COFFEE and how to make it

[blurredline]

I can't believe this thread hasn't turned into grammar and spelling control for the OP.

In other news, I buy pre-ground up, pre-packaged, months old Folgers, Maxwell, etc. I hate it and this thread has inspired me to go out and get a decent coffee machine now and a seperate grinder so I can have some great fresh coffee. Thanks all!

 

[bob2131]

OP, Have you only just discovered coffee?!

Anyway, I have used a keurig, when I went over to New York it was alright, about the same as the nescafe/krups one here, but I have never seen one in the UK. What I would suggest is a cheapish espresso machine with a milk steamer. Go to cafe Nero and watch how they make their lattes. It is really simple. A shot of espresso, then filled with steamed up milk. Easy.

I also have a Nescafe/Krups Dulce Gusto machine, but the pods are £5 for 8 drinks, so a little steep for my liking, and making your own is a little more effort than instant, but more rewarding. Although Carte Noir is really nice instant coffee.

So my recommendation (as someone in the UK).

-Argos (even Tesco/Asda) cheap option: Cheap espresso machine with steamer - £30, then some illy Espresso coffee grounds.
-Argos expensive option: Krups Dolce Gusto - £80
-Asda/Tesco cheapest/easiest yet still nice option: Carte Noir

Hope that makes things a little easier.

lol
no ive been drinking it for just over 5 years.
I started with nescafe, drinking one pint of it.
Stayed up all night, shaking my legs.
I only tried it to see what all the fuss was about...eg watching movies etc...everyone seemed to be drinking or talking about coffee. ...david lynch too was an influence..... so i drank black coffee for a while like lynch.

yeah Keugei (damn i cant spell that) seems to be an american thing...

Milk steamer ? (this thread just gets more and more in depth)

Dude i dont drink lates....what are lates? i always thought they were fore WEAK people who couldnt handle REAL coffee. is this true?

I started drinking coffee for the AFFECT...but NOW i wanna balance of TASTE and AFFECT.....

I wanna drink coffee like winston wolf drinks coffee in pulp fiction at the end, you know????? they say its expensive gourmet stuff......

man, all coffee is expensive, nescafe too.
Instant coffee is like nescafe ? (sorry i ask alot of q;s)

but dude, espresso machine ONLY makes espressos?? i dont wanna be drinking espressos at home.....
dude whats a steamer?

Carte Noir = how do i make that? do i need a machine for that??

Yes thankyou, to you, and everyone else here. Keep it going. I will be re-reading this thread alot over time....

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

this is still complicated to me.

I dont see the point in grinding my own beans if you can buy them already ground.

Grinding beans yourself is always better. I have a tiny blade grinder similar to this but a different brand. I grind my beans on pot at a time. The longer beans sit in the air after being ground, the worse they taste, even if you keep them in an airtight container. I work at a dinner theater and the girls that make the coffee often open up the packets of grounds and leave them sit out int he open for up to an hour before they brew it and the coffee tastes like the inside of my ass. The freshest ingredients always make the best food/drink.

The French Press is recommended by a lot of people because it doesnt use a paper filter. Paper filters extract alot of the natural oils from the grounds and dont allow for a full natural flavor.

Burr grinders, though expensive, grind coffee much more uniformly. With a blade its difficult to get a consistent coarse grind, which is essential if you dont want to burn the grounds.

I've used a Keurig several times. I wasnt impressed, but i also wasnt disappointed. Its just what you would expect from a one-cup coffee maker. Not great, but good enough.

If you use sugar i would insist you buy raw sugar. Its not bleached and processed as much as white sugar and has a much better flavor, imo. Its tan/brown and its very coarse:

You can find it at any supermarket.

I've recently started buying Celestial Seasonings Morning Thunder beans. They are just wonderful, much better than any NesCafe junk. They are organic too, so you can feel like a hippy for the day.

 

[bob2131]

Grinding beans yourself is always better. I have a tiny blade grinder similar to this but a different brand. I grind my beans on pot at a time. The longer beans sit in the air after being ground, the worse they taste, even if you keep them in an airtight container. I work at a dinner theater and the girls that make the coffee often open up the packets of grounds and leave them sit out int he open for up to an hour before they brew it and the coffee tastes like the inside of my ass. The freshest ingredients always make the best food/drink.

The French Press is recommended by a lot of people because it doesnt use a paper filter. Paper filters extract alot of the natural oils from the grounds and dont allow for a full natural flavor.

