[Avodah] Making Coffee on Shabbos

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 07:27:25PM +0000, Gershon Dubin wrote:
:> An obvious concern is bishul.  Coffee beans are roasted, but yesh bishul 
:> acher tzli.  Therefore, you have to use a kli sheni.

: The Aruch Hashulchan gives the analogous case with tea (leaves)
: and is vehemently against it, as tea is considered kalei habishul.
: I don't see reason to think coffee is any different.

Two differences:

1- Black tea is steamed in order to be oxidized, so there could be
MORE reason to be meiqil for tea; it's arguably bishul achar bishul,
not achar tzeli. However, that was the opposite of what's asked.

2- Another difference is AhS vs RMF. According to RMF (IM OC 4:74
"bishul" #18), tea is not qalei habishul, quite the reverse -- it's
a spice.

BTW, FWIW, tea afficianados agree that what happens to a tea leaves
isn't cooking. The AhS says that bishul is obvious, however, what you
see happening is what happens in cold water too -- given more time.
Maybe the haste qualifies it as bishul. But there are certainly grounds
(sorry for the pun) to say that RMF's position is born out by the
metzi'us, despite the AhS.

But I don't know what RMF would consider coffee grounds -- would he also
argue that they are not qalei habishul?

RSZA (according to SSK I, fn 152) holds that tea leaves are like
mishnah-era spices, before they invented techniques for fine grinding
that typify our spices. Therefore, he says that our spices are QhB, but
tea isn't. Again, this is RSZA not RMF, but which side of the line are
coffee grinds on?


Also, to get around the boreir problem.... Instead of using a regular
filter, use a french press. They push the grounds down to the bottom,
allowing you to pour okhel mitokh pesoles.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The Maharal of Prague created a golem, and
micha at aishdas.org        this was a great wonder. But it is much more
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Fax: (270) 514-1507      "mensch"!     -Rabbi Israel Salanter