I've recently started drinking coffee.... real coffee that is. Not the instant crap or the electric machine made: real, hand made, fresh coffee. And it is one of the most awesome things I have encountered. I am still very much a bronze to silver league coffee drinker. But I know that there must be some diamond/master level coffee drinkers on TL, so I decided to make is a thread to discuss everything related to fine coffee!
I started with manual drip coffee. I got a bag of these
and got them ground at the supermarket cause I don't have a grinder yet (so goddamn expensive).
That first day, I went to 2 Walmarts, Target, Wegmans, Weis, JC Penny, Macy's, Sears, and a Bed Bath and Beyond to find a manual coffee dripper but I couldn't fine one anywhere. Guess its a dying breed of coffee brewing. So I came home, ordered one online, and then brew my first cup using a piece of paper towel and funnel. Turned out better than I ever imagined and I was instantly hooked. Its fun, easy, and better than any coffee I ever got at Starbucks.
No stores near me had this 10 dollar brewer that is literally just a cone and a jug
What is your experience with coffee brewing? What is your favorite coffee? Which brewing method should I try next? Discuss!
I have a Philips Senseo and a Nespresso machine. The Nespresso machine is nice for a good strong espresso and I use the Senseo for regular joe. Particularly like the coffee/caramel blend and strong espresso.
This way supposedly is good for brewing coffee as well, but haven't had a chance to try it yet:
On April 13 2011 08:02 RedThor wrote: I prefer to use a french press. It leaves fragrant oils in the brew that are filtered out in drip coffee.
What kind of beans/roast do you use for french press? Someone told me you aren't supposed to do it with darker roasts cause it will come out mad bitter but I've also heard the opposite.
What kind of beans/roast do you use for french press? Someone told me you aren't supposed to do it with darker roasts cause it will come out mad bitter but I've also heard the opposite.
I don't much care for the bitterness of darker roasts in general so I tend to buy a medium roast bean. Typically whichever one is on sale at whole foods... Freshly roasted is key. I buy whole beans and grind myself. It is important to grind coarsely for the French press.
On April 13 2011 08:04 Froadac wrote: Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
Interesting finding. I must say though that until someone finds hard evidence linking French press drinking to adverse health outcomes I'm going to be extremely skeptical.
On April 13 2011 08:03 RyanRushia wrote: i just drink basic dunkin donuts french vanilla with sweet n low and french vanilla creme
basicallllllly super sweet coffee.. hate it to be bitter
I have no idea what I just read.
Well, in all fairness, as long as it has a lot of coffeine in it I cant complain for I am a student. But if I could actually choose and buy good coffee .. I would most likely drink lavazza all day. And if you do not know how to make good cafe, just go to a place where they can from time to time so that you dont get used to the bad stuff.
As you are from the U.S.A. - if you get your beans from brazil, try to get a blend of different arabicas - its like scotch. Sure, single malt is good but I prefer a blended scotch as it gets more complex.
If you are closer to india, get monsooned malabar or mysore nuggets.
But most important : Dont add random stuff into your cafe when it does not make sense to do so.
Went to starbucks once with friends who had me do it and I bought one there. With lots of stuff in it. Never again.
And oh btw : Drink cafe as responsible as you would drink alcohol .. or smoke ... dont over-do it
On April 13 2011 08:04 Froadac wrote: Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
Interesting finding. I must say though that until someone finds hard evidence linking French press drinking to adverse health outcomes I'm going to be extremely skeptical.
Considering the coffee flavor come from the coffee oil, if that is true, no coffee is safe
On April 13 2011 08:04 Froadac wrote: Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
Interesting finding. I must say though that until someone finds hard evidence linking French press drinking to adverse health outcomes I'm going to be extremely skeptical.
I should add to this that probably the most medically and statistically significant finding on the health effects of coffee was found in the recently concluded long term Harvard School of Public Health Nurses Study. They found a strong link between moderate to high coffee drinking and a decreased risk of Alzheimer's and dementia.
On April 13 2011 08:17 Essentia wrote: Iced coffee is great! But only real men drink their coffee black!
Love iced coffee. If you order ice cappuchino at Tim Horton's in Canada, you get slushy mix of coffee and ice. I ordered the same thing when I moved to the states at Dunkin Donuts and I got a cold cappuchino with ice cubes. Took me ages to find out you gotta order a coffee coolatta
Then I went to Dunkin donuts in Korea and found they only have fruit flavored coolattas
I happen to know this guy who roasts his own beans, and has made a small business selling them. Maybe its just the fact that I feel like I'm supporting "mom and pop" when I buy from him, but prefer his roasts over the mass produced stuff.
Oh yeah, I drink my all black, sometimes with a teaspoon of pure cane sugar, but nothing else.
On April 13 2011 08:31 Kamais_Ookin wrote: Starbucks for heavy-duty coffee, McDonald and Timhorton coffee for the lighter coffee, great taste too.
Yeah. Is Timhorton canadian?
In terms of McDonalds coffee I find it to be a good regular cup of coffee, but I don't like their frappucino stuff. Then again, I rarely have real starbucks. (Like once or twice in my life)
Coffee is one of the finer things in life. Believe that. I'm a huge fan of Starbucks, particularly the lighter roasts. I don't like the darker roasts as much but its all good. Kona is my all time favorite but another awesome blend is Jamaican Blue Mountain. Had that once...
I don't like adding stuff to coffee because it hides the individual flavors and the sugar is bad for your teeth and makes your breath bad (worse lol). I have heard that adding cream reduces the stains you get on your teeth but it's not worth it to me.
Another thing to look for is peaberry beans. This is where each shell has two beans in it. It is pretty rare and expensive but tastes so smooth.
Also very good are Americanos (maybe only American term, I dunno). They are made from espresso and diluted with hot water. mmm.
Starbucks recently had to close quite a few stores in Melbourne due to our cafe culture not tolerating their fluff roast.
I make coffee by putting some freshly ground stuff in a little pot on the stove, then heating it to just before boil so the extraction gets going but doesn't burn the coffee; then straining it into a cup.
For my quick fix, I nowadays use a Nespresso machine. Even though I usually hate such proprietary systems, I have to admit that it's the only "convenience" coffee maker which produces stuff I actually like.
In regard to diamond/master league coffee, I would point you to "Turkish coffee" or "Bosnian coffee", which is basically just extremely finely ground coffee and boiling water. While it will usually be pretty sweet (and thus almost inedible) when you order it regularly at some sort of restaurant, it's actually a very decent coffee if you prepare it without sugar. When preparing it yourself, you should get specifically ground coffee powder from any Bosnian or Turkish groceries shop, and I recommend to add an egg (or more, depending on the amount) to the coffee before the water is starting to boil, because the hardening eggwhite will contain the powder, thus functioning as the equivalent of a filter for regular coffee types.
French press is the best way to go, for sure. Steeping fully in the beans brings out a flavor that is simply unavailable any other way.
Fresh roasted is also the other key. Unfortunately, having coffee roasted on that same day is usually impractical. Fresh grinding the beans is also important.
Jamaican Blue Mountain is probably the best I've had, followed closely by Kona. Those however, are both extremely expensive, so for a normal day, I'm good with Sumatran
This thing makes the ultimate coffe, no exotic crap with wierd names just regular black coffe over a fire(preferably in a forest for maximum effect).
Yeah you can't beat coffee over a bonfire. We do that when out camping, and somebody invariably adds a pinch of chewing tobacco. Can't taste it, but it's the idea
I'm a big coffee geek. I spent a summer working for a local roaster that buys coffee from farmers across the world. My twin trains barista's for a living and has flown to South America to meet and learn from local coffee farmers. He also competes in barista competitions (yes they exist lol) and flies around the country working with baristas. He also does triangulation tasting: essentially coffee has terrior, just like wine, and tastes different depending on the exact cultivar of the plant, altitude, and country of origin. Basically, he can tell you in technical detail stuff I can only start to explain.
I brew french press but because I work as a teacher, I don't really have time to brew it the right way (eg. get the right bean to h2o ratio), brew at 190 for 4 mins, decant asap. French press is how I got in to coffee, so it has sentimental value for me as well.
I drink espresso often as long as it is from a reputable roaster and made by a competent barista on the right machine.
I have used the aero-press, which produces strong coffee very quickly with little clean up. I use this when I travel. Great for fast, homemade iced coffee because its strong and quick to make.
Chemex, with non bleached filters, when used with a slow pour method, can produce amazing coffee if, again, you get the right bean to water ratio. Very comparable to new japanese brewing methods (search for a nytimes article written within the last 2 months for more details on this).
I have also had amazingly good coffee brewed using a vacuum brew method, aka siphon. Popular in Sweden & Denmark from the 60's era.
Great coffee is easy: Get fresh beans from a reputable roaster (one in every major city now days), get a good grinder (consistent particle size allows you to control flavor and brew times), search the web to find out exactly how to use your preferred brewing device (it can be more specific than you think; coffeegeek.com) , get a thermometer to measure water temperature.
If you have any questions, just ask; if I can't answer, I can ask my twin, as he is actually fairly well-known in the coffee industry.
I like to think i'm a coffee Grandmaster (at least for someone my age) I roast my own beans in the summertime when I have the time. I also buy regularly online from top roasters in Canada like 49th parallel, Social Coffee Co, Te Aro etc. I consider 49th and Social to be two of the world's best roasters.
For making coffee, you absolutely need a good burr grinder (min range of $80-$140) and yes it must be said again and again: the beans must be fresh roasted (this means roughly less than 15 days stored properly ).
Fresh roasted beans are rarely bought in supermarkets! (though in some larger urban centers you can find fresh coffee in good supermarkets)
I use a french press and a chemex pourover pot for making coffee regularly. I've also got an expensive espresso setup of a Rancilio Silvia w/ PID and a Lelit PL53 grinder. I can make better americanos, lattes (with basic latte art), and espresso than most coffee shops in my hometown.
My favourite espresso is Social coffee co's People's Liberation. If anyone needs tips or info on buying gear, merchant or roaster recommendations, let me know.
On April 13 2011 08:47 homeless_guy wrote: I drink expresso often as long as it is from a reputable roaster and made by a competent barista on the right machine.
Its not fair, I just gave up coffee and caffeine. I loved anything from black to a ton of cream and sugar. My favorite had to be pure unflavored cream with the darkest roast. I used to have a French press and then it cracked. I also have a grinder and one of the those coffee tea kettles. I <3 coffee... Please anyone reading this, have a cup for me
On April 13 2011 09:04 NET wrote: Its not fair, I just gave up coffee and caffeine. I loved anything from black to a ton of cream and sugar. My favorite had to be pure unflavored cream with the darkest roast. I used to have a French press and then it cracked. I also have a grinder and one of the those coffee tea kettles. I <3 coffee... Please anyone reading this, have a cup for me
Will do, sir I'm too lazy to use a french press very often (although I just got one, and this thread is motivating me), but I do like to try a ton of different kinds. My family used to have this sort of prescription where we would be sent 2 different bags of coffee a month, and it was a very wide variety. How i miss it
On April 13 2011 09:00 teacash wrote: I like to think i'm a coffee Grandmaster (at least for someone my age) I roast my own beans in the summertime when I have the time. I also buy regularly online from top roasters in Canada like 49th parallel, Social Coffee Co, Te Aro etc. I consider 49th and Social to be two of the world's best roasters.
For making coffee, you absolutely need a good burr grinder (min range of $80-$140) and yes it must be said again and again: the beans must be fresh roasted (this means roughly less than 15 days stored properly ).
Fresh roasted beans are rarely bought in supermarkets! (though in some larger urban centers you can find fresh coffee in good supermarkets)
I use a french press and a chemex pourover pot for making coffee regularly. I've also got an expensive espresso setup of a Rancilio Silvia w/ PID and a Lelit PL53 grinder. I can make better americanos, lattes (with basic latte art), and espresso than most coffee shops in my hometown.
My favourite espresso is Social coffee co's People's Liberation. If anyone needs tips or info on buying gear, merchant or roaster recommendations, let me know.
Any recommendations for a small grinder? I was looking at this cuisinart grinder because its the cheapest burr grinder that doesn't look like a piece of shit.
anyone have recommendations for ground espresso that is pretty affordable?
ive tried illy (good but expensive), medaglia d'oro (NASTY!), and lavazza(good and cheap), but i'd like to try a few more out before i settle on one. im not much of a coffee snob, so im not looking to buy fancy/expensive/rare coffee that is pooped out of an exotic animal (true story), but any recommendations from the master leaguers would be nice.
Also, I tend to prefer something closer to a medium roast over the darker roasts (sorry if that offends you purists).
On April 13 2011 09:14 homeless_guy wrote: Dragon, you can buy top noch hand grinders (with ceramic adjustable burrs) for cheap. I use a hario hand grinder. 50$
Are hand grinders significantly better than electric ones? I'm a bit lazy Also would appreciate it if you could link me some good ones.
Hand grinders are not as quality as a good electric grinder, but electric grinders are also expensive. If you want electric, buy a refurbished grinder--great quality for much less money. The link I posted above to the hario grinder, shows a great quality adjustable hand grinder.
It take 3-5 minds to grind by hand, depending on the amount, but its worth the time and the money you save.
I just use a regular electric coffee maker and maxwell house with varying flavored creamers, I'm in college though so it's really just cus that's all quick and convenient (and still not bad)
sometimes i get starbucks on campus
I love coffee though, it's definitely my favorite beverage
I usually just drink folgers and brew it with this 2-in-1 coffee brewer + toaster oven my mom gave me when I moved out. Pretty standard I suppose. I love using International Delight for my creamer, preferably the French vanilla or hazelnut flavour. I can drink coffee fine from any place though, whether it's a cappuccino or regular cream + sugar. I just prefer a sweet blend
What makes a Masters league coffee drinker? Frequency? Quality of coffee? Varieties of coffees tasted? Coffee knowledge?
I come from a distinguished line of coffee drinkers. At one time my father drank 10 cups of coffee a day. He now had chronic kidney stones. T_T Don't do that, kids.
I can appreciate good coffee, but I'm sure as hell not a snob about it. Mediocre (even awful) coffee doesn't bother me too much and I drink it on occasion if it's convenient and/or cheap. Last year I drank a lot of Maxwell House- not good, but not nearly as bad as Folgers imo. I've since upgraded to Higgins and Burke's as my standard. Their Sierra Noir coffee is quite good.
i live in san diego. are these local roasters expensive? everything made locally in san diego tends to be a bit expensive haha. they tack on gourmet to their name and bump up their prices.
I have been looking for an excuse to buy a better grinder, the blender-style grinder that i have is pretty shitty and i cant make espresso with it at all.
On April 13 2011 09:26 3clipse wrote: What makes a Masters league coffee drinker? Frequency? Quality of coffee? Varieties of coffees tasted? Coffee knowledge?
I come from a distinguished line of coffee drinkers. At one time my father drank 10 cups of coffee a day. He now had chronic kidney stones. T_T Don't do that, kids.
I can appreciate good coffee, but I'm sure as hell not a snob about it. Mediocre (even awful) coffee doesn't bother me too much and I drink it on occasion if it's convenient and/or cheap. Last year I drank a lot of Maxwell House- not good, but not nearly as bad as Folgers imo. I've since upgraded to Higgins and Burke's as my standard. Their Sierra Noir coffee is quite good.
I think knowledge to make a good cup of coffee. I'm a coffee noob, but after I brewed a cup by hand, I can never go back to the maxwell house instant coffee I used to drink. Those were godawful even for my untrained tongue.
Plus I think its a fun hobby to brew coffee. Its not like wine where you sip it and thats it. Plus, you can do it in the morning without looking like a bum .
Beast, I am looking in to a good san diego roaster. There should be a few. I will let you know hopefully in a few mins. Expect to pay 10-15$ per lb. Just buy in quarter lbs, it's cheaper and should last you a week or two (depending on how much you drink), after which point the coffee will go stale anyways.
From what I saw in the past 10 minutes(lol) it sounds like the Hario Skerton grinder has problems grinding for french press or drip, which will probably be my preferred methods. What has your experience with it been like?
I grab whatever the local coffee shop on campus offers...anything but regular coffee is pretty expensive, so I don't try espressos or lattes or anything like that.
But more importantly, world barista championships!
I would enjoy coffee more if I wasn't so sensitive to caffeine. Basically in college, if I wanted to pull all nighter, I drank a 16oz coke and I was good to go for writing paper all night.
I'm pretty sure those xl espresso will send me to ER. :p
Gah, if you're going to use a drip percolator please use unbleached paper, it leaves your coffee noticeably smoother.
Every method is good for a different style of coffee: the French press makes a nice, light coffee good for having a big mug of for breakfast. Use medium roasts. Steam methods are best for stronger, darker coffee, that mixes well with milks (lattes, macchiattos, cappucinnos, cafe au lait). Make sure you use rich milk so your foam is thick and not bubbly. You should be able to sculpt with it and have it settle back down, and there should be no large bubbles.
Make sure your cup is pre-heated (or at least scalded with hot water) so you don't put your hot coffee in a cold cup. Little spoons and plates add a bit of elegance to the beverage.
I personally drink 4-6 cups a day. Maybe not so good as far as acid reflux is concerned, but I usually just make a pot with the drip percolator (to share with my housemates in the morning). I'll have this with milk or cream, and a little sweet. In the evening I prefer it black, usually an espresso, americano, or a macchiatto sometimes. I'll use a Cuban coffee maker for this (also called a stovetop espresso maker).
Fresh-ground beans are the best, and, if you have the opportunity, a coffee mill is superior to a grinder because it crushes the beans rather than blending them, and it leaves a less "metallic" taste. Country-wise... it's hard to say where the best beans are from. If you really want a good drop, go to some local cafes (not Starbucks or Tim Hortons), sample their coffees over time, and keep track of what you like. Buy a bag of your favorite roast and prepare it at home, keeping track of how many spoonfuls of ground you use per cup of coffee made until you get your proportions just right.
they do NOT make proper espresso, but just a stronger overall cup of coffee. especially great with oily beans, you get all the good oils and a nice jolt of caffeine to get you through the day... (i went from a half pot a day of drip coffee to one cup from the moka :D ). much more of a process to get your cup though, and you want an even grind for the hopper so a burr grinder would be ideal (i've been meaning to get one, my blade grinder is such an uneven grind)
On April 13 2011 09:44 DragonDefonce wrote: homeless_guy//
From what I saw in the past 10 minutes(lol) it sounds like the Hario Skerton grinder has problems grinding for french press or drip, which will probably be my preferred methods. What has your experience with it been like?
I have a Skerton and brew french press. It does have some consistency issues out of the box at coarse ginds, although it is still worlds better than a blade grinder. You can do a mod that adds a bushing to the bottom of the drive shaft which stabilizes it at coarse grinds though.
My favourite coffee currently is probably Waterloo Coffee's Bolivian medium roast (http://waterloocoffee.com/). I find that it develops some particularly pleasant chocolatey flavours when brewed at a 20g:350g coffee:water watio with 93C water for 3:20.
