Coffee essence

Coffee essence or coffee extract is made from coffee. Extract keeps beautifully in a fridge, requires no specialized equipment, and it is easier to control all the factors once every few weeks for making extract, than every time one wants some coffee.

Making extract is best informed by experience with a French press. Use 1 – 2 times as much 190 – 200°F water as freshly roasted coarsely to medium ground coffee by volume, steeping 3 to 5 minutes in a giant measuring cup. Stir at first but let settle, so most grounds stay behind. Pour through cheesecloth, and bottle in glass with tight caps. One could use a fast filter, with some loss of flavor and sediment. Serve from the bottles as if decanting wine, and the remaining sediment will show a stubborn preference for the bottom of the bottle even at cleaning time.