The Coffee Thread - all things coffee

I'm not sure of the precise names because they're aren't used, but I particularly like beans from Kenya and Ethiopia. Nice, strong and quite bitter.

 

Yes and an odd bit of irony is they give you all the free sugar you want where the napkins and stirrers are.... to add to your... already sugar laden coffee.

The amount of milk that they must go through in a given day must be massive. My guess would be this is why indie coffee shops have trouble to compete. They don't get the price breaks on anything like a Starbuck would... because Starbucks buys in massive volumes - so they get cozy trade deals. Not sure if that's legal - probably is. Quantity goes up... unit price goes down.

 

Yep there are some lovely beans that come from both of those parts of Africa. Ethiopia is allegedly the origin point of coffee. A goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats spazzing out eating coffee cherries and made the connection... opened up a chain of Starbucks and the rest is history. Or so the story goes anyhow.

 

I'd heard the story and ever since I've wanted to see goats on caffeine...

What's your preferred method to make your coffee? Stovetop, expresso, french press, etc?

I can't afford an expresso machine right now so I use french press. It's slighlty weaker but pretty good.

What about Nespresso, like or dislike?

I kind of like how hassle free the nespresso machine is, but I prefer good quality beans and a traditional expresso machine. Plus the capsules are pretty expensive here. I can buy a quarter kilo of very decent coffee for the price of three capsules.

 

If you think Starbucks coffee is bad then you should come try the stuff served in rural and small town gas stations in America. It is horrible stuff and it is why starbucks got so big. It might not be that great but for many of us it is the best choice.

My morning cup, next to my Arabica plants! Some day I hope to have a cup of coffee from beans I have grown and roasted myself. It will probably not taste great and I will enjoy every drop.

 

Cool!! How long unitil you can dring your own coffee? Roughly.

 

Thank god for Tim Horton! Not the greatest but hell of a lot better then gas station special. Plus they have Roll up the rim to win! Hey that comming up soon.

 

Six or seven years.

 

I'm in the Philippines for a while so it's relatively hard to find a decent espresso shot here. That being said.... shockingly one of the places withe best coffee is... gasp... Krispy Kremes. Who knew? I stopped in the other day to wait for someone and wow.... great coffee... properly pulled espresso from a well roasted bean. Impressed. Blew Starbucks right out of the water.

The only drink from Starbucks that even works for me is the Ristretto Bianco.

Everything else has too much milk or too much water or too much sugar. Ugh.

That being said I'm into about two to three cups a day at home... I make mine using either a French Press if I'm making for two or a little Vietnamese coffee maker if I'm only making a single.

I tend to use a French roasted Arabica bean. Hard to find the beans unground here... and the prices on Starbucks beans as much as I like them... naw I'll pass. Pesos make me cheaper than ever.

Coffee is also largely a part of the ritual as well. So I have a whole thing that I do every time I make coffee. From the order I wash stuff, to how I arrange it all on the counter while I'm working. I do it to compensate for the lack of order and coherency in my personal life.

I used to really dislike French Press coffee - but once I started getting the timing on it right and the water to grounds ratio right. It works quite well. Still doesn't have the same flavor you get out of an espresso shot... but it's very enjoyable all the same.

Nespresso machines are ok... I'll use them in a pinch. But I'll almost always go for making it with my French Press or my Vietnamese coffee maker. They are not super common here in Phils... at least where I'm at because it's the third world - at least my neighborhood is

I've had some amazing espresso machines over the years... double boilers and all. And one thing leads to another and I'm back to making it poor mans style.

I'll do locally grown Arabica (grown in Davao area) that has a French roast - and I'll use Muscovado sugar - it seems not as sweet as refined white sugar and has a better flavor I think. I'll add it to a cup with a two fingers worth of full cream milk. Or if I'm out of milk I'll just do the coffee with condensed and skip the sugar.

If there is no milk I'll use milk powder. Whatever. Some days I've been tempted to just slug down the coffee grounds themselves depending on how lazy I am.

Same goes for the water... If I'm being fussy... I'll use filtered mineral water... if not.. and I'm can't be arsed... I'll just use tap - which here in Phils on the coast is super high in calcium sediment.

 

Getting the hang of the french press does take a while but once you do it's relatively easy to nearly always make good coffee. I find the stovetop much less reliable. Plus I make a pot, carry it to my desk and just serve it when it's ready. Very little hassle.

I'm lucky with water because Patagonia's water is very pure, quite a few people have health problems (mostly teeth) 'cause it doesn't have enough mineral content.