The big difference between plunger coffee and espresso is the water boils and steams through espessed coffee while hot water soaks through plunger coffee. The'steeping' temp is much higher in espresso and changes the taste. If you boil plunger coffee it tastes more like espresso. If you add either pre boil it won't matter much if you use the same amount of beans. If you do no boil K&K then it may make a bit of difference. It is a taste thing but I would go espresso, never instant.
Being the coffee fanatic I am, I couldnt help myself:
<rant>
If you boil anything near coffee it wont be very close to coffee anymore. Espresso extraction (even just a french press) show occur at about 96C give or take 1 or 2 degrees depending on the blend. Even in the stovetop versions the water is forced up through the grind with pressure created from heated air above it, you should never let it boil though, heat it slower and as soon as you here it start ticking turn the stove off. As far as temp variation goes get as low as 94 and it well begin to take a sour note very quickly, any higher than about 97 at itll get super bitter - if youve ever bought the coffee equivalent of VB before (GJ, Starbucks, McDs, Krispy Kreme, etc) it is (guaranteed) to have been burnt to the proverbial. From a cafe or a coffee lounge bar pretty much the same but probably not to the same extent. The only cafe I can manage to get a decent coffee in any form around here is a small place run by a bunch of hippies who do theyre own blends and roast all theyre own beans on site. I wont even mention instant, it doesnt even deserve to have coffee written next to it...does that stuff really come from coffee beans?
</rant>
Sorry about that, in short though - never boil your coffee. If you want to add coffee to anything I strongly recommend either brewing espresso properly and using it or doing a french press (plunger, bodum, whatever). Boil the water then let it cool slightly before adding. Use a coarser grind for the french press as the prolonged extraction time will extract more bitter nastiness if the grind is too fine. Note that 96C is still way above pasteurisation temp/time (72C for 15s) so im guessing infection risks are pretty low...
That all said I guess in regards to adding coffee to my other favourite black syrup like substance, its made to be bitter in the first place so a bit more probably wouldnt hurt would it? (dont let any coffeesnobs members see me post that
h34r
, I can't stand the taste of burnt coffee though - maybe its a different type of bitterness or something?
