Good Coffee *NGC*

[lc4dakar]

There's no real question that a burr grinder does a better job than the bean blender type, but it's kind of a fine point and the difference might be hard to detect depending on how the results are brewed.

The main problems with blade grinders are the heat generation to the coffee that affects the taste, and the consistincy of grind.  Never noticed the heat, but the consitincy shows up with espresso machines and french presses.


I don't know anything about the Mister Coffee equipment
That Technivorm looks pretty slick.  

The main advantage of the Technivorm is it provides drip water at what is considered the ideal temperature for brewing.  The other drip machines have a wide range of temperatures.

For a while there was great enthusiasm for vacuum or siphon style brewers - like they used back in the '30s, when my Sunbeam was made.

I use my vacuum brewers a lot.  One small for two cups and one larger for 6 cups.  I think it tastes way better than any other way for most beans.

[dan_s]

So how do you avoid getting a mouthful of grounds?   Does it go through a filter after .... ?

Lannis

After brewing the powder will be heavier than the water, let it settle for a couple of minutes after you take it off the fire and it will sink. It's too hot to drink immediately anyway. No need for a filter. A Turkish/Greek/Arab grind is needed for that to happen.

[Caffeineo]

Wow!  That's a fancy one.   How will you know if the difference is "real" or "imagined"?   ;)

I suppose it's just like the feeling you get with new golf clubs or a new shotgun or a new boat ... it doesn't MATTER if it's real or imagined!   ;-T

Lannis

You got that right. As long as I "think" it tastes better I'll be happy.  ;-T

Anyone ever have Vietnamese iced coffee?

This is my most favorite cup. Strong and sweet. I got the little press and special coffee and tried to make it at home......but never got close to the stuff from the bakeries. Someone told me to add a pinch of salt to the grounds but I had given up by then and just tried to limit my consumption to once a day as they really have a lot of sugar from condensed milk.

[Dilliw]

All this coffee talk made me order some beans  ;-T

Blue Horse Kona beans were medium roasted then shipped last Monday.  Hope to have them by Sat.

[rodekyll]

So my kitchenaid machine arrived today.  It was deleayed in shipping.  $515.00 total price, to the door.  I'm sipping my first pull off it now.  Yummy!

[Rich A]

I recently got a Chemex coffee maker, the old pour-over kind that most of us had at one point or another then got in a hurry and switched to an electric one. I also got a glass kettle that heats the water very quickly.

I like the ritual of making coffee with this set up. It takes a little longer, but the coffee tastes mighty good.

If you look at the ratings of coffee pots or coffee brewing methods, the Chemex almost always comes out on top or near the top. I have a French press, too, but I find them to be a pain to clean.

Rich A

[rodekyll]

I have a French press, too.  It makes gritty  , so I use it as lab equipment to strain and extract liquids from big chunks.  It's no longer suitable for  .

[M0T0Geezer]

Secrets to good coffee: 
Medium or light roast whole beans (never dark roast)
French press coffee maker.
Mill type (burr) grinder such as KitchenAid.
Adjust mill for a relatively coarse grind (coarser than for drip)
Grind just enough whole beans for the coffee you're  going to make & drink now.
Highly filtered water (not tap), preferably by Reverse Osmosis.
Sugar & Flavored foo-foo creamers forbidden.

'Geezer

Enjoy.

[mentalfloss]

If I am a snob at anything....besides the fact I have and love Guzzi's.... it is coffee.
A cup of joe is a wondrous thing from chicory blend down in swampy Louisiana to the dark elixir from the finest espresso plumbing.
 I use mill grinders and buy dark roasts like sumatra, french roast ,italian roast, komodo dragon the most. Kona is not best as a dark roast in my opinion. I do love some KONA especially when I am in Hawaii.
I use french press when it is just me or one other person, but I live in a house with other coffee snobs....yes, I made it so...and because we may make 2 pots in 2 hours in the morning just getting around and all taking a coffee snob thermal cup with a lid that keeps it in the snob vessel  till the snob wants a swig of steamy joe to give them confidence to take on anything ....er excuse me, we make the drip brewer the work horse of our brewing operations.

[LowRyter]

I drink almost of a pot a day.  We just make plain old Folgers in a Mr Coffee or something.

One trick, add a little cinnamon to the Folgers.  It makes it a little richer. 

I like it black. I hate paying for expensive coffee and really hate bitter and expensive Starbucks.  I suppose working in an office for many decades has pretty much made me a cheap coffee junkie.  I never have more than a cup when I ride somewhere, otherwise I have to stop and pee.

[donn]

Highly filtered water (not tap), preferably by Reverse Osmosis.

