Thank you @zyd for the request, and IndieWebClub Bangalore for the prompt that sort-of points to it.
You probably don’t need coffee explained to you. It’s the most popular drug delivery mechanism in the world, and could be considered the lifeblood of modern civilisation (or at least jobs-oriented capitalism). That is to say, you might consume, or be surrounded by people who consume the liquid. Most people use it just as a way to receive the alertness that comes with ingesting caffeine. It can also add a sort of roast-y and rich flavour to popular food items like your tiramisus, affogatos, and caramel macchiatos. I also like coffee a lot (check out my domain drew.coffee if you’re not reading this over there), but without any adornments like milk, sweeteners, or additional flavour. This does cause a bit of surprise to anyone visiting my home or hanging out at a café with me, due to the assumption that coffee on its own tastes pretty bad, which in turn still surprises me a little.
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted and ground coffee beans, coffee beans being the seed of the Coffea plants. They’re not actually beans, since they’re not a legume, but the point is they come from a fruit. Coffee thus actually has a quite fruity flavour when not roasted too darkly (and even then you can taste a hint), along with an assortment of other flavours due to the content of the soil, how the plant was grown, the altitude, and so on.
Why you think coffee tastes like charcoal on its own
The reason why most people associate coffee with a stronger roast and the distinct flavour that comes with it is because:
- Strongly roasted beans last a smidge longer without going bad
- The fruity and aromatic flavours of a lighter roast go away much quicker when stored
- When you’re selling coffee at a large-scale business like starbucks, you want your base ingredient to taste consistent, and a strong roast burns away all the uniqueness of the seeds, and you just taste the roast.
- People assume a stronger roasted coffee contains more caffeine (the opposite is true)
- It tastes better with milk drinks, since the flavour cuts through the milk and other things one might add to the drink.
- Darker roasted beans are easier to work with for espressos, which are the most popular drink base in cafés.
Craft (or specialty) coffee
Ever heard a sommelier talk about wine? Each estate and vintage is supposed to have its own unique characteristics which you can taste (though the jury’s out on whether sommeliers are faking it for attention). They taste different because they were grown on different soil and atmospheric conditions, and processed a bit differently after harvest. The same applies to coffee. When you treat the coffee itself as the end-goal and not a necessary evil you need to get your dose of stimulants, there’s a lot which you can play with. You can taste the intrinsic flavours of the bean itself (though this is a bit subtle), the way in which it was prepared for roasting (some methods aim to clear as much fruit as effectively as possible, leading to a clearer coffee flavour, while others ferment with the skin on or media like honey), and even aging. There’s a world of experiences when consuming coffee this way, and you could go your whole life without tasting every possible method. And after you get a bit accustomed to it, you will be able to taste the flavour notes of each bag or cup of coffee you get from a specialty coffee shop. Those are usually noted on the menu, such as various fruits, chocolate, and other yummy things. If you’re used to dark-roasted coffee this might seem like a bit of hogwash, but it’s real.
How to get into it
The first order of business is to figure out whether you even like coffee on its own. There’s no shame in it if you don’t. Look up specialty coffee + your city/neighbourhood in your search engine of choice, and go to the friendly barista and tell them you’d like to try a manual pour. Maybe you can talk to them and figure out what exactly you’re looking for. If you have a friend who’s into specialty coffee, that’s perfect because they’re probably going to froth at their mouth when faced with the idea of inducting someone else into the hobby. If you don’t like it, and you trust that the person who prepared it did not screw up, you may stop.
The rest of this post is a short description of how you can make specialty coffee, but Hiran has a wonderful in-depth post on the same topic that might suit you better and help you decide things. Coffee Brewing 101 by Hiran
If you want to brew coffee at home, there’s not much in the way of requirements! You just need:
- Coffee grounds
- A way to heat water
- A way to filter out the grounds when brewed.
You can get pre-ground coffee anywhere, just look for a lighter roast ground a bit course if all you have is a sieve (otherwise you’ll get grounds in the end product; not the best accouterment). Once you decide you like coffee enough to invest in making it at home, here’s the equipment you’ll be happy you have:
- A conical-burr grinder. Pre-ground coffee is good, but this is fresher. It's a tiny bit pricier than a blade grinder, but grinds the coffee more evenly, meaning the pieces all brew at the same rate. Otherwise you might get the coffee a bit sour at spots, and bitter at others.
- A coffee maker like a french press.
- A scale to figure out what ratio of coffee to water you enjoy (there are recommendations, but your taste is unique).
Good luck, and send me an email if you try specialty coffee.