Ingredients
Coffee
- 60 gCosta Rican coffee, medium-coarse ground
- 800 mlwater, just off the boil
To serve
- hot milk, optional
- sugar or tapa de dulce
- small cups
Equipment
- a chorreador stand
- a bolsita, the cloth sock filter
- a jug or pitcher
- a kettle
Directions
- Boil it in water for a few minutes. Rinse it thoroughly afterwards. Never use soap on a coffee cloth at any point.
- Grind it medium-coarse for this method. Too fine and the cloth clogs and drips slowly. Bring the water to a full boil. Then take it off the heat for thirty seconds.
- Hang the bolsita on the wooden stand. Set a jug or pitcher directly underneath it. Rinse the cloth through with hot water first.
- Pour that rinse water away before brewing. Spoon the ground coffee into the damp cloth.
- Pour just enough hot water to wet the grounds. Wait thirty seconds and watch it swell. Pour in a steady circle over the grounds.
- Keep the water level below the rim of the cloth. Judging the brew takes some attention. Pour in stages if it threatens to overflow. The finished coffee should be dark and clear.
- Pour it straight into small cups. Many Costa Ricans take it black. Rinse the bolsita thoroughly after every use. Use hot water and no soap at all. Turn it inside out and rinse it again.
Technique
- Coffee reached Costa Rica around eighteen hundred and became the country’s first great export crop.
- A cloth filter lets the coffee oils through where paper absorbs them, giving a fuller brew.
Substitutions
- Any medium roast coffee works, and a Costa Rican bean is traditional rather than necessary.
- A reusable cloth filter in a cone stands in for a full chorreador stand.
Variations
- Some households add tapa de dulce, hard cane sugar, rather than granulated sugar.
- Cafe con leche made with the same brew is drunk at breakfast.
- Similar cloth-sock brewing is used in Colombia, Panama and Puerto Rico.
History
Coffee dripped through a cloth sock on a wooden chorreador stand; coffee reached Costa Rica around 1800 and became its first great export.
Frequently asked questions
What is Café chorreado?
Café chorreado is a drink from Costa Rica: coffee drip-brewed through a cloth chorreador. Coffee dripped through a cloth sock on a wooden chorreador stand; coffee reached Costa Rica around 1800 and became its first great export.
How long does Café chorreado take to make?
Café chorreado takes 10 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Café chorreado?
Yes, within limits. Any medium roast coffee works, and a Costa Rican bean is traditional rather than necessary. A reusable cloth filter in a cone stands in for a full chorreador stand.
What is the most important thing to get right in Café chorreado?
Boil it in water for a few minutes. Rinse it thoroughly afterwards. Never use soap on a coffee cloth at any point.
