Coffee in the microwave

[needscoffee]

Sixteen TBSP of coffee grounds in a pitcher with 64 ounces of water. Let it sit on the counter overnight, up to 24 hours. Strain out the grounds through a fine sieve and drink iced or heat in the micro. Never gets bitter, doesn’t have to be refrigerated, and you get the added benefit of all the subtle flavors that can disappear when you pour boiling water over coffee.

That’s exactly the same proportion I use for strong drip coffee. I am putting together 2 cups worth now for tomorrow’s coffee, with a regular pot for backup just in case.

[Chefguy]

@needscoffee

That’s exactly the same proportion I use for strong drip coffee. I am putting together 2 cups worth now for tomorrow’s coffee, with a regular pot for backup just in case.

So: what do you think?

[needscoffee]

@Chefguy

So: what do you think?

Surprisingly good. Less bite, smoother, but just as strong. I miss the wake-up pervasive coffee smell of the coffeemaker. I need to do another comparison tomorrow, though, using a better filter. The filter I used let more particles through than the one on the coffeemaker, so it was more like a French press and not a equal comparison. Even still, with at least a spoonful of powdered ground at the bottom of the cup, it was smooth (and chewy).

[Leo_Bloom]

@LSLGuy

…Not overheating the coffee also reduces that distinctive microwaved flavor…

I never noticed such an effect with nuked coffee. I never defrost anything though, because of horrible results and a type of odor, which I just presume is the cell walls exploding in weird ways and effecting food (except for steaming some things).

But with water already (insert word here for chemical state, I don’t know it), it’s just reheating water. Right?

[Chefguy]

@needscoffee

Surprisingly good. Less bite, smoother, but just as strong. I miss the wake-up pervasive coffee smell of the coffeemaker. I need to do another comparison tomorrow, though, using a better filter. The filter I used let more particles through than the one on the coffeemaker, so it was more like a French press and not a equal comparison. Even still, with at least a spoonful of powdered ground at the bottom of the cup, it was smooth (and chewy).

The fines can be a problem, for sure. I have a very fine sieve that I use, and then ladle out the coffee instead of pouring, which doesn’t disturb what’s still on the bottom. We drink it iced in summer and it’s fantastic.

[Arrendajo]

I make coffee one cup at a time using this gold filter. Never need paper filters, perfect cup of fresh hot coffee every time. I drink at least 3 cups a day at home - this filter has served me for many many years. It gets my top recommendation. I’ve tried French presses (too much sludge) paper filters (messy and can alter taste) and various other gadgets but this is best.
I pour the sugar right in the diffuser before I put the hot water in, so I never need to stir in sugar.
http://www.anothercoffee.co.uk/products/item110310.aspx

[Chefguy]

@Arrendajo

I make coffee one cup at a time using this gold filter. Never need paper filters, perfect cup of fresh hot coffee every time. I drink at least 3 cups a day at home - this filter has served me for many many years. It gets my top recommendation. I’ve tried French presses (too much sludge) paper filters (messy and can alter taste) and various other gadgets but this is best.
I pour the sugar right in the diffuser before I put the hot water in, so I never need to stir in sugar.
http://www.anothercoffee.co.uk/products/item110310.aspx

I, on the other hand, can taste no difference between between coffee passed through the gold filter or the brown paper filters.

[LSLGuy]

@Leo_Bloom

I never noticed such an effect with nuked coffee. I never defrost anything though, because of horrible results and a type of odor, which I just presume is the cell walls exploding in weird ways and effecting food (except for steaming some things).

But with water already (insert word here for chemical state, I don’t know it), it’s just reheating water. Right?

What I meant was that coffee reheated in a microwave has a distinctive flavor different from fresh brewed coffee or from sitting-on-the-warmer-for-hours coffee.

I’m not asserting that microwave ovens impart some “microwaved” flavor to all foods. Nor am I asserting that the oven somehow changes the water in reheated coffee.

I think the mechanism is simply that microwave ovens produce temps well over 212F in some small portion of the reheated coffee. And this high temp produces changes in the flavorful chemicals found in coffee which are different from the changes which happen when it sits there on a warmer at 140F for hours.

Boiling off a different profile of the various flavorful chemicals will doubtless leave a different profile behind. And that remaining chemical profile is what we perceive as the flavor of reheated coffee.

[Leo_Bloom]

@LSLGuy

What I meant was that coffee reheated in a microwave has a distinctive flavor different from fresh brewed coffee or from sitting-on-the-warmer-for-hours coffee.

I’m not asserting that microwave ovens impart some “microwaved” flavor to all foods. Nor am I asserting that the oven somehow changes the water in reheated coffee.

I think the mechanism is simply that microwave ovens produce temps well over 212F in some small portion of the reheated coffee. And this high temp produces changes in the flavorful chemicals found in coffee which are different from the changes which happen when it sits there on a warmer at 140F for hours.

Boiling off a different profile of the various flavorful chemicals will doubtless leave a different profile behind. And that remaining chemical profile is what we perceive as the flavor of reheated coffee.

Thanks. Got it.