Lithuanian coffee experts, who triumphed at the traditional Tallinn coffee festival, say that often “pour-over coffee” is undeservedly written off.
You only need to know the essential rules and you can enjoy quality coffee at home.
Three elements are most important – quality coffee beans, a coffee grinder and a properly selected style/method of coffee preparation.
The representatives of Lithuania dismissed all the participants latte art and coffee tasting categories, beating 30 baristas from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania competing for the titles.
For the first time in the eight-year history of the Tallinn Coffee Festival, both championship titles were shared by representatives of the Italala Caffe cafe from Lithuania.
Latte art category was won by Vilius Astrauskis, whose milk foam design stood out for its accuracy and aesthetics, and in the category of coffee tasting, his colleague Miglė Lukoševičiūtė received the title of the most spicy barista.
According to experts, everyone can make something at home that they like personally – it is very individual. But the decisive elements are the same.
When is it roasted?
“First of all, good raw material. Even if you have the best machine, but bad coffee, you won’t win anything. For quality coffee, look for the roasting date on the coffee packet.
Ideally, the coffee should be roasted no later than three months ago, a month would be perfect. The expiration date is less relevant, as coffee is legally valid for two years. Also, if you want high-quality coffee, the country of origin should be indicated on the package,” says V. Astrauskis.
According to V. Astrauskis, freshness is important for coffee, so in order to make good coffee, it is important to have a grinder. Because ground coffee dries easily and releases its aroma. After all, we don’t think of perfume as an uncorked bottle, adds the barista wittily.
It is also important to find your own way of making coffee.
“Start with cafes – taste the difference between one method and another. Taste it, talk to the baristas, feel free to ask questions. First, it’s important to figure out if you’re an espresso person or a lighter coffee person. If you’re an espresso type who likes a more intense flavor, then start with a mocha coffee maker at home. And if you like a “lighter” coffee taste, go for it aeropress or a push-down cafe french press“, experts indicate simple and inexpensive ways to make coffee at home.
Let’s press coffee instead of tea!
According to M. Lukoševičiūtė, Lithuanians too often “write off” themselves because they drink coffee poured into a cup. And it can be made with quality and enjoyed.
“The home of a common Lithuanian has a so-called French press – it’s not uncommon for a coffee press to be used for brewing tea, not coffee. Have you thought that you can prepare coffee instead of tea this way? How to prepare it correctly in this way? Coffee in a French cafe is very close to being brewed in a cup.
However, in order to have a maximum quality drink, you need to know the basic rules. Choose the water temperature according to the coffee, keep the poured coffee for a certain time, remove the foam formed on the coffee”, comments M. Lukoševičiūtė.
According to her, it is best to drink pour-over coffee in a push-down coffee maker after eight minutes. After staying longer, it becomes bitter.
There is no single answer to what temperature water to pour ground coffee over: “If the coffee is roasted darker, you should choose cooler water. Just wait at least 5 minutes after boiling. If the coffee is light brown, roasted for a shorter time, then you can pour freshly boiled water.”
Hot water acts as an activator of chemical reactions here. Since dark roasted coffee is not only more bitter, but also more soluble, it does not need to be strongly activated.
Cooler water will allow the flavor to develop slowly, making the coffee less bitter. Well, light roasted coffee should be activated. By pouring freshly boiled water, we will get a more intense taste, more sweetness, coffee experts comment.
“I would also recommend removing the resulting foam. Although it looks pretty, what you’re seeing is CO2 gas, a byproduct of coffee roasting. Until the coffee is poured, this gas keeps the coffee pores “locked” and helps keep the coffee fresher for longer.
Only when the coffee is poured does the CO2 erupt and froth. The natural taste of the foam is quite bitter, so it is best to just remove it,” says M. Lukoševičiūtė.