On April 13 2011 08:31 Kamais_Ookin wrote: Starbucks for heavy-duty coffee, McDonald and Timhorton coffee for the lighter coffee, great taste too.
Yeah. Is Timhorton canadian?
In terms of McDonalds coffee I find it to be a good regular cup of coffee, but I don't like their frappucino stuff. Then again, I rarely have real starbucks. (Like once or twice in my life)
Yeah, Timhortons is Canadian. It's really tasty and sweet, but not that much caffeine surprisingly to call it a coffee. I've only been to Starbucks a few times myself, but it's insanely powerful for me, my heart rate goes through the roof lol.
On April 13 2011 09:44 DragonDefonce wrote: homeless_guy//
From what I saw in the past 10 minutes(lol) it sounds like the Hario Skerton grinder has problems grinding for french press or drip, which will probably be my preferred methods. What has your experience with it been like?
I have a Skerton and brew french press. It does have some consistency issues out of the box at coarse ginds, although it is still worlds better than a blade grinder. You can do a mod that adds a bushing to the bottom of the drive shaft which stabilizes it at coarse grinds though.
Is the mod something that can be done relatively easily? I was just gonna get the Kyocera grinder, but it seems that the inconsistency at coarser grinders plague most cheaper hand grinders.
I remember that when I lived in America, the one thing I missed the most about Sweden was the coffe. American coffe tends to be sooo weak and really watery compared to Swedish coffe. Sure, it is possible to find (imo) good coffe in USA too, but I was too lazy to go out of my way to do it...
And no, I never cared about different blends and shit when it comes to coffe. I just need it really dark with no sugar and then I'm happy.
My solution to the coarser grind with hario is to use a medium grind with a shorter brew time to avoid over-brewing which can make the coffer over extraxt, and give it sour or extremely bitter flavor.
On April 13 2011 09:44 DragonDefonce wrote: homeless_guy//
From what I saw in the past 10 minutes(lol) it sounds like the Hario Skerton grinder has problems grinding for french press or drip, which will probably be my preferred methods. What has your experience with it been like?
I have a Skerton and brew french press. It does have some consistency issues out of the box at coarse ginds, although it is still worlds better than a blade grinder. You can do a mod that adds a bushing to the bottom of the drive shaft which stabilizes it at coarse grinds though.
Is the mod something that can be done relatively easily? I was just gonna get the Kyocera grinder, but it seems that the inconsistency at coarser grinders plague most cheaper hand grinders.
The best description of the mod i can find is here. Basically, the problem is that the shaft is only supported at the top, so you add a nylon bushing at the bottom to stabilize it. The bushing shouldn't cost more than a couple of dollars, but what you might have to improvise to get something with the proper diameters at your local hardware store (it should probably be about 7mm internal diameter and around 1/2" external... 1/2" OD, 1/4" ID may be the closest you can get, but you'll have to expand the inside a bit somehow).
On April 13 2011 10:34 BasilPesto wrote: I love my espressos, but I'm still at a 'level' where blends don't really concern me much at all. Same thing with wines really...
On French presses, one is supposed to drink the coffee black right? If so, how is it supposed to taste/be different to a long black?
most espresso's are blends. single-origin espressos are becoming more common.
I am no sure what you mean by "long black" but people tend to drink coffee black because milk/cream etc. overwhelms the subtler tastes.
I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
On April 13 2011 08:04 Froadac wrote: Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
Interesting finding. I must say though that until someone finds hard evidence linking French press drinking to adverse health outcomes I'm going to be extremely skeptical.
I should add to this that probably the most medically and statistically significant finding on the health effects of coffee was found in the recently concluded long term Harvard School of Public Health Nurses Study. They found a strong link between moderate to high coffee drinking and a decreased risk of Alzheimer's and dementia.
Was this tested on Harvard nurses? Also wouldn't people that were able to drink a lot of coffee have enough money to do so, which might imply a more wealthy sample? I personally do not agree that coffee has any benefits expect taste and possibly temporary awareness.
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
On April 13 2011 08:04 Froadac wrote: Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
Interesting finding. I must say though that until someone finds hard evidence linking French press drinking to adverse health outcomes I'm going to be extremely skeptical.
I should add to this that probably the most medically and statistically significant finding on the health effects of coffee was found in the recently concluded long term Harvard School of Public Health Nurses Study. They found a strong link between moderate to high coffee drinking and a decreased risk of Alzheimer's and dementia.
Was this tested on Harvard nurses? Also wouldn't people that were able to drink a lot of coffee have enough money to do so, which might imply a more wealthy sample? I personally do not agree that coffee has any benefits expect taste and possibly temporary awareness.
According to this article the correlation was first discovered through epidemiological studies and then later replicated in animal models. So the wealthier sample may have skewed the results to a degree, but were still the real deal.
On the other hand I saw this article the other day, which was contrary to everything that I've seen produced, which was that if caffeine was good for anything it was reducing the risk of diabetes. I then realized that it was churned out by a psychologist . GG.
As far as academic studies and things you read on the internet go though, I reckon' it's probably best to take them with a grain of salt. Mix the two together and it's probably best to ignore them completely - yet I can't seem to follow my own advice.
Edit: I should probably point out that the first study I linked appears to be completely seperate from the original Harvard(?) study.
Near my office there's a new super pretentious coffee shop, that uses coffee syphons to make their espresso - it's run by a former world's best barrista, and it smells like heaven, but I've never had one of the syphon ones - is it worth it does anyone know?
Emphasis on the don't overdo it, seriously. One very hungover morning I drank far too much coffee, and literally started shaking uncontrollably. Bad times.
I love coffee, about to go drink some now. It holds me together during my work week in between my odd hours. Like today, I got off at 7AM, and I have to go back in at 2PM. Q_Q . Overnight shifts are the worst</3
And when I have days off or when I am relaxing with friends, some nice cups of coffee are always nice.
My honey get the stuff done:
And I currently drink:
It's a really mellow blend but I personally find it has enough kick to keep me going between shifts.
I use a french press like the second poster, and grind the beans just before use. I used to drink flat whites, but recently started to omit the milk and just drink it black.
Also, I'm surprised that no one's mentioned that cup of coffee made from beans passed through a civet cat's digestive system, costing $50-$80 a cup. I'd like to try it one day, if I got the chance.
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
On April 13 2011 08:04 Froadac wrote: Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
Interesting finding. I must say though that until someone finds hard evidence linking French press drinking to adverse health outcomes I'm going to be extremely skeptical.
I should add to this that probably the most medically and statistically significant finding on the health effects of coffee was found in the recently concluded long term Harvard School of Public Health Nurses Study. They found a strong link between moderate to high coffee drinking and a decreased risk of Alzheimer's and dementia.
Was this tested on Harvard nurses? Also wouldn't people that were able to drink a lot of coffee have enough money to do so, which might imply a more wealthy sample? I personally do not agree that coffee has any benefits expect taste and possibly temporary awareness.
According to this article the correlation was first discovered through epidemiological studies and then later replicated in animal models. So the wealthier sample may have skewed the results to a degree, but were still the real deal.
On the other hand I saw this article the other day, which was contrary to everything that I've seen produced, which was that if caffeine was good for anything it was reducing the risk of diabetes. I then realized that it was churned out by a psychologist . GG.
As far as academic studies and things you read on the internet go though, I reckon' it's probably best to take them with a grain of salt. Mix the two together and it's probably best to ignore them completely - yet I can't seem to follow my own advice.
Edit: I should probably point out that the first study I linked appears to be completely seperate from the original Harvard(?) study.
The bolded bit makes sense; caffeine is an appetite suppressant. Less you eat, less diabeetus you'll get. Yay. America, fuck yeah. Of course, that's a very rudimentary and - ah - bad sort of proof. But I have seen this corroborated, citation not forthcoming due to failure to recall where I found it.
But yes, this is a very robusta thread. I like it.
I got a nespresso machine and though its not the best in the world, the quality to price is really good. Some flavors are really nice, for me I like my espresso the stronger the better.
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
A flat white is similar to a cappuccino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam.
According to one report, "flat white" is simply another name for a latte, and the two beverages are identical. "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter."[1]
Sounds like there is a huge difference between your drink and those "lol" lattes and cappucinos.
On April 13 2011 22:54 mdb wrote: I love coffee. I use this to prepare it, I dont know how its called in english :
There aren't English words for a lot of coffee terms, given that coffee is anything but an American tradition.
Here's the thing: Starbucks is held up as a bastion of good coffee in the States. And they burn the shit out of their beans. French Roast? Nah, let's just roast the living Joan of Arc out of our beans!
My current coffee maker is a Black & Decker. Strike two, right? I know. It sucks. Typically, when you have a coffee maker, you want it to *not* be made by the same people that make power tools. Why the hell they would branch into coffee makers is completely beyond me.
"So, Novus, what's your brand of coffee maker?"
"Oh, it's a John Deere, got it free with the purchase of a lawnmower."
And that's basically the American coffee tradition for you. Like my posts, it's usually a joke, and it's almost always terrible.
If you're ever in Columbus, however, I'd recommend stopping by Luck Bros. Coffee. It's fantastic. Miles better than Starbucks, and even better than Crimson Cup - which is cool, because the latter's Armando Blend is one of the better ones I've had.
I can only comment on coffee I've purchased at places. My current collegiate nature generally delegates me to varying degrees of awful when I make coffee, due to the fact that I got my coffee maker free with the purchase of a set of wrenches.
I use a standard drip coffee maker and a coffee bean grinder to make my coffee. Generally, I buy whole bean 8 o'clock columbian coffee. IMO the best whole bean coffee when you have to consider price.
Edit: Lately, 8 o'clock coffee prices have be rising.
Sometimes I want to be a coffee connoisseur but usually I just stick to Caramel Frappuchinos at Starbucks. Expensive as hell but worth it every once and a while when I feel like I'm dying.
On April 13 2011 23:13 caruso wrote: I'll prolly get burned for this, but I drink around a liter of Nestle instant coffee a day and I love the taste.
Your stuff looks way more delicious of cause, but I'm just a poor student.
*holds*
It's okay. We can get through this.
/sarcasm
Maybe your instant coffee isn't that bad. I was just scarred by Instant coffee recently. It tasted like soy sauce. That was the end of that experiment.
On April 13 2011 23:16 Nokarot wrote: Sometimes I want to be a coffee connoisseur but usually I just stick to Caramel Frappuchinos at Starbucks. Expensive as hell but worth it every once and a while when I feel like I'm dying.
Yes! Finally someone who likes frappucinos. My favorite drink ever. Really nice on a hot summer day. I also like iced coffee quite a bit.
I think Starbucks has pretty good drinks actually for anything that's not a regular coffee.
On April 13 2011 23:16 Nokarot wrote: Sometimes I want to be a coffee connoisseur but usually I just stick to Caramel Frappuchinos at Starbucks. Expensive as hell but worth it every once and a while when I feel like I'm dying.
Yes! Finally someone who likes frappucinos. My favorite drink ever. Really nice on a hot summer day. I also like iced coffee quite a bit.
I think Starbucks has pretty good drinks actually for anything that's not a regular coffee.
dingdingding
If you go there for the milkshakes and what have you where the coffee's flavor is marginalized, they can make really quite good drinks.
Also, I wouldn't say that Starbucks is considered the bastion of good coffee in the States. I mean, it's not like McDonald's is considered the epitome of a good burger. It's just the most popular chain.
(This isn't to say, either, that there aren't rabid Starbucks partisans. I worked at one in college, and I have seen the fanatics face-to-face. I just think there are a lot of people in general who treat Starbucks like the mass-producer that it is.)
On April 13 2011 23:23 HULKAMANIA wrote: Also, I wouldn't say that Starbucks is considered the bastion of good coffee in the States. I mean, it's not like McDonald's is considered the epitome of a good burger. It's just the most popular chain.
(This isn't to say, either, that there aren't rabid Starbucks partisans. I worked at one in college, and I have seen the fanatics face-to-face. I just think there are a lot of people in general who treat Starbucks like the mass-producer that it is.)
Valid. It's just that I think that generally, there is an undue reverence awarded Starbucks when it comes to something other than their milkshakes.
Here's the thing: Starbucks is held up as a bastion of good coffee in the States.
It's held up as the most popular specialty coffee seller.. People who have only drank Dunkin Donuts and Folgers and Maxwell House may hold it up as the "tops" in coffee.. People who like sugary flavoured steamed milk with a tiny bit of espresso in it may also hold up starbucks as the "tops" in coffee as well..
But anyone who knows anything about decent coffee would laugh and laugh at your statement.. There is a considerable market for good fresh roasted coffee, and it shows by the success of top roasters/shops like Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Gimme, PTs, Klatch etc
I know where you're coming from in your statement, but i must take issue with it just because there is a large community of people in america who do know what good coffee is and they know that starbucks is a joke in comparison. You are right about how they burn their beans too, especially espresso. The bags starbucks sells on shelves are also so stale it's a tragedy.
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
A flat white is similar to a cappuccino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam.
According to one report, "flat white" is simply another name for a latte, and the two beverages are identical. "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter."[1]
Sounds like there is a huge difference between your drink and those "lol" lattes and cappucinos.
But as this quote proves, pretentious coffee fags come from all over the world. Why someone gets smug over coffee I have no idea. In highschool beerbongs made you king and now with the sophistication of university it's the ability to drink straight liqour with a straigther face.
Coffee is a necessity, but it nothing to flaunt coolness about hipster fags.
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
A flat white is similar to a cappuccino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam.
According to one report, "flat white" is simply another name for a latte, and the two beverages are identical. "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter."[1]
Sounds like there is a huge difference between your drink and those "lol" lattes and cappucinos.
But as this quote proves, pretentious coffee fags come from all over the world. Why someone gets smug over coffee I have no idea. In highschool beerbongs made you king and now with the sophistication of university it's the ability to drink straight liqour with a straigther face.
Coffee is a necessity, but it nothing to flaunt coolness about hipster fags.
If being passionate about coffee and learning about coffee makes you smug, arrogant, and snobby, then can't you say that about anyone who is deeply interested in anything at all? Some people can be classified as pretentious or snobby, but having an interest in something doesn't make you such..
Here's the thing: Starbucks is held up as a bastion of good coffee in the States.
It's held up as the most popular specialty coffee seller.. People who have only drank Dunkin Donuts and Folgers and Maxwell House may hold it up as the "tops" in coffee.. People who like sugary flavoured steamed milk with a tiny bit of espresso in it may also hold up starbucks as the "tops" in coffee as well..
But anyone who knows anything about decent coffee would laugh and laugh at your statement.. There is a considerable market for good fresh roasted coffee, and it shows by the success of top roasters/shops like Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Gimme, PTs, Klatch etc
I know where you're coming from in your statement, but i must take issue with it just because there is a large community of people in america who do know what good coffee is and they know that starbucks is a joke in comparison. You are right about how they burn their beans too, especially espresso. The bags starbucks sells on shelves are also so stale it's a tragedy.
Perhaps it's just because I come from a small town that my sample is biased. I do hope I'm wrong. But from where I come from, the only word (not main - only) against Starbucks is that they're overpriced, which while true, shows that Starbucks coffee is considered a luxury.
Small-town life leads one to be pessimistic. Perhaps you're right. Sic spero.
Also,
On April 13 2011 23:48 MiniRoman wrote: Dude you're Canadian and he said in the states. I'm sure American's all love that shit.
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
A flat white is similar to a cappuccino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam.
According to one report, "flat white" is simply another name for a latte, and the two beverages are identical. "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter."[1]
Sounds like there is a huge difference between your drink and those "lol" lattes and cappucinos.
But as this quote proves, pretentious coffee fags come from all over the world. Why someone gets smug over coffee I have no idea. In highschool beerbongs made you king and now with the sophistication of university it's the ability to drink straight liqour with a straigther face.
Coffee is a necessity, but it nothing to flaunt coolness about hipster fags.
Turkish Coffee so delicious such as espresso but alas, it's gone in a few sips. Not completely fulfilling, lately I've been digging the more sugary good stuff. Caramel Frapp
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
A flat white is similar to a cappuccino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam.
According to one report, "flat white" is simply another name for a latte, and the two beverages are identical. "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter."[1]
Sounds like there is a huge difference between your drink and those "lol" lattes and cappucinos.
But as this quote proves, pretentious coffee fags come from all over the world. Why someone gets smug over coffee I have no idea. In highschool beerbongs made you king and now with the sophistication of university it's the ability to drink straight liqour with a straigther face.
Coffee is a necessity, but it nothing to flaunt coolness about hipster fags.
If being passionate about coffee and learning about coffee makes you smug, arrogant, and snobby, then can't you say that about anyone who is deeply interested in anything at all? Some people can be classified as pretentious or snobby, but having an interest in something doesn't make you such..
Have you ever stepped foot inside a coffee shop? The indie-hipster pretention is through the roof.
I'm not one of those people who drink 5 cups of coffee a day. Coffee is purely a luxury and pleasure product for me, consumed perhaps once a week, in the right situations. When I go to a cafè with friends for example, I enjoy a capuccino with a nice crown of milk froth on top.
But nothing comes close to a really strong Italian espresso. It's bitter, sweet, aromatic and hot at the same time; a flavor bomb of pleasure for multiple senses. Apparently the mere thought brings out the poet in me.
On April 14 2011 00:00 MiniRoman wrote: Have you ever stepped foot inside a coffee shop? The indie-hipster pretention is through the roof. Novus: mmhmm
Any recommendations re: roasters in Vancouver, Canada?
Also, any comment on how much impact on flavor a burr grinder makes vs. blade? - presently I use a basic electric blade grinder and a french press, occasionally with an espresso maker. I understand the burr will give a more consistent grind but I have no idea how much difference that makes to the flavor of the end result.
On April 13 2011 23:59 Slardar wrote: Turkish Coffee so delicious such as espresso but alas, it's gone in a few sips. Not completely fulfilling, lately I've been digging the more sugary good stuff. Caramel Frapp
Also - Happy bday to me! ^^
Turkish coffee is sooooo good. My girlfriend is Bosnian and she makes it for me all the time.
On April 14 2011 00:04 YaySC42 wrote: Any recommendations re: roasters in Vancouver, Canada?
Also, any comment on how much impact on flavor a burr grinder makes vs. blade? - presently I use a basic electric blade grinder and a french press, occasionally with an espresso maker. I understand the burr will give a more consistent grind but I have no idea how much difference that makes to the flavor of the end result.
If you're using good coffee, it will make a considerable difference. Blade grinders cut the coffee into random-sized chunks that don't extract well at all, and with a french press there will be excess fines that arent filtered out and so the coffee will continue to over-extract after it's been poured (more so than with properly ground coffee). Quality burr grinders basically shave the beans into better-sized particles resulting in more even extractions and it's a lot easier to adjust other variables (brew time and coffee amount) to get a better cup.
