Your favourite Coffee

[Madhatter32]

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:

DHPO Pour Over Coffee Dripper, Ceramic Coffee Pour Over Dripper, Manual Slow Brewing Maker, Reusable & Easy Cleaning Coffee Cone Pour Over for Home, Office, Cafe and Ideal Gifts, Filter Size 02, Black

www.amazon.com

I used to store coffee beans in the freezer. Didn't seem to work for me as it tended to dry out the beans.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I used to store coffee beans in the freezer. Didn't seem to work for me as it tended to dry out the beans.

I open one of the bags and keep in the kitchen, and another in the freezer. These are 3-pound (1.36kg) bags of coffee beans, so it takes quite a long time to use it all. As long as the bag is properly sealed, you can store it in any dry and cool place, even in the freezer.

By the way, my wife does not drink coffee, but a friend of hers gave her a couple of bags containing 2 ounces each (ground) of a locally produced coffee (North Pole Coffee Roasting, Company), and she handed them to me. One of the bags contained an Alaska wild blueberry flavor, so I mixed five ounces of the Kirkland Colombian coffee ground with the 2-ounce blueberry flavor ground, then brewed a few cups of this new experimental flavor. It is quite delicious, at least to me, but not to my wife. She makes this kind of face

 

[obeygiant]

french press of course

 

[Scepticalscribe]

french press of course

I love coffee made with a French Press, but, it depends on my mood, and whether I have guests.

Other times, I will prepare pourover filter coffee (with my Hario dripper and filter papers), still others, usually during a relaxed week-end, my moka pot will be put to work.

At the moment, I am contemplating - and debating - purchasing a Chemex (plus, obviously, the special filters that go with it).

 

[NoBoMac]

As long as the bag is properly sealed, you can store it in any dry and cool place, even in the freezer.

Sealed being the key thing.

Please, Don't Store Your Coffee Beans in the Fridge

For optimal flavor, your coffee bean storage method matters.

www.epicurious.com

I spoke with Aaron MacDougall, founder of Broadsheet Coffee Roasters, about the best way to store coffee in the freezer. “Break a big bag out into two-week portions, vacuum seal each two week portion in a FoodSaver or similar, and freeze,” he tells me. When you’re ready to brew, MacDougall recommends pulling the bag from the freezer and letting it come to room temperature before opening and brewing—and do not refreeze it. “This rigamarole is to prevent condensation,” he explains.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Sealed being the key thing.

Please, Don't Store Your Coffee Beans in the Fridge

For optimal flavor, your coffee bean storage method matters.

www.epicurious.com

I do seal the coffee beans, but without dividing then into portions. The latter is great idea because I would only have to pull one small bag out of the freezer, instead of leaving a 3-pound bag in the kitchen. I have a couple of the vacuum-sealing appliances that I use to pack fresh salmon and halibut fillets.

About french presses: I have a couple of these, one made of stainless steel that I use during the hunting and camping seasons, and a glass one that I sometimes use at home. But in reality french presses are as difficult to clean as the mesh filters made of stainless steel. When I was a child my mother roasted coffee beans from our farm, and used a "drip" cotton colander to make coffee. She would boil water, and then pour it over the coffee in the colander. She used to say that using paper bags was a waste of money

 

[Lioness~]

Favorite Beans goes in periods, but I've tried A LOT OF different ones over the years.
Shopped a lot of beans from eBay earlier, grean beans included and roasted in oven. But also bought lot of 10-16 kg various beans from various places such as Guatemala, Ethiopia, Mexico, Colombia etc on eBay too.
A brother, whom I shared my espresso interest with, traveled immensely in his work and found a lot of beans from all over the globe that he took or sent home for me to enjoy, always an adventure.
But generally speaking, I prefer the South-Middle American beans.

I like going in different directions though with various brands less known to me or locally brands or whatever store I use or put attention on in periods.
Lavazza is though a very reliable brand to me, and they've continued to expand their library of variations a lot and in a great way over the years. You can always count on their quality. It also depends what my preferred online coffee shops have in store and recommend at the moment. I love to test whatever beans that are unknown to me, that are brought into my attention, or what are on sale at times too.

I have never got any beans that my Espresso machine's over the years hasn't turned into black espresso gold though. To me the machine, and the roasting grade of preference, are more important then whatever origin and beans you through into it to be transformed into espresso.
But of course some origin of beans sits somewhat better on the tongue than others in our liking, especially after their transformation into espresso 😋

 

[dk001]

Tried a lot and my current favorite - has been for a while now - Santa Barbara Roasting Company > Peru - via a French press.

Good stuff ☕

 

[Richard8655]

Related to favorite coffee, I did a recent taste test comparing my Dutch coffee maker with old fashioned pour over method. Great results from pour over, but much too much time and labor intensive. Back to coffee maker; almost as good. Have never tried French press, as I understand there are health risks with unfiltered brewing. Wonder what others have found as their ideal method.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Related to favorite coffee, I did a recent taste test comparing my Dutch coffee maker with old fashioned pour over method. Great results from pour over, but much too much time and labor intensive. Back to coffee maker; almost as good. Have never tried French press, as I understand there are health risks with unfiltered brewing. Wonder what others have found as their ideal method.

