The Ritual

The makings for my morning ritual. Shot with Fujifilm X-E4 and a Voigtländer 27mm f/2 at f/2.8 using the HP5+ film simulation. SOOC.

Every morning, my day starts with a mug of Joe (or cup of coffee for non-aficionados). There is a ritual associated with my coffee and the tools (most of them) are displayed in the image. The tools comprise a kettle to heat water, a scale and cup to weigh beans, a press, a hand grinder, and a mug to receive the goodness from the press.

My process is:

  1. Fill the kettle with cold water while allowing hot water to flow to the faucet to warm the press and mug.
  2. Place a new paper filter into the filter ring.
  3. Weigh the beans.
  4. Moisten the beans with a fingertip dipped into the warming water of the mug.
  5. Grind the beans in my hand grinder.
  6. Empty the press of warming water and place the coffee into the press.
  7. Pour hot water into the press.
  8. Stir the mixture to wet all of the grounds.
  9. Place the filter ring onto the press.
  10. Set a timer for four minutes.
  11. At the appointed time (or a little after), invert the press onto the mug and press out the newly extracted coffee.
  12. Add some cream to the coffee and top off the mug with hot water.
  13. Utter the required assent (Ahhh…).
  14. Enjoy!

I have been using an Aeropress for a number of years now. It is easy to use and cleans up far more easily than a regular press. It has another positive characteristics — it is nearly indestructible. (Hat tip to DiL.) I generally use the inverted approach instead of placing it filter ring down on top of the mug. I think I get a better brew that way.

My current grinder is a Knock Aergrind with stainless steel burrs. It is a precise grinder that can grind very fine if desired.

My current scale is a Hario I bought from The Evil Empire. (Amazon…)

With the Peet’s dark roast, I am using about 15gm of beans to make 300ml of coffee. I am currently running 200ºF water (the boiling point at my elevation is about 205F) and four minutes for extraction. This gives me a nice rich dark roast that is very tasty with a bit of heavy cream.

I am grateful for coffee. It adds quite a bit to my life. Life is good.