Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
I too am a coffee geek. I generally go for whatever gourmet whole beans are being sold at Costco. When I have a few extra bucks it's Peets coffee all the way. I love Peets coffee. Almost 100% of the time I grind my beans with each cup and use a french press. I like strong coffee and I find I can get the most out of the bean using the press.
DAve
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Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
House of 'Robert Timms' Bodum plunger & JamaicaBlue signature blend - for tonight's episode of Death in Paradise.
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Harris Coffee micro mesh gold filter - great for a single cup.
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Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
The aeropress is VERY easy to clean. You unscrew (half turn) the filter bottom, push the "pump" through dumping the beans and filter into the compost, then rinse it all out maybe 60 seconds to clean. It's also fast to make coffee -- put paper filter in, grind beans, put them in, pour in hot water (not as hot as for other brewing methods), stir for ten seconds, then push the "pump" to push the brew through at the end it gets harder to push as the crema comes out. Voila, done. Maybe 30-60 seconds total.
As for nice coffee beans... I like Kicking Horse (see http://www.kickinghorsecoffee.com/en/home ) Kick Ass beans (I get them by the kilo bag on Amazon at about USD$12-13 per pound).
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Starting to wish I had an aeropress to take with me on the few trips we take. I'm going to be hard pressed for decent coffee in the wilds of New Mexico next time we go. Uh. No pun intended.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KCat
Starting to wish I had an aeropress to take with me on the few trips we take. I'm going to be hard pressed for decent coffee in the wilds of New Mexico next time we go. Uh. No pun intended.
You should consider purchasing an Aeropress then. That would solve your aeropress problem...
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Spring water, freshly ground Kenya AA - yum! :)
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Cheers! ;)
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
I have drank coffee for most of my 60 years. I am amazed how coffee and coffee making has evolved through those years but at the same time they have made a full circle. Louisiana Cajuns liked coffee when coffee wasn't cool. :) When I was a young boy all the local small stores sold coffee beans. My grandmother would "parch" the beans in a skillet on the stove top, let them cool in a metal tray, then grind them in a coffee grinder that was wall mounted. Back then, everyone used drip pots with the cloth sack. It was always STRONG coffee! If you drank coffee at my GrandMere's, you drank sweet coffee because as soon as the coffee dripped she sweetened the whole pot! In fact, that was the norm for most Cajuns back in the day.
Of course, now we don't have to go through all these procedures - we have Community coffee!
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Sounds wunnerful!
And now we go to the opposite: K-Cups. In the past two days, two different brands of K-Cups but with the same fluted construction, failed to puncture. Good thing we had half an eye on the procedure before catastrophe struck.
Two different brands! Unacceptible!
Thanks fer letting me vent. Whew.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Although I don't use K cups, there is a company that sells re-usable (you fill it with the coffee you want) compatible K cups. See http://www.keepcup.com/
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Thanks for the link. We actually have two of them; the problem being adjusting the coffee grind JUST RIGHT.
One of the faulty-cupmakers has a caution on its web site. I sense a refund/product withdrawal/etc.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
tenney
Although I don't use K cups, there is a company that sells re-usable (you fill it with the coffee you want) compatible K cups. See
http://www.keepcup.com/
Hmmm. I just see well-designed travel cups there, not reusable Keurig cups.
It looks like Keurig has an own-branded reusable K-cup, but $13 for it is ridiculous. For twice the price I could get an Aeropress and keep an entire coffee maker in my desk.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
I thought that was the company for reusable K cups. Sorry 'bout that. As I said, I don't use K cups so it was from memory of a specialty food convention.
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Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Attachment 3525Attachment 3526Although I drink orange peku and darjeeling tea whenever in the USA, GB or the Netherlands, I'm a heavy coffee consumer. I have a Philips Senseo, a classic Braun brewing machine that works with melitta filterpapers, a Nespresso machine, a glass pint with stamper, a Rombouts 123spresso machine and a Café Liégeois espresso machine on steam pressure (the last two are packed to give to a charity).