As for roasters in Vancouver, it's basically the mecca of the canadian coffee world, so you'll do alright wherever you end up.. I'd recommend Caffe Artigiano, 49th Parallel, Elysian, Wicked, and Innocent
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
A flat white is similar to a cappuccino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam.
According to one report, "flat white" is simply another name for a latte, and the two beverages are identical. "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter."[1]
Sounds like there is a huge difference between your drink and those "lol" lattes and cappucinos.
But as this quote proves, pretentious coffee fags come from all over the world. Why someone gets smug over coffee I have no idea. In highschool beerbongs made you king and now with the sophistication of university it's the ability to drink straight liqour with a straigther face.
Coffee is a necessity, but it nothing to flaunt coolness about hipster fags.
If being passionate about coffee and learning about coffee makes you smug, arrogant, and snobby, then can't you say that about anyone who is deeply interested in anything at all? Some people can be classified as pretentious or snobby, but having an interest in something doesn't make you such..
Being "passionate about coffee" does not make you a coffee snob. What makes you a coffee snob is doing things like denigrating an entire country of people because they don't happen to popularly consume your particular style of latte, which is what I think MiniRoman was reacting to.
He may be right about coffee, in general, having an unusually high concentration of snobs as well. My own not-insignificant experience with coffee shops over the years (both as a customer and as an employee) leads me to think that coffee may spawn more than it's fair share of dickheads who are just looking for a chance to flaunt the superiority of their tastes. I mean it's basically a formula in coffee conversations. One person ventures an opinion. Other people immediately chime in: "Gah! You don't prepare your coffee in X device? AND/OR You don't buy from X roaster? AND/OR You don't serve your coffee in X style? You don't know what real coffee is!" Then the interminable debates ensue.
In the end, though, I honestly sympathize with both of you in this debate.
On the one hand, I really like coffee. My journey from drinking mostly sugar-cream with a little coffee in elementary school to enjoying a daily black iced coffee and the occasional espresso shot nowadays has been a genuinely enjoyable one for me. And yet I have come to really despise talking about coffee because you typically have to put up with so much pretense and priggishness to do it. So I mean I like the sincere coffee lovers out there. They're good folk. But I happen to think the coffee-snob haters out there have really good points as well.
On April 13 2011 11:38 snotboogie wrote: I recently found out that Americans don't drink Flat Whites. As a student I pretty much run on coffee and get a Flat White every day... damn it feels good to be Australian. Lattes and cappucinos? lol.
A flat white is similar to a cappuccino but uses microfoam instead of dry foam.
According to one report, "flat white" is simply another name for a latte, and the two beverages are identical. "The only difference between the two drinks is the vessel in which they're presented. A flat white is served in a ceramic cup, usually of the same volume (200 millilitres) as a latte glass. However, some cafes will top a latte with extra froth, while others may pour a flat white slightly shorter."[1]
Sounds like there is a huge difference between your drink and those "lol" lattes and cappucinos.
But as this quote proves, pretentious coffee fags come from all over the world. Why someone gets smug over coffee I have no idea. In highschool beerbongs made you king and now with the sophistication of university it's the ability to drink straight liqour with a straigther face.
Coffee is a necessity, but it nothing to flaunt coolness about hipster fags.
I'd just like to point out that drinking liquor normally has nothing to do with being a hipster and everything to do with being a MAN
Starbucks is for fake hipsters anyway. The real deal hipsters find those little joints that no one knows about for added smuggness
On April 14 2011 00:04 YaySC42 wrote: Any recommendations re: roasters in Vancouver, Canada?
Also, any comment on how much impact on flavor a burr grinder makes vs. blade? - presently I use a basic electric blade grinder and a french press, occasionally with an espresso maker. I understand the burr will give a more consistent grind but I have no idea how much difference that makes to the flavor of the end result.
Vancouver can eat a dick 9 days out of 10, but they do make some great coffee.
At home I use my french press, I like the thickness of the coffee it produces and as my girlfriend only consumes coffee in a 1:1 ratio with cream and sugar I don't need alot of it at a time.
A upscale cafe that we have in Edmonton uses some very (very) nice beans and a clover brewing contraption making each cup on its own. It makes absolutely amazing coffee, you put fresh grounds in a little cylinder on top which is filled with near boiling water (just cool enough to not burn the beans) and the grounds are sorta dunked in and out sort of like steeping tea. You have to try it to realise how good it makes coffee.
[image blocked]
ooo videos!
On April 14 2011 00:04 YaySC42 wrote: Any recommendations re: roasters in Vancouver, Canada?
Also, any comment on how much impact on flavor a burr grinder makes vs. blade? - presently I use a basic electric blade grinder and a french press, occasionally with an espresso maker. I understand the burr will give a more consistent grind but I have no idea how much difference that makes to the flavor of the end result.
I believe metal blades can burn the beans a little bit but I don't have any sources on the matter though it seems like it makes sense.
dogmeatstew// that is some epic overkill machine lol.
"Now, the machine itself costs 11 thousand dollars, which sounds expensive but basically what you are paying for is a team of stanford engineers to build this thing by hand".
I wonder if that really is 11 thousand dollars or 1100 and he just made a mistake.
I was a barista before getting into my current IT job( IT Technician ). I worked at AUT Auckland City for 1 year( 2009 ). Before that I didn't even drink coffee. But because I had to find work, I decided to just be a barista(I thought it might be easy).
Luckly I was trained well and eventually after a couple months I was making coffee people would come back for and praise me for.
One thing that I never really mastered ( and still want to master ). Was coffee art, or latte art. Example:
On April 14 2011 06:08 DragonDefonce wrote: dogmeatstew// that is some epic overkill machine lol.
"Now, the machine itself costs 11 thousand dollars, which sounds expensive but basically what you are paying for is a team of stanford engineers to build this thing by hand".
I wonder if that really is 11 thousand dollars or 1100 and he just made a mistake.
Luckily for this discussion I've actually had this conversation with the baristas at Transcend (the place that has them) and they are in fact $11k... its pretty crazy. They do make a fantastic cup of coffee though and the cafe in question has 2 at each of their 3 locations heh, kind of insane.
You pay for what you get though, I don't buy coffee from there often simply because a cup from that machine costs between $3 and $5 depending on what beans you want (which btw they have out so you can smell them and pick...).
On April 14 2011 07:05 [Agony]x90 wrote: I'm not a coffee drinker, but coffee always looks/smells delicious. The taste is simply too strong for me .
Milk or cream really mutes the bitterness of coffee. You could probably find that happy medium where the flavor you enjoy in the smell isn't overpowered by the strength of coffee-taste. I would try a flavored latte or a cafe au lait and go from there. Just a thought.
I've been drinking coffee since before I could talk (I have a crazy grandmother who enjoyed the fact that I would help her drink her coffee when I was a wee lad). It still was a long time (I was in my early twenties) before I really developed a taste for pure, black coffee. If you like the idea of coffee and the aroma, I would say go ahead and dip your toes in, just don't try to rush your way into the chugging espresso shots overnight. I think you'll find that there is a wide variety of mild and sweet coffee drinks to enjoy as you gradually develop a taste for more concentrated varieties.
On April 13 2011 07:58 DragonDefonce wrote: I've recently started drinking coffee.... real coffee that is. Not the instant crap or the electric machine made: real, hand made, fresh coffee. And it is one of the most awesome things I have encountered. I am still very much a bronze to silver league coffee drinker. But I know that there must be some diamond/master level coffee drinkers on TL, so I decided to make is a thread to discuss everything related to fine coffee!
I started with manual drip coffee. I got a bag of these
and got them ground at the supermarket cause I don't have a grinder yet (so goddamn expensive).
That first day, I went to 2 Walmarts, Target, Wegmans, Weis, JC Penny, Macy's, Sears, and a Bed Bath and Beyond to find a manual coffee dripper but I couldn't fine one anywhere. Guess its a dying breed of coffee brewing. So I came home, ordered one online, and then brew my first cup using a piece of paper towel and funnel. Turned out better than I ever imagined and I was instantly hooked. Its fun, easy, and better than any coffee I ever got at Starbucks.
No stores near me had this 10 dollar brewer that is literally just a cone and a jug
What is your experience with coffee brewing? What is your favorite coffee? Which brewing method should I try next? Discuss!
Go in the camping department. That's where they keep the cheap/good brewers now.
My baby along with two of my favourite capsule. Nothing like a homemade espresso first thing saturday morning. Strong black and unadulterated. Coffee in its pure form. Particularly, it it's brought to you by a lovely lady. I promised myself that if I went back to study I would get a decent coffee machine and new laptop. Coffee machine came first of course. I got the one without the milk thing because milk is for pussies. Literally, cats love milk.
It's expensive but for anybody wanting a mess free, quick and really good cuppa coffee can't go past Nespresso.
One of my latte art examples. Using a Rancilio Silvia machine and a naked portafilter :D
To the guy asking about the burr grinder. They also use much less friction as they work, which means they don't heat up the coffee as they grind, which also helps to lead to a better quality grind.
I live in Canberra and there was a dearth of good coffee until Lonsdale St. Roasters opened up about a year ago. Their double ristretto with a Guatemalan blend tastes just like churned butter. Take the occasional few days off uni to travel to Melbourne or Sydney to just drink coffee. Nothing beats walking into a coffee shop with a Slayer, when it's quiet, and asking the barista to muck about with it with different blends, timings, pressures and temperatures. I hated espresso until I realised that most places in Australia are terrible at making them.
Wow I never knew people took coffee so seriously. We have one of those Keurig "k-cup" machines. Some of the flavours are good, but for the most part they taste more burnt that the Tim's around the corner... D:
So after my 8 am class today I went to the coffee bean on campus...stood in line for a good while...then realized the woman at the counter had been calling "next" for some time with a line behind me....damn I hate morning classes but coffee sure helps.
It's strange, I never really liked coffee until I became a college student, but it's true, college will make a coffee addict out of you. Now I drink just about every variety of coffee, though I still need a little sugar in it straight, bitter just is not my thing.
On April 15 2011 01:56 Chahta wrote: So after my 8 am class today I went to the coffee bean on campus...stood in line for a good while...then realized the woman at the counter had been calling "next" for some time with a line behind me....damn I hate morning classes but coffee sure helps.
It's strange, I never really liked coffee until I became a college student, but it's true, college will make a coffee addict out of you. Now I drink just about every variety of coffee, though I still need a little sugar in it straight, bitter just is not my thing.
While this thread is still front page, let me ask a question: Has anyone here ever had success cold brewing coffee?
On a number of different occasions, I have tried to get a good system down for cold brewing, but I've never had any real success. I've researched it on the internet, too, but I can't seem to find an answer for brew times and proportions of grounds to water that actually results in drinkable coffee to me. So I would like to hear from someone who has actually done it and made a passably tasty product.
Anyone?
(I say passably tasty because I tend to like hot-brewed iced coffee a little more than cold-brewed iced coffee. It's just that cold brewing my own iced coffee would be off the charts as far as convenience goes so I would love to have a working recipe/method down for it.)
On April 15 2011 08:29 HULKAMANIA wrote: While this thread is still front page, let me ask a question: Has anyone here ever had success cold brewing coffee?
On a number of different occasions, I have tried to get a good system down for cold brewing, but I've never had any real success. I've researched it on the internet, too, but I can't seem to find an answer for brew times and proportions of grounds to water that actually results in drinkable coffee to me. So I would like to hear from someone who has actually done it and made a passably tasty product.
Anyone?
(I say passably tasty because I tend to like hot-brewed iced coffee a little more than cold-brewed iced coffee. It's just that cold brewing my own iced coffee would be off the charts as far as convenience goes so I would love to have a working recipe/method down for it.)
Have you tried making dutch coffee? Its this long process of brewing with cold water where you drip cold water into coffee for hours.
On April 15 2011 08:29 HULKAMANIA wrote: While this thread is still front page, let me ask a question: Has anyone here ever had success cold brewing coffee?
On a number of different occasions, I have tried to get a good system down for cold brewing, but I've never had any real success. I've researched it on the internet, too, but I can't seem to find an answer for brew times and proportions of grounds to water that actually results in drinkable coffee to me. So I would like to hear from someone who has actually done it and made a passably tasty product.
Anyone?
(I say passably tasty because I tend to like hot-brewed iced coffee a little more than cold-brewed iced coffee. It's just that cold brewing my own iced coffee would be off the charts as far as convenience goes so I would love to have a working recipe/method down for it.)
Have you tried making dutch coffee? Its this long process of brewing with cold water where you drip cold water into coffee for hours.
Wow. I appreciate the tip. I'll have to look into that little contraption. At the very least I'm interested to try it just so I can have one of those sitting on my kitchen counter looking badass!
On April 15 2011 01:32 Albrithe wrote: Wow I never knew people took coffee so seriously. We have one of those Keurig "k-cup" machines. Some of the flavours are good, but for the most part they taste more burnt that the Tim's around the corner... D:
On April 13 2011 08:02 RedThor wrote: I prefer to use a french press. It leaves fragrant oils in the brew that are filtered out in drip coffee.
Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
French press is the only way to go when making espresso, but YEAH are the oils unhealthy in a standard cup of coffee.
As far as regular coffee goes, I generally like a super dark roasted bean brewed super slow, just to get as much flavor as possible, and then I make it extremely light, half and half/cream until it's a buttery caramel color and 2/3 generous scoops of sugar. I was always a fan of light coffee as I first started drinking, and making it this way with whichever dark roast you enjoy is just the best of both worlds in my opinion
On April 15 2011 08:29 HULKAMANIA wrote: While this thread is still front page, let me ask a question: Has anyone here ever had success cold brewing coffee?
On a number of different occasions, I have tried to get a good system down for cold brewing, but I've never had any real success. I've researched it on the internet, too, but I can't seem to find an answer for brew times and proportions of grounds to water that actually results in drinkable coffee to me. So I would like to hear from someone who has actually done it and made a passably tasty product.
Anyone?
(I say passably tasty because I tend to like hot-brewed iced coffee a little more than cold-brewed iced coffee. It's just that cold brewing my own iced coffee would be off the charts as far as convenience goes so I would love to have a working recipe/method down for it.)
I did this last summer just because it was soooo amazingly effective. It'll take a long time to do but here goes.
1: Get a sun tea jar (basically any big super clear glass jar will work)
2: Grind about 4-6 TBSP of your favorite coffee beans (use roughly 1.2X what you would use for hot brewing)
3: Fill tea jar with water. Put ground coffee in a cheesecloth, tie a string around it with ~ 4 inches of slack on the end
4: (optional) add 1 stick of cinnamon, few slices of lemon, or anything else you'd like in a summer drink
5: Screw lid on to sun tea jar, suspending the string on the cheesecloth under the lid inside the jar so it's roughly in the middle of the jar
6: Bring it outside with you or leave it in your windowsill. 6-8 hours later you have your iced coffee. I prefer mixing in syrup instead of sugar just because I don't like the texture of unmelted sugar in cold coffee.
On April 13 2011 08:02 RedThor wrote: I prefer to use a french press. It leaves fragrant oils in the brew that are filtered out in drip coffee.
Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
French press is the only way to go when making espresso, but YEAH are the oils unhealthy in a standard cup of coffee.
As far as regular coffee goes, I generally like a super dark roasted bean brewed super slow, just to get as much flavor as possible, and then I make it extremely light, half and half/cream until it's a buttery caramel color and 2/3 generous scoops of sugar. I was always a fan of light coffee as I first started drinking, and making it this way with whichever dark roast you enjoy is just the best of both worlds in my opinion
There is so much wrong in this post that i am struggling to keep my inner coffee snob from gagging.
First. French press an espresso are different ways of brewing. Saying you can make espresso with a french press doesnt make any sense.
Second. The reason why you need to add sugar and milk to your coffee is because you leave it brewing in your plunger for too long. What you are doing when you let it brew slowly is overexxtract the beans which causes bitterness. It doesnt help that you start off with a dark roast cos they will make your coffee even more bitter. What you are drinking isnt strong coffee or light coffee. Its just bad coffee water with sugar and milk to mask the unpleasantness.
Third. Coffee oils are fine for you. Everything in moderation. As in without cream and generous helpings of sugar. Plus the harm from oils taken from drip coffeee compared to plunger coffee are negligible next to espresso. Espresso extracts far more oils than french press ever could. The crema in an espresso shot is the oil.
Boom. Done.
Anyways im glad that you enjoy your coffee. I also find that alot of cream and sugar helps me drink coffee of the instant variety.
I used to drink coffee. After I tried espresso a few years ago, I never went back. Coffee's just so watery and lacks so much of that coffee flavor that espresso has.
On April 13 2011 08:02 RedThor wrote: I prefer to use a french press. It leaves fragrant oils in the brew that are filtered out in drip coffee.
Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
French press is the only way to go when making espresso, but YEAH are the oils unhealthy in a standard cup of coffee.
As far as regular coffee goes, I generally like a super dark roasted bean brewed super slow, just to get as much flavor as possible, and then I make it extremely light, half and half/cream until it's a buttery caramel color and 2/3 generous scoops of sugar. I was always a fan of light coffee as I first started drinking, and making it this way with whichever dark roast you enjoy is just the best of both worlds in my opinion
Second. The reason why you need to add sugar and milk to your coffee is because you leave it brewing in your plunger for too long. What you are doing when you let it brew slowly is overexxtract the beans which causes bitterness. It doesnt help that you start off with a dark roast cos they will make your coffee even more bitter. What you are drinking isnt strong coffee or light coffee. Its just bad coffee water with sugar and milk to mask the unpleasantness.
Some people like the overbrewed bitter taste. I heard french people actually leave the coffee sitting in the french press for like 10 minutes. There are also people who drink robusta so I don't think its fair to say that thats the wrong way to brew coffee.
I actually drink my coffee black when I have it at home; usually it's whatever flavor (irish cream mostly) my parents buy at the grocery store, but it's decent enough to be enjoyable straight. However, adding cream/milk is a must whenever I'm out, especially from Starbucks.
As for espresso.. I got a relatively cheap machine a couple of years ago and it has saved my life. My GPA for that year actually rose significantly. Double espresso cappucino to start the day is unreal.
Regarding freshness, I just brewed myself a cup and its been exactly 4 days(to the hour) since I bought the coffee(same one on the OP) and ground it at the supermarket. And lemme tell you, this thing is rancid. It is very acidic and it has none of the taste I had when I first bought it. It was good till 2 days ago, and yesterday I didn't have any. But today, this tastes like instant coffee. And I have another half a bag of these to go
On April 13 2011 08:02 RedThor wrote: I prefer to use a french press. It leaves fragrant oils in the brew that are filtered out in drip coffee.
Unfortunately those oils raise LDL cholesterol, because those oils are pretty bad for you
I rarely have coffee: have had starbucks once.
When I do have coffee I have it black out of a standard electric drip coffee machine. Well, black with a tad of sugar, but not really that much.
French press is the only way to go when making espresso, but YEAH are the oils unhealthy in a standard cup of coffee.