Not sure about that one.  Specialty Coffee Association of America recommends water hardness of 3-4 grains per gallon (Ca, Mg.)  Not 0.  I don't know what comes out of a reverse osmosis setup, but I think the intention runs towards 0.  (I've seen recommendations also for 5 gpg, from a source I might put before SCAA.)

We use tap, and I can't say I know the hardness, but it's alpine runoff and we don't have scaling problems, so probably softer than ideal.  No big problem.

[charlieb / ma]

Before opening our coffee shop 3 years ago I always drank Dunkin donuts. We searched all over for a good cup of coffee. We visited hundreds of coffee shops checking out coffee. We stumbled across a shop in New hampshire that sold Black Bear Coffee. We bought the coffee and equipment and opened the shop.Go equipment and water temp is very important.  It is by far the best coffee I have ever had. The roaster, Jim Clark,  is a fanatic about his roasting. A good second was Raos coffee  out of  western mass but Raos would sell to up because another coffee shop 10 miles a away would not allow him to sell to us. So we kept looking and found Black Bear Coffee. We get a lot of positive comments about his coffee. He sells on line, give him a try.

[charlieb / ma]

Here's a link to blackbear coffee -  www.blackbearcoffee .com  --  Better yet if you or any other guzzi rider is in the area stop by our Brothers' Brew Coffee shop in Rockport, Ma and have a cup on me. A weekend ride to Rockport is always nice.

BlackBear Coffee just had a lawsuit settled in their favor with Starbucks coffee. He makes a blend called Char-Bucks. It is his take on starbucks over roasted coffee beans.

Coffee is like eggs, everyone like it different.

[atavar]

I am halfway between snob and slob..  being a guy who drinks a couple of cups a day I got one of those Keurig coffee pod .  they make very good (not great) coffee.  I then discovered a neat little grinder that grinds a single serving into a k-cup so when I want a cuppa now I go to my grinder, push one button and it grinds one k-cup out of the hopper and I pop it in to the brewer and brew a fresh pot. 


When I am in the mood for great coffee the same grinder will grind a half cup of grinds for me that I can dump in the french press and I have much better coffee.  Nothing makes better coffee than a french press.

[Dean Rose]

I am halfway between snob and slob..  being a guy who drinks a couple of cups a day I got one of those Keurig coffee pod .  they make very good (not great) coffee.  I then discovered a neat little grinder that grinds a single serving into a k-cup so when I want a cuppa now I go to my grinder, push one button and it grinds one k-cup out of the hopper and I pop it in to the brewer and brew a fresh pot. 


When I am in the mood for great coffee the same grinder will grind a half cup of grinds for me that I can dump in the french press and I have much better coffee.  Nothing makes better coffee than a french press.

http://www.solofill.com/product-category/grinder/

[brenwin]

This has been a very educational thread for me having been stuck on my Starbucks Barista expresso machine for a few years now . My go to coffee bean is a dark organic roast called Tribal Java which I'm pretty hooked on first thing in the morning . 
That "sweet marias" website dakar posted has my curiosity peaked and am going to give the green bean , roast your own thing a shot . Sounds like a lot of fun and well worth it monetarily speaking as well as very satisfying to the taste buds . Probably time to trade up on the coffee machine too . Thanks guys .

Steve

[Aaron D.]

Here's a link to blackbear coffee -  www.blackbearcoffee .com  --  Better yet if you or any other guzzi rider is in the area stop by our Brothers' Brew Coffee shop in Rockport, Ma and have a cup on me. A weekend ride to Rockport is always nice.

BlackBear Coffee just had a lawsuit settled in their favor with Starbucks coffee. He makes a blend called Char-Bucks. It is his take on starbucks over roasted coffee beans.

Coffee is like eggs, everyone like it different.

I may take you up on that!

[donn]

That "sweet marias" website dakar posted has my curiosity peaked and am going to give the green bean , roast your own thing a shot . Sounds like a lot of fun and well worth it monetarily speaking as well as very satisfying to the taste buds .

The economics of it are classic Guzzi rider type.  You can buy cheaper roasted coffee, and you may be able buy better roasted coffee, but doing it yourself puts you in a position to have what suits you, within the limits of your ability.  I roast a pound at a time in the back yard, last batch was something from Rwanda, but also broke out the heat gun and roasted up a cup or so of Indian high end robusta a couple days ago.  Most coffee these days is arabica, but classic espresso blends used a little robusta, and it has been used at times for cheap grocery store coffee.  In a blend, it adds a lot of body and a pungent flavor that reminds people of things like burned rubber.  I've never seen it for sale roasted.

[charlieb / ma]

We are here 7 days a week 363 days a year. Just let me know when you come in.!!!