To Make
serves a quart of coffee; four teaspoonfuls make a quart of very good coffee for breakfastIngredients
Directions
Prepare
Set a kettle of cold water on the fire.
Place the ground coffee in the filter.
Brew
As soon as the water begins to boil, pour just enough of it over the coffee to wet it.
Put the kettle back on the fire.
At the first boiling, pour it over the coffee rather slowly, and till you have poured enough water to furnish the quantity of coffee required.
If the water does not pass through fast enough, just stop pouring for a few seconds, that is, long enough to put the kettle back on the fire and start the boiling again.
As soon as the water has passed through, the coffee is made.
Judge strength
The quantity of coffee must be according to the strength you wish it, and the quantity wanted, or according to age and constitution.
Four teaspoonfuls make a quart of very good coffee for breakfast.
It would be rather strong for children, but can be diluted to a proper state with milk.
No matter what quantity of coffee is put in the filter, the liquor must be clear; the more is used, the blacker the substance is, but it must never be muddy.
If muddy at all, be sure you have not used good coffee.
One pound of good coffee to a quart of water, should make black but clear coffee.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Ground coffee
- Provides the flavour and colour of the brew; the amount sets its strength.
- Water
- Extracts the soluble flavour from the coffee grounds as it passes through them.
The step that matters
Pouring the water slowly and keeping the flow steady. Pouring too fast can let water run through before the grounds have extracted properly, while the coffee must stay clear, not muddy, which depends on the water passing through at the right pace and on using good coffee.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Egg Coffee20 recipes
Coffee Milk12 recipes
Postum Coffee9 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.