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[coraa]

This is a coffee-related question.

jmpava and I go to this pho place called Than Brothers (really good!), and one of the things we always get is the coffee-with-condensed-milk. It comes out like this: a glass with condensed milk in the bottom, and then, at the top, a little metal thing containing the coffee grounds (how finely ground I don't know) and water. Slowly, over the course of maybe 5 mintues, the coffee drains out of the little metal thing (which has a perforated bottom) and into the cup. Then you remove the metal thing, stir, and drink. The little metal coffee-containing thing looks kind of like a top hat.

It makes really, really awesome coffee. (How awesome? jmpava orders it eagerly. That awesome.) Does anyone know what it's called? I'd love to order one for myself, but I don't know what to search for, and googling 'metal coffee hat' has not turned up anything useful (shocking!).

Comments

[porfinn.livejournal.com]

All methods of brewing coffee are pretty much the same: use hot water to somehow soak grounds. But how the coffee is soaked can make very dramatic differences in taste. Different methods also utilize different grinds of coffee beans. Espresso is made by shoving (using pressure) heated water through the grounds, and the grind for espresso is very fine. A French press pot steeps the grounds-- you just pour hot water on them and let them stew for a little while (like tea); this method requires a course grind. The type of coffee maker coraa is looking for uses gravity (I think). The hot water is poured over the grounds and then the coffee dribbles out, just like the drip brew used in offices and restaurants everywhere. The difference with coraa's little dealie is that the coffee takes a long time to drip its way into a cup, making it a very, very rich brew.
I hope that kind of made sense? The nuance of coffee brewing is really only of interest to those of us who are silly enough to care. I really like coffee, but my reasons are romantic, and I like playing with coffee toys.

[sithjawa.livejournal.com]

Ever done Turkish coffee? The equipment's not in my budget and I don't have a reference for how it's supposed to taste, but I have to try it someday...

[porfinn.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Turkish coffee isn't expensive. It just requires the right size pot to make the sludge. You don't need on of those fancy-shmansy copper ones. The stainless steel variety is much more serviceable.
http://www.turkishtaste.com/coffepotmidium.html
And there are some great tutorials on the web.
The key is the pot and getting the right grind, but that's available at most supermarkets that have a large grinder (most of them even seem to have a turkish setting). Based on the cups of coffee I had in Turkey, the idea is to make it taste sweet and bitter at the same time. I think the Vietnamese coffee is very, very similar, and I prefer it. I have a turkish coffee pot that I use mostly to melt butter. I bought it at a middle-eastern deli that use to be here in Long Beach (ye gods I miss those cookies). I bet one of the middle-eastern places near where I work would have one if you are really interested.

[erinpie.livejournal.com]

Damn. You are full of good coffee info! Now I have two more coffee things I need to buy.

[sithjawa.livejournal.com]

$6.45 if there's no added shipping isn't expensive, but I should really try turkish coffee before I spring for another gadget to take up space in the kitchen. I mean, I've already got a 12-cup drip machine, a plastic single-serving French press (that I think I'm going to dump for a real glass one pretty soon), and a travel coffee maker that makes condensed coffee perfect for mixed drinks, and I've got an espresso machine in storage... I think I have a problem. :)

[porfinn.livejournal.com]

Nah. That's just a good start.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking of getting an espresso machine, because yum, except I'm not sure if I'd get enough use out of it to merit the footprint it would take on my counterspace. Which is actually the motive behind why I wanted to get a Vietnamese coffee maker!

[coraa.livejournal.com]

"sweet and bitter at the same time" is exactly what I love about the Vietnamese coffee. I mean, the 'sweet' is helped by the fact that they serve it with frickin' sweetened condensed milk, but it has the perfect amount of coffee bitterness without any harsh or sour flavors. Mmmm.

[cwendy41.livejournal.com]

My high school chemistry teacher used to make Turkish coffee with the bunsen burners in lab.

[sithjawa.livejournal.com]

Chemistry coffee!