[thechat] rebel without a clause

[Martin Paul Burns]

Madhu wrote:

>And since I just finished a coffee site, I did a bit of reading on the
>subject. Seems that the best coffee is made from water just below boiling
>point or else the coffee turns slightly bitter.

It's bitter if you use boiling water, yes (worse if you boil the
combination of water and grounds). If you're making instant coffee (a
contradiction in terms, surely), it's best to let the kettle boil and then
just cool a wee bit. If you're making a combination of tea (which has to
use boiling water) and coffee, do the teas first.

Of course, you can't drink it at that temperature, so it's usually served a
wee bit cooler. If I had a handy thermometer I'd report on how hot
Starbucks actually serve their coffee. Drip coffee pots let the water cool
in their condensation pipes, so by the time it hits the coffee it's down a
bit, and wee drips do cool much faster than larger volumes.

I know that if I'm pouring coffee from a drip pot or a stove top espresso
maker into a cold china cup, it's then *too* cold, so I usually warm the
cup up with hot water 1st (with a cafetiere, I warm the cafetiere *and* the
cup).

Cheers
Martin 'picky bastard' Burns