As far as regular coffee goes, I generally like a super dark roasted bean brewed super slow, just to get as much flavor as possible, and then I make it extremely light, half and half/cream until it's a buttery caramel color and 2/3 generous scoops of sugar. I was always a fan of light coffee as I first started drinking, and making it this way with whichever dark roast you enjoy is just the best of both worlds in my opinion
Second. The reason why you need to add sugar and milk to your coffee is because you leave it brewing in your plunger for too long. What you are doing when you let it brew slowly is overexxtract the beans which causes bitterness. It doesnt help that you start off with a dark roast cos they will make your coffee even more bitter. What you are drinking isnt strong coffee or light coffee. Its just bad coffee water with sugar and milk to mask the unpleasantness.
Some people like the overbrewed bitter taste. I heard french people actually leave the coffee sitting in the french press for like 10 minutes. There are also people who drink robusta so I don't think its fair to say that thats the wrong way to brew coffee.
First I have heard of it. But I do know people still drink percolated coffee in some parts of the world so it makes sense in a bad way. If I want more strong coffee I just overdose to like 9g/100ml of water and add water to the cup if its too strong.
Im actually curious as of how robusta would taste if I roasted it myself. They cant all be bad and my green bean dealer has a few in stock. Theres some really iffy and low grade arabicas out there as well.
On April 15 2011 08:29 HULKAMANIA wrote: While this thread is still front page, let me ask a question: Has anyone here ever had success cold brewing coffee?
On a number of different occasions, I have tried to get a good system down for cold brewing, but I've never had any real success. I've researched it on the internet, too, but I can't seem to find an answer for brew times and proportions of grounds to water that actually results in drinkable coffee to me. So I would like to hear from someone who has actually done it and made a passably tasty product.
Anyone?
(I say passably tasty because I tend to like hot-brewed iced coffee a little more than cold-brewed iced coffee. It's just that cold brewing my own iced coffee would be off the charts as far as convenience goes so I would love to have a working recipe/method down for it.)
I did this last summer just because it was soooo amazingly effective. It'll take a long time to do but here goes.
1: Get a sun tea jar (basically any big super clear glass jar will work)
2: Grind about 4-6 TBSP of your favorite coffee beans (use roughly 1.2X what you would use for hot brewing)
3: Fill tea jar with water. Put ground coffee in a cheesecloth, tie a string around it with ~ 4 inches of slack on the end
4: (optional) add 1 stick of cinnamon, few slices of lemon, or anything else you'd like in a summer drink
5: Screw lid on to sun tea jar, suspending the string on the cheesecloth under the lid inside the jar so it's roughly in the middle of the jar
6: Bring it outside with you or leave it in your windowsill. 6-8 hours later you have your iced coffee. I prefer mixing in syrup instead of sugar just because I don't like the texture of unmelted sugar in cold coffee.
7: Pour in a glass of ice. Enjoy =D
Thank you very much for the specifics. I'll have to secure a jar, give this a shot, and see what I can get crackalackin, as it were.
As for the sweetener, I've made my own liquid sugar on many occasions (the brand Sugar in The Raw makes for delicious home-made sweetener, in my humble opinion). I typically drink my coffee black but every once in a while I get a wild hair and want to make one of these:
which I'm sure has an official name, but which I've only ever heard called Thai iced coffee. As a desert drink, at any rate, they're delicious as hell.
French Press, coffee grinder, and currently drinking Double Smoked French Bean. Really dark, really good. I never put milk or sugar in my coffee or espresso. When I was in college my study nights consisted of large Nitro coffee (i think it was a French), study for an hour or two, and then a Pepsi. Worked wonders and got me through lots of essays and readings.
Regarding latte art, I could make four-leaf clovers when I worked in a coffee shop. And hearts, but that was my extent. I was more into drinking coffee than staring at it while it gets cold.
On April 13 2011 08:35 indigoawareness wrote: I like my coffee how I like my women.
I got a nice Bodum french press and a random coffee grinder. It's not too bad for french presses, cause you only need the largest grounds and not the fine one for espresso. I'm buying my beans from a small roastery (idk if that word exists :O) around the corner, so i always get freshly roasted beans which is awesome. Since i got all that stuff i cannot stand being at my parent's, cause they only got a pretty normal filter coffee machine and use preground beans. It really is a giant difference. ATM i'm using medium roasted beans from Guatemala. They're ok, a little bitter for my taste, i would prefer Guinea or South American.
Currently I'm the only one in my group of friends that adds cayenne pepper to his coffee. I just love the small hit it gives as an after taste. Anyone else do this?
Tim Hortons puts crack in their coffee, best coffee on earth. lol maybe not crack, but i think they put something in the cream that keeps people coming back i was never a coffee drinker then i had tims i have been drinking coffee errday for like 5 years now if any of you are ever in canada, STAY AWAY from tim hortons coffee
I can't remember who it was that was interested in great coffee in the San Diego area, but I have managed to find a fairly authoritative blog that compiles reviews of coffee & coffee shops, in which several San Diego shops are reviewed. Hope this helps you drink some great coffee.
For everyone else, this guy have been all over the place, so find your local coffee shop, drink some world class coffee and espresso.
I have heard okay things about blue bottle, but ritual is definitely considered to have world class coffee and baristas. Check them out if you live in the san fran area.
My girlfriend is a barista at Starbucks and usually makes me some weird drink that has Vanilla bean,ice,milk,protein,and chocolate chips needless to say its not a coffee drink but is delicious and reminds me of cookies and cream
On April 17 2011 02:03 cca1ss1e wrote: Big on Tim Horton's here, being Canadian and all.. going to grab one for TSL3.
I actually wouldn't mind trying more spiced or flavoured coffee.
The thing I hate the most about coffee is like the coffee breath you get from drinking it.. seems like it sticks to your tongue and mouth, lol.
XD
Actually, coffee grounds are used as an odor neutralizer when sampling different scents, say for candles or perfumes. If you don't like the smell, you can add your favorite scent to the grounds and leave them in a bowl around the house. This is the reason YOU DONT PUT COFFEE GROUNDS IN THE FRIDGE OR FREEZER because the oils soak up the smells in the fridge and ruin ur tasty beans. It's the same logic behind iced brewed coffee recipes mentioned awhile back.
makes sense.. well I always see a bunch of loose beans in the grocery store in so many flavours.. wouldn't mind grinding some up and trying them.. well, maybe not from a grocery store.
tim hortons is definitely great, but it's just plain coffee and I don't much like getting those "flavour shots" that they have, lolz.
On April 17 2011 02:03 cca1ss1e wrote: Big on Tim Horton's here, being Canadian and all.. going to grab one for TSL3.
I actually wouldn't mind trying more spiced or flavoured coffee.
The thing I hate the most about coffee is like the coffee breath you get from drinking it.. seems like it sticks to your tongue and mouth, lol.
XD
Actually, coffee grounds are used as an odor neutralizer when sampling different scents, say for candles or perfumes. If you don't like the smell, you can add your favorite scent to the grounds and leave them in a bowl around the house. This is the reason YOU DONT PUT COFFEE GROUNDS IN THE FRIDGE OR FREEZER because the oils soak up the smells in the fridge and ruin ur tasty beans. It's the same logic behind iced brewed coffee recipes mentioned awhile back.
My mom puts coffee when cooking stuff like pork to reduce the smell.
On April 16 2011 04:07 Tatari wrote: I used to drink coffee. After I tried espresso a few years ago, I never went back. Coffee's just so watery and lacks so much of that coffee flavor that espresso has.
Aren't these the same thing, just made differently. I mean both come from coffee beans, one is just stronger and more concentrated because of the process used to extract the coffee. I don't get this post at all.
Then there is this one
On April 17 2011 02:06 SmoKim wrote: Drinking 2 Cans when i get up in the morning, been doing that for 10 years
i should really cut back not healthy at all
still <3 COFFEE <3
Cans? Seriously cans? The only time I've had coffee out of a can was ontop of a ski-mountain in Japan and that was because it was -15c and my ass was frozen.
I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to coffee. I've never made it O_O I do love dunkin' donuts coffee though haha. Starbucks is a little pricey but I feel like it has 2x the caffeine because it jacks me up whenever I get it. Black though I don't like them creams and things
Nothing like fresh coffee in super sealed packages...
Any of you who never gave The Coffee Fool or other online retailers a shot are really missing out. It's cheap too, 10$ on coffeefool... really no incentive not too.
I believe they say because they buy small amounts of super fresh coffee from the distributors, it gets to you fresh.
On April 19 2011 12:38 pioneer8 wrote: Nothing like fresh coffee in super sealed packages...
Any of you who never gave The Coffee Fool or other online retailers a shot are really missing out. It's cheap too, 10$ on coffeefool... really no incentive not too.
I believe they say because they buy small amounts of super fresh coffee from the distributors, it gets to you fresh.
I checked that site out and 12 ounce of Kona was like 26 dollars ;;;;;;;;
Ive been around some other countries in europe and asia, drink coffee everywhere and still love our coffee the most, the smell and the taste are truly different or to me really "coffee", last time i take one dutch guy, and a british, really enjoy the expression when they drink a vietnamese coffee, highly recommended if u r a coffee lover, beside, italian coffee drink in Italy probably the best in Europe as well, just a pic to show how we usually drink coffee in vietnam
I'm a huge fan of Coffee. I never thought I would be, but as soon as I hit 15 I started gulping the stuff down and haven't really stopped! I do my best to keep it away from addiction territory: no more than one coffee drink a day and skip a few days a week. It seems to have worked pretty well. I think skipping days is key. I love everything about coffee, but I think also really appreciate being able to go days without it and not got withdrawal symptoms. My mother had a sever caffeine addiction couple years ago, drank 2 pots of french press goodness a day to herself. Yikes!
Personally I'm a big fan of espresso. Two good shots in that tiny little cup just warms the cockles of my heart. <3
I'll usually order a 2 shot black americano when I'm out of the house. The tiny disposable espresso cups look awful, and if I'm on the move I probably want a good amount of liquid to enjoy over a long time.
I also love french press. Van Houtte is a fantastic brand, but I'm not sure if you can get it out of Montreal/Canada. I've really enjoyed pretty much everything they put out, which I cant say for Starbucks and some other local brands.
I quite like using the sugar substitute tablets in my coffee, as they remove part of the crash from a strong cup of coffee, as sugar causes quite a large crash after the energy high, whereas caffeine tends to let you down more gently.
On April 20 2011 11:29 double1185 wrote: Ive been around some other countries in europe and asia, drink coffee everywhere and still love our coffee the most, the smell and the taste are truly different or to me really "coffee", last time i take one dutch guy, and a british, really enjoy the expression when they drink a vietnamese coffee, highly recommended if u r a coffee lover, beside, italian coffee drink in Italy probably the best in Europe as well, just a pic to show how we usually drink coffee in vietnam
11 pages are too long for me to read, especially if I haven't eaten anything for 5 hours so I don't know whether someone actually recommended Turkish coffee or not. But I do.
On April 20 2011 21:00 Djagulingu wrote: 11 pages are too long for me to read, especially if I haven't eaten anything for 5 hours so I don't know whether someone actually recommended Turkish coffee or not. But I do.
I'll second this - Turkish (and related) styles of coffee are great.
On April 20 2011 21:00 Djagulingu wrote: 11 pages are too long for me to read, especially if I haven't eaten anything for 5 hours so I don't know whether someone actually recommended Turkish coffee or not. But I do.
I'll second this - Turkish (and related) styles of coffee are great.
I'm far from a coffee elitist, but I do recognize a great coffee when I taste one. Turkish coffee, when done right, is like espresso polluted with sin. It's thick, strong, dark and sweet, with a bitterness that is best appreciated with some baklava (or honeyed bread if you're doing home cooking).
For any of you that happen to be in Seattle, a few doors down from the original Starbucks near Pike's Market is a Turkish shop that completely outdoes its larger neighbor.
On April 20 2011 11:29 double1185 wrote: Ive been around some other countries in europe and asia, drink coffee everywhere and still love our coffee the most, the smell and the taste are truly different or to me really "coffee", last time i take one dutch guy, and a british, really enjoy the expression when they drink a vietnamese coffee, highly recommended if u r a coffee lover, beside, italian coffee drink in Italy probably the best in Europe as well, just a pic to show how we usually drink coffee in vietnam
Is it true that most coffee grown/drank in vietnam is robusta?
I burnt my roast a bit today >: first crack happened at like 4 minutes and I knew that i had fucked up and put the heat up too high T____T Thats what I get for not roasting these last two months.
On April 20 2011 11:42 Lexpar wrote: I'm a huge fan of Coffee. I never thought I would be, but as soon as I hit 15 I started gulping the stuff down and haven't really stopped! I do my best to keep it away from addiction territory: no more than one coffee drink a day and skip a few days a week. It seems to have worked pretty well. I think skipping days is key. I love everything about coffee, but I think also really appreciate being able to go days without it and not got withdrawal symptoms. My mother had a sever caffeine addiction couple years ago, drank 2 pots of french press goodness a day to herself. Yikes!
Personally I'm a big fan of espresso. Two good shots in that tiny little cup just warms the cockles of my heart. <3
I'll usually order a 2 shot black americano when I'm out of the house. The tiny disposable espresso cups look awful, and if I'm on the move I probably want a good amount of liquid to enjoy over a long time.
I also love french press. Van Houtte is a fantastic brand, but I'm not sure if you can get it out of Montreal/Canada. I've really enjoyed pretty much everything they put out, which I cant say for Starbucks and some other local brands.
Is americano when you add water after you made an espresso?
I drink coffee with milk if "manual drip coffee" can't stand the watery taste, if I can get espresso coffee i drink it black.
On April 20 2011 11:42 Lexpar wrote: I'm a huge fan of Coffee. I never thought I would be, but as soon as I hit 15 I started gulping the stuff down and haven't really stopped! I do my best to keep it away from addiction territory: no more than one coffee drink a day and skip a few days a week. It seems to have worked pretty well. I think skipping days is key. I love everything about coffee, but I think also really appreciate being able to go days without it and not got withdrawal symptoms. My mother had a sever caffeine addiction couple years ago, drank 2 pots of french press goodness a day to herself. Yikes!
Personally I'm a big fan of espresso. Two good shots in that tiny little cup just warms the cockles of my heart. <3
I'll usually order a 2 shot black americano when I'm out of the house. The tiny disposable espresso cups look awful, and if I'm on the move I probably want a good amount of liquid to enjoy over a long time.
I also love french press. Van Houtte is a fantastic brand, but I'm not sure if you can get it out of Montreal/Canada. I've really enjoyed pretty much everything they put out, which I cant say for Starbucks and some other local brands.
Is americano when you add water after you made an espresso?
I drink coffee with milk if "manual drip coffee" can't stand the watery taste, if I can get espresso coffee i drink it black.
Really hate when I go to starbucks cause it's convenient or on the way to something/etc and they give me a POS capp where the milk has been burned, the foam wasn't swirled while being steamed, and they don't even tap the pitcher on the counter to try to get rid of the giant shitty bubbles they've inevitably created.
By contrast when I used to work at a restaurant and use the professional-grade steam wand to make myself a perfect cap with silky smooth bubbles.... there's just no drink that compares.
I am a bit unsophisticated when it comes to coffee. I usually drink cheap coffee brewed in an automatic coffee maker. I do own an espresso maker and French press, though, and use them when I have the time. I'm interested in getting a manual drip coffee maker and a Turkish coffee pot as well. And a grinder, of course.
Really the area I'm unsophisticated in is the coffee itself. I don't know much about the different types of beans and blends and everything. Since I usually drink the coffee in the break room at work, I usually drink the Target off-brand original roast stuff. If I remember correctly, though, I particularly enjoyed some type of African (maybe Kenyan?) coffee. It was very sweet. Usually I add a bit of milk to my coffee, but the African coffee I could drink black.
I'll have to go through this thread and see if I can educate myself a bit on coffee, because I really do enjoy it.
On April 13 2011 08:04 Fryght wrote: I have a Philips Senseo and a Nespresso machine. The Nespresso machine is nice for a good strong espresso and I use the Senseo for regular joe. Particularly like the coffee/caramel blend and strong espresso.
we are talking about coffee here, not senseo. Nespresso is ok I guess, but those things cannot beat old fashioned filtercoffee. Wake up, make a pot and get studying... or procrastinate on TL
On April 26 2011 04:13 five99one wrote: I am a bit unsophisticated when it comes to coffee. I usually drink cheap coffee brewed in an automatic coffee maker. I do own an espresso maker and French press, though, and use them when I have the time. I'm interested in getting a manual drip coffee maker and a Turkish coffee pot as well. And a grinder, of course.
Really the area I'm unsophisticated in is the coffee itself. I don't know much about the different types of beans and blends and everything. Since I usually drink the coffee in the break room at work, I usually drink the Target off-brand original roast stuff. If I remember correctly, though, I particularly enjoyed some type of African (maybe Kenyan?) coffee. It was very sweet. Usually I add a bit of milk to my coffee, but the African coffee I could drink black.
I'll have to go through this thread and see if I can educate myself a bit on coffee, because I really do enjoy it.
Just like in wine learning about coffee is about tasting different blends, testing things out. You can say so much about wine but in essence it is about finding flavours through experience and trying to remember it for future drinking.
On April 26 2011 04:13 five99one wrote: I am a bit unsophisticated when it comes to coffee. I usually drink cheap coffee brewed in an automatic coffee maker. I do own an espresso maker and French press, though, and use them when I have the time. I'm interested in getting a manual drip coffee maker and a Turkish coffee pot as well. And a grinder, of course.
Really the area I'm unsophisticated in is the coffee itself. I don't know much about the different types of beans and blends and everything. Since I usually drink the coffee in the break room at work, I usually drink the Target off-brand original roast stuff. If I remember correctly, though, I particularly enjoyed some type of African (maybe Kenyan?) coffee. It was very sweet. Usually I add a bit of milk to my coffee, but the African coffee I could drink black.
I'll have to go through this thread and see if I can educate myself a bit on coffee, because I really do enjoy it.
Just like in wine learning about coffee is about tasting different blends, testing things out. You can say so much about wine but in essence it is about finding flavours through experience and trying to remember it for future drinking.
Yes, I was thinking that coffee is similar to wines/cigars. It's all about experiencing the tastes and learning through tasting.
Here is the basic theory of the technique as I understand it:
1. The brewing ratio is critical. So using a scale to weigh the grounds and the water will make a remarkable difference to the consistency of your coffee. I like 70g of grounds per liter of water. My press pot will hold about 700g if water, so usage 49/50g of grounds to the hot water.
2. Grind size matters. For French press, the coffee should be ground coarse and have a uniform particle distribution (actually the distribution is trimodal, but that’s a tangent). Only burr grinders can achieve this. If you don’t have a decent burr grinder, have your beans ground for French Press by a reputable coffee shop. (BTW, I recently looked at good burr grinders for home use and can highly recommend the Baratza virtuoso preciso. A bit pricey, but really the only decent one IMO at an almost affordable price point.)
