pod or capsule
“They’re phenomenally popular,”
admits Giles. “Their big selling point
is that they’re attractive, clean and
simple. All the grubbiness of coffee is
wrapped up in a capsule. There’s no
skill, so you can’t mess it up if you’re
in a rush, and you’ll get the same
quality every time.” That said, they
should be part of the armoury, not
the main weapon. “The capsules only
have about 5g of coffee, whereas
you’re using about 15g in a cafetiere,
so you’d need several capsules for a
large batch of coffee,” he advises.
Nespresso Krups
Inissia White with Aeroccino
5. Turkish
Harts Price: £95.95
Not perhaps for the uninitiated, Turkish coffee involves bringing a short
dose of pulverised grounds to the boil in a small metal (usually copper or
brass) beaker. “It produces a really good coffee, and it’s fun,” says Giles.
“It’s best done over gas so you have control over the heat.” The disadvantage
is that the grounds inevitably make their way into the final coffee, which
also packs quite a kick. On the bonus side, you can experiment with a
whole range of added spices, from
cinnamon to cardamom.
Dexam Enamelware
Turkish Coffee Pot
Harts Price £6.94
6. Cold brew
8. Siphon
The rise in popularity of coffee in the
US came from instant coffee drunk
during World War II. By necessity,
this tended to be made from a cold
brew concentrate extracted over
time from coffee grounds. Giles is a
fan. “You can either water it down or
drink it neat, but you’ll end up with
a lot of caffeine.” Because cold brew
has a light and refreshing finish, it’s
often used as the base of iced coffee
or coffee cocktails.
These work in the opposite way to
the stove-top, using a vacuum to
suck the water through the grounds,
rather than forcing water through
under pressure. “Siphon coffee is
very clean and pure, like high quality
filter coffee,” says Giles. “It’s a good,
smooth coffee, and the ultimate
dinner party weapon.”
Step 4:
The cup final
“If you’re in a hurry, use a pod. If
you’re having a dinner party, then
the cafetiere is the one. For a
humdinger coffee at the weekend, a
stove-top with some ground beans.”
KitchenAid Artisan Siphon
Coffee Maker
Harts Price: £159
Bodum Teal Ice Coffee Maker
Harts Price: £25
S E E +
S H O P
You can buy Reads Coffee
direct at www.readscoffee.co.uk.
For more coffee making kit
visit Harts in Sturminster
Newton or go to
www.hartsofstur.com
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www.hartsofstur.com