Coffee in Brasil

Coffee Makers and their filters!

I have received many requests from folks in Brasil, "Where can I buy a new filter for my coffee maker?"

Now here is your answer! Read on about our adventures with Coffee Makers in Brasil!

This Coffee Maker by Arno is our standby. It was old and looking sad. It was time to retire it.

Notice how it works. You open the top and swing out the part holding the coffee filter. It is easily lifted off the machine for cleaning.

See! Here is the permanent filter. Easy to take out for cleaning. No tiny handles. Take out the entire unit and turn it upside down to empty the used coffee ! Then rinse with water.

But the machine itself is worn out. See the permanent stains and the cracked plastic around the warming pad. But it still works so we do not throw it away. That was a great life saver for us.

We bought this new Electrolux machine. It turned out to be a disaster! By the way. I hate black kitchen appliances but that is all we can find here.

You lift the top up and there are two cups. One holds the filter and the second is the filter itself. What genius designed that? Notice the lifter is almost invisible it is so tiny. When you get to be my age that is a great handicap.

Also notice the filter is irregularly shaped so replacements are hard to find.

To put the water in you lift the back cover. There is another filter here. It keeps debris out of the water tank. If you have debris in your water system you need a new water system!

When you open the top to add water it lifts the tank up. This turns out to be a fatal flaw.

The tank sits in a hole in the base and notice the water sealer on the tank.

When you put the tank back it is supposed to seal itself. IT DID NOT! We had three bad leaks, Water all over the table. We destroyed three table cloths and the surface of the table itself. This machine is a terrible design. Who in their right mind puts the water seal on the bottom?

We put the old Arno back in service. Imagine how I would have suffered without my coffee!

So we set the Electrolux machine aside and bought a new more expensive machine. It was not until we got it home that we realized we had bought another Electrolux.

I was prepared for another disaster, but I bravely went ahead and put this in service. BUT, the old Arno still works if we need it!

Inside this machine there is just one basket. Where is the filter? They forgot to include a filter. It turns out we are to go back 40 years and use paper filters. I was not impressed.

I reluctantly went to the supermarket to buy paper filters. Lo and behold, look what I found. PERMANENT FILTERS for most coffee makers. Well, permanent as long as they last.

This one we have used for a couple weeks. We lift it out by its tab and wash it.

When you dump out the coffee grounds it will be upside down. I rinse it that way to let the water get out most of the grounds.

Then I turn it over to clean the inside.

Now it goes back into the machine.

It fits quite well but not perfectly. The lid does not close completely.

But notice the one piece lid opens up the coffee section and the water section. Nothing else moves so there is no water seal needed on the bottom. That is a terrific improvement.

You can pour the water in any way you wish. I use a mug so I know how many mugs of coffee I will make.

You can see the water gauge on the right side. Just fill to your normal amount.

See - the lid is one piece. This is a great improvement!

Now add the coffee.

Be sure to close the lid as tight as you can otherwise the coffee does not drip. After a few uses you become accustomed to that.

Now you are ready to enjoy your coffee!

Photos by Urso Branco

Brewing Coffee in a Drip Coffee Machine

My friends and family enjoy coffee. Here are the type of coffee brewing machines I use.

They are drip machines that all brew coffee the same way. You put the coffee in the basket and cold water in the tank. The machine brings the coffee to the basket but boils it on the way to the basket. Therefore the coffee is always the same. They all have the feature that lets you pull the pot out safely while it is still brewing. That is great if you can't wait for the machine to finish brewing all the coffee.

Here are three coffee machines I have used. On the right is a Proctor Silex Machine from Canada. The middle machine is a Britania machine from Brasil and on the left is an Arno Machine, also from Brasil.

These three machines all work the same way but they also have some very different characteristics.

Here is a one cup black machine I used in Canada and brought to Brasil. We use it occasionally when we want just one cup of coffee.

Here is where we see the differences in the three big machines. The two on the left let you see how much water is in the tank. The one on the right has a Clock and Timer so you can fill the machine and it turns on at a predetermined time the next morning. I rarely used that feature.

This is the Proctor Silex Machine from Toronto, made in Mexico. I prefer my coffee machines to be white. But black seems to be the most prominent style available now. Of course the colour of the machine makes no difference in the taste of the coffee. This is the second Proctor Silex machine I have had. This one and its predecessor lasted a combined total of 28 years. This one finally died after two years in Brasil.

Notice the pot. It holds 12 Canadian cups or 6 mugs of coffee. The sides of the pot are straight and the pot is calibrated in cups although you cannot see the calibrations in this photo.