3. Keep the brewing time consistent. I use 4 minutes for the grind size I use and will adjust the brewing ratio to find the ideal strength for my cup of coffee. Grind size, brewing ratio, and brewing time all interact, so adjusting only the brewing ratio helps me from getting confused when I’m dialing things in for a new batch of beans.
4. I will usually not cover the press during the steeping. I like to allow the grounds to “bloom” as much as possible. Anything that prevents this tends to yield an uneven extraction from the cake of coffee.
5. Skimming makes an amazing difference. I was shocked just how big this difference was when I first tried it, but it makes sense. The basic French Press design allows a lot of the “fines” from the coffee to pass through the plunged screen. These fines continue to steep in the coffee, resulting in very over extracted coffee with a bitter taste and a muddy mouthfeel. By skimming the cake of swollen grounds before plunging, you’re throwing out a lot of these fines, so you end up with less overextraction and a cleaner mouthfeel.
Cold brewing takes time. However, it dissolves through the grounds only certain elements of the coffee. Surprisingly enough, about 90% of the flavor elements and the normal caffeine content come through this way, while only about 15% of the oils and acids will. It WILL change the taste of your coffee, but not the way you might think. It will strongly concentrate those most volatile flavor elements that most people like, making "super-flavor" coffee. The flavor elements you like about a given coffee will probably be up to twice as strong, yet the overall brew will have far less bite and acidity.
Is this a good thing? For people who like the acid and bite, which is part of the attraction of strong coffee, they may not like cold brewing. Other people take one sip and say "Oh my God, that is fantastic." Our recommendation is simple: Try it once or twice and see if you like it. Also, different varieties will respond to cold brewing differently, so it's hard to predict.
Cold brewed coffee is as easy as you would imagine -- there are easy peasy directions for making this on the site I linked.
After reading through a few pages, I would say this cold brew method I linked is much easier than the "Dutch brew" style a few pages back.
Another person mentioned not liking the texture of un-melted sugar in their coffee. Using condensed milk in this cold-brewed coffee is a good way around this.
Black and bitter is nice, but come on people. The season for swamp ass is coming, and I know you don't want to pick up a frappuccino from the gas station or starbucks. Let's do it right. :D
On April 13 2011 09:15 beastmode548 wrote: anyone have recommendations for ground espresso that is pretty affordable?
ive tried illy (good but expensive), medaglia d'oro (NASTY!), and lavazza(good and cheap), but i'd like to try a few more out before i settle on one. im not much of a coffee snob, so im not looking to buy fancy/expensive/rare coffee that is pooped out of an exotic animal (true story), but any recommendations from the master leaguers would be nice.
Also, I tend to prefer something closer to a medium roast over the darker roasts (sorry if that offends you purists).
I also prefer medium roast espresso blends, I recommend you can try Segafreddo, sorry but I can't recall a lot of names at this moment
I'm currently in the market for a decent grinder/espresso machine however every time I make up my mind my wants far exceed my budget.
This reminds me of the GSL when Tasteless mentioned trying to sip his coffee and letting lings in his base, I burst out laughing because I've been there trying to sip my coffee and sc'ing online.
*edit* Also I saw boxer drinking coffee when he was at GSL one time too! Boxer approves of coffee.
Is americano when you add water after you made an espresso?
I drink coffee with milk if "manual drip coffee" can't stand the watery taste, if I can get espresso coffee i drink it black.
Yes. Americano = espresso + water.
If you want to get technical, Americano is water poured on to Espresso and a Long Black is Espresso poured into water (well at least in some coffee shops)
On April 28 2011 14:21 TMStarcraft wrote: I was reading this the other day, wondering if anyone has the equipment/money to try it out. How to Make the Perfect Cup of Coffee
Here is the basic theory of the technique as I understand it:
1. The brewing ratio is critical. So using a scale to weigh the grounds and the water will make a remarkable difference to the consistency of your coffee. I like 70g of grounds per liter of water. My press pot will hold about 700g if water, so usage 49/50g of grounds to the hot water.
2. Grind size matters. For French press, the coffee should be ground coarse and have a uniform particle distribution (actually the distribution is trimodal, but that’s a tangent). Only burr grinders can achieve this. If you don’t have a decent burr grinder, have your beans ground for French Press by a reputable coffee shop. (BTW, I recently looked at good burr grinders for home use and can highly recommend the Baratza virtuoso preciso. A bit pricey, but really the only decent one IMO at an almost affordable price point.)
3. Keep the brewing time consistent. I use 4 minutes for the grind size I use and will adjust the brewing ratio to find the ideal strength for my cup of coffee. Grind size, brewing ratio, and brewing time all interact, so adjusting only the brewing ratio helps me from getting confused when I’m dialing things in for a new batch of beans.
4. I will usually not cover the press during the steeping. I like to allow the grounds to “bloom” as much as possible. Anything that prevents this tends to yield an uneven extraction from the cake of coffee.
5. Skimming makes an amazing difference. I was shocked just how big this difference was when I first tried it, but it makes sense. The basic French Press design allows a lot of the “fines” from the coffee to pass through the plunged screen. These fines continue to steep in the coffee, resulting in very over extracted coffee with a bitter taste and a muddy mouthfeel. By skimming the cake of swollen grounds before plunging, you’re throwing out a lot of these fines, so you end up with less overextraction and a cleaner mouthfeel.
I'm more of a modafinil fan myself
I have the equipment to try this, but i can tell you from experience that the resulting coffee will probably be fairly bitter and focus a lot on coffee's more polarizing characteristics. Its a reasonable base to start from, but I think he brews for significantly too long, 3 minutes is sufficient to extract most of the interesting flavour notes from most coffee (specifically excluding a lot of the bitterness). Unfortunately, he doesn't state the temperature, so if he is brewing at an unusually low temperature, it would make perfect sense; however, if that is the case he needs to state it as a few degrees difference can make a significant change in coffee flavour (i would be blown away if the Fat Duck didn't have the temperature down to half degree accuracy actually). Basically, this will make a good cup of coffee, but calling it the 'perfect' cup is hyperbole, especially when the column author left out critical information.
As an aside, I tend to vary the grind:water proportion and the brewing time while trying to dial in my coffee instead of just one of the two like he does. In my experience, varying the brew time tends to change the flavour profile of the resulting coffee while changing the coffee:water ratio tends to change the intensity of the present flavour profile, so depending on what a specific roast's problems are it makes sense to change one or the other, or both.
Yeah I totally agree, perfect is very subjective. But you guys definitely seem to know your stuff, makes me wish coffee didn't give me a such headache.
They do have a video which suggests freshly boiled water (but no exact temperatures), so if you do try it out let us know how it goes.
Yeah with a long black you're supposed to pour the espresso so that the crema slides across the top of the hot water, whereas americano you pour the water into the espresso, not preserving the crema.
On April 28 2011 22:38 JerseyDevil wrote: Yeah with a long black you're supposed to pour the espresso so that the crema slides across the top of the hot water, whereas americano you pour the water into the espresso, not preserving the crema.
If you pour it right, you can preserve it like you would a Latte or Cappucino. I never knew there was a name for screwing it up though. Haha. Thanks dude. Maybe from now on I'll ask for a Long Black instead.
SIGHH No money for a new toy and these things are finally in Australia! ): Maybe when I get employed again I will buy it and complete my collection of "everything that brews coffee that isnt an espresso machine"
So far this collection includes Paper drip brewer Plunger Syphon/vaccuum pot brewer Neru sock brewer Mokapot Presso
What I like to do (saw it in the "Around the World") is boil the water (without coffee in it), then pour a couple of spoons of coffee in it, steer it all and put it back on the reduced (really weak) fire. You should get the coffee back to boiling, then lift up the pot, stir it and put back again. Repeat it several times until there's no froth being generated: that means coffee is ready and you may start drinking it. You should keep the coffee beans in a sealed jar not exposed to oxygen (that makes it keep the aroma). And only cut the beans to use 'em immediately for making coffee (not to store 'em somewhere). U can tinker with adding additional things into your coffee like cinnamon or vanilla but I'm not the one to give an advice about it, since I love my coffee black, strong with a lil bit of sugar.
And try getting the good beans, not the shit being sold in any store. P.S.: my favorite are the Turkish ones
Until coffee got too strong for my stomach (it regularly tries to kill me, rather annoying), I mostly drank a brand called Pilao from Brazil that my mom would buy in bulk down there when she went with church groups.
When I was in Iraq, I mostly drank German brands (was cheaper to ship), don't remember the names, although I was generally running it through two fresh filters of grounds per pot at that point, with caffeine being more important than flavor at the time.
I like to use a french press with fresh ground beans. When I have my own house I will try roasting my own beans once a week. I really like the natural oils in coffee so I try to maintain them more than a drip machine would.
An aeropress seems cool but its not really for me yet but once I get an office job I hear they are great for that.
I cut down a lot on coffee recently but if you want some hard stuff, ask for quad shot @ starbucks or blue eye. Blue eye is basically quad shot w/ coffee.
<: Just ordered 5kg of Yirgacheffe my fav coffee so far <: and quite affordable as well ! And gonna try out some Vietnamese son la arabica and this random coffee from flores that doesnt even have a description!
Fun times ahead!
So far im enjoying the vietnamese coffee pot more than the aeropress but its a hog to fill and uses 20grams of coffee a go O.o !!! But so goood !
Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
Illy is bad? I felt Illy tasted way better than Senseo and Tassimo. I have never tasted filter coffee that tasts good. But thats only from mocca master machines. Problem for me is that there is no froth on the top.
Nespresso vivalto Lungo is my favorite coffee so far.
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
Illy is bad? I felt Illy tasted way better than Senseo and Tassimo. I have never tasted filter coffee that tasts good. But thats only from mocca master machines. Problem for me is that there is no froth on the top.
Nespresso vivalto Lungo is my favorite coffee so far.
I fell that Moccamasters make the only good regular coffee. Especially if you plan to drink a litre or two. Any regular coffee from fancy machines or coffee shops tastes horrible compared. Coffee made by yourself on a good filter machine is much better. Have you tried many brands of coffee with the filter machine? Because in Norway there are very few good brands, but the good ones tastes great, most others taste like charcoal and shit.
lol I just drink 4 cups of dunkin donuts brand every morning. Can someone enlighten me on where to start if I want to get into better coffee, preferably not terribly expensive or hard to make etc etc. The last thing you want to do in the morning is actually make the coffee, you just want to drink it right away, I'm sure some of you all know what I'm talking about haha.
I don't feel moccamaster coffee taste good. There is no froth and the taste is so bitter. I tried several coffee grindings too. This does not mean I am not up to try other filter coffee types or machines.
I thought making espresso shots manually was the most efficient way to get the perfect espresso(Americano for me)?
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
Illy is bad? I felt Illy tasted way better than Senseo and Tassimo. I have never tasted filter coffee that tasts good. But thats only from mocca master machines. Problem for me is that there is no froth on the top.
Nespresso vivalto Lungo is my favorite coffee so far.
Ok, even though I'll probably get stoned to death by the true coffee afficionados for this, I'll be the one to say it: Taking into account its status as "convenience coffee", what you get from Nespresso machines tastes actually surprisingly well and, at least in my experience, can easily stand up to products of standard espresso machines. So, while it's certainly possible to top Nespresso, I'd go so far as to say that if you're looking for a significant advancement, you might be looking at (semi-)professional equipment and the prices that go along with them.
That said, there are plenty of reasons other than taste to stay away from Nespresso (especially the fact that they work on aluminium capsules, which are both ridiculously proprietary and can be considered a hate crime against the environment... which, of course, applies to other capsule systems, such as Iperespresso, as well), but in my opinion, taste isn't one of them.
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
Illy is bad? I felt Illy tasted way better than Senseo and Tassimo. I have never tasted filter coffee that tasts good. But thats only from mocca master machines. Problem for me is that there is no froth on the top.
Nespresso vivalto Lungo is my favorite coffee so far.
Ok, even though I'll probably get stoned to death by the true coffee afficionados for this, I'll be the one to say it: Taking into account its status as "convenience coffee", what you get from Nespresso machines tastes actually surprisingly well and, at least in my experience, can easily stand up to products of standard espresso machines. So, while it's certainly possible to top Nespresso, I'd go so far as to say that if you're looking for a significant advancement, you might be looking at (semi-)professional equipment and the prices that go along with them.
That said, there are plenty of reasons other than taste to stay away from Nespresso (especially the fact that they work on aluminium capsules, which are both ridiculously proprietary and can be considered a hate crime against the environment... which, of course, applies to other capsule systems, such as Iperespresso, as well), but in my opinion, taste isn't one of them.
Do you have any examples that could work well and not cost a lot? So you recommend Iperespresso from Illy compared to Nespresso in terms of taste?
Espresso tastes like shit to me, completely aquired taste in my opinion. I only drink coffee with lots of cream/milk and some sugar, so i dont really appreciate the coffee itself
Tea on the other hand i love very much, and i wouldnt even think about putting anything into it
On May 30 2013 23:39 isleyofthenorth wrote: Espresso tastes like shit to me, completely aquired taste in my opinion. I only drink coffee with lots of cream/milk and some sugar, so i dont really appreciate the coffee itself
Tea on the other hand i love very much, and i wouldnt even think about putting anything into it
Have you tried a good chunk of sugar with your espresso? I use a spoonful (not healthy I know) and drink it along with a bottle of water. Makes most espressos very tasteful, and the worse ones bearable. Especially great with a cigar if you're into that sorta thing.
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
Illy is bad? I felt Illy tasted way better than Senseo and Tassimo. I have never tasted filter coffee that tasts good. But thats only from mocca master machines. Problem for me is that there is no froth on the top.
Nespresso vivalto Lungo is my favorite coffee so far.
Ok, even though I'll probably get stoned to death by the true coffee afficionados for this, I'll be the one to say it: Taking into account its status as "convenience coffee", what you get from Nespresso machines tastes actually surprisingly well and, at least in my experience, can easily stand up to products of standard espresso machines. So, while it's certainly possible to top Nespresso, I'd go so far as to say that if you're looking for a significant advancement, you might be looking at (semi-)professional equipment and the prices that go along with them.
That said, there are plenty of reasons other than taste to stay away from Nespresso (especially the fact that they work on aluminium capsules, which are both ridiculously proprietary and can be considered a hate crime against the environment... which, of course, applies to other capsule systems, such as Iperespresso, as well), but in my opinion, taste isn't one of them.
Do you have any examples that could work well and not cost a lot? So you recommend Iperespresso from Illy compared to Nespresso in terms of taste?
Personally, I find Nespresso to taste better than Iperespresso, so no, I wouldn't recommend Iperespresso (even though personal taste obviously plays into that).
And the main point of my post was actually that I don't think that an upgrade from Nespresso that truly deserves the name 'upgrade' isn't cheap. Good espresso machines are expensive, and in the "doesn't cost a lot"-segment, Nespresso is actually among the top candidates.
If you're looking for decent espresso machines, it starts around 700 € (such as these machines). Those will be an improvement over Nespresso, even though you're still looking at machines with inner workings that are almost entirely made out of plastic... if you're aiming for a good espresso machine (and I would take it as a prerequisite that their interior is made of metal), you can start looking at the 1500 € mark and the sky is the limit, unfortunately.
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
Illy is bad? I felt Illy tasted way better than Senseo and Tassimo. I have never tasted filter coffee that tasts good. But thats only from mocca master machines. Problem for me is that there is no froth on the top.
Nespresso vivalto Lungo is my favorite coffee so far.
Oh dear, we have a lot of work to do.
The reason your filter coffee probably tastes bad is because they probably use beans roasted for espresso to make it. Also there is more to making coffee than using a machine. I can make my own coffee that tastes amazing just using a $200 grinder and a $30 clever coffee dripper.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/ is really good for advice as well. I was actually surprised when i stumbled onto r/Coffee, i thought it'd be a joke but they're actually really into specialty coffee. For Coffee Noobs
PS I am disappointed TL isn't as coffee snobby as i thought it would be =(
On May 30 2013 18:45 llIH wrote: Hello fellow coffee drinkers. I have been drinking Nespresso coffee for 2 years in medical school now. And I love coffee. But I feel I want to go up a level in coffee taste. Would Illy Iperespresso be an idea? Have anyone tried it and had it for some while enough to have a legitimate opinion? Or should I go for the real thing - espresso machine?
illy is bad, don't even waste your time.
So there are two main (proper) methods of making coffee, filter and espresso. Filter is alot cheaper and with ~$400 you can taste the best coffees in the world easily. Espresso you need to pay for alot more (sure you can afford a cheap machine but it wouldn't do alot of coffees justice). I'm not well versed in good machines for a good price but if you want to drink filter im happy to advise.
EDIT: Did anyone goto the recent World Barista Championships/Melbourne International Coffee Expo last weekend? Shit was fucking amazing.
Illy is bad? I felt Illy tasted way better than Senseo and Tassimo. I have never tasted filter coffee that tasts good. But thats only from mocca master machines. Problem for me is that there is no froth on the top.
Nespresso vivalto Lungo is my favorite coffee so far.
Ok, even though I'll probably get stoned to death by the true coffee afficionados for this, I'll be the one to say it: Taking into account its status as "convenience coffee", what you get from Nespresso machines tastes actually surprisingly well and, at least in my experience, can easily stand up to products of standard espresso machines. So, while it's certainly possible to top Nespresso, I'd go so far as to say that if you're looking for a significant advancement, you might be looking at (semi-)professional equipment and the prices that go along with them.
That said, there are plenty of reasons other than taste to stay away from Nespresso (especially the fact that they work on aluminium capsules, which are both ridiculously proprietary and can be considered a hate crime against the environment... which, of course, applies to other capsule systems, such as Iperespresso, as well), but in my opinion, taste isn't one of them.
Do you have any examples that could work well and not cost a lot? So you recommend Iperespresso from Illy compared to Nespresso in terms of taste?
Personally, I find Nespresso to taste better than Iperespresso, so no, I wouldn't recommend Iperespresso (even though personal taste obviously plays into that).
And the main point of my post was actually that I don't think that an upgrade from Nespresso that truly deserves the name 'upgrade' isn't cheap. Good espresso machines are expensive, and in the "doesn't cost a lot"-segment, Nespresso is actually among the top candidates.
If you're looking for decent espresso machines, it starts around 700 € (such as these machines). Those will be an improvement over Nespresso, even though you're still looking at machines with inner workings that are almost entirely made out of plastic... if you're aiming for a good espresso machine (and I would take it as a prerequisite that their interior is made of metal), you can start looking at the 1500 € mark and the sky is the limit, unfortunately.
You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
On May 31 2013 00:13 Meow-Meow wrote: I prefer Senseo Extra Strong with 7,5% condensed milk.
It's cheap (around 40 cents per cup), convenient and tastes great.
I hope the coffee-enthusiasts don't gangrape me for drinking the cheap, easy stuff. Poor people can't be picky.