My preferred roast is Goudmerk by Rombouts (suppliers to the royal court in Belgium). It's a 100% Arabica that is not to oily, not burned too long (like the bitter French coffee Malongo or the Walloon Jacqmotte I like also very much). It's mildly bitter but has a slight acidity to compensate and it tastes ok both warm and cold. No cream , no sugar. The DE dessert is a blend called "red label" as opposed to "gold label". Gold label is 100 procent Arabica and red label is 75 percent arabica and 25 percent robusta varieties. The robusta is what gives American coffee the horrible taste (dusty cardboard). For the Senseo the pads bij Rombouts (Goudmerk), Oké Koffie, Ethical Coffee and the Café Liégeois (only Grandioso gusto) are by far the best. The dessert by DE is acceptable, most other pads are proof of Sturgeon's Law ("90 percent of everything is crap" worst are Graindor and Puc). In the classic coffee brewer Goudmerk is best, followed by Black Label from DE and some artisanal 100% Arabica blends from Oké Koffie, Mokapi, Hoorens (Santos Exclusive), de Olifant, St-Michel... For classic espresso machines the pods by Mokafina are excellent as is a good Italian pod (not the hyped Lavazza or Segafredo). I like the tin's with ground coffee by Illy a lot. For Nespresso I stick to the DE replacement capsules. And a typical Belgian thing the 'filter' is only acceptable if it is Goudmerk by Rombouts (Miko is awfull). A filter is an injection moulded top with coffee between 2 coffee papers and just enough space in the plastic cup to fil the porcelane cup under the filter. In a bar I look if the barista has a Shaerer of WMF machine. If I don't trust de machine or if I cannot see the espresso machine I order water, tea or beer.
There is one thing about coffee that puzzles me: the bad taste in coffee in some cultures (Starbucks has a nice styling but all these flavours and the marketing are not my cup of tea). I found that Belgian coffee in England tastes just as much as shit like English tea and apparantly the water is to blame.
When my notes next to my computer after a day of writing have a lunar coffe stain, then I know my day has been prodcutive and I guess that's how they invented ink.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
enchiridion
I found that Belgian coffee in England tastes just as much as shit like English tea and apparantly the water is to blame.
Whereabouts? If by England you mean London ... fair enough!
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
there is no shortage of american coffee roasters offering 100% arabica coffee. that said, I wouldn't buy american-roasted coffee in Europe. Stale. Same goes for european-roasted coffee here. Italian-ground coffee? only in Italy, and only if it's immediately brewed.
if you want robusta, go to france.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Best bet no matter where you are is buy LOCALLY roasted coffee. We buy coffee roasted in Austin. Tastes so much better than even the "gourmet" stuff that gets shipped in. (Ruta Maya rocks! If you are near Austin look for it at HEB or Costco.)
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
London, Kingston-upon-Thames and Cambridge.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
enchiridion
London, Kingston-upon-Thames and Cambridge.
Thames valley water is grim - I can't understand how Londoners can bear to shave with it, far less drink the stuff. No idea about Cambridge.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AndyT
Quote:
Originally Posted by
enchiridion
London, Kingston-upon-Thames and Cambridge.
Thames valley water is grim - I can't understand how Londoners can bear to shave with it, far less drink the stuff. No idea about Cambridge.
last year when I was in Cambridge the water was so high entire fields next to the canals had been intentionally flooded. It is so beautifull overthere so I think that's why they can live with the grim water.
Re: Coffee People. Talk to me.
So I had a cup from a Nespresso this weekend.
WTF?
Do they make K-cups with actual coffee in them? I mean, do they make an "espresso" K-cup that tastes like perhaps an "Americano" or at least your basic cup of coffee. That was the weakest watery 8 ozs of swill... Glad I didn't go that route for travel. EEYECH!