The coffee basket pulls out of the top of the machine and it carries a permanent filter or you can use standard paper filters. Some people use both together.

Here you can see the slot the basket slides into. Sometimes it was a little difficult to get it in right.

Water was poured into the tank on the top via this small door. If you were not careful water poured all over the counter.

Here is the top of the pot. Notice the large beak and the wide throat. This made it easy to pour without spilling.

When the Proctor Silex died we bought a new machine in Brasil. It was a Britania, made in China.

It opened easy to get access to the basket and was easy to clean.

We used the permanent filter from the other machin in this basket.

Notice that when the basket was removed you can see the pins that it hinged on.
Some times it was difficult to remove so I would bang on it to make it pop off the pins.

That caused a problem. See the rubber pipe inside. It feeds the water from the tank to the basket. After many bangs it finally popped out itself. We finally managed to get it back so the machine was still usable but we had to be very careful with it.

Notice the pot, it has straight sides like the Proctor Silex and a has large beak and a wide throat for pouring. It also held 6 large mugs of coffee. There are no calibrations on the pot.

The Britannia only lasted 6 or 7 months till we had to get a new machine. It died prematurely.

Then we bought this Arno Machine. It holds slightly less water than the others but it brews well.

This one opens real easy. The lid covers the tank and the basket. We use the old Permanent Filter from the Proctor Silex.

You can easily take the filter out for cleaning.

Or you can remove the entire assembly. Notice the jumbo pin it sits on. It comes off real easy for cleaning.

Here is the water tank. Notice the pipe is plastic and is an integral part of the machine. That is why we bought this machine. Our experience with the hose coming off the Britannia was the main reason we selected this machine.

Notice the small beak on the pot and also no throat. Therefore when we take the pot out to pour coffee into a cup we often spill coffee. This pot holds just 4 large mugs of coffee.

Notice that the sides of the pot slope. This makes it impossible to put under the tap on our water supply so we must fill cups and pour them into the machine. Also there are no calibrations on the pot.

Of course the other straight sided pots wont fit into the coffee machine. Now we have to see how long this machine lasts. After a while you get used to the design errors in the coffee machines.

If it was up to me I would have them redesign the Arno and have it use straight sided pots with a large beak and a wide throat.

You may have your own favourite coffee maker. They come in all kinds of styles, shapes and colours. The main thing is that they brew a great cup of coffee.

Now, sit back and enjoy a nice cup of coffee with me!

I drink two of these larger Canadian mugs for breakfast and two more in the late afternoon. Yes . . . . I love coffee. I used to like Tim Horton's Coffee in Canada, but I have become acclimated to Brasilian Coffee and I discovered recently discovered, upon receiving some Tim Horton's coffee from my friend in Toronto, I now prefer Brasilian coffee.

Photos by Urso Branco

Café Santa Rita - A New Package

Café Santa Rita, Roasted and Ground Coffee. (100% Arábica Coffee) Contains no Gluten

Santa Rita do Quartel has a new package for their coffee. The old one had the photo of the church on the label. The new one, the red package, has an interesting recipe on the back for Coffee Cake with Chocolate and they also have a recipe or your next cup of coffee.

This particular coffee is grown in Águas da Prata and has become my favourite and usual coffee to prepare at home.

On the back of the package it says:

The basic recipe

Use a standard measure of coffee. It is recommended 80g a 100g of coffee for one liter of coffee (5 to 6 tablespoons). The correct measure must be tested until you have found the one that suits your palate.

RECIPE - Coffee Cake with Chocolate

Beat the whites of 2 eggs until white as snow. Mix the egg yolks with 1 teacup of sugar and 1/2 teacup of butter and beat well until the mass is creamy. Add 1 cup of skimmed milk and 2 teacups of wheat flour. Continue beating per 10 minutes. Add 100g of semi-bitter chocolate (the recipe said melt the chocolate - we used powdered chocolate). Aadd 1 coffeecup of coffee and mix well. Later add 1 soup spoon of yeast in the mix and I beat quickly. Remove and add clear in snow, mixing delicately. Pour the mix in a cake mould that has been coated lightly with wheat flour. Bake in an average, prewarmed oven, for 1 hour, or until a stick in the cake comes out.

We baked this cake according to the recipe on the package. It was delicious.

To see the preparation of the cake see our other blog Canadian Brasilian Recipes

This English translation provides the correct details but not the colourful Brasileiro terminology.

Translations - Judy Kennedy

Photos by Urso Branco