To my mind, pour over is almost fool proof, and I find it a very forgiving (and relaxing) method when preparing coffee, and surprisingly quick, as well. You also have almost complete control with this method, and, the washing up afterwards is easy. And it is delicious.

Moka pot is a week-end treat, when I am feeling relaxed, but requires concentration.

When I have guests, I will sometimes use a French Press, which is excellent when serving coffee to a few people, (and looks great on the table, as well).

I don't have a coffee machine, and am somewhat prejudiced against them, as the ones I remember from years ago always seemed to make lukewarm coffee.

 

[Richard8655]

To my mind, pour over is almost fool proof, and I find it a very forgiving (and relaxing) method when preparing coffee, and surprisingly quick, as well. You also have almost complete control with this method, and, the washing up afterwards is easy. And it is delicious.

Moka pot is a week-end treat, when I am feeling relaxed, but requires concentration.

When I have guests, I will sometimes use a French Press, which is excellent when serving coffee to a few people, (and looks great on the table, as well).

I don't have a coffee machine, and am somewhat prejudiced against them, as the ones I remember from years ago always seemed to make lukewarm coffee.

Good points. I tried pour over and the results were excellent as in your experience. But compared to the machine, seemed to take forever. Maybe I need to practice patience!

As far as machines with lukewarm results, this was true for me also using a thermal carafe machine I had. When switching to a glass version with auto warming plate, the coffee was always nice and hot.

So for convenience and almost as good results, will probably stick with machine with occasional pour over as the mood might strike.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Good points. I tried pour over and the results were excellent as in your experience. But compared to the machine, seemed to take forever. Maybe I need to practice patience!

As far as machines with lukewarm results, this was true for me also using a thermal carafe machine I had. When switching to a glass version with auto warming plate, the coffee was always nice and hot.

So for convenience and almost as good results, will probably stick with machine with occasional pour over as the mood might strike.

I suppose that I actually like the "physical" experience of preparing a pour over coffee, with a Hario style dripper (I have several) and paper filters.

What I like (apart from the delicious coffee), is that one can almost potter, somewhat relaxed - (even if one has to rush to catch a train, or, attend an online meeting, for example) - and it is almost fool-proof. Plus easy washing up.

Whereas, with a French Press, there is the issue of heating the pot, and then, waiting while the coffee steeps, (up to five minutes), plus, the task of washing it out.

And, a moka pot - a week-end treat, or a treat I reserve for a very relaxed day - needs to be watched; it is enjoyable to prepare coffee with a moka pot, but you must pay heed to what you are doing.

 

[Richard8655]

I suppose that I actually like the "physical" experience of preparing a pour over coffee, with a Hario style dripper (I have several) and paper filters.

What I like (apart from the delicious coffee), is that one can almost potter, somewhat relaxed - (even if one has to rush to catch a train, or, attend an online meeting, for example) - and it is almost fool-proof. Plus easy washing up.

Whereas, with a French Press, there is the issue of heating the pot, and then, waiting while the coffee steeps, (up to five minutes), plus, the task of washing it out.

And, a moka pot - a week-end treat, or a treat I reserve for a very relaxed day - needs to be watched; it is enjoyable to prepare coffee with a moka pot, but you must pay heed to what you are doing.

Those do sound like relaxing and enjoyable ways to make coffee. Again, my impatience tends to get in the way of that enjoyment.

Today, I almost went the percolator route as a trial, which was my standard method many years ago. But in the end decided to stick with the auto drip filter machine. It goes back to evidence I've read that unfiltered coffee can raise LDL cholesterol, not something desired as I get older. And the machine produces pretty good (and timely) results anyway.

 

[dk001]

The joys and sorrows of the holidays.
Did a pre-black Friday shop and found a neat thermal French press. Came today and sadly it was damaged. Package was a bit “handled”. Thankfully a new one will be shipped to me this coming week. Guess I can wait a bit longer to put it to use.

 

[Huntn]

Those do sound like relaxing and enjoyable ways to make coffee. Again, my impatience tends to get in the way of that enjoyment.

Today, I almost went the percolator route as a trial, which was my standard method many years ago. But in the end decided to stick with the auto drip filter machine. It goes back to evidence I've read that unfiltered coffee can raise LDL cholesterol, not something desired as I get older. And the machine produces pretty good (and timely) results anyway.

When I‘m not doing drip, or French Press, am drinking heretical instant coffee.

 

[Richard8655]

When I‘m not doing drip, or French Press, am drinking heretical instant coffee.

Agree! Instant can be surprisingly good these days. And great for the impatient like me who don't really enjoy futzing with the preparation procedure.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The joys and sorrows of the holidays.
Did a pre-black Friday shop and found a neat thermal French press. Came today and sadly it was damaged. Package was a bit “handled”. Thankfully a new one will be shipped to me this coming week. Guess I can wait a bit longer to put it to use.

That is rotten luck.

