Can I dampen my coffee grounds the night before?
October 23, 2018 4:13 PM Subscribe
Short version: I'd like to spritz the coffee in my drip machine the night before. It will brew automatically in the am.
I am trying to improve the flavor (and body).
**Please do not bother telling me to get up earlier and do a pourover/frenchpress/Aeropress/etc.
OK, so my old Delonghi drip machine died after 10 years. Made solid brew coffee for the a.m. commute. It had an "Aroma" setting, which essentially brewed it in an on-off-on-off fashion, and it took about 20 minutes total. The flavor was really nice.
So I bought the new machine, but no "Aroma" setting. After brewing now for a month, the coffee is... ok. Thinner mouthfeel, less nuanced flavor profile. Tastes like coffee I could buy at McDonald's.
So I'm hoping to conveniently replicate the effect of the old machine. Is it possible that spritzing/dampening the grounds the night before will "bloom" it and bring out a richer flavor by the time it actually brews in the morning?
(Also, will it breed bacteria, etc.?)
OK, so my old Delonghi drip machine died after 10 years. Made solid brew coffee for the a.m. commute. It had an "Aroma" setting, which essentially brewed it in an on-off-on-off fashion, and it took about 20 minutes total. The flavor was really nice.
So I bought the new machine, but no "Aroma" setting. After brewing now for a month, the coffee is... ok. Thinner mouthfeel, less nuanced flavor profile. Tastes like coffee I could buy at McDonald's.
So I'm hoping to conveniently replicate the effect of the old machine. Is it possible that spritzing/dampening the grounds the night before will "bloom" it and bring out a richer flavor by the time it actually brews in the morning?
(Also, will it breed bacteria, etc.?)
Yeah, I doubt this'll do anything. Feel free to give it a try (I soak grounds at room temp for cold-brewed coffee so safety-wise it's probably fine) but I'd bet it'll do nothing.
I'll try to refrain from suggesting other methods for coffee-making. Really the best you can do is experiment with beans, grind size, and amount of grounds. A random suggestion is to add a sprinkle of cinnamon or cardamom to the grounds, which adds complexity to the flavor (but is subtle and nuanced as long as you only use a bit)
posted by ersatzhuman at 5:09 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'll try to refrain from suggesting other methods for coffee-making. Really the best you can do is experiment with beans, grind size, and amount of grounds. A random suggestion is to add a sprinkle of cinnamon or cardamom to the grounds, which adds complexity to the flavor (but is subtle and nuanced as long as you only use a bit)
posted by ersatzhuman at 5:09 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I say go for it! Experiment proudly!
This is how we discover things. What can really go wrong? I will buy you a cup of coffee if this somehow ruins your pot of coffee.
Fractional distillation, partial melting, specific heat, percolation, ionic and nonionic solution and decoction: science of coffee and tea is super complex, best to just try techniques if they have low cost and might make you a better brew.
There is no safety concern in my book: this is an acidic bath of compounds that are used by the plant as preservatives.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:25 PM on October 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
This is how we discover things. What can really go wrong? I will buy you a cup of coffee if this somehow ruins your pot of coffee.
Fractional distillation, partial melting, specific heat, percolation, ionic and nonionic solution and decoction: science of coffee and tea is super complex, best to just try techniques if they have low cost and might make you a better brew.
There is no safety concern in my book: this is an acidic bath of compounds that are used by the plant as preservatives.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:25 PM on October 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Agreed with quince and ersatzhuman - the "aroma" setting sounds like it increased the resident time of the hot water and did a longer "solvent extraction" process.
It definitely won't be the same but increasing grinds quantity and grind fineness will help. Also, fresh-grinding immediately before brewing may also help.
You're using a decent burr grinder, right? You get a much more consistent grain size than with the chopper grinders which gives you powder to pebbles in terms of grain size. Some choppers can sometimes also "cook" your beans leaving them less aromatic.
One thing you might try - your coffee machine stops dripping when you remove the carafe right? If it's reliable, you can start the brew, remove the carafe, and time putting the carafe back in before it overflows.
posted by porpoise at 5:33 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
It definitely won't be the same but increasing grinds quantity and grind fineness will help. Also, fresh-grinding immediately before brewing may also help.
