flipStrong Black Coffee of the Novelist
Strong Black Coffee of the Novelist
Why this dish? Coffee was Dumas's daily drink; he wrote entire nights sustained by his serials. His culinary dictionary details roasting and brewing: he was as passionate a drinker as a theorist.
A black coffee, strong and scalding, brewed strong as they liked it in the studies of Romantic Paris.
Without coffee, my dear, no novel! When the candle burns low and the Musketeers still demand twenty pages from me, it is my only ally. I want it black as ink, scalding, and well packed — to straighten your mind in one gulp. Beware of pale, chatty coffees: they never saved a serial at press time!
- •Freshly roasted and ground coffee — generously (base)
- •Pure water — according to number of cups (infusion)
- •Sugar — to taste (to sweeten (optional))
Strong Black Coffee of the Novelist
A black coffee, strong and scalding, brewed strong as they liked it in the studies of Romantic Paris.
Why this dish? Coffee was Dumas's daily drink; he wrote entire nights sustained by his serials. His culinary dictionary details roasting and brewing: he was as passionate a drinker as a theorist.
Without coffee, my dear, no novel! When the candle burns low and the Musketeers still demand twenty pages from me, it is my only ally. I want it black as ink, scalding, and well packed — to straighten your mind in one gulp. Beware of pale, chatty coffees: they never saved a serial at press time!
Ingredients (period version)
- Freshly roasted and ground coffee — generously (base)
- Pure water — according to number of cups (infusion)
- Sugar — to taste (to sweeten (optional))
Ingredients
- Dark roast coffee, ground — 10 g per cup (base)
- Spring water — 120 ml per cup (infusion)
- Sugar — to taste (to sweeten (optional))
Method
- Heat the water without bringing it to a full boil (approx. 92°C).
- Place the finely ground coffee in a filter coffee maker or a French press.
- Pour the hot water, let steep for 4 minutes for a strong coffee.
- Filter and serve very hot, sweetened or not.
How it was made : At the time, beans were often roasted at home in a roaster, then brewed in a tin coffee pot. Dumas, in his dictionary, advocated a strong, long-brewed coffee, far from too-light decoctions.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a small cup alongside a square of dark chocolate: the perfect break to reread a chapter of *The Three Musketeers*.
Sources : Alexandre Dumas, Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, 1873 (posthumous)
Alexandre Dumas · Charactorium
