What the heck is "strong brewed coffee"?

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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cygnusx1
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#1: Post by cygnusx1 »

I've wondered about this for awhile and never got up the nerve to ask this stupid question, but since it's Monday and a day short of the full moon, here goes:

Is a strong brewed coffee considered a cooled espresso or is it in fact brewed at a specific ratio? Or neither and something else completely different?

I've seen it specified in certain cooking recipes and other coffee based drinks and could never really figure what they are suggesting.

Thanks for helping to solve a minor mystery.

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weebit_nutty
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#2: Post by weebit_nutty »

Strong brewed coffee is exactly that. Coffee brewed at a higher than normal ratio. The brewing method is usually referring to drip, press pot, softbrew, aeropress, or any number of brewing methods that typically have the similar brew ratios. Espresso is sometimes described as strong brewed coffee as well and although technically correct it's a bit of a misnomer in that the intended ratio is much higher than typical brewing methods. Further more an espresso has about the same caffeine as a cup of regular coffee so that description is probably influenced by taste more than anything.
You're not always right, but when you're right, you're right, right?

MWJB
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#3: Post by MWJB »

cygnusx1 wrote:I've seen it specified in certain cooking recipes and other coffee based drinks and could never really figure what they are suggesting.

Thanks for helping to solve a minor mystery.
Typically brewed coffee is around 1.15%TDS to 1.55%TDS, give or take, for recipes that need a powerful coffee kick they might be expecting more like espresso type strength (5-15%TDS?), which you can approach with Moka pot, Turkish, Aeropress or even a really strong French press by using 3-5x the weight of coffee in brew water (~5%TDS).

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cygnusx1 (original poster)
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#4: Post by cygnusx1 (original poster) »

Thanks guys for the input.

I've also seen that it might be referred to as 'double-strength' which I can relate to. I typically pour over at a 16:1 ratio so I'd say if I was going to brew a 'strong brewed' coffee, an 8:1 should work.

Nate42
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#5: Post by Nate42 »

Something to keep in mind is food people aren't necessarily coffee people. "strong" coffee to some may simply be what we consider brewing to standard strength. I wouldn't over do it.

Also, if the recipe in question is for a dessert, chances are the flavor profile they are looking for is the bitter roastiness of a dark roasted coffee. So don't waste the good stuff on recipes where the subtleties of origin character and such aren't likely to come through.

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EvanOz85
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#6: Post by EvanOz85 »

^What he said.

In my experience with coffee-based cocktails and cooking, strong-brewed coffee is synonymous with properly-brewed coffee.

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cygnusx1 (original poster)
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#7: Post by cygnusx1 (original poster) »

Nate42 wrote:Something to keep in mind is food people aren't necessarily coffee people. "strong" coffee to some may simply be what we consider brewing to standard strength. I wouldn't over do it.

Also, if the recipe in question is for a dessert, chances are the flavor profile they are looking for is the bitter roastiness of a dark roasted coffee. So don't waste the good stuff on recipes where the subtleties of origin character and such aren't likely to come through.
You've got a valid point. Sometimes guests will consider that 16:1 ratio a 'little strong' and load up the cream and sugar. Since I also home roast to about C+ to FC usually, I'll try a batch to Vienna roast and use it for this purpose.

Goldensncoffee
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#8: Post by Goldensncoffee »

I think a lot of coffee drinkers believe "strong coffee" is simply "dark roasted coffee". I don't believe they are actually talking about brew ratios. I'm talking about your average Charbucks, Folgers, Chock full of nuts, coffee drinker.

borisblank
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#9: Post by borisblank »

^ Agreed - "strong" is often just "dark roast" to at least a few of my compadres.

Still others think that coffee "strength" refers to the caffeine content. YMMV.

Carl S
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#10: Post by Carl S »

I you are working on a recipe that involves chocolate you might consider adding espresso powder. Gives icing, fudge, truffles and other chocolates a deep flavor. Wouldn't begin to guess an amount but Tablespoons are usually involved around here.

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