You're using a decent burr grinder, right? You get a much more consistent grain size than with the chopper grinders which gives you powder to pebbles in terms of grain size. Some choppers can sometimes also "cook" your beans leaving them less aromatic.
One thing you might try - your coffee machine stops dripping when you remove the carafe right? If it's reliable, you can start the brew, remove the carafe, and time putting the carafe back in before it overflows.
posted by porpoise at 5:33 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Yes, porpoise -- I was thinking about a manual start-stop maneuver... but again... at 5am, that likely ain't gonna happen.
Ok folks, sounds like tonight... we experiment!
posted by counterfugue at 6:08 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ok folks, sounds like tonight... we experiment!
posted by counterfugue at 6:08 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seconding quince. Add more coffee. I use about 1/2 cup of Maxwell House for 4 cups as printed on the carafe.
posted by 8603 at 6:11 PM on October 23, 2018
posted by 8603 at 6:11 PM on October 23, 2018
To answer your final sub-question, I doubt it'll make you sick. The caffeine in coffee is pretty toxic to microorganisms.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:15 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:15 PM on October 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, misting the grounds won't do anything, sorry. (Source: I used to be a barista at a fancy-schmancy third-wave place.) I nth increasing the amount of coffee you brew with, and grinding it finer - I like very strong coffee and find the recommendations for most drip pots just create a kind of weak, flavorless coffee water. There's also an old trick I haven't seen anyone mention -- add salt! Not very much, just a sprinkle, but it should give you a smoother brew. (Chicory is another add-on, although I have no idea how you'd get ahold of ground chicory, but that's traditional in New Orleans coffee, I think.)
posted by kalimac at 6:27 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kalimac at 6:27 PM on October 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Here's a potential way to approximate what your old machine did: first, find out how your coffee maker behaves if its power is cut and restored mid-brew. If you turn it on, then unplug it and plug it back in, does it keep brewing? If not, never mind. If so, good, keep reading. Now, get one of those outlet timers like you'd use to run Christmas lights, and plug the coffee maker into that. Set the timer up to turn on half an hour before you want to get up, run for the minimum time the timer allows, and turn off again, then turn on again and stay on right before your wake up time. Now you can turn on the coffee maker before bed, get it running using the timer and immediately turn it off (again, using the switch on the timer to cut power,) and in the morning your grounds will get a hot water presoak for longer extraction.
posted by contraption at 6:32 PM on October 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by contraption at 6:32 PM on October 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Is it possible that spritzing/dampening the grounds the night before will "bloom" it and bring out a richer flavor by the time it actually brews in the morning?
No. This is much more a function of dose and contact time than a bloom. Pre-wetting (blooming) the grounds is specifically done in certain espresso, and brewed coffee preparations to allow water to pass through the coffee bed faster and more evenly.
So I bought the new machine, but no "Aroma" setting. After brewing now for a month, the coffee is... ok. Thinner mouthfeel, less nuanced flavor profile. Tastes like coffee I could buy at McDonald's.
You are describing an over-extraction of coffee (whereas, if you're experiencing sour, thick...dare I say, 'bold' flavors, you're likely dealing with under-extraction). Grinding finer will likely exacerbate this problem, counterintuitively. The smaller the particles will dissolve solids quicker into the water. You will slow your brew time slightly, yes, but that contact time paired with a finer grind will just double down on the overextraction and make the problem worse. I would isolate the easiest to control variable in most coffee setups; the dose.
If you have a kitchen scale, this is easier, and only needs to be done once, but you can do it with volumetric measurements as well. Run your brewer without coffee in it. Measure how much water it produces (weight is best, but a measuring cup with metric measurements works too). Divide that number by 16 (or 17 on the outside). This is your dose in whatever measurement you're rolling. Once you have this number, then you can start monkeying around with grind size...but really if you're using pre-ground coffee, or coffee ground in a grocery store machine set on 'flat bottom drip' this is going to get you damn close to an appropriate extraction. You can up, or down dose as you see fit, but this will get you a really nice balanced cup.
Also, will it breed bacteria, etc.?
It's not likely dangerous, but it is possible. If I thought it would produce a good cup, I would do it, but as a 10 year old veteran of the coffee industry, I don't think it will. As others have said, it probably won't make you sick, but the idea that a coffee bed is nigh sterile after wetting is not correct. Plenty of things live in/on that coffee, and making it wet allows for more things to live in/on it. The fact that coffee plants use caffeine as an offensive chemical weapon (against bugs mostly, not bacteria), does not mean the same is true for all microorganisms.
