Tell me about coffee

M

Macanudo

2,500+ Posts
I'm not a huge coffee drinker. Generally, I like 'sweet' coffee drinks with a lot of cream/milk and/or chocolate involved. My FiL is a black coffee drinker and keeps a coffee maker here at Casa Macanudo that he uses to brew black coffee from regular Folgers crystals when he's here. I just brewed a big cup of Folger's Colombian with a healthy dose of milk.

I'm not opposed to grinding my own beans so should I just buy pre-ground stuff or go out and get a grinder?

I drink coffee for 2-3 reasons:

1. It's cold outside (heh)
2. The caffeine
3. To drink with a cigar when it's cold outside
 
One of the best pleasures in life is having a fine cigar with a good cup of coffee/espresso.

As far as buying pre-ground beans...really depends on how long it takes you to go through the coffee. If it's on a weekly basis, then go ahead and buy preground.
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I used to drop into the Cigar Vault in the Uptown Shopping Center off of 610 near the Galleria in Houston. Mitch would always have some good coffee brewing. I'd buy a single or two and light one up, then sit there and read a magazine while smoking a stick.

Tonight, after the FiL left the coffee pot out, I thought 'What the hell, let's make some coffee while I fart around the house.' It's super cold out (-20s) and I'm watching a movie, so I made some of his stuff. It's not "great" coffee" but I think I'm hooked again. I doubt I'll drink and smoke too much for the next few weeks/months but I think I'll use the coffee pot more. I'll drop by the local grocery store that has the best selection of beans and see what they have.
 
My coffee habit was acquired in the Army. It came from big urns with cloth filters in the Mess Hall. The bean quality was not good, but it was hot, black, and stimulating (in two equally important ways). The little woman and I would occasionally go to Heidelberg to shop, see some sights, etc. We often stopped at a coffee shop on the main street when we were done and had some espresso and read some English newspapers on those neat library sticks. At home we had a Corning percolator which made a pretty good cup.

We tried a Chemex drip and one combo drip/espresso maker. Ok but not that great. The two of us actually discussed, briefly, opening a coffee shop here in Boise in the late '70's after law school.

I am very fond of Starbucks, but they came late to Boise. At our local hippie grocery store I saw a French press about 20 years ago. I remembered a cup of coffee I'd had from one at a hotel restaurant in Meaux 10 years earlier. I got the press and learned how to use it. A good burr grinder is indispensible. I tried several brands of French Roast and have yet to find one just right; but I keep trying. After much experimentation, I like Kenya and Sumatra--they taste like coffee and not blackberries or walnuts or whatever.

I think we kept the Chemex in case we need it for a party or something; it might take me a half hour to find it though. Everything else has been junked. The press is more involved as a process than other methods, i.e., more trouble, but it is way worth it. I cannot imagine a better cup of coffee.

I have a coffee ceremony, but, being something of a slob, it bears little resemblance to the Japanese tea ceremony. I boil up a pint of filtered water in a glass container in the nuker. Just before it boils, I grind up some beans to get a quarter to a third of a cup of grounds. The setting on the grinder is pretty coarse. I let the water wait a little before I pour it on the grounds in the press. I think I read somewhere it should be just a little over 200 degrees, but I am not real scientific about it. I set the timer for 5 minutes, then stir the mixture because the grounds tend to float. 90% of the time I have to stir it again after a half minute because the grounds persist in floating. If they are floating they are not giving up their flavor into the effusion that is the coffee. When the dinger goes off, I put on the pressing device, mash it down and pour into a preheated cup. Add some cream and Splenda. Poor quality coffee is better black, but the good stuff is thereby enhanced, the way oatmeal needs a little salt to give it some taste. Nothing but real cream works. Antoine's uses half and half for breading chicken and fish, and that's OK. Milk just waters down the coffee. Cream is Synergy.

With a hand grinder and stainless steel press I can do this camping or on raft trips. Better than boiled coffee with eggshells or socks or whatever.

Never smoked a cigar, or anything else for that matter, but I'd bet this coffee would hold up well to a smoke.
 
Thanks Idahorn, that was an interesting read on coffee. It's interesting to hear people's history with stuff sometimes.

Sii, thanks. At the grocery I shop at, I can get whole Millstone and Tully's along with two local brands (although, there's no way their beans are grown locally.) I'm going to do some exploring this week.
 
Thanks Traffic. I'll see if I can fit that into my busy schedule.
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How messy is a French press to clean/use?
 
Coffee grounds are almost always at least some mess. Burr grinders impart a little static charge to the grounds and a few can appear on the counter. The press itself has to be washed, or at a minimum, thoroughly rinsed with hot water and wiped, after each use. I try to run it through the dishwasher at least once a week.

For comparison purposes, I would say a French press is more trouble than a drip coffeemaker, but certainly less than a percolator or espresso machine (except the ones that use pods). For me, it doesn't matter.

