Coffee

[Buffy]

I have to buy pro espresso machines because the consumer models die after 12 months of my usage... My big luxury in life is Peet's Arabian Mocha Sanani espressoized in a giant mug...

 

Mmmmmmm, cooooffffffeeeee.....

Buffy

[Monomer]

I think half of the love affair with coffee comes from the aroma. Few things smell as wonderful as freshly brewed coffee.

 

 

I really love the aroma of coffee, and every time it hits my olfactory receptors I start thinking I'd like a cup of it. That's why I'm gathering information from you coffee lovers so I can find a good cup that's not too bitter. I just discovered yesterday that there's a Starbucks in Rundle Mall. Maybe it'll be better here than in NSW...?

 

 

When making coffee by whatever means, clean equipment and pure water give the best results from any given bean, grind, or blend. :hyper:

 

I've heard the same thing. You'll get a good cup of anything with clean water and equipment.

 

 

That dishwater week stuff that the waitress keeps pouring into your cup and is continually stewed and replenished by I guess what you call a 'drip maker'?

 

I had wondered what the deal was with the bottomless cup of coffee in the US, but I guess if it's weak and over-brewed then they can afford the endless refills. If we had those refills here in Oz they'd charge a fortune for the initial cup.

[Jay-qu]

I must admit I love the smell of coffee, but was dissapointed to find it didnt taste as good :)

[Turtle]

I had wondered what the deal was with the bottomless cup of coffee in the US, but I guess if it's weak and over-brewed then they can afford the endless refills. If we had those refills here in Oz they'd charge a fortune for the initial cup.

 

Until tonight, I didn't know the answer to that, but I just watched a cable TV show on coffee and I have it now. What happened was in the 50's or 60's the mega corporations started taking over the coffee processing by buying out the independents who were doing the work in small batches and with care & pride.

 

Then the bean counters (that one just fell out naturally :singer: ) for the company decided if they mixed lower quality beans (the robustas as opposed to arabicas) they could add millions to the bottom line and consumers wouldn't notice. They (we?) didn't, and until Starbucks got going in Seattle after the founder visited Italy, Americans have been content to drink swill. And now you know the rest of the story. :xparty: :friday:

[Buffy]

They (we?) didn't, and until Starbucks got going in Seattle after the founder visited Italy, Americans have been content to drink swill. And now you know the rest of the story. :xparty: :friday:

Vile Starbucks propaganda! The founders at Starbucks used to *work* at Peet's and bought beans from Peet's until they got big enough to build their own supply chain, and now they buy the cheaper stuff that Peets rejects! Sound familiar? :singer:

 

Don't be Starbucked, go to Peet's! (well, if you're in the Western USA...or any local vendor! Starbucks is totally sucky!)

 

The Perfect Grind,

Buffy

[maikeru]

I really love the aroma of coffee, and every time it hits my olfactory receptors I start thinking I'd like a cup of it. That's why I'm gathering information from you coffee lovers so I can find a good cup that's not too bitter. I just discovered yesterday that there's a Starbucks in Rundle Mall. Maybe it'll be better here than in NSW...?

 

Definitely. Smell and taste are inextricably linked. :singer: I just brewed a cup of French Roast and Italian espresso mix. Smooth and aromatic. Looking at them, one can is Jean Martin Cafe, which is Columbian coffee. The Italian one is Ferrara Cafe Espresso Coffee. I have limited experience with coffee, but I'd consider these two good. They're dark and full-flavored. Much better than instant. I'll continue to try a few more blends as I use up what I have. My folks have a grocery store that carries coffee from several different countries.

 

I've heard the same thing. You'll get a good cup of anything with clean water and equipment.

 

Makes sense. Wouldn't want off-flavors or gunk messing up your machine. I'd not advise this with a percolator if you have one. My Italian friend told me that it's a sin to clean a percolator with anything other than a rinse of water. Soap residue can foul up the coffee and allow some of the metal of the percolator to come into contact with the liquid, giving it a metallic or tinny taste. (Also, a new percolator has that metallic or tinny taste. Run poor coffee through it a few times first, so you don't waste the good stuff.) The more you brew in it regularly, the better the coffee. Light rinse and dry. No more. And I think pure water is the best. I probably messed up my coffee a little tonight by using tap water...

 

I had wondered what the deal was with the bottomless cup of coffee in the US, but I guess if it's weak and over-brewed then they can afford the endless refills. If we had those refills here in Oz they'd charge a fortune for the initial cup.

 

American brew is probably better for watering the plants. I nearly forgot to mention it, but I've also tried Nestle coffee from India. It has a weird, weak flavor to it. I don't recommend it.

[Turtle]

Vile Starbucks propaganda! The founders at Starbucks used to *work* at Peet's and bought beans from Peet's until they got big enough to build their own supply chain, and now they buy the cheaper stuff that Peets rejects! Sound familiar? :singer:

 

Don't be Starbucked, go to Peet's! (well, if you're in the Western USA...or any local vendor! Starbucks is totally sucky!)

 

The Perfect Grind,

Buffy

 

 

:xparty: One propaganda is as good as another I always say. :friday: The roastmaster I mentioned earlier was working back in the 70's, so the propagandists can only lay claim to the more recent widespread coffee snobbery.

 

The Preferred Roast,

Turtle :friday:

[Buffy]

Actually, watery coffee is starting to go the way of the dinosaur here in America. There are local variations of course (I won't diss the guilty, but you know who you are), but McDonalds of all places recently started boating that they have a new coffee that's stronger...

 

The teacher's that taught me weren't cool, :singer:

Buffy

[Buffy]

The roastmaster I mentioned earlier was working back in the 70's

Peet's opened in 1966!

