after my recent tour of the batdorf & bronson roastery, i went on a quest to brew a better cup of coffee. i learned on the tour that there are many factors that go into a good cup of joe. these range from the quality and freshness of the coffee, to using the proper ratio of grounds/water, to hitting the ideal brewing temperature of 205°. the problem is most consumer coffeemakers never reach such high temperatures. for that, you need a hand-brewed method where you are in full control and as much as i love my french press, it sounded like a pour over coffeepot was the way to go.

after a little research, i decided on the stylish chemex coffeepot. it’s both a great coffeemaker and a beautiful piece of design, even 70+ years after its creation. plus it only set me back $31.95 at dancing goats in decatur. i did have to buy special chemex filters for it, but they were just $5.95 for a 100 pack, which wasn’t that bad.

for my inaugural pot, i picked up some nice costa rica la minita del sol coffee. the description on the bag was “full bodied & sparkling sweet, maple, almond & orange juice,” which sounded interesting. the beans were 100% sun dried instead of fully washed, like most central american beans, so it’s supposed to be fairly unique.

the brewing process was pretty easy to follow. i put a chemex filter into the top of the coffeepot and added a tbsp of freshly ground coffee for each 5 oz cup, 8 tbsp for a full pot. i boiled 40 oz of water and removed it from heat for roughly 20 seconds until it reached ~205°. i then wet the grounds with 4 oz of water and let “bloom” for 30-40 seconds. from there i added the rest of the water, making sure not to overflow, and composted the spent grounds. voilà, the perfect cup of coffee!

the results were definitely worth the effort! the coffee had that fresh, strong taste you get from a french press, but seemed cleaner and less-bitter since the oils and sediment were filtered out. it was a nice, crisp cup of coffee where I could actually distinguish some of the descriptive characteristics. i wouldn’t say i sensed the orange juice, but i picked up some sweet and nutty elements, especially when sampled next to a cup of french roast. it was some of the better coffee i’ve made at home!

on top of that, the actual coffeepot is gorgeous and looks great on the countertop! it’s on permanent display at moma and was featured in the modern by design exhibit at the high museum of art, further proving its elegance.

for more thorough brewing instructions, or to check out some great mid-century illustrations, head to the chemex website. there are also some slightly different brewing instructions offered from dancing goat, although i tried this method and didn’t care for it. it used almost twice the coffee and was a little strong for my taste.

enjoy!

– ryan

dancing goats coffee bar

419 west ponce de leon ave
decatur, ga 30030
404-687-1100

i ended up going to the decatur craft beer festival this year with my buddy willy! there were lots of great beer for the tasting, although it’s always a gamble drinking that much between noon and 5pm on a saturday. i know it’s boring, but my highlights were sierra nevada’s northern hemisphere harvest and estate homegrown ale on tap!

– ryan

i recently spent a nice fall afternoon brewing a couple batches of beer with some friends! it had been awhile since i’ve brewed, so i was excited to get back into the swing of things.

we made a bell’s two hearted clone and a pumpkin amber, although we had to substitute some ingredients on the two hearted. the ipa ended up being 9.6% (wohoo!) and the pumpkin amber a respectable 5.2%!

here is the bottle rocket brewing website if you want to check out previous beers i’ve been a part of.

– ryan

brewing recipes:

pumpkin amber ingredients:
5-8 large okra sliced

egg wash:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1 lb caramel/crystal malt (10l)
6.6 lbs amber sparkling lme
2 oz willamette pellet hops
1/2 oz fuggles hops (dry hop)
wyeast 1098 british ale
2 tbsp pumpkin spice (2 tsp dry hop)

two hearted clone ingredients:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1/2 lb munich
1/2 lb carapils
6.6 lbs golden light lme
2.3 lbs pilsen light lme
4 oz amarillo hops (centinnial was the hop we wanted)
1 oz cascade hops (dry hop)
white labs high gravity yeast

once upon a time, my buddy willy and i brewed quite a bit of beer under the name bottle rocket brewing. we hosted gatherings where we grilled out and shared our beer with friends. summertime favorites were our watermelon wheat and orange cream ale, both went quickly when we had them on tap.

most of our friends also chipped in and designed labels for our beers. the labels were a big part of the fun we had! you can see all of the different label designs on the bottle rocket website, or flip through them here.

although it’s been awhile since i’ve brewed, i hope to get back to brewing soon!

– ryan