Burr grinders, though expensive, grind coffee much more uniformly. With a blade its difficult to get a consistent coarse grind, which is essential if you dont want to burn the grounds.

I've used a Keurig several times. I wasnt impressed, but i also wasnt disappointed. Its just what you would expect from a one-cup coffee maker. Not great, but good enough.

If you use sugar i would insist you buy raw sugar. Its not bleached and processed as much as white sugar and has a much better flavor, imo. Its tan/brown and its very coarse:

You can find it at any supermarket.

I've recently started buying Celestial Seasonings Morning Thunder beans. They are just wonderful, much better than any NesCafe junk. They are organic too, so you can feel like a hippy for the day.

lol

thats great info about grinding : "The longer beans sit in the air after being ground, the worse they taste, even if you keep them in an airtight container"

so thats why people prefer doing their own grinding?
So do we buy these coffee beans from the same supermarket which sells nescafe etc?

I guess this is why the coffee "tea" bags i buy, are properly foiled up...to keep the freshness in as much as possible...

Yeah i think im liking the french press method......but i dont wanna start grinding just yet.... ill work my way up to wards that.....
so the grinder is always a separte machine from the french press or other machine.?

yes i use brown sugar, demererra....
i need to re-read your post, thanks.

 

[JoeG4]

Imma be honest and post an opinion that will likely come across as very unpopular, here goes:

The majority of the posts in this thread sound like people that have so much money they have no idea WTH to do with it, so they go buying stuff that makes them feel important.

I mean, look at the responses - it goes on almost like a Linux forum. If they found a stone beater + cup in Rome and some scientist declared it was for making coffee, I wouldn't put it past you guys to pay $100+ for a replica to "make coffee the way it's supposed to be!"

You can get those manual coffee press things at target on clearance for ~$5, if that's what you really want. At the end of the day, whether you use the included beans and throw them in your Mr Coffee, or hand-grind them with a $50 grinder and press them in a $50 french press, you'll probably not be able to tell the difference.

I don't think electric drip coffee makers get hot enough to "burn" the coffee lol

And yes, Folgers and nescafe, are.. coffee.

*imagines some Audi driving person in Seattle with a faux european accent fuming with anger at that last sentence*

 

[Abstract]

No, I'm a student, don't have a great deal of money (though I don't claim to be poor), and yet I can tell the difference between good and bad coffee. It's very easy.


I can't believe you think someone would need to be a snob to tell the difference.

 

[bob2131]

Im a poor ba****d

Drinking a coffee is the highlight of my day in morning. I wanna do it right.

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

thats great info about grinding : "The longer beans sit in the air after being ground, the worse they taste, even if you keep them in an airtight container"

I should clarify that a little. The first few pots are going to taste fine, but then as the container starts to have more air in it as you empty it the grounds will start to lose flavor. Every time you open the container you are replacing the air with fresh, which has more of an impact as the container starts to have a higher air/grounds ratio.

so thats why people prefer doing their own grinding?
So do we buy these coffee beans from the same supermarket which sells nescafe etc?

Supermarket beans are fine unless you are really picky (i am ). Grab a bag of maxwell house beans and if you dont have a grinder at least grind them at the store instead of buying pre-ground beans.

I guess this is why the coffee "tea" bags i buy, are properly foiled up...to keep the freshness in as much as possible...

You bet. Tea leaves arent affected by the air as much as coffee beans, so they dont need fancy little wrappers. Im not sure why, but coffee is really fickle like that.

Yeah i think im liking the french press method......but i dont wanna start grinding just yet.... ill work my way up to wards that.....
so the grinder is always a separte machine from the french press or other machine.?

Much like brewing the coffee, there are many different ways to grind it, so grinders and brewers are generally separate machines. You can grab a cheap french press and blade grinder for about $20-30 total if you hunt for a bargain. No need to buy anything really fancy if you are just starting out, you will learn what flavors you like as time goes on.
If you find that a drip brewer works better for you try to find one that has the little mesh filters built in. Good ones actually have a metal mesh similar to the filters used by french presses. Although a bit harder to clean, these dont absorb the oils i mentioned before and save you from spending money of filters every month.