 

So there! :singer:

Buffy

[maikeru]

Until tonight, I didn't know the answer to that, but I just watched a cable TV show on coffee and I have it now. What happened was in the 50's or 60's the mega corporations started taking over the coffee processing by buying out the independents who were doing the work in small batches and with care & pride.

 

Then the bean counters (that one just fell out naturally :singer: ) for the company decided if they mixed lower quality beans (the robustas as opposed to arabicas) they could add millions to the bottom line and consumers wouldn't notice. They (we?) didn't, and until Starbucks got going in Seattle after the founder visited Italy, Americans have been content to drink swill. And now you know the rest of the story. :xparty: :friday:

 

Robusta has more caffeine and a more bitter taste as opposed to arabica. I think it's used for instant, since it's cheap. Also, kona coffee (which I think is a variety of arabica) is pretty good. I've had cans of those from Hawaii. Mmm.

[Turtle]

.... My Italian friend told me that it's a sin to clean a percolator with anything other than a rinse of water. ...

 

I can't imagine that a simple rinse of water is sufficient to remove the oils? :singer: Hot water at the least and then a thorough wiping with a clean towel or paper towel?

 

The show I watched claimed that 80% of the coffee consumed in Europe is instant‽

[Turtle]

Robusta has more caffeine and a more bitter taste as opposed to arabica. I think it's used for instant, since it's cheap. Also, kona coffee (which I think is a variety of arabica) is pretty good. I've had cans of those from Hawaii. Mmm.

 

They showed a bit about a doctor who recently pioneered growing coffee plants on arbors in Hawaii. It lets in more Sun and increases both the quality and quantity of cherries. Or so they said. ;)

[maikeru]

I can't imagine that a simple rinse of water is sufficient to remove the oils? ;) Hot water at the least and then a thorough wiping with a clean towel or paper towel?

 

The show I watched claimed that 80% of the coffee consumed in Europe is instant‽

 

It doesn't, and that's part of the point, according to my friend. You want coffee residue to thinly coat the inside of the percolator, to help with the flavor of later brews. I brew as he instructed me to, and I trust him more than I trust myself.

 

I didn't grow up drinking coffee or in a coffee-drinking family, where we knew what was good and what was crap.

 

Same as regular instant coffee? That'd be pretty surprising then. My Italian friend refused to touch instant coffee, and thought of it as some kind of abomination. I started with instant coffee and drank it off and on for a while. Now I only drink it when studying. For pleasure, anything else but instant.

[maikeru]

They showed a bit about a doctor who recently pioneered growing coffee plants on arbors in Hawaii. It lets in more Sun and increases both the quality and quantity of cherries. Or so they said. ;)

 

Do you remember his name? I wish I could've seen this show. Always interested in this kind of stuff and growing plants. I wonder how coffee would do with terra preta.

[Turtle]

It doesn't, and that's part of the point, according to my friend. You want coffee residue to thinly coat the inside of the percolator, to help with the flavor of later brews. I brew as he instructed me to, and I trust him more than I trust myself.

 

I didn't grow up drinking coffee or in a coffee-drinking family, where we knew what was good and what was crap.

 

 

Me thinks your friend has been misinformed. The oils will go rancid if left uncleaned. What's more, a percolator is about the worst type of maker to use, as it re-boils the coffee back through the grounds over and over.

 

The "experts" on the show recommend a 'coffee press', which is what I think JQ refers to as a 'plunger'. Espresso machines are arguably *better*, but considerably more expensive than a press.

coffee press instructions

 

Your mention of the aroma brings to mind one of my housemates who loves the aroma of coffee, but does not drink it because of the taste. ;)

[maikeru]

Me thinks your friend has been misinformed. The oils will go rancid if left uncleaned. What's more, a percolator is about the worst type of maker to use, as it re-boils the coffee back through the grounds over and over.

 

Oh? As I understand it, the water steams up through the coffee grounds once under high pressure. It's not actually "boiling" the coffee grounds in the water all the time. That would be gross. And I chuck the grounds after a single use. Not worth a second time. The best would be an espresso machine, if I had one. BTW, after checking a Wiki article or two, it seems there are 2 types of percolators. I'm using the high-pressure variety with long tube (to produce crema, the moka pot or macchinetta), but there is a second one which uses gravity and continually boils grounds.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_percolator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_Express

 

My percolators are the Bialetti moka ones as seen in this pic:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Coffe_percolator_moka.jpg

 

The article also mentions these moka percolators are the most popular way of brewing coffee at home in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. I'm probably doing it quite a bit differently than others here...

 

The "experts" on the show recommend a 'coffee press', which is what I think JQ refers to as a 'plunger'. Espresso machines are arguably *better*, but considerably more expensive than a press.

coffee press instructions

 

I might have to look into them.

 

Your mention of the aroma brings to mind one of my housemates who loves the aroma of coffee, but does not drink it because of the taste. ;)

 

:D

 

Edit: added an article on my babies, the Bialetti Moka Pots and changed a minor, but significant detail. Boiling water does not rush up through the coffee grounds in the moka pot. Apparently, the temperatures and pressures in the boiler generate high-pressure steam which then forces its way through the grounds, according to the Wiki article.

[Turtle]

BTW, after checking a Wiki article or two, it seems there are 2 types of percolators. I'm using the high-pressure variety with long tube (to produce crema, the moka pot or macchinetta), but there is a second one which uses gravity and continually boils grounds.

 

Excellent research! Seems you can teach an old dog new tricks.:doh: Besides being old, it seems I have the unfortunate cultural bias toward percolators of being American! :D

...(other than the electric gravity type percolator used in most American households)...

 

It is now 4 am and I stopped drinking coffee 2 hours ago so I think I will give sleep a try. Guten nacht. ;)