Good luck with the next (and hopefully, safe), delivery of a thermal French Press.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Agree! Instant can be surprisingly good these days.

No, no, no.

Never instant; I prefer water to instant coffee.

And great for the impatient like me who don't really enjoy futzing with the preparation procedure.

Part of the pleasure lies in the preparation, and, I am prepared to spend a little time in order to enjoy a truly good cup of coffee.

 

[Richard8655]

No, no, no.

Never instant; I prefer water to instant coffee.

Part of the pleasure lies in the preparation, and, I am prepared to spend a little time in order to enjoy a truly good cup of coffee.

Yes, yes, yes! Some instants are pretty decent these days. Starbucks claims to have perfected it with Via. I guess it's really personal taste. I can understand the traditional prep pleasure, though.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yes, yes, yes! Some instants are pretty decent these days.

Sparkling water for me.

Starbucks claims to have perfected it with Via.

Well, leaving instant coffee aside, I cannot consider Starbucks any sort of recommendation because their actual coffee is - to my palate - profoundly unpleasant, being thin, bitter, burnt, and sometimes, stale.

I guess it's really personal taste. I can understand the traditional prep pleasure, though.

Yes, I suppose it is personal taste, and choices made re time management.

You have written that you are impatient.

I suppose that I am, too, (as I value time).

However, even on mornings where time matters, and deadlines must be met (such as occurred horribly early yesterday morning when I had a medical appointment for which I had waited a number of months), I will make the time to prepare a cup of coffee (filter paper and Hario dripper); okay, I did forego the accompanying hot milk, but coffee in the morning is a non-negotiable, and I also (all too vividly) remembered how perfectly awful the coffee was (is) in the hospital, and that I didn't fancy facing appointments, and possible delays, without the fortification supplied by a proper mug of real coffee.

 

[jav6454]

I'd say this one:

It's origin is from the high mountains of south central Honduras.

 

[jav6454]

Sorry for the double post, but the following blend is true best in my opinion.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sorry for the double post, but the following blend is true best in my opinion.

A Catuai, Bourbon and Caturra blend?

Fascinatng.

I would imagine that it would taste delicious.

Do enjoy.

 

[Richard8655]

Sparkling water for me.

Well, leaving instant coffee aside, I cannot consider Starbucks any sort of recommendation because their actual coffee is - to my palate - profoundly unpleasant, being thin, bitter, burnt, and sometimes, stale.

Yes, I suppose it is personal taste, and choices made re time management.

You have written that you are impatient.

I suppose that I am, too, (as I value time).

However, even on mornings where time matters, and deadlines must be met (such as occurred horribly early yesterday morning when I had a medical appointment for which I had waited a number of months), I will make the time to prepare a cup of coffee (filter paper and Hario dripper); okay, I did forego the accompanying hot milk, but coffee in the morning is a non-negotiable, and I also (all too vividly) remembered how perfectly awful the coffee was (is) in the hospital, and that I didn't fancy facing appointments, and possible delays, without the fortification supplied by a proper mug of real coffee.

Starbucks sells a huge variety of coffee. Some great, some not so good. I don't think a negative sweeping statement is accurate or fair. I've had some really good varieties that I found excellent. But again, it's personal taste.

When I was in Poland in the early 80's (socialist era), the best one could do was grind beans (whatever was available at the state-run store) in a wooden hand grinder, dump the grounds in a glass, and pour boiling water. I found it somewhat bitter but acceptable. Then at the local Pewex, bought a jar of Nescafé instant and found it in comparison to be quite good.

I've always been a fine coffee zealot, but I don't think I'm a snob about it. I think my tastes are just open to different ways of making it, and the resulting different taste and experience.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Starbucks sells a huge variety of coffee. Some great, some not so good. I don't think a negative sweeping statement is accurate or fair. I've had some really good varieties that I found excellent. But again, it's personal taste.

It is personal taste, but, while I like the ambience of Starbuck's cafés, their coffee is - in my experience - dreadful; stale, bitter, sometimes burnt.

Their ubiquity irks me when there are often so many good, local, (above all) independent coffee shops to be found, places where the coffee (and I do like my coffee), is so much better.

But, yes, it is a matter of personal taste and preference.

When I was in Poland in the early 80's (socialist era), the best one could do was grind beans (whatever was available at the state-run store) in a wooden hand grinder, dump the grounds in a glass, and pour boiling water. I found it somewhat bitter but acceptable. Then at the local Pewex, bought a jar of Nescafé instant and found it in comparison to be quite good.

Yes, I well recall central & eastern Europe, the Baltic states, (and Russia) in the late 1980s, and early to mid 1990s.

The coffee was grim, although I do recall having (proper) coffee prepared with a hand grinder on a few occasions.

Their tea was far better, as I recall.

I've always been a fine coffee zealot, but I don't think I'm a snob about it. I think my tastes are just open to different ways of making it, and the resulting different taste and experience.

I suppose that I have (high) standards about coffee, so yes, I would be a fine coffee zealot; however, I prefer no coffee to indifferent coffee.

Nevertheless, while there is much I will compromise on, coffee does not fall into this category.