Stories

Stretching from the Canadian border all the way to Fort Meyers, Florida, I-75 is the one of America’s great highways, the second longest north-south interstate. Like most Americans who’ve lived in the Midwest or Upper South, I’ve driven long sections of it, though perhaps none more monotonous than the stretch connecting Cincinnati to Detroit.

After Dayton, the trip is mostly pristine farmland, with grain silos and barns providing the only breaks in the landscape. It has all of the idyllic beauty and existential despair of an Andrew Wyeth painting. (I am– I realize–  projecting my own experience of being raised in a small town– albeit on the opposite end of the country.)

Both times I drove the strip were for weddings: my wife’s second cousins in Ann Arbor. The first wedding was held on a Labor Day weekend, the second, fittingly, Memorial Day weekend a few years later. With the cruise control set at an easy 80 mph, I reminded Julie that I didn’t know any of my second cousins– let alone go to their weddings. But secretly, I was excited about the trip, because of the chance to make a brief detour to a most unlikely small town café: Flatlands Coffee in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Flatlands Coffee was founded by husband and wife Ben and Cassy Vollmar. In a hard-fought Kickstarter campaign, the Vollmars somehow convinced people who would likely never visit Bowling Green to contribute to their passion project. Graduates of Bowling Green State University, they dreamed of bringing third wave coffee culture to their beloved town. After a back-breaking 16 month buildout, the café finally opened.  A rare success story when faith in the American dream has never been lower. 

Located on Bowling Green’s time capsule-like Main Street, the café is bright and airy. From the eclectic lightbulbs that hang above the concrete counter to the Turkish rug that runs in front of it, there are plenty of nods to Cassy’s background in interior design. Bowling Green is a college town, and even on a holiday weekend Flatlands is filled with students and creative types. From my seat in the café it seems the baristas know most everyone who comes in. They certainly peg us as out-of-towners, and ask where we’re from– a touch of small town hospitality that one misses in the city.

Flatlands Coffee is a self-professed “extreme multiroaster” shop. In other words, their coffee lineup is constantly changing. Certainly, you’ld be hard pressed to find a North American coffee roaster they haven’t featured: Madcap, Sweet Bloom, Kuma, Methodical, Brandywine, Huckleberry, George Howell, the list goes on. It’s the sort of shop that’s the bane of wholesale directors, but a delight for every coffee nerd who wants to try as many different brands as possible. Filter brews are prepared by the cup with Kalita Waves and espresso is made on a La Marzocco Linea. Each shot is ground to order on a Mahlkönig EK43, outfitted with a patent-pending distribution funnel Ben invented.

When I visited, I enjoyed a pour-over from a nationally known roaster from my wife’s hometown in North Carolina. I couldn’t help but reflect I’ve drunk their coffee in dozens of cafés around the country, and this cup of coffee was better than most of them.

Perhaps, the Vollmars have proved what many of us already knew: specialty coffee is not the exclusive property of hip urban dwellers. People that live in small towns and rural communities like coffee too. They should all be as lucky as Bowling Green, Ohio.

There is perhaps no coffee brewing device as ubiquitous or divisive as the French press. There are over 4 million apartments listed on AirBnB, and each one of them has a French press, most likely a Bodum or some nondescript store brand with dubious plastic parts.

For a brief period, the French press enjoyed a privileged place in the pantheon of coffee brew methods. Advocates lauded it for preserving the oils, which are absorbed by a paper filter. Owning one was a shibboleth of coffee snobbery and refinement.

But the sludgy last sip has proved a bridge too far for many coffee lovers. In the battle between body and clarity, the industry has landed overwhelming on the side of the latter. Even Stumptown Coffee, which long served French press decanted into airpots instead of autodrip, installed batch brewers in all of their cafés.

But as any coffee professional who has ever said “this tasted better on the the cupping table” is forced to admit, there is something about the lipids that add a pleasing viscosity to a cup of coffee. Fats, after all, absorb aromas, so there might be something more going on with unfiltered coffee than just a pleasing texture. But perhaps more importantly, in a world where one needs a small arsenal of devices and accessories to brew an acceptable cup of coffee, there is something beautiful about the simplicity and singularity of the French press.

One device promises the best of both worlds, and for years has been the only acceptable press pot within the upper echelons of the barista community. That device, of course, is the Espro Press.

I picked up mine several years ago, oddly enough, not to brew coffee with. I developed a signature drink for a barista competition that involved a cacao nib extraction, and used an Espro Press to brew it during the routine. After my competition, it went into a box, with all of my other competition wares, where I mostly forgot about it until a recent slew of house guest made me wish I didn’t have to stand around brewing so many pour-overs in the morning. My Espro Press came to the rescue, and in the months since I have found myself repeatedly returning to this device.

Overview

The Espro Press is made of stainless steel, with an insulated body that is fantastic for preserving heat. Factor in the lid, and it’s safe to say you won’t find a more temperature-stable brewing device.