Theres a lot more to brewing a perfect cup than most people will ever know, but once you taste a smooth, bold cup you will never look at a starbucks again. Just take it slow, learn each step as you get to it, and you'll be making great coffee in no time. Nothing impresses a guest more than bringing them an amazing cup of coffee at the end of their meal or with dessert. Its the last thing they will have before they leave and the flavor will always stay in their mind.

edit:
@JoeG4,
Water only gets so hot (100* C), and pretty much every coffee maker brews close to this temp. The burning doesnt come from the heat alone, but the constant heat. Its like putting an egg on a hot pan. It wont burn right away, but if you leave it long enough you are going to have a pan of black, crispy eggs. The same applies to coffee. French presses are less likely to burn because you arent constantly introducing new heat, like a drip does. A drip is running ~95*C water through the coffee for 10 minutes or so, but a french press puts ~95*C water in the coffee and slowly cools down ad the coffee brews, like throwing an egg on a pan and then removing it from the stove. Sure most people wont notice or even care, but if you are picky its important to spend a few more dollars/minutes and enjoying the finer things in life. This is after all the Mac forums, people here love spending more money on things.

 

[OutThere]

Keurig, FTW.

Keurig saved my GPA while writing two 25 page papers for school recently. 12 K-Cups downed between 2am and 6am. My college has Keurig machines in common areas and free k-cups...usually 6 or 8 varieties.


As far as making just plain old coffee goes.....for a basic, good cup(s) of coffee I'd just get a Mr. Coffee for like $30 (or £ if you want), buy beans and put them through the grinder at the super market, keep them in the fridge. It will make lots of coffee quickly and without complaint. Hard to beat and cheap.

Personally I think next good step to take towards making the coffee taste good would be to start with good tasting water...if your water tastes like chlorine it certainly won't make good tasting coffee.

Espresso is an entirely different story...but for your brewed morning coffee you don't need anything complicated or expensive to do better than Nescafe. This is coming from someone who has worked at cafés and used a $12,000(!) Nuova Simonelli machine every day for quite some time

 

[yojitani]

The best way to brew coffee in my opinion is not through a machine. Gently pour hot water (not boiling, I try about 1 minute after the kettle boils) over the ground coffee in a drip. I have to say though that if you use pre-ground coffee, the drip method does not make much difference. I use a machine most days just because it's easy.

There are lots of different coffees out there. You need to experiment with them to really get a sense of what you like. Try to avoid special blends (like Starbucks' Christmas blend), they are usually crap.

 

[mgguy]

God, now I can't wait until tomorrow morning to have a cup of coarse-ground dark french roast coffee made in my Bodum french press coffee maker. I would have it now, but would be up all night from the caffeine. But then again, I may lay awake all night anyway thinking about having it in the morning. Heading to the kitchen now ...

 

[lord patton]

+1 for coffeegeek.com

When my wedding-present Krups "espresso"/coffee machine died, I decided I wanted a real espresso machine. Coffeegeek was indispensable for my research. They cover everything... grinders, espresso, french press, stovetop, drip.

I *lot* of folks there insist that the grinder is the most important part. I was floored to find out they consider $250 the minimum to spend on a grinder.

FWIW, I found a refurbished Baratza Virtuoso burr grinder on ebay for $130. I also got a used Gaggia Classic espresso machine for a little over $200. Not cheap, but they were really good deals. For under $350 I got a set-up that should last forever if I take care of it, and makes great espresso... it helps that I use my 2-year old's organic whole milk for the latte!

 

[iVeBeenDrinkin']

I have to put my vote in for great beans, and a French Press.

 

[steviem]

Its this american dairy product which is 50% whole milk and 50% cream mixed together.

 

[Designer Dale]

Midnight Seattle time and three pages on how to make coffee. If we keep this up, we will all need a good shot of espresso when we realize that we need to be at work/school in an hour or so...

Water is defiantly a concern for good coffee. I let a pitcher of water stand overnight before I use it for coffee. It lets all of the chemicals-at least the chlorine-evaporate out.

I read an article about a local roaster here and the guy was obsessed about the grinder. It had to be a burr grinder, those blade grinders leave a mix of different sized grinds that mess up the taste...

Like I said, Seattle...

The region that the beans are grown in is a big factor for me. I like the deep taste of beans grown in volcanic soil so African and Sumatra beans taste best to me.

Presses are cool things. I learned to drink good coffee when I lived in Boston in the 70s at a shop that used presses. The water was always at 180 degrees F. Perfect... Sounds like I was living at a coffee shop.

Someone here referred to espresso as a bit of a drug experience, and I agree.

