Whist Drive 2011/12

We gathered at Jeni’s on 30th December for the Annual Ruston Whist Drive: a highlight of the festive season for some 30(?) years or so. All the usual suspects were present, and it was the usual suspects who bagged the main prizes: Terry won (again) and Paul was not far behind. There was even a play-off for last place which I think was won(?) by Annette. Twas a lot of fun as always and great to see everyone!

Fresh As…

Did you realise you could enjoy The Freshest Coffee in the World, anytime you like? Here’s how…

Really fresh coffee is like fresh bread – so unbelieeevably good you’ll wonder how you ever put up with the plastic stuff. And it’s not difficult to make: ‘slow-roasted coffee’ is just a marketing slogan – all it takes is 10 minutes in a good hot oven.

Forget £200 home-roasters, all you really need is a £40 electric coffee mill – available from JohnLewis, of course 😉 I’ve been buying raw beans from JamesGourmetCoffee.co.uk for over a year now and roasting at home in our electric fan-oven, and now I can’t buy ground coffee any more – it just doesn’t cut it…!

The raw ‘green’ beans are frankly unpromising: small, silver-grey-green, rock hard and seemingly inert. I can’t imagine how anyone ever thought you could use these things to produce the world’s most popular hot drink. But after ten minutes at 230 degrees C the transformation is complete: out come little shiny brown, crunchy nuggets of the most intense and recognisable flavour.

Place a handful or two on a baking tray and after 4 minutes or so you’ll start to notice that acrid, bitter smell of real coffee roasting – if you’re my age or older you’ll recognise the smell from walking past Cawardines on Whiteladies Road or wherever… Another minute and you’ll hear the first few beans pop and crack as they expand and shed their outer skin (the ‘silverskin’).

DON’T be tempted to open the oven door as the temperature drop will ruin the process. Be patient… it doesn’t take long. Nine minutes should give you a medium roast, ten medium-dark and so on. All ovens are different so it will take a bit of trial and error, but go for less time and more heat rather than longer in the oven.

Once the time’s up the beans need to be chilled immediately to stop the roasting process – I put them straight in the freezer in a metal colander for a minute or two. Discard the now papery-brown ‘silverskin’ – which contributes nothing to the flavour – and then grind before brewing your coffee however you normally do… Enjoy!!

Next time: more about the roasting process…

---

Below: Krups GVX231 Burr Mill Grinder, see here… Don’t be tempted to buy a £20 blade ‘grinder’ – they really don’t work. A consistent grind is absolutely crucial for all brewing methods.

You can’t go wrong with a Moka pot… 😛