The Scholar's Black Coffee
A black coffee, strong and scalding, infused the old-fashioned way: the humble ritual that kept the thinkers of the scientific revolution awake.
A black coffee, strong and scalding, infused the old-fashioned way: the humble ritual that kept the thinkers of the scientific revolution awake.
I am often reproached for forgetting to eat and drink; but coffee, I never forget. A spoonful of grounds in boiling water, left to settle long enough to write a line, and the mind clears like a sky after a storm. I find in it, I confess, the most faithful companion of my vigils, when currents and magnets keep me until dawn.
- •Freshly ground coffee — one spoonful per cup (base)
- •Spring water — one cup per person (infusion)
- •Sugar — to taste (optional)
The Scholar's Black Coffee
A black coffee, strong and scalding, infused the old-fashioned way: the humble ritual that kept the thinkers of the scientific revolution awake.
Why this dish? Coffee was the fuel of 19th-century scholars and academicians, who stayed up late over their calculations. For a man who forgot to eat, the cup of black coffee punctuated the long days of study at the Collège de France and the Academy.
I am often reproached for forgetting to eat and drink; but coffee, I never forget. A spoonful of grounds in boiling water, left to settle long enough to write a line, and the mind clears like a sky after a storm. I find in it, I confess, the most faithful companion of my vigils, when currents and magnets keep me until dawn.
Ingredients (period version)
- Freshly ground coffee — one spoonful per cup (base)
- Spring water — one cup per person (infusion)
- Sugar — to taste (optional)
Ingredients
- Ground coffee (medium grind) — 10 g per cup (base)
- Water — 120 ml per cup at ~92 °C (infusion)
- Sugar — to taste (optional)
Method
- Grind the coffee just before brewing to preserve aromas.
- Pour simmering water (not boiling) over the grounds in a coffee pot or filter.
- Let steep for 4 minutes, then filter or let the grounds settle.
- Serve scalding hot, plain or lightly sweetened.
How it was made : In Ampère's time, coffee was prepared by decoction or slow infusion in earthenware or tin coffee pots, with the grounds settling at the bottom. Parisian cafés were the salons of scholars, where science and ideas were discussed.
The contemporary twist : Served in a small black cup, accompanied by a square of dark chocolate—a nod to the academicians' coffee-philo.
André-Marie Ampère · Charactorium