Better coffee. One cup at a time.

Tag: coffee experimentation

How to Make Mud Coffee- What even is Mud Coffee?

While I was doing some research for another post, I got lost down a somewhat obscure rabbit hole (something not unusual for me). I came across some information on a style of coffee most commonly referred to as “Mud Coffee”. It was intriguing. Mud coffee meets the basic definition of a manual brewing method so I felt compelled to head to the brewing coffee manually labs and do a little experimenting. 

I should mention that mud coffee is not the same thing as the popular coffee substitute, Mud\WTR.  

Let’s get one other thing clear. There is no mud in this beverage. Please excuse the misleading nature of the cover photo.

Well, what is mud coffee and how do you make it? I will give you my version in the post below. 

What is Mud Coffee?

Mud coffee is manual coffee brewing at its most basic. To make it,  combine hot water with ground coffee in a mug or glass. Drink your coffee once it cools and the grounds have (hopefully) sunk to the bottom.

It is pretty simple. 

There are quite a few origin stories surrounding mud coffee. The Polish, who call it “Kawa Plujka,” claim it was a result of learning to make do with what you have. In Indonesian, it is called “Kopi Tubruk.” They add a little sugar to the mix. People have also referred to Turkish and Greek coffee as mud coffee, although they use an Ibrik and also include sugar. 

Since brewing mud coffee is about the simplest form of making a cup of coffee, I am not surprise there are a few cultures who claim it’s origin.  

For the purpose of this post, I am going to be exploring the Polish, “Kawa Plujka” version. I put my own mark on the recipe by nailing down some important parameters like coffee dosage, water temperature and grind size. 

Kawa Plujka roughly translates to “Spit Coffee.” This is a reference to the fact that if you drink a cup of this coffee down to the dregs, you will get a mouthful of coffee grounds and have to spit it out. (Something you may have already experienced if you get a lot of drive-thru coffee.)

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Troubleshooting and Fixing a Bad Cup of Coffee (Your Manual Coffee Brewing Toolbox)

Chances are that all of you have been disappointed in a cup of coffee you have brewed. You may have even been in a coffee brewing “slump” where countless cups of coffee in a row don’t have that “darn good” factor.

Brewing a bad cup of coffee can be frustrating, especially if things were going well previously.  Don’t worry; there is hope. Whether you are suffering from a coffee slump or simply looking to improve the overall quality of the coffee you are brewing at home, here are some basic things you can explore in am attempt to troubleshoot your brewing woes.

Before I Begin a Few Points of Emphasis (Author’s Note)

At some levels fixing a bad cup of coffee is easy. Below are the basic issues most people run into when trying to improve their coffee. Be forewarned. Pursuing brewing better coffee at home is a winding path the goes deeper and deeper into the abyss of coffee science. Somewhere early on in the journey, you will be passing me up and will need to find a new sherpa to guide you in your pursuit for manual brewing greatness.

I also want to emphasize that this article is meant to be helpful, not to scare you off. If you are brand new to manual brewing, don’t let this barrage of information overwhelm you. At it’s core brewing coffee manually is easy.

“Help me, I’m making bad coffee!”

Your first stop on the road of improving your coffee brewing skills is one of introspection. Take a minute to think about your current coffee brewing situation. Why do you think there is a problem with your coffee? Why do you dislike the coffee and what would you change about it?

It is helpful to answer these questions so you have a direction to head.

It is also important to mention that for the home coffee brewer, your reasons for improving coffee quality should be mostly intrinsically motivated. If you love the coffee you are making at home right now, don’t change because someone else said you make bad coffee. Make coffee that you enjoy.

So how about it, what don’t you like about your coffee that makes you want to make a change?

If you don’t know anything about your coffee except you are unimpressed with it, it is okay to go to the next step. You can still improve your coffee even in you aren’t exactly sure what you don’t like about it. Sometimes you don’t know what was wrong until you taste something better.

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