Need way to get intense coffee flavor

[Hercule]

That's a great comment and I should have led with that. He's a bit strange and super picky. TBH, I keep a stache of Nescafe when I'm feeling lazy or want a frappe.

I'd love to find an instant coffee that actually tasted like real coffee and actually tasted good. It would be so much more convenient at work. (though the Japanese pour over set up I use isn't THAT onerous). My experience has been that they tend to be very acidic and considerably less than robust in flavor. That might be fine if I used cream and sugar* but I prefer it black. I'm also loathe to do lot of testing to find a good one. They're not exactly cheap to be making only a cup or two out of only to find out it's horrible.

I have fond memories of enjoying as a young kid, taster's choice with coffeemate and gobs of sugar! Tasted much like coffee ice-cream much as I remember.

 

[Tirvine]

Find a jar of Medaglia d'Oro instant.

 

[Frito Ray]

Started testing.

This afternoon put 10 grams of ground espresso beans in two cups. Added 50 ml of cold tap water to one and 50ml of the magic 85*C hot water in the other and covered them with Saran Wrap. Plan to wait 24 hours and see how they taste.

I also got interested by the previously suggested coffee guy videos and watched a few. According to him a simple solution to getting a stronger cup of coffee from a moka pot was to use less water in the tank…darn it that is so simple, feel dumb for not thinking of it! So I will try that too at the same time I taste the ones in the two cups.

For the heck of it, I will also run part of the moka pot coffee through the pour over funnel and see if it can make me go crosseyed.

 

[EdHeart]

I'd love to find an instant coffee that actually tasted like real coffee and actually tasted good. It would be so much more convenient at work. (though the Japanese pour over set up I use isn't THAT onerous). My experience has been that they tend to be very acidic and considerably less than robust in flavor. That might be fine if I used cream and sugar* but I prefer it black. I'm also loathe to do lot of testing to find a good one. They're not exactly cheap to be making only a cup or two out of only to find out it's horrible.

I have fond memories of enjoying as a young kid, taster's choice with coffeemate and gobs of sugar! Tasted much like coffee ice-cream much as I remember.

Not sure if this will satisfy the request. Mount Hagen is an organic freeze dried coffee and is...mmmm okay. In a pinch it works, though it is still not as robust as a brewed cuppa. They put out a jar and individually portioned sticks/packets. The sticks are a nice way to travel and grab a cup in the airport or hotel. I will only drink organic coffee for a a variety of reasons.

I drink decaf and brewed its flavor is considerably better than the freeze dried version. If memory serves the regular version of this coffee is only a tad better flavor wise than the decaf, but still not a traditionally brewed cup.

When I had an office and drank regular coffee daily my set up was: Electric kettle, filtered water I brought from home, Melita cone, a coffee mug that allowed the Melita sit comfortably without being wobbly, unbleached filters.

I rather enjoyed the smell of freshly brewing coffee in the office. If memory serves this aroma triggers something in your brain to help you wake up: nice side benefit for brewing a cup in your office.

Enjoy...

 

[Frito Ray]

testing.

This afternoon put 10 grams of ground espresso beans in two cups. Added 50 ml of cold tap water to one and 50ml of the magic 85*C hot water in the other and covered them with Saran Wrap. Plan to wait 24 hours and see how they taste…

After 24 hours, both were strong, but not moka pot strong. The one brewed in cold water was bitter and unpleasant. The hot water one was a lot more palatable but both had an incomplete mouth feel…sorry I’m not a coffee nerd and can’t describe it any better.

The low water moka pot brew that was immediately passed through a pour over cone was very strong and surprisingly good. A complete whole mouth feel. I used it to make a small batch of icing and it is much better than last time.

I’ll eventually try it with a second pass through a cone just out of curiosity, but as it currently stands it is very good.

 

[EdHeart]

@Frito Ray You've struck upon the real key: quality of the product matters for the final iteration of whatever you're making. Glad you shared this experiment and the results.

I'm not sure what chemical components make for mouth feel, though it is definitely a real thing. I would have to guess it is the result of how complete an extraction you get from the good components that make up good flavor. It is also affected by the amount of dilution. Too much and you feel diminishes too little and you might end up too bitter, too strong/imbalance. There's definitely a sweet spot for this and you found it.

Way cool.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

If I was doing this, I'd first brew a fresh pour over and then toss those grounds. Grind up another batch beans, reheat the coffee and pour that over your ground coffee. Repeat until you reach the desired strength.

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

For any cooking/baking purposes Camp coffee and chicory essence is fantastic. Full of flavour, easy to use and gives very consistent results.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

never tried this my selfs, but i would make a strong brew however you make it, then boil off the water a k a reduce it
works with other cooking things [i hate runny gravey for eggzample]

 

[Frito Ray]

…chicory essence is fantastic…

Chicory is something that I’ve always been meaning to try but never got around to it. I’ve heard that it was a lot more common during the war to stretch out coffee and some folks actually preferred it.

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

In a cup of coffee it adds a bitterness I'm not too keen on. It works very well in baking, however, when the flavout comes through without the sharp edge. In the UK it's usually stocked in the baking section of shops, and I've only known one person who's bought it to make hot drinks with.

 

[Frito Ray]

In the UK it's usually stocked in the baking section of shops

I’ll keep an eye out for it, though I’ve never seen it in run-of-the-mill grocery stores here in Canada. There are a few specialty shops I could visit though.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

$6.00AUD so CAD be a bit less, good stuff that

 

[Frito Ray]

good stuff that

Will keep an eye out

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

$6.00AUD so CAD be a bit less, good stuff that

Looks very much the same idea as Camp. Quite an old fashioned product, but then this is B&B.

 

[PintoPlain]

I’ll keep an eye out for it, though I’ve never seen it in run-of-the-mill grocery stores here in Canada. There are a few specialty shops I could visit though.

Late to the thread, sorry. Do you have shops selling Polish products locally? There is a drink called inka which is made from chicory. It is a powder similar to instant coffee and made in a similar fashion.

Back to the original question, I would also use an instant coffee. Despite the inherent bitterness, it is ok for icing as icing sugar is required.

If actual coffee is preferred, a stronger brew is required. This can be by running a mokka coffee through a pour over, or reducing brewed coffee over heat. I wouldn't recommend the second option as it is very easy to burn the coffee and create an unpleasant taste.

If real coffee is to be used, I'd suggest a dark roast Vietnamese robusta, or a dark Brazilian arabica if the robusta isn't an option.

 

[Frito Ray]

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately no, no Polish shop around. Will keep an eye out for Inka though….easy to remember being a homonym of Inca.

This can be by running a mokka coffee through a pour over

Exactly what I ended up doing, see post 25