As others have argued, a better grinder is often more important...the argument can be made that pre-ground coffee (from a good grinder) is better than fresh ground whirley blade choppers. And sadly, fact is, there's precious few good coffee brewers out there. I highly recommend this one, as does the wirecutter. (or, more accurately, it's their budget pick...that delivers better coffee than their first pick). For home use it's really great.
posted by furnace.heart at 6:52 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
No. This is much more a function of dose and contact time than a bloom. Pre-wetting (blooming) the grounds is specifically done in certain espresso, and brewed coffee preparations to allow water to pass through the coffee bed faster and more evenly.
So I bought the new machine, but no "Aroma" setting. After brewing now for a month, the coffee is... ok. Thinner mouthfeel, less nuanced flavor profile. Tastes like coffee I could buy at McDonald's.
You are describing an over-extraction of coffee (whereas, if you're experiencing sour, thick...dare I say, 'bold' flavors, you're likely dealing with under-extraction). Grinding finer will likely exacerbate this problem, counterintuitively. The smaller the particles will dissolve solids quicker into the water. You will slow your brew time slightly, yes, but that contact time paired with a finer grind will just double down on the overextraction and make the problem worse. I would isolate the easiest to control variable in most coffee setups; the dose.
If you have a kitchen scale, this is easier, and only needs to be done once, but you can do it with volumetric measurements as well. Run your brewer without coffee in it. Measure how much water it produces (weight is best, but a measuring cup with metric measurements works too). Divide that number by 16 (or 17 on the outside). This is your dose in whatever measurement you're rolling. Once you have this number, then you can start monkeying around with grind size...but really if you're using pre-ground coffee, or coffee ground in a grocery store machine set on 'flat bottom drip' this is going to get you damn close to an appropriate extraction. You can up, or down dose as you see fit, but this will get you a really nice balanced cup.
Also, will it breed bacteria, etc.?
It's not likely dangerous, but it is possible. If I thought it would produce a good cup, I would do it, but as a 10 year old veteran of the coffee industry, I don't think it will. As others have said, it probably won't make you sick, but the idea that a coffee bed is nigh sterile after wetting is not correct. Plenty of things live in/on that coffee, and making it wet allows for more things to live in/on it. The fact that coffee plants use caffeine as an offensive chemical weapon (against bugs mostly, not bacteria), does not mean the same is true for all microorganisms.
As others have argued, a better grinder is often more important...the argument can be made that pre-ground coffee (from a good grinder) is better than fresh ground whirley blade choppers. And sadly, fact is, there's precious few good coffee brewers out there. I highly recommend this one, as does the wirecutter. (or, more accurately, it's their budget pick...that delivers better coffee than their first pick). For home use it's really great.
posted by furnace.heart at 6:52 PM on October 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
For what it's worth... our Krups melita filter drip machine also has this 'aroma' setting. We got it because it has an insulated carafe and the melita filter. The standard setting makes insipid barely flavored hot water. The aroma setting makes reasonable coffee, but takes three times as long.
posted by cfraenkel at 7:22 PM on October 23, 2018
posted by cfraenkel at 7:22 PM on October 23, 2018
If you're willing to buy a new machine, some will bloom the grounds for you. I have a Behmor Brazen:
http://behmor.com/brazen-plus/
posted by counterfeitfake at 6:25 AM on October 24, 2018
http://behmor.com/brazen-plus/
posted by counterfeitfake at 6:25 AM on October 24, 2018
(I know you said "don't say pourover" but I think people have an exaggerated view of how long it takes to make coffee in a Chemex. Yeah, it's more time than pushing a button, but it's not like it's rocket science.)
posted by uberchet at 7:38 AM on October 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by uberchet at 7:38 AM on October 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
kalimac: (Chicory is another add-on, although I have no idea how you'd get ahold of ground chicory, but that's traditional in New Orleans coffee, I think.)
If you want to try chicory, many grocery stores sell Cafe du Monde-branded coffee with chicory...as does Amazon, here.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:05 PM on October 24, 2018
If you want to try chicory, many grocery stores sell Cafe du Monde-branded coffee with chicory...as does Amazon, here.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:05 PM on October 24, 2018
I fell down a rabbit hole and discovered something like these.