But the real innovation of the Espro Press is its patented double filtering system. Unlike most French presses, which use a coarse metal filter that allows the finer particles through, the Espropress uses a fine mesh with holes barely visible to the naked eye. When pressing the filter, the coffee is forced through the mesh filter twice, removing all but the very finest particles.

Performance

As advertised, the fine mesh filtration creates a much cleaner cup of coffee than a conventional French press, while still allowing the oils in your cup. While testing the device, we brewed comparison to pour-overs of the same coffee, and there’s no question the Espro Press offers more body at similar extractions.

As far as ease of use goes, it’s hard to think of a more user-friendly device. For travel, I love that I can use the fill line and pre-measured doses of coffee so I can leave my scale at home.

Problems

The double filtering system of the Espro Press is extremely effective at keeping out coffee particles. Unfortunately, it’s so effective that it keeps out much of the liquid as well. When using both filters, quite a bit of the slurry is retained. When brewing filter coffee, I expect anywhere between 10-15% of the brew water to be retained by the grounds (i.e. a recipe that uses 22 grams of coffee and 350 ml. of water will likely produce a beverage around 315 ml.) But with my Espro Press brews, 350 mls (the upper limits of the 18 oz model) of coffee produced a beverage weight of 230 grams. That means around 30% of the beverage weight is being retained. If you remove the second filter and only use one, you can get a little more coffee in your cup, but you sacrifice some cleanliness in the process.

All this makes for a device that is far less efficient than other brew methods. Admittedly in my household there’s usually coffee to spare (and a decent amount is given away to friends), so coffee efficiency isn’t my primary concern. But brewers on a budget will get more cup out of their bag of coffee with a different brew method.

Tips

Even though the Espro Press is remarkably cleaner than a conventional French press, Espro Press brews still benefit from a trick we learned from James Hoffmann’s website years ago: after the coffee has been steeping for around a minute, gently stir the crust with a spoon, causing the larger particles to sink. The sediment that is left behind can be skimmed off with a spoon for maximum cleanliness.

For immersion brew methods we usually start with a 1:15 coffee to water ratio, and make adjustments on subsequent brews as necessary. A medium grind and 4-5 minute steep time works well with most coffees. (One of the benefits of the Espro Press is not needing to grind as coarsely as a conventional press pot.)

The mesh filter is incredibly fine, so keeping it clean is very important. We recommend a periodic Cafiza soak to keep it in tip-top shape.

Conclusion

The Espro Press offers, in many regards, the best of both worlds. Brews with this device offer all of the luscious mouthfeel one finds on the cupping table, while maintaining a cleanliness just short of paper filtration. The sturdy stainless steel construction makes it an ideal device for travel or camping, and the ease of use makes it a great option for hosting, (or tired baristas who don’t want any fuss on their day off). I, however, still can’t bring myself to drink that last, still kind of sludgy sip.

Few people could have predicted the way specialty coffee has boomed in Istanbul over the last five years. It wasn’t that long ago you could count the number of specialty coffee shops in Turkey’s largest city on your fingers. Now that list is well over 60, and the lion’s share of those cafés have a La Marzocco espresso machine on bar.

The Florence-manufactured espresso machines are truly an icon of contemporary coffee culture, especially in brand-conscious Istanbul, where a La Marzocco espresso machine often symbolizes a larger commitment to quality. But the machines are not just on display in cafés anymore….

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Small coffee roasters face numerous challenges, but Turkish roasters face a bigger obstacle: access to quality green coffee. Most coffee in Turkey is imported twice: first by an European or American importer, that by a roaster in Turkey. Martell Mason, an American expat based in Istanbul, is trying to change that. Arabica Trading House is one of the first specialty coffee importing companies to import coffee directly from origin into Turkey. We met up with Mason at ATH’s office in Çukurcuma to find out what inspired him to move from Oslo to Istanbul….

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For the most part, one can predict the sorts of places one finds a good coffee shop, and they usually don’t include malls. Sure, it’s easy to find some ubiquitous dark roast from an international chain’s kiosk, but you’re probably not expecting to get a single estate microlot next time you’re shoe shopping.

The shopping malls of Istanbul, however, are a surprising exception. As compared to the suburban sprawling concrete blocks one thinks of in other countries, most malls in Istanbul are mixed-purpose buildings, with residences and offices, many of which have won international awards for contemporary architecture. In a city with precious few parks, shopping malls occupy an important place in public life. It also turns out, many of them are a great place to get a pretty decent cup of coffee.

Kronotrop

Founded in 2012, Krontotrop is one of the oldest specialty coffee companies in Turkey. Even after changing hands and embracing an aggressive expansion plan, Kronotrop has managed to stay true to brand, with a distinct aesthetic and excellent coffees. Their newest location is in Emaar Square Mall, a mall that combines indoor and outdoor shopping in the Asian side’s Ünalan Mahallesi. It’s hard to think of a starker contrast to Kronotrop’s original surroundings in gritty Cihangir than a Gucci store, but the world is a crazy place. With two single origin espresso options and fresh batches of filter coffee, it’s hard to think of a better place to caffeinate before facing the material longing of late capitalism.