Man, I need to shut up and go to bed. Night, all...

Dale

 

[Fizzoid]

So my recommendation (as someone in the UK).

-Argos (even Tesco/Asda) cheap option: Cheap espresso machine with steamer - £30, then some illy Espresso coffee grounds.
-Argos expensive option: Krups Dolce Gusto - £80
-Asda/Tesco cheapest/easiest yet still nice option: Carte Noir

Hope that makes things a little easier.

I'd suggest as a cheap option buying a Bodum french press\cafetiere. You can pick on up from TK Maxx for around £5 (size dependant). Then just go buy some ground coffee and see how you go. If you find it's not for you, you've only wasted £5.
If you get into coffee more, and want a more expensive option, I can't recommend the Gaggia Classic enough. RRP is £270 but it's not made anymore, and you can pick ex demo or refurb machines up for under £200. It's primarily an espresso machine, but will take pods which I do use when I want to make a coffee quickly. Several of my coffee loving friends have tried coffee from my Gaggia and said it's the smoothest coffee they've ever had. To make it extra smooth, I use Brita filtered water, not just to make it smoother, but to help prevent it scaling up as well.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Single cup filter and Bialetti

 

[annk]

I've been using a Vesuviana for the last 20 years. My Dad bought it in the late 50's, I think.

 

[Fizzoid]

I've been using a Vesuviana for the last 20 years. My Dad bought it in the late 50's, I think.

http://www.mcaughtry.com/images/DSCF0011.JPG

Looks like it should belong in a lab somewhere!

 

[teleromeo]

Did anyone mention the cone filters made by melitta ? It's the cheapest way to make the best cup of coffee. You can use them in a coffee maker or pour boiling water onto the coffee. Makes very good coffee.

 

[iPhoneNYC]

About ground coffee: go to a store or supermarket that sells a lot of coffee. In the US it could be Whole Foods or here in NY a places like Fairway or Zabars where they have great prices on excellent coffee. Beans that sit around get stale. Grind that sits around gets stale. So if you have the store grind it for you get enough for a week or at the most two weeks. Keep it in the frig but not the freezer. All of the above is why those pre-filled pods taste bad to me. There hasn't been much mention as to the coffee blends themselves here. Find something that you really like as there are scores of bean types and roast types. My preference is a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 blend of Mocha Java, Columbia and French Roast. I use Melitta filters as they are simple and can make a great cup of coffee without some super duper machine.

 

[AppleMatt]

seems like this thread is USA exclusive....... UK coffee making is different.

QFT. Brilliant.

AppleMatt

 

[covisio]

UK coffee making is different.

Speak for yourself.
I reside in the UK. I bought a manual coffee grinder and started grinding my own beans about 12 years ago. This was a bit tiresome (I don't think the grinder was a very good one). I changed to an electric grinder about 10 years ago.
My morning routine is this:
1. Put kettle on and boil. A modern kettle with 1 cup's worth of water should take less than a minute to boil
2. Warm cafetiere with some hot water from the tap
3. Grind one scoop of Colombian beans in the electric grinder - not for very long - you are looking for a texture/consistency similar to loose earth
4. Tip ground coffee into cafetiere and pour on boiled water (a previous poster was right. Wait a couple of seconds until the boiling has properly subsided)
5. Leave to brew for 5 minutes. Many people, including cafetiere manufacturers, recommend stirring before plunging, but I never do, I prefer it unstirred. Make your toast, warm your croissant, whatever.
6. Plunge and pour
The whole process takes about 7 minutes. After you're done, rinse out the cafetiere and the job is done.
It's really no effort and the little bit of ritual sets off the morning in the right way.
P.S. Oh, as far as money is concerned - a single-cup Bodum cafetiere costs about £7 or £8 and will last for ever and never needs filters. A bag of 'Finest' Colombian beans from Tesco, about £2.50 and good for about 25-30 cups. 10p per cup of very nice coffee.

 

[Melrose]

My use of 'Coffee Snob' is a pet term. It has nothing to do with social status, cultural mores, taboos, religious standing, age, hair colour, toenail length, etc etc.

Sometimes I use the word snob to denote someone who can tell the difference between good (expensive) quality and bad (poor). Though, I admit, price doesn't always effect either one.

Just sayin'

 

[theITGuy]

The perfect combo:

Saeco Automatic machine and Peets French Roast whole beans...

Cheers.

-J.-