I usually pay about $10 / 250g unless i get the expensive shit and i usually use around 18g to 250mL. I calculated it at 72c per cup for me (maybe an extra 10c for a filter paper but i could always use the french press). If i lower the dosage it comes out to 60c per cup.
I don't think 20c per cup is that much of a difference and hey, filter coffee has more caffeine in it too! Or if you wanna go crazy, use a fine grind, up the steep/pour time and enjoy the buzz as well as the strong coffee. Probably ruin any complexity the coffee had but you're getting bang for buck!
On May 31 2013 00:12 FractalsOnFire wrote: You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
If we're talking about coffee (filter, french press, and the like), you're correct. It's all about convenience, and you can make excellent coffee with cheap equipment. However, I don't think that the same can be said about espresso where the cheap devices simply don't generate sufficient pressure and push the water through plastic tubes. When your machine generates just 3 bar instead of 9 bar, it is hard to compensate for that, no matter how proficient and creative you use it.
On a side note, if you look at the reviews referenced under "How to buy a device" in the link you gave, you'll see that they recommend quite expensive (in the 800-2000$ range) machines for espresso as well, so I don't see much of a counterargument here (although, to be perfectly honest, I also don't see any other argument there as the 'user reviews' I looked at don't strike me as particularly informative).
On May 31 2013 00:12 FractalsOnFire wrote: You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
If we're talking about coffee (filter, french press, and the like), you're correct. It's all about convenience, and you can make excellent coffee with cheap equipment. However, I don't think that the same can be said about espresso where the cheap devices simply don't generate sufficient pressure and push the water through plastic tubes. When your machine generates just 10 bar instead of 15 bar, it is hard to compensate for that, no matter how proficient and creative you use it.
On a side note, if you look at the reviews referenced under "How to buy a device" in the link you gave, you'll see that they recommend quite expensive (in the 800-2000$ range) machines for espresso as well, so I don't see much of a counterargument here (although, to be perfectly honest, I also don't see any other argument there as the 'user reviews' I looked at don't strike me as particularly informative).
Its been my experience that unless your willing to spend thousands of $$$ than getting espresso should only be done at a cafe that can afford and is willing to spend thousands of $$$ on their espresso machine. That being said, the guy that roasts my coffee, and who I pretty much get all my coffee knowledge from has advised me to try something like this
I am wondering if anyone else has tried one of Bialettis stove top espresso makers and what they think about them. I just use a cheap drip when I am forced to drink coffee at home. Works fine for just plain old coffee. Use fresh water. Grind the beans right before hand. Turn off the drip as soon as its done so the plate doesn't continue to cook my coffee so much.
Probably my favorite way to drink coffee though is cold brewed ice coffee with a little bit of honey (you have to wait a little while for the honey to soak in) and a little bit of cream. Fucking heaven. God I love cold brewed coffee. Other than that I just drink black coffee, straight shots of espresso (you have to know how to enjoy it, suck it in, roll it around your tongue, find the different taste buds that you like for different types of espresso), and my guilty pleasure Dirty dirty dirty chai latte's . Nom nom nom chai latte with espresso nom nom nom.
Oh if anyone lives in Portland Oregon and loves coffee beans and different types of roasts you should check out.
They roast the coffee right behind the counter. If the owner really likes you and he isn't too busy, and you are willing to pay him for it, you could bring in your own beans and he will roast them to your specifications. I know that he has been kind of busy lately but I also know he is working on fixing his big roaster as well. Really great place to sit and enjoy coffee. Their outside area has really grown in well since they took the original pictures. Tall bamboo, songbirds, great atmosphere. He ships coffee as well . My favorite is his Mexican Nayarit. A cold brew of that stuff tastes like fucking strawberries!
I do love my french press, and my preferred bean is Sumatra. I will accept any dark roast, but I cannot stand drip and paper filter coffee. I want it strong.
On May 31 2013 04:28 Wrongspeedy wrote: Its been my experience that unless your willing to spend thousands of $$$ than getting espresso should only be done at a cafe that can afford and is willing to spend thousands of $$$ on their espresso machine. That being said, the guy that roasts my coffee, and who I pretty much get all my coffee knowledge from has advised me to try something like this
I am wondering if anyone else has tried one of Bialettis stove top espresso makers and what they think about them. I just use a cheap drip when I am forced to drink coffee at home. Works fine for just plain old coffee. Use fresh water. Grind the beans right before hand. Turn off the drip as soon as its done so the plate doesn't continue to cook my coffee so much.
Probably my favorite way to drink coffee though is cold brewed ice coffee with a little bit of honey (you have to wait a little while for the honey to soak in) and a little bit of cream. Fucking heaven. God I love cold brewed coffee. Other than that I just drink black coffee, straight shots of espresso (you have to know how to enjoy it, suck it in, roll it around your tongue, find the different taste buds that you like for different types of espresso), and my guilty pleasure Dirty dirty dirty chai latte's . Nom nom nom chai latte with espresso nom nom nom.
Well, to put it bluntly, the label 'espresso maker' is little more than a marketing trick for this kind of stove pots. That said, in my opinion you can still make quite tasty coffee with them... just more like sort of a "mocca" coffee than like a "$$$ espresso" coffee.
On May 31 2013 04:28 Wrongspeedy wrote: Its been my experience that unless your willing to spend thousands of $$$ than getting espresso should only be done at a cafe that can afford and is willing to spend thousands of $$$ on their espresso machine. That being said, the guy that roasts my coffee, and who I pretty much get all my coffee knowledge from has advised me to try something like this
I am wondering if anyone else has tried one of Bialettis stove top espresso makers and what they think about them. I just use a cheap drip when I am forced to drink coffee at home. Works fine for just plain old coffee. Use fresh water. Grind the beans right before hand. Turn off the drip as soon as its done so the plate doesn't continue to cook my coffee so much.
Probably my favorite way to drink coffee though is cold brewed ice coffee with a little bit of honey (you have to wait a little while for the honey to soak in) and a little bit of cream. Fucking heaven. God I love cold brewed coffee. Other than that I just drink black coffee, straight shots of espresso (you have to know how to enjoy it, suck it in, roll it around your tongue, find the different taste buds that you like for different types of espresso), and my guilty pleasure Dirty dirty dirty chai latte's . Nom nom nom chai latte with espresso nom nom nom.
Well, to put it bluntly, the label 'espresso maker' is little more than a marketing trick for this kind of stove pots. That said, in my opinion you can still make quite tasty coffee with them... just more like sort of a "mocca" coffee than like a "$$$ espresso" coffee.
Yeah its a mokapot with a different name. Probably better than my shitty drip though lol. He didn't say it would be like espresso, but that spending thousands of dollars was probably the only way to get a decent espresso machine.
So good coffee from filter without froth taste good? I think I have been a victim of bad coffee at work. I live in Norway. What kind of beans should I look for? Press/drip doesn't matter wich?
So I really like coffee and tea but haven't tried any of the really "good" stuff as far as cofffee goes. I have a melita cone right now. Is that a reasonable way to continue to brew coffee if I"m basically flat out too cheap to spend more than 30-40 on coffee hardware?
Not much of a coffee drinker, but I'm starting to drink it for my intermittent fasting. I'm using the 8 o'clock brand right now and it's not bad for cheap coffee, but I was wondering what the connoisseurs think about the best budget brand for black coffee?
On May 31 2013 08:25 IAmThEnd wrote: Not much of a coffee drinker, but I'm starting to drink it for my intermittent fasting. I'm using the 8 o'clock brand right now and it's not bad for cheap coffee, but I was wondering what the connoisseurs think about the best budget brand for black coffee?
Find a local roaster, buy something freshly roasted, I like darker roasts personally but to each his own. Supermarket stuff just doesn't tend to be as good as locally roasted imo.
Edit: I guess supermarket wise I like the same as you, 8 oclock... Don't know too many of those kind of coffees though, sorry
On May 31 2013 00:12 FractalsOnFire wrote: You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
If we're talking about coffee (filter, french press, and the like), you're correct. It's all about convenience, and you can make excellent coffee with cheap equipment. However, I don't think that the same can be said about espresso where the cheap devices simply don't generate sufficient pressure and push the water through plastic tubes. When your machine generates just 3 bar instead of 9 bar, it is hard to compensate for that, no matter how proficient and creative you use it.
On a side note, if you look at the reviews referenced under "How to buy a device" in the link you gave, you'll see that they recommend quite expensive (in the 800-2000$ range) machines for espresso as well, so I don't see much of a counterargument here (although, to be perfectly honest, I also don't see any other argument there as the 'user reviews' I looked at don't strike me as particularly informative).
(Edited: corrected pressure)
Oh I agree that espresso is a massive money dump and I never recommended actually spending that much money. For espresso you really need to fork out for a decent grinder and machine, as well as peripherals such as tampers. However espresso isn't the be all and end all of coffee. I don't even know why you went on a complete tangent about machines and how expensive they are when i never mentioned anything about it in the first place.
On May 31 2013 00:12 FractalsOnFire wrote: You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
If we're talking about coffee (filter, french press, and the like), you're correct. It's all about convenience, and you can make excellent coffee with cheap equipment. However, I don't think that the same can be said about espresso where the cheap devices simply don't generate sufficient pressure and push the water through plastic tubes. When your machine generates just 3 bar instead of 9 bar, it is hard to compensate for that, no matter how proficient and creative you use it.
On a side note, if you look at the reviews referenced under "How to buy a device" in the link you gave, you'll see that they recommend quite expensive (in the 800-2000$ range) machines for espresso as well, so I don't see much of a counterargument here (although, to be perfectly honest, I also don't see any other argument there as the 'user reviews' I looked at don't strike me as particularly informative).
(Edited: corrected pressure)
Oh I agree that espresso is a massive money dump and I never recommended actually spending that much money. For espresso you really need to fork out for a decent grinder and machine, as well as peripherals such as tampers. However espresso isn't the be all and end all of coffee. I don't even know why you went on a complete tangent about machines and how expensive they are when i never mentioned anything about it in the first place.
Not to be nitpicky, but I didn't bring up espresso as a tangent, you entered a debate about espresso machines. My post - the one you refuted - was addressing IIIH's question for a new espresso maker. Other than that, it seems that we're mostly in agreement... although I'd like to add that while it isn't the be the "be all", a real espresso is most certainly the "end all" of coffee, imho.
Hello, from over at the tea enthusiasts thread. If you guys ever decide to cut down on the alkaloid drug and go for a tasty, healthy and diverse replacement you're welcome to join us
On May 31 2013 20:00 peacenl wrote: Hello, from over at the tea enthusiasts thread. If you guys ever decide to cut down on the alkaloid drug and go for a tasty, healthy and diverse replacement you're welcome to join us
I drink 2 litres of coffee a day for my brain and a bottle of red wine each day for my heart and to kill my caffeine buz at bed time. I should be able to do cross words till 100.
On May 31 2013 20:00 peacenl wrote: Hello, from over at the tea enthusiasts thread. If you guys ever decide to cut down on the alkaloid drug and go for a tasty, healthy and diverse replacement you're welcome to join us
Oh man, I am so glad someone had mentioned this. This thing is amazing; it froths the milk as it makes the espresso. It is on the expensive side, but what a good cup of coffee (or cuppa as they say in Aus).
Many people don't realize that espresso has less caffeine per shot than an 8 oz cup of coffee. Most people drink one or two 10-12 oz cups of coffee so you shouldn't be discouraged from trying espresso even if you are new! Also - light roast coffee has more caffeine than dark roast coffee - another common misconception. Just because it's sludgy and gross (French Roast) doesn't mean it's waking you up more. Try a good African light roast - they are usually floral and bright and very peppy! I work at a locally owned independent coffee shop so if you have any questions about coffee or tea feel free to PM me or post here!
On May 31 2013 00:12 FractalsOnFire wrote: You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
If we're talking about coffee (filter, french press, and the like), you're correct. It's all about convenience, and you can make excellent coffee with cheap equipment. However, I don't think that the same can be said about espresso where the cheap devices simply don't generate sufficient pressure and push the water through plastic tubes. When your machine generates just 3 bar instead of 9 bar, it is hard to compensate for that, no matter how proficient and creative you use it.
On a side note, if you look at the reviews referenced under "How to buy a device" in the link you gave, you'll see that they recommend quite expensive (in the 800-2000$ range) machines for espresso as well, so I don't see much of a counterargument here (although, to be perfectly honest, I also don't see any other argument there as the 'user reviews' I looked at don't strike me as particularly informative).
(Edited: corrected pressure)
Oh I agree that espresso is a massive money dump and I never recommended actually spending that much money. For espresso you really need to fork out for a decent grinder and machine, as well as peripherals such as tampers. However espresso isn't the be all and end all of coffee. I don't even know why you went on a complete tangent about machines and how expensive they are when i never mentioned anything about it in the first place.
Not to be nitpicky, but I didn't bring up espresso as a tangent, you entered a debate about espresso machines. My post - the one you refuted - was addressing IIIH's question for a new espresso maker. Other than that, it seems that we're mostly in agreement... although I'd like to add that while it isn't the be the "be all", a real espresso is most certainly the "end all" of coffee, imho.
Espresso is definitely not the end all. If anything it seems like manual brewing methods are becoming the end all, especially within specialty coffee. When people get ridiculously expensive coffee, such as HR61 (~AU$666/kg roasted) or any Geisha varietal, most people brew the coffee through a manual method such as V60 pourover, chemex, aeropress, syphon etc. Sure I've seen a few expensive coffees offered as espresso but the majority of them tend to be roasted lighter for filter brews.
Speaking of expensive coffees, just found the most expensive one: Guatemala El Injerto Mocca $500 per pound or $1100 per kg. Insane. Apparently it was bought by a Korean roastery.
On May 31 2013 00:12 FractalsOnFire wrote: You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
If we're talking about coffee (filter, french press, and the like), you're correct. It's all about convenience, and you can make excellent coffee with cheap equipment. However, I don't think that the same can be said about espresso where the cheap devices simply don't generate sufficient pressure and push the water through plastic tubes. When your machine generates just 3 bar instead of 9 bar, it is hard to compensate for that, no matter how proficient and creative you use it.
On a side note, if you look at the reviews referenced under "How to buy a device" in the link you gave, you'll see that they recommend quite expensive (in the 800-2000$ range) machines for espresso as well, so I don't see much of a counterargument here (although, to be perfectly honest, I also don't see any other argument there as the 'user reviews' I looked at don't strike me as particularly informative).
(Edited: corrected pressure)
Oh I agree that espresso is a massive money dump and I never recommended actually spending that much money. For espresso you really need to fork out for a decent grinder and machine, as well as peripherals such as tampers. However espresso isn't the be all and end all of coffee. I don't even know why you went on a complete tangent about machines and how expensive they are when i never mentioned anything about it in the first place.
Not to be nitpicky, but I didn't bring up espresso as a tangent, you entered a debate about espresso machines. My post - the one you refuted - was addressing IIIH's question for a new espresso maker. Other than that, it seems that we're mostly in agreement... although I'd like to add that while it isn't the be the "be all", a real espresso is most certainly the "end all" of coffee, imho.
Espresso is definitely not the end all. If anything it seems like manual brewing methods are becoming the end all, especially within specialty coffee. When people get ridiculously expensive coffee, such as HR61 (~AU$666/kg roasted) or any Geisha varietal, most people brew the coffee through a manual method such as V60 pourover, chemex, aeropress, syphon etc. Sure I've seen a few expensive coffees offered as espresso but the majority of them tend to be roasted lighter for filter brews.
Speaking of expensive coffees, just found the most expensive one: Guatemala El Injerto Mocca $500 per pound or $1100 per kg. Insane. Apparently it was bought by a Korean roastery.
First of all, I find it hilarious that you first refute espresso on the grounds of it being "a massive money dump" and then argue that filter preparation is better because it's used for "ridiculously expensive" coffee.
What do you mean by "roasted lighter for filter brews"? It almost sounds as if you think that roasting makes up the difference between filter coffee and espresso, but optimal roasting depends first and foremost on the blend (acidity vs. bittering agent) and only secondarily on the preparation method (filter vs. espresso). So, the idea of dark=espresso may hold true for supermarket coffee because most cheap blends are heavy on acid, but beyond that it's not so simple. There are plenty of light roasts for espresso and lots of dark roasts for filter coffee. For instance, your "most expensive one" is a mocha bean, which is usually roasted darkly - but it's generally not well-suited for espresso.
On a side note, since neither the nor the "imho" gave it away apparently, I (!) prefer espresso to filter coffee (apart from the wakeup routine where it's more about a bucket being the adequate serving size for coffeine). You are of course free to have a different taste, and I have no ambition to convince you otherwise.
On June 01 2013 07:09 Lobotomist wrote: @Wrongspeedy I'll have to try that Oblique coffee roasters place, it's pretty close to my house!
I went there today and there was a little bit of a line. The barista didn't show up so the owners wife was out making deliveries and the owner was working the bar and roasting coffee. I think the people behind me ended up walking out O.O which was kind of sad because I was just getting a cold brew (if they had waited like 30 more seconds they would have been served). I was hoping they just went and sat outside instead of waiting but I would understand if they couldn't wait for time reasons. I felt bad for the owner, he seemed pretty sad about it, but what can you do :S.
Its a nice place to sit and enjoy if you have time. And if you really show interest and engage the owner and he isn't too busy he is super nice and informative on what type of coffee to buy depending on how you prepare it, what your tastes are. The building itself is super cool. Old General Store from 1891 that they purchased from a hoarder. They kept a lot of the neater things from his collection there and they even have old pictures of the building wayyyy back in the day and the family the owned/built it.
If you tell them Jared W. sent you they will treat you right
Edit: Oh and most of their drinks come with house coffee which is nice if you really like to drink a bit of coffee. Buy a cup of espresso get a cup of french press on the house.
On May 31 2013 00:12 FractalsOnFire wrote: You don't need to be dropping ridiculous amounts of money to enjoy a fucking amazing coffee. As above, AUD 230 makes me a coffee that would be better than 90% of cafes in my city, assuming the beans i sourced were of acceptable taste. The only good thing and really ONLY GOOD THING about nespresso is that its convenient. That's it, its not actually cheaper than making a good filter coffee (i think the cost of coffee grinds/beans comes out to around $500/kg) and it definitely doesn't taste as good.
If we're talking about coffee (filter, french press, and the like), you're correct. It's all about convenience, and you can make excellent coffee with cheap equipment. However, I don't think that the same can be said about espresso where the cheap devices simply don't generate sufficient pressure and push the water through plastic tubes. When your machine generates just 3 bar instead of 9 bar, it is hard to compensate for that, no matter how proficient and creative you use it.
On a side note, if you look at the reviews referenced under "How to buy a device" in the link you gave, you'll see that they recommend quite expensive (in the 800-2000$ range) machines for espresso as well, so I don't see much of a counterargument here (although, to be perfectly honest, I also don't see any other argument there as the 'user reviews' I looked at don't strike me as particularly informative).
