Hey, do what gets you the best cup of coffee! I'm all for that. I'll dance around the coffeemaker and make incantations if it gets me an awesome cup! So, whatever you're doing, keep doing it!
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Do you know how many coffee threads are in this forum? Bunches! So I picked one. 🤔
I recently got a new coffee brewer, a Mr Coffee, which does a fine job of brewing coffee at an economical price and made a discovery. If I use a metal mesh basket to hold the grounds instead of a paper filter, it improves the flavor tremendously. How many knew about this, but kept it to yourselves?I read that the mesh basket allows the coffee bean oils to come though.
Coffee bean oils are said to be bad for your health, and yes the oils do have flavor of their own.
My view is that the metal mesh filters are a nuisance to clean compared to paper filters.
You'll probably get other opinions in the Espresso Enthusiasts thread as it's evolved into a general discussion about all things coffee
We usually only resort to the permanent filters when we've run out of the paper ones (and I've forgotten to go get more). The one's we have belong to coffeemakers that have long since moved on to landfill (or the Goodwill). But I made sure to keep a flat bottom type and the triangular type so no matter what coffeemaker we may be using we're covered.
I have learned how to clean them quickly though. Basically you shake them above the trash can first to get most of the grounds out, then run the entire thing under the kitchen faucet. It's clean when you can no longer feel gritty grounds, but just the smooth wire mesh.
I like and drink a lot of coffee, but I'm no coffee snob, so to speak. I'll not think twice about getting a no name brand of coffee, I don't care if its k-cups, drip, or percolated. I've even have resorted to instant coffee.
I'm not a fan of overly roasted coffee, for instance, I think Starbucks is burnt and I won't get anything from them
I'm not a fan of overly roasted coffee, for instance, I think Starbucks is burnt and I won't get anything from them
Okay, I don't really care much for instant coffee (and would prefer to drink tea or mineral water, instead), but, coffee people can sometimes be far too precious re coffee.
Whatever you like, you like; drink whatever appeals to you.
Agree completely re Starbucks coffee: Stale, bitter and burnt.
Neither am I a fan of overly roasted coffee.
December of 2021, my wife and I and our kids visited my sister in Seattle for Christmas. She had arranged a B&B for us, which was great but had a dearth of home appliances. Primarily, they had no coffeemaker, although they did have a semi-functional kettle.
This necessitated a couple of days of being dependent on Starbucks instant coffee. But since we were also dependent on my sister for transportation at a time where Seattle had a snowstorm there were few chances to grab coffee out. And my sister never kept her promise of bringing over a spare coffeemaker (what a surprise).
Anyway, all things being relative, Starbucks instant was preferable to any of the other instant coffees. Horrible, but we got the caffeine we needed. It wasn't until we were leaving that we got a good cup of Peet's Coffee at the airport terminal.
Go to coffee nirvana and survive on instant Starbucks…yeah, no.
I'm well stocked with extra paper filters of various types so the prospect of running out is remote, fortunately. And if the worst ever happened, there's always the "cowboy coffee" method.
My experience with shaking a metal filter above the trash has taught me that I'll almost always make a mess. But maybe I might be able to do it cleanly if I waited until I'm fully awake......but probably not.
I actually meant banging it against the side of the trash can (upside down), part way in from the top. But I didn't say that.
The banging against the side makes it let go and gravity does its thing.
In any case, I rarely run out of paper filters either. For over 20 years I have been the designated coffee making person in the morning so I have to keep an eye on it. I don't need a bleary-eyed East LA born Chicana being upset because her coffee hasn't been made properly.
Once my wife discovered I make better coffee than her, it was game over for me - which is why I am the designated coffee making person.
Pretty generic but I really like Folgers "Black Silk" but I do also like Starbucks "Sumatran" and "Café Verona".
The best coffee I ever had in my life was this past spring in Richmond, it was some incredibly rare seasonal single-origin Colombia from Blanchard's. I had it as cold brew and as espresso, and went to go pick up the last bag - it was absolutely exorbitantly expensive and I didn't regret that purchase for a second.
My go-to favorite right now is probably any of the seasonal offerings from Terrain Coffee in Vancouver WA or Courier Coffee from here in Portland. It comes and goes for me.
My go-to favorite right now is probably any of the seasonal offerings from Terrain Coffee in Vancouver WA or Courier Coffee from here in Portland. It comes and goes for me.
I have friends who swear that coffee grounds are brilliant for their plants, and, indeed, that is how I dispose of the coffee grounds when using my French Press.
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Nescafé Gold Blend.
