Stove-top Coffee 
Excellent Simplicity!!

Stove-top coffee making has never really gone out of fashion although the stove-top coffee equipment we have been using has been modernised over the years.

Pouring hot water over ground coffee can make a fantastic brew, whether you make it directly in a cup, in a coffee pot or as extract, later to be diluted with hot milk or water.

As long as you follow the 9 Rules your stove-top coffee will be much better than in most cafes, whether it be espresso, French Press, Filter, Syphon or even percolator coffee !!

Turkish coffee is a very special “stove-top only” coffee, a style I personally really like and one which can get away with the use of staler beans, if you have some left-overs.
But, more about that later.

The biggest secret to making good stove top coffee lies in the way you grind the coffee.
Most people grind either way too coarse, or way to fine for “slow” coffee.
Apparently someone once said that "French Press coffee should be coarsely ground" and it has been taken as gospel ever since… I have been served coffee from grinds which were so big, you could have paved your driveway with them!

The problem with very coarse grinding is that the coffee oils, which carry the flavour, do not get released from the coffee particles with as result: bland tasting coffee.

Even the best quality coffee bean cannot overcome too  coarse a grind and you will throw most of your coffee flavour in the waste bin if you make coffee that way.

For most filter-, drip- and French Press “slow” coffee making methods, the coffee needs to be ground medium , which is about the size of a semolina/polenta granule.
If your coffee looks like a sugar granule it is too coarse; if it looks like caster sugar it is too fine.

Once you have put the ground coffee in the filter or in the French Press, slowly pour some freshly boiled water over it, about 3 tablespoons in all.
DO NOT use still-boiling water; take the kettle off the fire, count to 5 and then pour.
If you pour still-boiling water over the grinds, you will burn the coffee oils and destroy the flavour.

When the water hits the grinds, and comes into contact with the CO2 still in the coffee, the grinds will swell and the “bloom” will form.

For a French Press: After a few seconds slowly pour the rest of the water over the grinds, stir for a minute and put the lid on; after 5 minutes slowly push the plunger down until it just reaches “solid ground”. Pour immediately; any coffee left “sitting” on the grinds will get bitter.
For pour/over-filter: slowly drip another 3 tablespoons of hot water over the grinds, then wait until the surface of the coffee grinds has become dry before you pour over the next lot of water.
Make sure you do not use too much water; over-extracted coffee will taste of everything but coffee!

Coffee extract is made in a filter, either a drip-olator or a stove-top.
The process is simple: for every cup of extract you need, quadruple the amount of coffee you grind; the grinds need to be caster-sugar fine.

When you make extract, it is even more important to pour the hot water slowly, so all the coffee particles get the chance to get in contact with the water and release their flavour.
Once you have your extract, store it in the fridge in an airtight container: use as base for Iced Coffee, or make an old-fashioned Milk Coffee by adding hot milk.


Percolators : If you use a percolator, the 9 Rules also apply; the heat of the water in the percolator, however, may not be suitable for the lighter roasts and you could be better off using a Medium Dark roast instead.
Once you have packed the medium-fine ground coffee in the filter holder and filled the percolator with only just enough water for the number of cups of coffee you want to make, put the pot on the stove and wait for the percolating to start.

As soon as the coffee percolates, reduce the heat!!

When the coffee has percolated to a medium brown colour, count to 10 ( or for a big percolator to 15) and turn off the heat.
Percolated coffee should NEVER be dark brown; making coffee like that destroys all the coffee oils and increases the caffeine content dramatically, resulting in a hot beverage with a bitter flavour and not much else.
Admittedly, it will keep you awake…

Stove-top espresso: pack the finely ground coffee tightly in the filter and add enough water to the "pot" for the number of cups of coffee you want to make.
Then wait until the heat has brought the water to the boil and you can see a bit of steam escaping from the spout.
Once you hear the first sound of hissing and gurgling inside the espresso maker, turn the heat off and let the espresso maker complete its process with the residual heat.

When you do some research on coffee grinders, you will find that in general, coffee lovers all over the world will tell you that the best grinder you can afford is the best grinder to buy
Even if you are only making one cup of stove top espresso or filter coffee per day, it would be a great shame if that one cup did not taste like rich, fully flavoured coffee, with hints of fruit, nuts, caramel or cocoa...

A good quality grinder will make all the difference to your coffee, whether it is a hand-grinder or an electric one.
You can make a great cup of coffee with a good hand-grinder, freshly roasted coffee beans and a cone-filter... but even the most sophisticated percolator, plunger or stove-top espresso maker cannot produce good coffee if the beans have been hacked into uneven pieces which cannot release their flavour to the water passing through.