(Edited: corrected pressure)
Oh I agree that espresso is a massive money dump and I never recommended actually spending that much money. For espresso you really need to fork out for a decent grinder and machine, as well as peripherals such as tampers. However espresso isn't the be all and end all of coffee. I don't even know why you went on a complete tangent about machines and how expensive they are when i never mentioned anything about it in the first place.
Not to be nitpicky, but I didn't bring up espresso as a tangent, you entered a debate about espresso machines. My post - the one you refuted - was addressing IIIH's question for a new espresso maker. Other than that, it seems that we're mostly in agreement... although I'd like to add that while it isn't the be the "be all", a real espresso is most certainly the "end all" of coffee, imho.
Espresso is definitely not the end all. If anything it seems like manual brewing methods are becoming the end all, especially within specialty coffee. When people get ridiculously expensive coffee, such as HR61 (~AU$666/kg roasted) or any Geisha varietal, most people brew the coffee through a manual method such as V60 pourover, chemex, aeropress, syphon etc. Sure I've seen a few expensive coffees offered as espresso but the majority of them tend to be roasted lighter for filter brews.
Speaking of expensive coffees, just found the most expensive one: Guatemala El Injerto Mocca $500 per pound or $1100 per kg. Insane. Apparently it was bought by a Korean roastery.
First of all, I find it hilarious that you first refute espresso on the grounds of it being "a massive money dump" and then argue that filter preparation is better because it's used for "ridiculously expensive" coffee.
What do you mean by "roasted lighter for filter brews"? It almost sounds as if you think that roasting makes up the difference between filter coffee and espresso, but optimal roasting depends first and foremost on the blend (acidity vs. bittering agent) and only secondarily on the preparation method (filter vs. espresso). So, the idea of dark=espresso may hold true for supermarket coffee because most cheap blends are heavy on acid, but beyond that it's not so simple. There are plenty of light roasts for espresso and lots of dark roasts for filter coffee. For instance, your "most expensive one" is a mocha bean, which is usually roasted darkly - but it's generally not well-suited for espresso.
On a side note, since neither the nor the "imho" gave it away apparently, I (!) prefer espresso to filter coffee (apart from the wakeup routine where it's more about a bucket being the adequate serving size for coffeine). You are of course free to have a different taste, and I have no ambition to convince you otherwise.
I noticed those but i wanted to bite anyway.
I never refuted espresso? I refute pod based machines as it spits out a sub standard product but proper espresso setups are fine if you're wiling to fork out the money. I just said you didn't need to spend in order to enjoy a good coffee.
Usually its the other way around, from people I've talked to and my own personal experience. I've found dark roasts (just before second crack and beyond) to be too roasty through filter and missing alot of the complexity in a coffee. Even medium roasts don't produce a great filter coffee. I remember an Ethiopian Yirg OCR roasted between filter and espresso and it wasn't as nice to drink as filter as a lighter cupping roast as it lost alot of its cherry notes and acidity. Also tasted a little roasty. I can't say much about the moka varietal, i've only had a few but even those were roasted light.
this is the most hipster thread i've ever laid eyes on lol.. i love coffee but i feel like i would be scoffed at for drinking it out of a coffee maker.
On June 01 2013 14:01 Synapze wrote: this is the most hipster thread i've ever laid eyes on lol.. i love coffee but i feel like i would be scoffed at for drinking it out of a coffee maker.
ps; its nabob
Not really, you are just cheating yourself of a great experience. Personally I only do manual pours during the weekend and in the evenings. I drink coffee from a simple coffee maker/automate all day during work (and yes, I drink too much coffee).
Last year I finally worked my way over to black coffee after being a flat white guy for like 8-9 years. Took a while to get into, but I can't go back now. It really lets you appreciate the coffee, as douchey and hipster as that sounds.
My local coffee joint has a Slayer (go look it up), and when that's paired with a barrista who knows what they're doing, I've had no coffee that comes anywhere near it.
Have never really of liked coffee but I recently tried Starbucks Caramel Crunch and cookie mocha drinks and they are delicious. About as far as I have gone in the coffee world.
On June 01 2013 14:22 ZerO_0 wrote: Have never really of liked coffee but I recently tried Starbucks Caramel Crunch and cookie mocha drinks and they are delicious. About as far as I have gone in the coffee world.
So you haven't yet stepped foot into the coffee world is what you're saying?
On June 01 2013 14:13 Apus wrote: Last year I finally worked my way over to black coffee after being a flat white guy for like 8-9 years. Took a while to get into, but I can't go back now. It really lets you appreciate the coffee, as douchey and hipster as that sounds.
My local coffee joint has a Slayer (go look it up), and when that's paired with a barrista who knows what they're doing, I've had no coffee that comes anywhere near it.
Have you tried a coffee from a Kees van der Westen Spirit or Speedster? Apparently they absolutely blow everything out of the water.
Ice Americano for me. But usually I end up getting 2 shots of espresso and adding bottled water to it. I really can't stand extremely hot drinks, as I'm more of a fan of the caffeine part than the drink itself (so I don't have to take frequent, tiny sips).
On June 01 2013 14:13 Apus wrote: Last year I finally worked my way over to black coffee after being a flat white guy for like 8-9 years. Took a while to get into, but I can't go back now. It really lets you appreciate the coffee, as douchey and hipster as that sounds.
My local coffee joint has a Slayer (go look it up), and when that's paired with a barrista who knows what they're doing, I've had no coffee that comes anywhere near it.
Have you tried a coffee from a Kees van der Westen Spirit or Speedster? Apparently they absolutely blow everything out of the water.
Wow, those things look legit. Unfortunately I haven't seen one here in Wellington, but I'll keep and eye out and see if any place has one (there are a million and one coffee places in Welly).
Today by chance I found a "real" coffee shop. I've heard a lot about Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from this thread, so I tried it. It was a rather big production, I'm used to just getting a cup of coffee from starbucks! All I can say after drink is this: my mind is opened. It was so amazing. Where should I start if I want to start to brew this kind of stuff on my own?
On August 18 2013 12:24 HarryDresden wrote: Today by chance I found a "real" coffee shop. I've heard a lot about Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from this thread, so I tried it. It was a rather big production, I'm used to just getting a cup of coffee from starbucks! All I can say after drink is this: my mind is opened. It was so amazing. Where should I start if I want to start to brew this kind of stuff on my own?
I hear a lot of people talk about french press brewing really good coffee but i had a chemex coffee and it blew my mind. But if you already have just a regular drip coffee maker start with a grinder( or by fresh ground coffee from supermarkets)
I always drink coffee with eat passing meal. then proceed downstairs to work out. I think coffee is like a faster acting protein shake. I dunno lol might just be me :$
On August 19 2013 04:34 Catch]22 wrote: Whats supposedly so special about chemex compared to regular drip coffee?
Just different method. If you understand coffee, a drip coffee brewer can make a similar quality cup to a chemex. Its just about tweaking grind size, water temp, coffee:water ratio, timings etc.
On August 19 2013 05:51 BadMannerSCV wrote: I always drink coffee with eat passing meal. then proceed downstairs to work out. I think coffee is like a faster acting protein shake. I dunno lol might just be me :$
I don't even know what you're trying to say. Coffee has absolutely nothing in common with protein shakes. Also you should be drinking your protein shake after you work out, not before.
On August 19 2013 04:34 Catch]22 wrote: Whats supposedly so special about chemex compared to regular drip coffee?
I really dont know how much was actually the chemex method because they used a really nice coffee bean that they ground right there so its more than likely that it was that rather than the chemex technique.
On August 19 2013 05:51 BadMannerSCV wrote: I always drink coffee with eat passing meal. then proceed downstairs to work out. I think coffee is like a faster acting protein shake. I dunno lol might just be me :$
You really shouldnt be eating before a workout your supposed to workout than consume the nutrition... also coffee barely has coffee in it anyways, like my protien shakes have around 20g of protien in them and coffee has like next to none
figured I'd add an email I recently received from a coffee expert to the thread—this is about what to buy to make espressos at home. there is some helpful insight in here, especially that the grinder is so important.
’ll give you two options based on how you think he will use it.
The biggest challenge to getting good espresso at home is high quality, freshly ground coffee. The quality is in both the bean itself and the grind. You can order a wide variety of high quality beans online for very reasonable prices. But the grinder is another story. There is a minimum level of grinder that is required to produce real espresso and they start around $250. For a budget of $500 - $1000 it is better to spend more on the grinder than the espresso machine itself. For reference, the grinders in espresso shops run $1000 - $2500.
But there is another way to get good freshly ground coffee and that is with capsules. They use quality grinders and vacuum seal the coffee with nitrogen to keep it fresh. From everything I’ve read, the machines that use capsules produce a good shot. The big benefit is convenience, but more than that – consistency. Grinding your own beans and pulling shots on a “traditional” machine takes lots of tinkering and continually adjusting the grind, etc, to get it right. The capsules are foolproof and give a good result every time. The other benefit is the space. The machine itself is smaller and you don’t need a separate grinder. My machine and grinder have long since been banished from [the] kitchen and set up in the garage. I don’t recall how tall your cabinets are, but many machines need 24” of clearance. Don’t forget to check dimensions if you decide to go that route.
Both grinders would do the job – in general you’ll get what you pay for in terms of grind quality.
A word about price. Here is the price distribution of espresso machines on a site that carries a bunch of them and it’s pretty typical of the market. There is a certain set of features that you only get above $1000. The ones between $500-$1000 are functionally the same as the one I linked to above. The difference is mostly window dressing and features of debatable utility.
$50 - $500 (41)
$500 - $1000 (5)
$1000 - $1500 (8)
Above $1500 (31)
To really compare price you should take into account the cost of the capsules, which are about $0.50 each. That might be 10x the cost of buying coffee by the pound and grinding it yourself, but you are also avoiding the cost of a good grinder and you’re getting a lot of convenience and a small form factor.
I think there are Bed Bath Beyond stores near you. They have pretty good return policies so you could try it out and make sure it suites your palate. That might be a good place to start. If he really enjoys the process he can always upgrade later on. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this.
On August 19 2013 11:38 Dave[9] wrote: What do you guys think of K-Cups? They're pretty convenient..but I'm not sure I've really found something I like from them yet.
I just bought a keurig for college and i tried a few of them this week and i was so impressed. I bought a new one off of classified ads for relatively cheap and i made a few cups of coffee and it was delicious, it takes some trying around to find one that you like the last one i had was a timothy Colombian and it was really good, i also bought a bunch of starbucks k-cups onsale from the bay and they were quite nice aswell.
Have you guys tried bulletproof coffee? I wont post a link to the website or anything because this isn't an advertisement, but basically the creator of the coffee claims that most commercial coffee beans are contaminated with mycotoxins. This "bulletproof coffee" is produced in a particular way that supposedly prevents any sort of mold contamination. I haven't had my bag lab tested for mycotoxins, but I can say that its some damn good coffee. Kind of a lighter roast though.
On August 19 2013 11:38 Dave[9] wrote: What do you guys think of K-Cups? They're pretty convenient..but I'm not sure I've really found something I like from them yet.
I just bought a keurig for college and i tried a few of them this week and i was so impressed. I bought a new one off of classified ads for relatively cheap and i made a few cups of coffee and it was delicious, it takes some trying around to find one that you like the last one i had was a timothy Colombian and it was really good, i also bought a bunch of starbucks k-cups onsale from the bay and they were quite nice aswell.
Thanks, I'll have to try it! I think I might start ordering online because the stores around where I live don't seem to have a decent selection, other than my staple of starbucks.
On August 19 2013 11:38 Dave[9] wrote: What do you guys think of K-Cups? They're pretty convenient..but I'm not sure I've really found something I like from them yet.
I just bought a keurig for college and i tried a few of them this week and i was so impressed. I bought a new one off of classified ads for relatively cheap and i made a few cups of coffee and it was delicious, it takes some trying around to find one that you like the last one i had was a timothy Colombian and it was really good, i also bought a bunch of starbucks k-cups onsale from the bay and they were quite nice aswell.
Thanks, I'll have to try it! I think I might start ordering online because the stores around where I live don't seem to have a decent selection, other than my staple of starbucks.
Personally, I thought the K-Cups were kinda lame. I think you're much better off with a regular coffee maker which will do everything K-Cup does except better. The only tradeoff is maybe convenience - but then if you know how much coffee you are making you should be able to adjust the amount of water/coffee so you are only making enough for yourself and it would take approx the same amount of time.
hEY there coffea drinkers. This is with what i make coffea each morning: (not real img)
This is a Southern-Italian old coffea machine. It makes coffea good and strong. It takes approximatly 10 minutes to make coffea with this. With a more common moka(img posted on page 3) its shorter, but this baby still stands strong. It never breaks. It never dwendels. It has balls of steel.
Did you know, that coffea is so much drunk in my country, its price on the counter in bars/pubs resturaunts is state-regulated? Only if you have it on the counter of course, not when you sit down and order it.
Most Italians drink moka at home, and what you call "espresso" which means "fast", is what many people here call "un caffe' normale" . In fact, why bother making espresso at home when you can buy it ready made and always excellent quality for 1 euro.
Classic coffea machine at bars/restaurants , can vary in size but all the good stuff is here. Grinder to grind beans (no allready grinded thats bs) , this baby can potentially (depending on the experience of the maker) make up to 10 coffeas a minute (and they will all be good)
Coffea is a morning drink, after meal drink, break-drink, hell some people have one before they go to bead. o.O
Espresso is usually so strong that most add sugar into it to muffle the taste. I don' t . I Stopped doing that shit. An ideal cup for me is dark, so that you can' t see the bottom of glass or cup (some people prefer it in glass cup), its aroma is gently simmering from it, filling the air with a strong and piercing odor, hot like ashes,
On August 19 2013 11:38 Dave[9] wrote: What do you guys think of K-Cups? They're pretty convenient..but I'm not sure I've really found something I like from them yet.
I just bought a keurig for college and i tried a few of them this week and i was so impressed. I bought a new one off of classified ads for relatively cheap and i made a few cups of coffee and it was delicious, it takes some trying around to find one that you like the last one i had was a timothy Colombian and it was really good, i also bought a bunch of starbucks k-cups onsale from the bay and they were quite nice aswell.
Thanks, I'll have to try it! I think I might start ordering online because the stores around where I live don't seem to have a decent selection, other than my staple of starbucks.
Personally, I thought the K-Cups were kinda lame. I think you're much better off with a regular coffee maker which will do everything K-Cup does except better. The only tradeoff is maybe convenience - but then if you know how much coffee you are making you should be able to adjust the amount of water/coffee so you are only making enough for yourself and it would take approx the same amount of time.
The thing about k-cups is that they are vacuum sealed so the coffee always tastes fresh so you just have to find the right been
I've been rolling with the french press for about six years. Considering investing in a siphon-brew setup. (It really should be called a vacuum-brew, but the internets...xd).
For those on a budget, or want to be more frugal, Counter Culture Coffee Subscriptions are awesome. For $21 + $5 shipping you get 2 x 12 oz of freshly roasted coffee that vary every month, from various regions (whatever is in season).
On August 20 2013 02:23 Chemist391 wrote: I've been rolling with the french press for about six years. Considering investing in a siphon-brew setup. (It really should be called a vacuum-brew, but the internets...xd).
You'll see both, but on the whole I think people just think siphon sounds cooler. You should consider a pour over method as well. I have a Chemex, a French Press, and a Melitta from college (cheaper than the Chemex, but same principle). Might save you some money if you are on the fence about the cost of a siphon setup.
On August 19 2013 11:38 Dave[9] wrote: What do you guys think of K-Cups? They're pretty convenient..but I'm not sure I've really found something I like from them yet.
I tend to utilize the medium/small brew modes for Kcups, should also try san francisco bay coffee one cup
On August 20 2013 02:23 Chemist391 wrote: I've been rolling with the french press for about six years. Considering investing in a siphon-brew setup. (It really should be called a vacuum-brew, but the internets...xd).
You'll see both, but on the whole I think people just think siphon sounds cooler. You should consider a pour over method as well. I have a Chemex, a French Press, and a Melitta from college (cheaper than the Chemex, but same principle). Might save you some money if you are on the fence about the cost of a siphon setup.
Yeah siphon is so much more expensive. Like $100 for 2/3 cup siphon pot, then the burner, then the cloth filters/paper filters plus the butane. With $100 I could get a V60 and paper filters to last me a year or two (or 3!), then again for pourover setups it would be better to have a gooseneck and those things cost at least $50.
TBH if I were to buy some new kit it would be a chemex or a bonavita temp variable kettle (those things are fucking A, gooseneck and exact temperature)
On August 20 2013 02:23 Chemist391 wrote: I've been rolling with the french press for about six years. Considering investing in a siphon-brew setup. (It really should be called a vacuum-brew, but the internets...xd).
You'll see both, but on the whole I think people just think siphon sounds cooler. You should consider a pour over method as well. I have a Chemex, a French Press, and a Melitta from college (cheaper than the Chemex, but same principle). Might save you some money if you are on the fence about the cost of a siphon setup.
Yeah siphon is so much more expensive. Like $100 for 2/3 cup siphon pot, then the burner, then the cloth filters/paper filters plus the butane. With $100 I could get a V60 and paper filters to last me a year or two (or 3!), then again for pourover setups it would be better to have a gooseneck and those things cost at least $50.
TBH if I were to buy some new kit it would be a chemex or a bonavita temp variable kettle (those things are fucking A, gooseneck and exact temperature)
One of those isn't quite in my budget yet, I stick with watching my crappy kettle and approximating when I am in the ballpark with an equally crappy thermometer. Gets a fair bit of use due to my tea habit as well though.
On August 20 2013 02:23 Chemist391 wrote: I've been rolling with the french press for about six years. Considering investing in a siphon-brew setup. (It really should be called a vacuum-brew, but the internets...xd).
You'll see both, but on the whole I think people just think siphon sounds cooler. You should consider a pour over method as well. I have a Chemex, a French Press, and a Melitta from college (cheaper than the Chemex, but same principle). Might save you some money if you are on the fence about the cost of a siphon setup.
Yeah siphon is so much more expensive. Like $100 for 2/3 cup siphon pot, then the burner, then the cloth filters/paper filters plus the butane. With $100 I could get a V60 and paper filters to last me a year or two (or 3!), then again for pourover setups it would be better to have a gooseneck and those things cost at least $50.
TBH if I were to buy some new kit it would be a chemex or a bonavita temp variable kettle (those things are fucking A, gooseneck and exact temperature)
One of those isn't quite in my budget yet, I stick with watching my crappy kettle and approximating when I am in the ballpark with an equally crappy thermometer. Gets a fair bit of use due to my tea habit as well though.
Thermometer for making coffee? Have I been missing out on the perfect cup all these years?
On August 20 2013 02:23 Chemist391 wrote: I've been rolling with the french press for about six years. Considering investing in a siphon-brew setup. (It really should be called a vacuum-brew, but the internets...xd).
