- Coffee
- 24 g
A mug of filter coffee with an espresso in it, for mornings that start too early. With two espressos it becomes a black eye.
By Equipo Cocinoa
What you need
Tap each piece to see its catalogue entry.
- EssentialDrip coffeeThe electric filter coffee machine: hot water dripping over the coffee. Comfortable for several cups; good ones compete with manual drip.€25–350approx.View on Amazon
- RecommendedEspresso coffee makerWater to 9 bars of pressure through fine and pressed coffee. Here are the machine types, from the lever to the double boiler.€150–3500approx.View on Amazon
- RecommendedEspresso grinderElectric grinder with very fine adjustment, designed for espresso. It matters more than the machine itself.€150–700approx.View on Amazon
- Optional0,1 g baseA scale with precision of 0,1 g and timer. Weighing coffee and water is the easiest way to repeat a good cup.€15–250approx.View on Amazon
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No Drip coffee? This works too
- Cone Melitta€5–15The life-long filter holder, with wedge background and easy to find filters. Simple, cheap and very reliable.
- Hario V60€7–30The most popular drip cone of specialty coffee. Clean, bright and aromatic, in exchange for a little technique to the verter.
- French press€20–45Total immersion: the coffee rests in the water and a plunger with mesh separates it. Round body and almost nothing to learn.
- Italian coffee maker (moka)€20–60The life-long stove coffee maker: the steam pushes the water through the coffee. Intense, with body and very cheap.
Method
Make 250 ml of filter coffee with 15 g of medium-ground coffee, in a drip machine, a cone or a V60 (see the drip coffee recipe).
5 min
Pour it into a large warmed mug of about 300 ml, leaving a couple of fingers of space.
Make an espresso of about 30 ml with 9 g of finely ground coffee (see the ‘Espresso’ recipe) in a small jug.
Pour the espresso into the filter coffee and stir. Taste before adding sugar or milk: it is stronger than it looks.
Tips and warnings
A mug of filter coffee with an espresso in it: the American coffee-shop cure for sleepless nights. The name is usually linked to overnight ‘red-eye’ flights, which leave you with red eyes when you land. Every place names it slightly differently, but this is the usual pattern:
- Red eye: one espresso. Black eye: two, that is, an 18 g double espresso. With three, some call it a dead eye.
- It is not an ‘Americano’: there the espresso is topped up with water; here, with more coffee.
- No espresso machine? A short moka-pot coffee, about 40 ml, does the same job. If you have no filter machine, a cone, a V60 or a cafetière will do too.
- For an iced red eye, pour the filter coffee over ice or use ‘Cold brew’, and add the espresso at the end.
- A mug of filter coffee plus an espresso usually comes to over 200 mg of caffeine. EFSA considers up to 400 mg a day safe for a healthy adult (200 mg during pregnancy), so better not to have a second.
One last thing
For short nights and merciless mornings. If it has opened your eyes, open a ko‑fi for us.