Starbucks, who really do know a thing or two about coffee, recommend using a press to make coffee, although their profit margin must be greater on espresso machines.

Thanks for the "sometimes" in your reply to my post. I do tend to ramble quite a bit, and even more so when I think there may be some need to give a basis in experience for my opinion.
 
re: cleaning French Press

On that other thread I posted something I read on a previous coffee thread that you should use soap and water each time you use the press because of the oils and junk that get on there. But to be honest, I've done OK with just rinsing it off for 2-3 uses, and then use soap every 3rd or 4th use.

Either way, it's not a big deal to wash. I'll usually get the water on the stove, and while it's coming to a boil, I'll take care of the press and coffee.
 
I just use my Senseo. I don't have time in the mornings to brew the perfect cup. It's easy and fast to brew and easy to clean. It's also just as good as anything you'll get in a can from the grocery store.
 
Agree that a French press is an excellent and relatively inexpensive way to brew coffee. They're available in a variety of sizes, so you can get one or two that match your brewing habit. Buy unground beans and use a burr grinder--not one of those cheap whirly blade ones.

Best automatic machine I've found is a Krups Mokabrew, model # F468. Brews an outstanding cup and isn't terribly expensive unlike others that produce excellent quality.

For the best beans, consider roasting your own at home. It's really very easy and the results can't be beat. Some of the best green beans in the world are available from Sweet Maria's. They publish all you need to know about roasting. You can even do a very good job with nothing more than an old air popcorn popper. Roast enough for a week at a time, about 10 or 15 minutes of effort, and you'll never go back to commercially roasted coffee.

Whether you home roast or not, try a excellent Kenyan or Guatemalan and see what you think. For the best flavor try to avoid the darker roasts. Unfortunately, many roasters, including Starbucks, conceal mediocre beans by over roasting. It's become such common practice that many people consider the resulting brew normal. In fact, if you start with an excellent bean and roast it appropriately (in most cases, not too dark--Sweet Maria's will provide guidance) you'll never go back to Starbucks.
 
Macanudo:

1. get a coffee grinder.

2. Find that jerry guy from the cigar boards we're on and order from "Killer beans". he roasts them himself and they are very nice.

3. I really want a cigar now.
 
I bought an 8 cup Bonjour french press last weekend and I'm in the market for a burr grinder. Any recommendations? Trying to stay under $75. Anyone know anything about the la Pavoni Burr Grinder? $40 on amazon. I have a blade grinder but I hear that's not good. Would it be better if I were to get my coffee ground at Starbucks when I buy it? If so, what setting should I ask for?

B000F766XI.01-A1L4LS2KNDBWYV._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V56352406_.jpg
 
burr grinders are more consistent and can be adjusted to do a variety of grinds, from coarse to fine. With the blade, not so much control over the grind.
 
Yeah, I'm learning that. I may have to just be content with my little old drip maker until I can justify something more expensive.

Anyone have an espresso maker that makes decent plain coffee or that even possible? I've seen some cheapo 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 machines but I have yet to see a good review on them.
 
I think most cheap espresso makers will do a decent job, which isn't true for coffee makers. Espresso requires steam, and there's no gray area. Coffee requires hot water (> 185 F, I believe), and most cheap coffee makers don't get the water hot enough.

The upshot is that a good coffee maker will probably cost as much as a basic espresso maker. My coffee maker is a caraffe-based commercial unit from Newco, and my espresso maker is a Krups that you can get just about anywhere. Both cost about $125.
 
Guys ... all of that expensive crap is unnecessary.

I am a coffee addict. I have every coffee making device known to man (Braun espresso machine, 12 cup brewer, french press, two cup brewer, Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System, a percolater, a Napoletana and others). In addition, I have very meticulously (it's my nature) studied this issue over the years with blind taste comparisons etc...

All of my friends will tell you that I make the meanest cup of coffee around.

The very best cup of coffee you can make ---- even better than a french press in my opinion ----- is made with a three dollar ceramic cone and a paper filter, set right down on top of the cup and with boiling water poured through it.

Grind the coffee down to a fine powder. Pulverize it down to the molecular level in your grinder. I'm talking espresso fine or even finer.

Put the plastic ceramic cone on top of the coffee cup, along with a brown paper filter. Add the coffee.

Boil the water and pour it through your pulverized-to-a-fine-powder beans, letting it drip into the cup.


Make it one cup at a time. You end up wasting no coffee except what you might leave in your cup.

The good folks at coffee detective.com understand what's important:


The Link
 
Ive got a cheapo Krups espresso maker that works fine. You have to tinker with the grind and how much you tamp the grinds. It puts out a pretty consistent cup.

I still can have a daily latte without having "a latte factor". The money I will have saved by not going somewhere else will allow me to buy a decent espresso maker when this one quits. The thing is, this one hasnt quit in 2+ years and it puts out a decent espresso.
 
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