The additive haters won me over. I tried a long black today, and I’ll give it another week or so and see how I go!
The taste is good, but it lacks the body/mouthfeel that I’m used to, which I think is what I most struggle with, but I’m hoping that will change as I get used to it!
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Victory!
Enjoy your coffee! Now’s a great chance to experiment with different roasts.
I recently started doing something similar with my cold brew. I found that I actually prefer either a lot of creamer or no creamer. The middle ground of some or a little creamer just doesn’t taste right to me. One unexpected benefit is that omitting creamer has made rinsing/washing my cup much easier.
Creamer isn’t a thing in Australia, so I’m entirely unfamiliar with it.
That being said, it’s the cafe coffees I’ve been trying to change, and there I normally have flat whites or lattes, which are a lot of milk!
Milk adds a fair bit of sweetness and hides a lot of sins in the coffee process.
If it’s been slightly burned or the machine/grinder aren’t really clean then milk will cover that. Black…it’s all out there.
If you can ask them for 3 or 4 seconds of hot water from the group and then float the espresso shot on top and stir. Makes for a great cafe option.
You don’t want water from the steam wand/hot water spout as it’s from a different boiler and will be much hotter. Normally around 130degress celcius vs around 90 for the espresso.
That’s an Australian style long black, which is how I had it today.
What I’m struggling with though, is that it feels too “thin”. It’s lacking the body that I’m used to.
Fellow Aussie here. Not sure where you are, but here in Melbourne I’ve found a few specialty cafes that serve a deconstructed long black… basically an espresso with a small cup of hot water on the side, so you can experiment with how much you want to dilute it.
i find that unfiltered black coffee has a lot of body. 2 heaped teaspoons of ground coffee, 200ish mls of boiling water. let it soak, then stir carefully. the coffee sinks to the bottom leaving you with rich flavorful goodness.
Otherwise known as cowboy coffee, if anyone wants a searchable term to learn more!
IMO good home-brewing options (which I’d personally prefer but to each their own) would be either a moka pot or a French press. They’re more full-bodied as they use metal to filter the grounds rather than paper (like drip/pour-over) which lets through more of the oils present in the coffee beans.
If OP gets her drinks from a café, I’d suggest trying an allongé as well. A long black (in my neck of the woods it’s called an americano and we don’t distinguish between the two, this depends on your area*) is espresso poured over hot water, whereas an allongé is basically an espresso with more water passed through the puck of grinds in the portafilter. Passing the extra water through the ground coffee rather than simply adding a shot of espresso to hot water adds a lot of body. Note that there is a higher ratio of beans to water in an allongé compared to a long black/americano, so it’s definitely going to be a stronger tasting brew.
*In areas where they distinguish between the two, as far as I understand a long black is when you pour the espresso on top of the hot water, whereas an americano is when you add hot water to espresso. The main difference is that when the espresso is poured on top, you preserve the crema. In Canadian cafés, I’ve never seen a long black on the menu, but every café I’ve worked at prepared americanos with espresso poured on top of the water.
uh i didn’t know that’s cowboy coffee was the official name. i always thought that my dad came up with the name at some point that it has since stuck with the family. but yeah cowboy coffee it is. French press also makes great coffee
uh i didn’t know that’s cowboy coffee was the official name. i always thought that my dad came up with the name at some point that it has since stuck with the family. but yeah cowboy coffee it is. French press also makes great coffee
The Turkish way
It’s specifically cafe coffees I’ve been trying to replace, and as amazing as Turkish coffee and its cousins are, I don’t think I’ll have any luck getting most cafes to make it for me :)
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If I’m out and about I get coconut milk in my coffee as ordering it black means I have to wait half hour for it to cool down! They make it so damn hot.
