What: Spurt, steam and hiss...

2009/11/28

Su Aziz

SU AZIZ sips the perfect cuppa while unearthing what goes into it and just what makes it perfect. THERE is a line from a pop song that won’t leave my head and it goes like this: “I like my sugar with coffee and cream.”
It drove me to seek out Delucca restaurant, a favoured coffee place on Jalan Mesui, Kuala Lumpur.
I’ll put it this way — when people brave the city centre traffic to get to a place for coffee, then it must be doing something right! And apparently, its food is no slouch either.
Delucca, which serves Italian fare, has invested in a heavy duty, fire-engine red, espresso machine. At 93˚C and topped with ground arabica beans from Caffé Vergnano, the machine spurts aromatic and thoroughly satisfying, caffeine-laced beverage.
Like all things (and despite the line from the pop song), I like taste in its pure form. My coffee is taken black with a long finish and well-brewed.
Sipping a cuppa, savouring the moment of mental silence (the tune finally left my head), it got me thinking — what’s all the fuss about coffee? Why is it my ground espresso beans, brewed in my Braun percolator, doesn’t taste the same? Where is all this extra flavour, aroma and kick coming from?
Asiaeuro coffee expert Bong Siak Kiong patiently explained a few rules of thumb on brewing this highly regarded commodity.
Asiaeuro supplies Caffé Vergnano ground coffee to various restaurants dotting Changkat Bukit Bintang and Jalan Mesui. It provides training when you buy its espresso machine.

Brewing

Whichever method you use, Bong reminded, there’s a science to brewing coffee, especially if you want to exploit the aroma and flavours of ground beans.
l French press: When the water goes through the ground coffee beans, it is a process called infusion. And the beans should be ground coarse. Do not use boiling water.
l Percolator: When hot water passes through the ground beans, percolation happens. However, you have no control over the water temperature and most percolators require boiling water.
Don’t allow for the coffee pot to be warmed for more than half an hour as it will result in coffee with a burnt taste.
l Espresso machine: Invest in one for perfect brews. You can control the water temperature at 93ºC and use nine-bar pressure (this means nine times earth gravity) to extract the pure flavours of the beans. It also has a milk steamer and it can produce foam too!
If money is a factor, a French press comes a close second. However, a percolator requires less cleaning if you use disposable filters.

Differences of beans
There are two main types of coffee beans: robusta and arabica.
Robusta comes from lowlands (up to 700m in height). Normally Asian countries, such as Indonesia and Vietnam, produce plenty of this sort of beans. Its flavour is more bitter, acidic, robust and higher in caffeine content while being less aromatic.
Also, these beans are roasted to their darkest point. This results in loss of flavours which is compensated for by adding margarine or caramel sugar.
Arabica, on the other hand, comes from the highlands (1,000m — 2,000m) and is produced by countries such as Costa Ricam Guatemala and Brazil. It’s more expensive. However, it is higher in acidity (hence the sourish flavour), lower in caffeine content, more aromatic and lighter in body.
The beans are medium-roasted, keeping their higher acidity intact. The rule of thumb is, the cooler the climate, the lighter the roast.


Brewing good coffee

Bong’s advice when brewing a cuppa is a tablespoon of your favourite ground coffee to a cup (140ml) of water. There are four rules to good coffee — beans, grinder, machine and man (or expertise).
The first two is simple to achieve. Mastering the art of producing a good cuppa is a different matter.
The five most commonly consumed espresso based drinks are:

l Espresso itself, naturally, which consists of 25ml water and 7g ground coffee. It needs 25 seconds extraction time.
l Americano is 7g ground coffee with 125ml of water.
l Latte is one part espresso and two parts steamed milk.
l Cappucino is one part espresso, one part steamed milk and one part foam.
l Macchiato is one part espresso and foam milk to top it up.