There was a cold brew thread about a year ago, and after some recommendations, I got a muslin ‘steeping bag’ and a large jar, and tried the overnight soak a few times with several different types of beans. It was OK, but I was surprised at how mediocre and flavorless the coffee was (and how much mess the cleanup was). I had much better success with my old Toddy, and I’ve heard that purpose-built infusers like the one mentioned earlier in the thread are worthwhile.
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On the subject of Vietnamese coffee: I am always surprised how much they produce. Thre are the number 2 coffee producer in the world but it is all robusta. (Brazil is 1. Columbia is 3 - producing about half of what Vietnam produces)
We ever do coffee let’s have it at my place, okay?
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Its called an egg raft. And there’s nothing particularly fancy pants about it. Its sort of the old school, lazy mans way to a clear broth/stock. And you’ve got the mechanics all wrong. There’s no poking a hole and ladling. You beat a couple egg whites (no yokes!) till stiff and foamy. Then just pour them on top of your pot while the stock is hot. The whites will set from the heat. The bubbling of a simmering stock causes the small bits and coagulated meat proteins to rise to the top, bubble over the egg, and get stuck. When you’re done most of the small bits (meaning like microscopic/cloudy bits) strain out just as easy as the big bits.
The finicky bit comes after that. There’s a certain amount of very small egg fragments (binding even smaller stuff) that will end up suspended in the broth. You have to remove them. Unlike the stuff they’ve bound up, they’re large enough to cause a noticeable texture. Almost like curdled milk. So they gots to go. If you don’t have a really fine meshed strainer you will be straining 2-3 times. Once through mesh. And one or two times through a kitchen towel or cheese cloth (I prefer the towel, less propensity to clog with goo).
Its still far less fussy than painstakingly keeping the stock from bubbling or boiling at all, carefully skimming the top every ten minutes. Then straining in the same way.
That is entirely based on needing clear stock/ broth. Which in most cases you don’t. That’s purely a presentation issue. Cloudy stock tastes exactly the same. I’ve only bothered to clarify stock once. For a special occasion and a dish that’s based on a mushroom consume (very clear broth).
Usually I let my stock bubble as much as it feels like. Then chill it with the bones and veg still in it. Leads to a much cloudier, even milky stock. But you get much better gelatin extraction, and that’s way more important. Its much easier to defat when cold too. Solidified fat just strains out with the bits.
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LearnedCoward
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Yeah, that’s what I do more or less if I actually want clear stock. Strain the big bits, freeze it, then leave it in a sieve lined with muslin over a bowl in the fridge. Though I personally prefer nice cloudy stock with the fat and collagen suspended in it. That’s the good stuff .
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Chu! Pika-Pika! Pikachu!
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Everyone has an opinion. I think relatively fresh beans and definitely freshly ground make all the difference. I like my Aeropress but I use it less than an old-fashioned drip system. On weekends I brew about 10 cups at a time and an Aeropress is really only good for one cup at a time. I even use K-cups at work but plan to switch to a Chemex-clone pour-over I tried a few times at home.
Yes, K-cups do not taste anywhere near as magical but I view them as prepackaged caffeine injectors. “Nurse, get me a K-cup, stat!”
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Reading up on the “egg coffee” technique though, it seems that it’s really more about flavor than it is about convenience. It seems the egg whites absorb some of the acidity or oils (there’s not a lot of clarity on this) and that results in a smoother cup of coffee.
I can see this being more convenient for stock - removing the foamy bits at the top without actually removing any of the fat content that you would lose if you ran it through a filter seems like an interesting idea. But for coffee, nobody is going to convince me that it’s easier than pouring coffee through a paper filter. I am convinced, however, that I need to try the technique to see if it actually results in better flavor.
Straining won’t remove the collagen. And if its still collagen you’ve sort of fucked up. The whole point is to convert that to gelatin. But what you want to do is leave the bones in there as it cools. The connective tissue keeps converting to gelatin till it drops in temp. So its like an extra few hours of cooking with no work.
From what I’d heard on the subject its the additional calcium from adding the crushed shells in. And you need to add the crushed shells in to get the benefits. A lot of old timers (or those trained by them) do the same with the stock. I know for stock it has no effect. I’ve also seen a lot of people (back in the day) add egg shells to their drip coffee maker’s hopper. Supposedly for the same reason.
Don’t know if it works. But I don’t see the eggs themselves having that sort of effect. Egg whites certainly don’t have any effect on flavor in the near identical use in stock.
Though egg whites are basic. So they’ll theoretically neutralize some of the acid in a much smaller cup of coffee. And if you’re using the yolk, fat’s pretty good at binding up certain flavor compounds and volatiles. I know that taste tests I’ve seen basically describe egg coffee as tasting like a cup of coffee. No different or no better than anything else. And I’m reasonably sure the history of the thing is more about making improvised coffee by the boil that shit in a pot method without having to deal with grounds. Lots of old military dudes I know talk about doing it that way in “the war”.
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Sure are.
True dat.
Thankfully only occasionally. I am a heretic and have been using the egg raft while working on pho stock, and I can get almost consomme levels of clarity. But any way you cut it, it is a lot of work for a bowl of soup.
(And of course the brisket and tendon add a sheen on top of the broth anyway so I usually shout to myself wtf am I doing this for!?)
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Its a lot easier with the chinois. While fine restraints will go chinois, then chinois with cheese cloth for perfect clarity (after the egg raft). Most restaurants get plenty clear/clean broth with just a pass through the chinois or a similarly fine strainer.
That’s why Chinese take out places always have nice clear chicken broth on hand.
I don’t own one. When I made that mushroom consume I wished I did. Dried porchinis leave an infinitesimally small grit in the broth.
When I have, “know your audience” friends around I use the other name. 
I know this is getting a tad off topic… But the last time I wanted a perfectly clear broth I lined a chinois with coffee filters.
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I was given a Nespresso machine last year that uses pods to make very drinkable, if not terrific, espresso. The quality is along the lines of a K-Cup, but it’s handy for “quick functional caffeine”, not for a gourmet cup. But it’d likely be much cheaper to just get some instant Bustelo.
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Actually I think that’s bringing us back on topic.
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Years ago I got my dad an espresso maker that was compatible with the ESE pods, though it could also use grounds. For the last few years he has used grounds, but over the holidays I brought down a box of 150 ESE pods that I had acquired (long, though not interesting story) but wasn’t using. It turns out they actually make a very decent cup of coffee, and they are very convenient, though they are slightly more wasteful than just grounds because of the packaging.
I’d rank ESE higher than Nespresso and K-cups. both for flavor and for cost. Worth considering when buying an espresso machine. Of course, the espresso machine won’t be subsidized like a Nespresso machine is.
These presses require a "coarse’ grind to mitigate the tiny stuff. Cleaning is easy: I just unscrew the three piece filter deal, rinse well, and reassemble for the next use. Just takes a minute and I always end up with clean equipment uncontaminated by some previous, older brew. Like the others here, I use it sometimes to make cold brew.
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I’ve heard good things about ESE – I know they’re very popular in Italy. If I were in the market for an espresso pod machine, I definitely wouldn’t buy a Nespresso; while its coffee is tasty, you’re forced to only purchase pods from their website in lots of 50+, which is expensive and irritating. There’s knockoff 3rd party pods, but they don’t work very well.
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That is a useful tip. Thank you.
