flipBlack coffee for writing nights
Black coffee for writing nights
Why this dish? Stendhal was a great coffee drinker, like all of literary Paris in his time. He dictated *The Red and the Black* and *The Charterhouse of Parma* at a frantic pace, sustained by this black brew — the drink of Parisian cafés where 19th-century literature was written and discussed.
A strong black coffee, brewed in the old style and served scalding hot, barely sweetened. The frank bitterness that kept writers awake over their manuscripts.
I am blamed for having written *The Charterhouse* in fifty-two days — as if speed were a fault! But at my side there always steamed a cup of this black brew. Strong, hot, not too much sugar: it sharpens the mind and drives away laziness, which is the only true sin. Drink it as I do, in small sips, pen in hand: you will see ideas come at a gallop.
- •Ground coffee (roasted beans) — a good spoonful per cup (base)
- •Boiling water — one cup (infusion)
- •Sugar — one lump, to taste (optional sweetness)
Black coffee for writing nights
A strong black coffee, brewed in the old style and served scalding hot, barely sweetened. The frank bitterness that kept writers awake over their manuscripts.
Why this dish? Stendhal was a great coffee drinker, like all of literary Paris in his time. He dictated *The Red and the Black* and *The Charterhouse of Parma* at a frantic pace, sustained by this black brew — the drink of Parisian cafés where 19th-century literature was written and discussed.
I am blamed for having written *The Charterhouse* in fifty-two days — as if speed were a fault! But at my side there always steamed a cup of this black brew. Strong, hot, not too much sugar: it sharpens the mind and drives away laziness, which is the only true sin. Drink it as I do, in small sips, pen in hand: you will see ideas come at a gallop.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ground coffee (roasted beans) — a good spoonful per cup (base)
- Boiling water — one cup (infusion)
- Sugar — one lump, to taste (optional sweetness)
Ingredients
- Ground coffee (dark roast) — 10 g per cup (base)
- Hot water (about 92 °C) — 120 ml per cup (infusion)
- Sugar — to taste (optional sweetness)
Method
- Heat the water without bringing it to a rolling boil (just simmering).
- Place the ground coffee in a filter coffee maker (or a "De Belloy" type pot, ancestor of the drip filter, in use from the early 19th century).
- Pour the water slowly in two stages to moisten the grounds, and let it infuse/filter.
- Serve scalding hot in a small cup, sweeten barely or not at all.
How it was made : In Stendhal's time, Paris had hundreds of cafés, places of literary and political sociability. Coffee was prepared by infusion or decoction; the "De Belloy" percolation pot (circa 1800) began to replace simple decoction. Coffee was drunk strong and hot, a sign of an alert mind and modern mores.
The contemporary twist : Served in a small cup with a gold rim, with a square of dark chocolate on the side — "the fuel of *The Red and the Black*".
Stendhal · Charactorium