Edit: I had to revisit this in case people thought I was serious
Edit: I had to revisit this in case people thought I was serious
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NESPRESSO which is made by Nestle has a wide variety of Coffees from around the world. Everything from mild to strong, nutty and Cereal undertones wood and fruity undertones etc
NESPRESSO can be not bad. I liked it when I had a machine at work and could pull a shot over a glass of ice for an easy and tasty iced Americano.
For instant coffee, we discovered Mount Hagen: a German brand that is actually quite good. It's not cheap (about $12 for a small glass container), but does the job when needed. Their decaf is also perfectly drinkable. The little Starbucks Via packets are fine for travel.
The excess coffee oils impart bitterness in the brew, and metal filters don't filter out the oils. Good paper filters do. I used a French press for a long time for both hot coffee and cold brew, but I fully switched to using my Chemex for both. I also stopped buying darker roasts in favor of medium to light roasts. It's like a wine enthusiast starting out with big, bold cabernets, and as their tastes evolve and get more sophisticated, moving on to more subtle pinot noirs.
My favorite coffees tend to be from Central and South America. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Ecuador are the ones I gravitate most towards, but there's good beans to be had all the way from Mexico to Bolivia.
For instant coffee, we discovered Mount Hagen: a German brand that is actually quite good. It's not cheap (about $12 for a small glass container), but does the job when needed. Their decaf is also perfectly drinkable. The little Starbucks Via packets are fine for travel.
The excess coffee oils impart bitterness in the brew, and metal filters don't filter out the oils. Good paper filters do. I used a French press for a long time for both hot coffee and cold brew, but I fully switched to using my Chemex for both. I also stopped buying darker roasts in favor of medium to light roasts. It's like a wine enthusiast starting out with big, bold cabernets, and as their tastes evolve and get more sophisticated, moving on to more subtle pinot noirs.
My favorite coffees tend to be from Central and South America. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Ecuador are the ones I gravitate most towards, but there's good beans to be had all the way from Mexico to Bolivia.
Friends swear by Nespresso, and I cannot deny the convenience, nor the fact that the coffees aren't bad.
Not a fan of instant coffee, but it is good to know that some decent brands do exist.
Agree.
This is one of the reasons I am thinking of purchasing a Chemex; I was astonished - nay, astounded - at how clean and clear and bright the coffee was (okay, it was ethiopian, which comes with those taste notes, but the Chemex enhanced the experience).
Ah, yes.
This is a metaphor (and journey) that I am more than familiar with.
I, too, started out loving rich, robust, bold, full-bodied, (yet smooth) highly alcoholic red wines, and have graduated to a marked preference for more subtle reds and reasonably complex whites.
And yes, my coffee preferences have taken a similar path, as I now prefer medium to light roasts, whereas, when young, I thought that I loved coffee that was dark roasted.
In my experience, El Salvador makes some stunning coffees.
I too went from dark roasts to roasts in the light to medium range, and I went from buying blends to buying single origin coffees. But then this past winter a friend gave me some coffee to try.......a dark roasted blend......"just try it" she said as I frowned.
It was incredible.
I went to the roaster's website hoping to buy some, but it wasn't even listed. I emailed them asking about buying some and their response was "sorry....it's something special the roaster makes once in a while and almost all of it goes to subscriptions"
Ah, another one who has made this journey.
Fascinating.
Oh, yes.
Amen to that.
me, too.
These days, I hardly ever buy anything other than single origin coffees.
And, if I wish to blend, then, I will blend my own coffee.
This has happened to me, also.
Oh, dear. Commiserations.
Very disappointing when that happens, - especially when you had been hoping to actually acquire more of this unexpected but wonderful discovery.
+1 this. And same.
As for coffees, I have several local roasters available near me, one is walkable to, ~3mi. So will alternate between them with a "spacer" of Whole Foods house brand. $/pound is decent. Their Pacific Rim and Hometown blend are my 1 and 2 from them. Morning Buzz, what I'm currently brewing, is a bit of a disappointment (first time purchase).
I know some people are very partial to them, but, personally, I have usually found blends to have been pretty disappointing.
If I must have a blend, I prefer to do the blending myself, and experiment not just with taste, but with ratios.
One of my favorite coffees. Wonderfully bright and smooth with sweet fruity notes.
I just buy one or two large bags of coffee beans at Costco, usually Colombian or Brazilian, and grind at home just enough for a supply of week or two. The bags are kept in the freezer, and the ground beans I put in an airtight glass container. I have found that the easiest and less messy are the triangular-shaped coffee filters (3-cup size) inside a pour-over coffee dripper like this one or similar:
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