Preparation Of Coffee

Measure Carefully

There is no set rule for the proper proportions of coffee and water. This will vary with the kind of coffee used, the way it is ground and the method of brewing and, above all, with individual taste. But once you have found the right proportion - that is, the proportion best suited to your use - stick to it. Don't guess. Measure carefully, both water and coffee. Remember that in brewing the coffee grounds absorb a certain amount of the water in the pot. Therefore, to make five cups of coffee, use, say, 5 1/2 cupfuls of water and in the same proportion with larger or smaller quantities.

Extracting the Coffee Flavor

Chemists have analyzed the coffee bean and told us that its delicious taste is due to certain aromatic oils. This aromatic element is extracted most efficiently only by fresh boiling water. The practice of soaking the grounds in cold water, therefore, is to be condemned. It is a mistake also to let the water and the grounds boil together after the real coffee flavor is once extracted. This extraction takes place very quickly, especially when the coffee is ground fine. The coarser the granulation the longer it is necessary to let the grounds remain in contact with the boiling water. Remember that flavor, the only flavor worth having, is extracted by the short contact of boiling water and coffee grounds and that after this flavor is extracted, the coffee grounds become valueless dregs.

Use Grounds Only Once

Although the above rules are absolutely fundamental to good coffee making, their importance is so little appreciated that in some households the lifeless grounds from the breakfast coffee are left in the pot and resteeped for the next meal, with the addition of a small quantity of fresh coffee. Used coffee grounds are of no more value in coffee making than ashes are in kindling a fire.

Serve at Once

After the coffee is brewed the true coffee flavor, now extracted from the bean, should be guarded carefully. When the brewed liquid is left on the fire or overheated this flavor is cooked away and the whole character of the beverage is changed. It is just as fatal to let the brew grow cold. If possible, coffee should be served as soon as it is made. If service is delayed, it should be kept hot, but not overheated. For this purpose careful cooks prefer a double boiler over a slow fire. The cups should be warmed beforehand, and the same is true of a' serving pot, if one is used. Brewed coffee, once injured by cooling, cannot be restored by reheating.

Scour the Coffee Pot

Unsatisfactory results in coffee brewing frequently can be traced to a lack of care in keeping utensils clean. The fact that the coffee pot is used only for coffee making is no excuse for setting it away with a hasty rinse. Coffee making utensils should be cleaned after each using with scrupulous care. If a percolator is used pay special attention to the small tube through which the hot water rises to spray over the grounds. This should be scrubbed with the wire-handled brush that comes for the purpose.

Don't Dry Filter Bags

In cleansing drip or filter bags use cool water. Hot water "cooks in" the coffee stains. After the bag is rinsed keep it submerged in cool water until time to use it again. Never let it dry. This treatment protects the cloth from the germs in the air which cause souring. New filter bags should be washed before using to remove the starch or sizing.