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Drink

After Dinner Coffee

A coffee brewed by steeping grounds in cold water, then heating gently.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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After Dinner Coffee

Ingredients

Directions

Steep

  1. Combine the coffee and ½ cup of cold water in an enameled saucepan.

  2. Cover and let stand in a cold place for 20 minutes.

Heat and serve

  1. Add 1 pint of cold water and mix well.

  2. Set the saucepan on the side of the fire and heat slowly to the boiling point without boiling.

  3. Stir a few times while heating and immediately replace the cover.

  4. Remove from heat, let settle for a moment, and strain through a cloth into a hot serving coffee pot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Freshly ground coffee
Provides the main flavor, aroma and body as its soluble compounds dissolve into the water.
Cold water
Acts as the solvent that slowly draws flavor and aroma out of the coffee grounds.

The step that matters

Heating slowly without boiling. Bringing the coffee only to the boiling point, rather than past it, limits extraction of bitter compounds and keeps the brew smooth. Covering the pan helps trap aroma and heat while it warms.

“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.

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