It's basically a grounds bag for coffee and you can let it steep in hot water however long you want.
You could try to fit one over a big mug/ beaker to replace the carafe (you might have to jimmy the auto-plug open) and just brew hot water into that. Let sit for a while after its done, then just lift the sleeve out.
Or use an electric kettle to heat up water. If you don't have one, they can be had for pretty cheap and you don't need anything fancy to boil water fast.
Originally discovered as a random dollar item while browsing a liquidation discounter (ie, a dollar store without a set inventory).
Sounds like they'd be a pita to clean, though.
Or heck, there are semi-disposable empty teabags that you can fill with your own loose leaf. If you can find some with a fine enough mesh, that could be a convenient and cost effective solution. Sealing it might be a challenge, though.
posted by porpoise at 7:49 PM on October 24, 2018
It's basically a grounds bag for coffee and you can let it steep in hot water however long you want.
You could try to fit one over a big mug/ beaker to replace the carafe (you might have to jimmy the auto-plug open) and just brew hot water into that. Let sit for a while after its done, then just lift the sleeve out.
Or use an electric kettle to heat up water. If you don't have one, they can be had for pretty cheap and you don't need anything fancy to boil water fast.
Originally discovered as a random dollar item while browsing a liquidation discounter (ie, a dollar store without a set inventory).
Sounds like they'd be a pita to clean, though.
Or heck, there are semi-disposable empty teabags that you can fill with your own loose leaf. If you can find some with a fine enough mesh, that could be a convenient and cost effective solution. Sealing it might be a challenge, though.
posted by porpoise at 7:49 PM on October 24, 2018
Definately experiment. I make morning cup of coffee like a heathen. Right amount of beans in the cheesy blade grinder, one mug of water in the drip machine, beans get grind grind shake grind tap and shake and another pulse and into the filter they go, brew directly into the mug that poured the water. Single Mug of Coffee. Try making one mug instead of a pot. A full mug in the pot lets enough be absorbed and held by the grounds to make an almost but not quit full mug of coffee. Adjust the amount of beans and how much you grind and shake before tossing them into the filter. You can make that cup of coffee almost anything just by changing up the amount of beans and how much you grind.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:29 AM on October 25, 2018
posted by zengargoyle at 3:29 AM on October 25, 2018
I have a very basic Zojirushi drip coffee maker that I love, but I find that sometimes the coffee seems weaker than it should. When I'm able to time it right, stirring the grounds in the middle of the drip/steep phase provides bloom & seems to give better flavor.
Years of coffee/barista experience leads me to agree with all the above suggestions for finer grind/more coffee as well. But a quick stir while it's brewing could be a simple fix.
posted by dryad at 7:37 PM on October 25, 2018
Years of coffee/barista experience leads me to agree with all the above suggestions for finer grind/more coffee as well. But a quick stir while it's brewing could be a simple fix.
posted by dryad at 7:37 PM on October 25, 2018
Regarding the ease of pour-over, I think the limiting factor there is the strength of your kettle. I grew up in the US but have spent the majority of my adult life in London, and the power and convenience of the 3kW kettles here are the reason I switched to pour-over (just a cheap Japanese V60 set, not a fancy-pants name-brand Chemex objet d'art). It's an equation that goes against having One More Thing on our kitchen counter, and the ability to brew straight into a mug is handy when I'm alone.
But in the US, I can absolutely see that it's not worth the trouble to play the pour-over game. I used to have an electric kettle I picked up at Goodwill in San Francisco, and it took 15 minutes to come to a boil. I'm sure you can get better ones, but unlikely to be the powerhouses that cause trouble for the UK power grid on the regular (though apparently less than I thought!).
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:46 AM on October 26, 2018
But in the US, I can absolutely see that it's not worth the trouble to play the pour-over game. I used to have an electric kettle I picked up at Goodwill in San Francisco, and it took 15 minutes to come to a boil. I'm sure you can get better ones, but unlikely to be the powerhouses that cause trouble for the UK power grid on the regular (though apparently less than I thought!).
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 1:46 AM on October 26, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by quince at 4:48 PM on October 23, 2018 [9 favorites]