flipThe Poet's Black Coffee
The Poet's Black Coffee
Why this dish? Baudelaire, a chronic night owl and chronically broke, fueled himself on black coffee to write and stay awake. Coffee — an institution of romantic Paris — was his workshop as much as his drink: one composed, dreamed, and waited for money to come.
An ink-black coffee, French-pressed, served scalding hot and barely sweetened. The brew of studious vigils and gray mornings.
I cannot align a single verse without this black and burning liquor. When Paris sleeps and the spleen gnaws at me, I fill my cup — no milk, no mawkishness, barely a grain of sugar so as not to offend the bitterness. Drink it steaming, standing by the window, watching the city wake in the mist. That is my only morning prayer, and the most sincere.
- •Finely ground coffee — a good spoonful per cup (body and bitterness)
- •Spring water — to taste (infusion)
- •Lump sugar — optional, a shard (barely sweeten)
The Poet's Black Coffee
An ink-black coffee, French-pressed, served scalding hot and barely sweetened. The brew of studious vigils and gray mornings.
Why this dish? Baudelaire, a chronic night owl and chronically broke, fueled himself on black coffee to write and stay awake. Coffee — an institution of romantic Paris — was his workshop as much as his drink: one composed, dreamed, and waited for money to come.
I cannot align a single verse without this black and burning liquor. When Paris sleeps and the spleen gnaws at me, I fill my cup — no milk, no mawkishness, barely a grain of sugar so as not to offend the bitterness. Drink it steaming, standing by the window, watching the city wake in the mist. That is my only morning prayer, and the most sincere.
Ingredients (period version)
- Finely ground coffee — a good spoonful per cup (body and bitterness)
- Spring water — to taste (infusion)
- Lump sugar — optional, a shard (barely sweeten)
Ingredients
- Dark roast coffee, ground — 12 g per 120 ml cup (body and bitterness)
- Simmering water (90 °C) — 120 ml per cup (extraction)
- Sugar — 0 to 1 lump to taste (lightly sweeten)
Method
- Heat the water without bringing it to a full boil (about 90 °C).
- Place the ground coffee in a filter or French press.
- Moisten the coffee, let it bloom for 30 seconds, then pour the rest of the water.
- Let steep for 4 minutes, then press or filter.
- Serve immediately, piping hot, in a small cup. Sweeten barely, or not at all.
How it was made : In the 19th century, coffee was prepared à la française by infusion or decoction in a tin or porcelain coffee pot, much stronger than our modern coffees. Parisian cafés — the Café Tabourey, those of the Latin Quarter — were the offices and salons of penniless writers.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a matte black cup under the name "Café Spleen," accompanied by a single sugar cube that the drinker may or may not choose to let melt.
Charles Baudelaire · Charactorium