You'll see both, but on the whole I think people just think siphon sounds cooler. You should consider a pour over method as well. I have a Chemex, a French Press, and a Melitta from college (cheaper than the Chemex, but same principle). Might save you some money if you are on the fence about the cost of a siphon setup.
Yeah siphon is so much more expensive. Like $100 for 2/3 cup siphon pot, then the burner, then the cloth filters/paper filters plus the butane. With $100 I could get a V60 and paper filters to last me a year or two (or 3!), then again for pourover setups it would be better to have a gooseneck and those things cost at least $50.
TBH if I were to buy some new kit it would be a chemex or a bonavita temp variable kettle (those things are fucking A, gooseneck and exact temperature)
One of those isn't quite in my budget yet, I stick with watching my crappy kettle and approximating when I am in the ballpark with an equally crappy thermometer. Gets a fair bit of use due to my tea habit as well though.
Thermometer for making coffee? Have I been missing out on the perfect cup all these years?
Haha I use 1 when making tea...for coffee, it's always near cooking temp anyway, something like 91+ (or 195+) right? Or are there very subtle nuances?
On August 20 2013 02:23 Chemist391 wrote: I've been rolling with the french press for about six years. Considering investing in a siphon-brew setup. (It really should be called a vacuum-brew, but the internets...xd).
You'll see both, but on the whole I think people just think siphon sounds cooler. You should consider a pour over method as well. I have a Chemex, a French Press, and a Melitta from college (cheaper than the Chemex, but same principle). Might save you some money if you are on the fence about the cost of a siphon setup.
Yeah siphon is so much more expensive. Like $100 for 2/3 cup siphon pot, then the burner, then the cloth filters/paper filters plus the butane. With $100 I could get a V60 and paper filters to last me a year or two (or 3!), then again for pourover setups it would be better to have a gooseneck and those things cost at least $50.
TBH if I were to buy some new kit it would be a chemex or a bonavita temp variable kettle (those things are fucking A, gooseneck and exact temperature)
One of those isn't quite in my budget yet, I stick with watching my crappy kettle and approximating when I am in the ballpark with an equally crappy thermometer. Gets a fair bit of use due to my tea habit as well though.
Thermometer for making coffee? Have I been missing out on the perfect cup all these years?
Haha I use 1 when making tea...for coffee, it's always near cooking temp anyway, something like 91+ (or 195+) right? Or are there very subtle nuances?
Purists will tell you 195-200 F (90-93C) is the money zone for coffee, for tea it depends on whether or not it is black, green, or white tea; for which near boiling/boiling, 170-180 F (76-82 C) and 180-185 F (82-85 C) are the recommended temperatures respectively.
Some people are far more specific and interested in their hot, caffeinated beverages than others.
Getting my gf a coffeemaker. I want to buy coffee too but I want a good coffee brand that is light and sweet but packs a powerful energy punch. Perfect for a girl who needs to work 12 hour days. I'm limited to buying from the store. I'm relying on you TL coffee moguls to give me suggestions. xD
On September 03 2013 14:16 BisuDagger wrote: Getting my gf a coffeemaker. I want to buy coffee too but I want a good coffee brand that is light and sweet but packs a powerful energy punch. Perfect for a girl who needs to work 12 hour days. I'm limited to buying from the store. I'm relying on you TL coffee moguls to give me suggestions. xD
Bisu, the lighter the roast the higher amount of caffeine should be retained by the beans. That being said, depending on where you are in the states I would recommend hitting up a local cafe and seeing what they have in medium/lighter roasts. Chances are they'll have a bit fresher beans, and you can get a bit more bang for your buck. Barring that Starbucks's beans aren't terrible though they tend to be a bit over roasted all round.
For a coffee maker, I recommend a Chemex or a French Press. I have a Bodum French press which is probably the most well known Frech Press brand, and brand name Chemex's are about $40 there are also generic pour over set ups which are essentially the same method but slightly cheaper. The brand name is eluding me at the moment.
On September 03 2013 15:26 krez wrote: cold drip coffee is quite nice and naturally sweeter
Requires slightly more know-how to do well, but true.
Hello learned teamliquid coffee drinkers. This is probably the dumbest question that has been posted in this thread, but hey I don't really care. I have recently started drinking coffee properly (or I guess the word is more frequently). I don't have time to brew my own so i regularly purchase mine on the run.
The thing is, I know when I am drinking 'good' coffee by my own standards, but I don't know what makes it good or bad. Is it the milk? Is it the beans? What should I be looking for
On September 03 2013 20:58 bkrow wrote: Hello learned teamliquid coffee drinkers. This is probably the dumbest question that has been posted in this thread, but hey I don't really care. I have recently started drinking coffee properly (or I guess the word is more frequently). I don't have time to brew my own so i regularly purchase mine on the run.
The thing is, I know when I am drinking 'good' coffee by my own standards, but I don't know what makes it good or bad. Is it the milk? Is it the beans? What should I be looking for
Stick to your tastes, objectively "good" coffee is kind of an oxymoron though the cream or milk would have very little impact on a simple cup of coffee, other coffee based beverages it might. I love dark roasts, taken black myself, which a lot of coffee snobs would say is generally roasted too much and is too bitter. I also enjoy Americanos, black.
The biggest thing in determining the most general quality of coffee would likely be freshness of the grind, roast, and the type of bean which have the largest bearing on flavor. Over roasted beans will have a burnt taste, kind of like taking the outside of a burnt marshmallow off in my mind. If the roast is too light, it is a bit more like gas station coffee. The taste is kind of there, but it seems much more like it is just water.
Experiment a bit, try some of the frillier coffee beverages, and some espresso variations as well. Ultimately you like what you like.
On September 03 2013 20:58 bkrow wrote: Hello learned teamliquid coffee drinkers. This is probably the dumbest question that has been posted in this thread, but hey I don't really care. I have recently started drinking coffee properly (or I guess the word is more frequently). I don't have time to brew my own so i regularly purchase mine on the run.
The thing is, I know when I am drinking 'good' coffee by my own standards, but I don't know what makes it good or bad. Is it the milk? Is it the beans? What should I be looking for
I drink my coffee black. I do this because good coffee has flavor by itself and doesnt need cream and sugar to mask the flavor. Realistically you will know what good coffee is the second you taste it.
I recently bought Italian Dark roast from Starbucks and it was really good when I tuned the grinder correctly. Other than that I buy beans from Zoegas (Swedish company) since I got connections and nice savings on it.
To answer bkrow:
The taste is everything. The taste itself from coffee depends on water quality, temperature, how fine the beans are grinded, how the beans are roasted, how the coffee is pressed etc. There are many variables in this that makes one cup of coffee. The good thing it that usually when you got a setup you will stick with it and diversify at will. But in the end a good cup of ol' joe is one that taste great from the first sip.
Sorry if I'm not cool enough to take my coffee black hehe but it just taste so good with well frothed milk. Anyway, if the coffee tastes almost too 'watery' and a lack of coffee flavour - is that entirely the beans or a combination of the milk with the beans? Just trying to understand how the flavours interact
Simply too much water in the coffee is the common issue. Other than that it could be wrong grind (not fine enough) or pressing too fast. The beauty with the Aeropress is that you got nice guidelines for every cup and you only adjust the grind to adjust the flavor (or press longer if you want).
On September 03 2013 21:59 GodZo wrote: Italian style here
I use a moka pot as well. Of all brewing methods it tastes the best. Mine is this brand and look (image from google).
It's very important to let these dry out after you clean them, or you will get mineral buildup at the bottom (which while not bad for you looks gross and might worry people).
French press looks cool for guests, but it is a pain to clean because you have to take it all apart, and it doesn't really have a better flavour than if you just made your coffee in a measuring cup. When I am too lazy to spend time cleaning either the moka pot or the french press, I just use a measuring cup and pour it through a metal mesh filter. I've found 5 minutes steeping time works. Moka pot I start it at medium heat for 4 minutes and then turn it up a bit to finish it off.
I've never had a cup of drip coffee that compared to either method.
Hey my family that lives in Ontario really loves coffee and I'd like to order them coffee from an online store and have it delivered directly to them. What online coffee shop and coffee type would you guys recommend?
In terms of coffee itself, I still have to stick with my Kicking Horse - Kick Ass coffee. I'm a big fan of dark, bold and rich, with very little acidity, and nothing comes close to this stuff.
Recently bought a fancy Nespresso machine and $300 of coffee. Hopefully it'll be pretty good. And before them enthusiasts who roast and grind their beans come attack me, "ain't nobody got time fo dat".
On December 24 2013 10:07 Djzapz wrote: Recently bought a fancy Nespresso machine and $300 of coffee. Hopefully it'll be pretty good. And before them enthusiasts who roast and grind their beans come attack me, "ain't nobody got time fo dat".
On December 24 2013 08:03 InfectedGoat wrote: Hey my family that lives in Ontario really loves coffee and I'd like to order them coffee from an online store and have it delivered directly to them. What online coffee shop and coffee type would you guys recommend?
On January 02 2014 04:39 Sicion wrote: Stumbled over this a week ago. kickstarter
No adjustable grind setting? Oh no wait they added it in at the 600k mark (WTF? That should be standard jesus).
The lack of degassing time is fine if its a lighter filter roast. Could easily get away with that. Then again that brings into question how the roaster will actually roast.
I wasn't too keen on the idea at first and I'm still not sold. I doubt any of my coffee loving friends would get one either. I would like to play with one to see if it is any good though.
i bought something called 'indonesian blue java', butt this coffee smells, and partly tastest like cow dung. is this for real? luckily i don't dislike it as much as i initially thought i would.
On February 16 2015 06:49 coolTLname wrote: heard good things about bulletproof coffee. Still don't drink coffee. ;o
Rofl... they put butter in it. Bulletproof anything is synonymous with stupid.
On December 31 2014 22:57 nunez wrote: ran out of finely ground for french press, used 'ground for boiling' instead, worked just as fine. what a scam!
You use a very coarse grind and infuse the coffee for an extended period of time with a French Press based on everything I've read. It's because of the lack of a filter to keep the grinds out.
On September 03 2013 21:59 GodZo wrote: Italian style here
I use a moka pot as well. Of all brewing methods it tastes the best. Mine is this brand and look (image from google).
It's very important to let these dry out after you clean them, or you will get mineral buildup at the bottom (which while not bad for you looks gross and might worry people).
French press looks cool for guests, but it is a pain to clean because you have to take it all apart, and it doesn't really have a better flavour than if you just made your coffee in a measuring cup. When I am too lazy to spend time cleaning either the moka pot or the french press, I just use a measuring cup and pour it through a metal mesh filter. I've found 5 minutes steeping time works. Moka pot I start it at medium heat for 4 minutes and then turn it up a bit to finish it off.
I've never had a cup of drip coffee that compared to either method.
I just bought a Moka pot and totally fucked up the brew. It uses a lot of coffee too, which made it all the more displeasing. I'm going to give it another go tonight, I think (I drink coffee very late because I have shitloads of work to do every day, so I don't sleep).
I bought an Aeropress too, and I'm so pleased with the quality that I get from it. It's definitely the best coffee I've had to date, with the exception of the coffee I had in France. I don't know what they did to that stuff, but it was so damn good. I have a Breville Smart Grinder Pro (an upgrade from the smart grinder, which allows for a wider variety of grinds, and has some other adjustment things on there to allow for incredibly fine grinds). I grind it at a 12 with the burrs set at 2, so it's an espresso grind, but not nearly as fine as it could be. I haven't weighed everything out, but I use the inversion method of brewing since it's so much simpler than the standard method. The stopper is at the bottom of the 4, grounds to the top of the 3 line or so, and then I fill the water to just above the 3, let it drain through the grounds, fill it to the bottom of the 1, stir, and then press it. Fantastic flavors, so far.
I used Peet's Ethiopian, and some medium roast too, but I don't remember the type now.
At coffee shops, I am a big fan of espresso, and I don't own a machine yet, so I don't brew my own (though I plan to purchase one by the end of the year).
The real reason I came here was to ask what beans everyone buys. I'm looking for something relatively cheap for mass consumption, but still tasting decent (I do not expect incredible quality out of them, but I want something that tastes better than, say, Maxwell House).
I get the "Huehue Tenango" bulk beans from the local supermarket. Frankly, I've come to like them more than pretty much any other coffee I come across.
I do not have any places that I can trust have freshly roasted beans. I guess I can't complain, considering the price. It's not a bad cup of coffee that I just made.
On that topic, I just brewed a pretty good cup in the aeropress, having changed my method since I've failed to replicate the taste from the first night. I started out with 105 g (over poured just a touch) of water at 205° F. Added 17 g of coffee, about the same coarseness as a drip brew, and then added another 100 g of water. I stirred one time around the cylinder, let it steep for about 30 seconds, then plunged, taking about 45 s. It's the best cup I've made in the past two days.
On January 02 2014 04:39 Sicion wrote: Stumbled over this a week ago. kickstarter
No adjustable grind setting? Oh no wait they added it in at the 600k mark (WTF? That should be standard jesus).
The lack of degassing time is fine if its a lighter filter roast. Could easily get away with that. Then again that brings into question how the roaster will actually roast.
I wasn't too keen on the idea at first and I'm still not sold. I doubt any of my coffee loving friends would get one either. I would like to play with one to see if it is any good though.
Scrolled back a page to check out this like. Sounds extremely cool until you get to the comments page and realize that everybody has been scammed. They took in 600k USD from kickstarted and another 1.3 million euros and they havent even produced a prototype. the original design is completely scrapped. RIP.
On the actual topic: I use a keurig with costco medium roast when I'm in a rush (or starbucks blonde when they are on sale) or a pour-over when I have the time. 2% milk, no sugar is my go to but sweetened condensed milk in super strong coffee is a nice treat.
Well it's summer, and if you're like me, you like cold drinks in the summer (I actually like them year round).
Another thing about you if you're like me is that you're not about to drop $260 on one of these things to make some cold brew coffee. You might even be too cheap to spend $20 on one of these because you already have four coffee makers at your house.
If you have either an Aeropress or a French Press, instead of buying a cold brewer or going to a coffee shop every day, you might follow Coffeegeek's method for iced Aeropress coffee. You'll notice something distinctly not cold about the brew when you make it this way, though. What you get is a watery cup of hot coffee because half the ice melts as you're pressing it, and the coffee stays plenty hot, so you have to add another handful of ice to actually make the coffee cold, and you melt half of that ice in the process, leaving you with a flavorless mess. Furthermore, brewing hot coffee and pouring it over ice does not create the same flavor that a cold brew creates, and watering down a good cup of coffee seems like a waste of good coffee to me.
This is the method with which I made my first batch of cold brew Aeropress coffee yesterday (kind of also today though).
Inverted Aeropress 32 g of coffee 260 g/mL of ice water Placed the Aeropress in the refrigerator and left it for about 20-23 hours (I think I put it in at 15:00 yesterday, but it could have been earlier, and I drank it around 14:00 today).
That's about 13g of coffee to 100mL of water, so the coffee had an insanely intense flavor at first. The coffee weight was decided based on how much old coffee I had left, since I wasn't willing to test this with the freshlyroasted options that I currently have available to me. And the water volume was a matter of how much would fit into the Aeropress with that much coffee in there.
It was on the bitter side before adding some extra water and ice, but I don't know how much of that should be attributed to using old coffee. I probably used a 50/50 ratio of water to coffee (I think I pressed about 2 oz and then added 2 oz, and a handful of ice), but I didn't measure to know for certain. I put in 25 mL of creamer, which was about 5 mL more than I wanted, but it didn't overpower the coffee until about halfway through the drink. At that point, I added the rest of the coffee to balance the cup. So if I had to guess, I would say I had a ratio of slightly under 260 mL of coffee (subtracting whatever unknown amount of water remained in the grounds from the brew water) with another 60ish mL of water added to a cup full of ice.
Coffeegeek used 20 g to 100 mL of coffee, but I think that's due in large part to the fact that they're making hot brewed ice coffee, and not cold brew coffee. Most of the guides that I've read give inexact measurements like 1/3 of a cup of coffee grounds (how course? No one knows!) to twelve ounces of water. I think 10-15 g of coffee per 100 mL of water is a good place to start. In their cold drip brew guide, Coffeegeek uses 12g of coffee/120mL of water (or 1g/10mL). Given the type of flavor that you'll get out of cold brew coffee anyway, I would err on the stronger side, and then bypass brew to even out the taste. Also, you'll get more volume out of a stronger initial brew, and you can probably keep the coffee for a day or two without losing much, and thus you'll only have to do this a couple of times a week.
So maybe one or two of you will find this useful and save $5 a day brewing your own cold brew coffee instead of buying a cup at your local café.
Second, insert how strong you want the caffeine to be. I usually use about 5 - 8 teaspoons depending on the time of day.
Two tablespoons of sugar.
Let some of the first coffee drip into the sugar cup and let the rest of the coffee pour into another cup
Stir up the sugar and coffee so you can get a nice sweet flavor - this also helps create whats called "espumita/foam".
As soon as the coffee is done and you're done stirring the sugar, you pour in the coffee into the sugar, it creates this in the end. Depending if you want the coffee to be sweet or not, is if you stir it while together.
Damn that looks good, shoCkeyy. How does that thing work for foaming milk?
Also, as I don't have nearly $1000 to spend on a top-notch espresso machine, does anyone have recommendations for a lower end one, under say, $200? I am not looking to make amazing espresso, but I am looking to make lattes and cappucinos, and I don't think you need pristine espresso for that.
Also, what about coffee mugs? I'm basically looking for something really classic looking, sharp, and plain like this, but not at $26/mug. That's fucking ridiculous.
On June 25 2015 01:26 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote: Damn that looks good, shoCkeyy. How does that thing work for foaming milk?
Also, as I don't have nearly $1000 to spend on a top-notch espresso machine, does anyone have recommendations for a lower end one, under say, $200? I am not looking to make amazing espresso, but I am looking to make lattes and cappucinos, and I don't think you need pristine espresso for that.
Also, what about coffee mugs? I'm basically looking for something really classic looking, sharp, and plain like this, but not at $26/mug. That's fucking ridiculous.
I'm actually in the same boat here - I am looking for a decent cappuccino/espresso maker but most I'm seeing are just ridiculously expensive >_<
This one is on sale for $71 right now. I'm really tempted to get it because of the price. I'm sure it's returnable if you hate it, since it's Amazon and all.
On June 25 2015 01:26 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote: Damn that looks good, shoCkeyy. How does that thing work for foaming milk?
Also, as I don't have nearly $1000 to spend on a top-notch espresso machine, does anyone have recommendations for a lower end one, under say, $200? I am not looking to make amazing espresso, but I am looking to make lattes and cappucinos, and I don't think you need pristine espresso for that.
Also, what about coffee mugs? I'm basically looking for something really classic looking, sharp, and plain like this, but not at $26/mug. That's fucking ridiculous.
Works great for Milk, also, for a good espresso maker, Bed Bath & Beyond have quite a few that are cheap, and if you get the 20% discount on an item they always send out, it makes it even cheaper.