AnnaCossack

There are a few habits which I don’t change during the years. Coffee is one of them.

I drink coffee as long as I remember myself. I have no special memory about the moment when I tasted coffee for the first time, so it’s as if this aromatic drink was always present in my life. I tried different ways to prepare coffee but since I bought a Nespresso machine a couple of years ago my coffee ritual became simplified and predictable. I admire Nespresso’s marketing which made of it the most popular coffee brand for the private use but I’m also terrified by its monopoly. It has been a while since I started thinking that it would be great to try some new ways of coffee making and discover new tastes and aromas.

I felt quite confused though by the large choice of the mysterious coffee devices – chemex, aeropress, coffee dripper… Even their names sounded like the chemical laboratory equipments’ names! I hesitated for a while and finally decided to address my questions to the professionals.

Cafe Lomi is the Parisian most famous coffee boutique. They roast coffee seeds by themselves, make different blends and deliver them to different coffee shops in France and abroad. Lomi organizes the long term courses for the future baristas and the two-three hours workshops for the coffee lovers. I attended one of them, a three hours workshop dedicated to the brewed coffee.

The most interesting things I learned during this coffee workshop:

1. There are two main methods of brewed coffee making which aren’t based on boiling: steeping and filtration. The main device used for steeping is a French press and an aeropress, for filtration – a chemex and a coffee dripper.

​2. The method of coffee preparation changes its taste dramatically! The same coffee blend made with different type of equipment REALLY tastes different. Honestly, I was impressed!

3. Brewed coffee contains more caffeine than coffee from the machine, even if espresso seems very strong. The secret is the time of interaction of coffee seeds with water – in a coffee machine it’s just a few seconds and in a filtration device at least one minute.

4. In general, coffees from Africa are more acid and from Latin America – sweeter and smoother, with chocolate -like and cherry-like taste. Personally I prefered the second origine.

5. Taste of coffee depends not only on the coffee brewing equipment but also on many other factors, such as a grind size, water temperature, time of mixing and even water quality! For example, a finer grind reduces the flow rate of water, which means it will stay in contact with coffee seeds longer and coffee will be stronger.

To sum up, the details matter.

I came home with a bunch of notes, a pack of freshly grinded Lomi coffee originated from Columbia and a decision to start my new coffee life by the French press which I bought a long time ago but never used properly…

Café Lomi

3 ter rue de Marcadet

75018 Paris