Petra

The roaster/retailer has not one but two cafés in malls: Etiler’s Akmerkez and Levent’s Kanyon. With its gravity-defying design, Kanyon remains my favorite mall in the city, even if it’s susceptible to to some pretty serious wind tunnel effects. On the ground-level floor, near the main entrance, Petra’s kiosk is a great place to get a take-away coffee, or take a break in their hidden, garden-like seating area. (Read about our visit to Petra’s massive Gayrettepe headquarters.)

Pieton Coffee

Astoria AVM in Şişli is perhaps the oldest mall on this list, but has remained relevant thanks to a prime location in Şişli, Istanbul’s central business district. Inside, tucked next to the escalator, is Pieton Coffee. The small stand only boasts one table and a bench, but brews fresh cups of coffee from Four Letter Word, a micro-roaster with operations in both Chicago and Burgazada— a small island in the Marmara Sea just off the coast of Istanbul.

Cargo Coffee Co.

Cargo Coffee Co. might be Istanbul’s prettiest café, let alone the prettiest café in a shopping mall. From the hanging birdcage-like chairs, to the sensible soft seating, every detail is carefully thought out. A minimalist menu of house-roasted coffees are offered by the cup. I wish a little more information about their coffees was available, but I found my pour-over to be sweet and well balanced.

Borderline Coffee

Borderline’s original Teşvikiye café has yet to even celebrate its first anniversary, but they’ve already expanded with a small kiosk in Emaar Square Mall. Expect coffee from a rotating cast of international roasters, good design, and the best take away cups in the Istanbul coffee scene.

Whether it’s the morning paper or a good book, perhaps the best pairing with a cup of coffee isn’t breakfast or a cigarette, but something to read. Adam Goldberg is the founder and editor in chief of Drift, a biannual periodical about “coffee, the people who drink it, and the cities they inhabit.” We caught up with Goldberg to ask him how he makes his coffee and where Drift is going next. 

Print media is supposedly dying, but you started a print-only magazine about coffee culture. Why?

We take the experience of reading Drift very seriously, which is why we offset print on thick stock and have run all our issues ad-free. “Print media” is a broad category. The data shows us that readers prefer digesting weekly, and even monthly, periodicals online–I think the online experience is often better for that type of continuously updated content. But the opposite is true for books, for example, where readers still prefer paperback to digital. The e-book market has slowed considerably after the initial excitement. That’s why we chose print. We couldn’t think of a better experience than cozying up with a hot cup of brewed coffee and the latest issue of Drift….

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Do you feel like no matter what you do the coffee you make at home isn’t as good as the coffee you get at your favorite café? There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to make coffee that’s every bit as good as a five dollar pour-over. In fact, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be better. Most home brewers make at least one of these five mistakes that can be easily corrected. …

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The Problem with most Aeropress Recipes 

There’s few questions a barista dreads more than “Could you grind this for Aeropress? While you can always count on an espresso to use a fine grind and a fast brew time, and a French press the opposite, Aeropress recipes are all over the map, and most are terrible. 

First, completely disregard the recipe on the box. No disrespect to the legendary inventor of the Aeropress, Alan Adler, but the whole notion of using lower temperature water to have a less acidic coffee is flawed in several key ways. For one, acids dissolve before the more complex carbohydrates, so lower-temp brews are missing more than just acidity- they’re missing a lot of sweetness too. Secondly, acidity levels have a lot more to do with the coffee origin. (If you don’t like brighter, fruitier coffees, stick with Brazilian and lower elevation Central American coffees.)

But there’s also reason to be wary of many of the more popular recipes circulating out there. Many call for more an absurd amount of coffee, often a 10:1 ratio, or even stronger. While I’m sure that many of these recipes with the right coffee could make an interesting, even delicious cup of coffee, for people in the real world, who are using their hard-earned cash to purchase coffee, I question such an inefficient recipe. If you can make a delicious cup of coffee with 15 grams of coffee, why on earth would you waste another 5–7 grams?

That’s why I’m sharing my fourth place recipe from the 2016 US Aeropress Championship*. Sure, it wasn’t quite good enough to book my ticket to Dublin for the World Championship, but it’s surprisingly versatile and pretty simple. You’ll need an Aeropress, a grinder, a scale, a kettle, and some coffee.

1. Grind 15 grams of coffee

You want to use a medium grind. Not too fine, not to coarse.

2.  Place two rinsed filters in the Aeropress.

Double filtration helps keep any sediment out of your brew. If you really want to live life on the edge, you can use three (somehow, we never seem to run out of filters. It’s like they magically replenish themselves.)

3. Briskly add 225 ml. of boiling hot water. Quickly, but carefully, place plunger in Aeropress to create a vacuum.

This keeps the coffee from dripping. You need all the water steeping with the coffee to get the highest possible extraction.

4. At 1:00, remove plunger and gently break the crust with a spoon.

Replace plunger.

5. At 4:00 begin to slowly push the plunger down.

No coffee left behind.

6. Decant and drink.

*The Aeropress Championship was founded as a sort of lampoon of barista competition culture. To use a wrestling analogy, It’s more WWE than UFC.