Can we talk coffee?

[oobiecoo]

I'm trying to make my own lately since I'd normally spend way too much at the coffee shop down the road. I make the coffee in a french press, pour it into a container and refrigerate overnight so its ready for an iced latte the next day. They didn't taste too great at first until I read one source that said to brew the coffee double strength if you'll be using it for iced coffee. That seems to work well but if anyone else has any secrets then please pass them on! There are always really fine coffee grounds clumped in the bottom of the container the next day too... the coffee i buy isn't ground very finely so I'm not sure how its getting through the french press??? Also, I've been buying the Torani hazelnut syrup but I know there are better brands out there... what brands does everyone else prefer?

 

[kenny]

I buy the whole beans at Trader Joes (One of their $3.99 or $3.99 per can varieties) and grind them right before using them.
I like it strong.

I only drink one cup in the morning and my SO does not imbibe.
I microwave the water and gradually pour it in.

There is no coffee pot to get gunky mineral build up and take up counter space.
My SO doesn't drink it and I only drink one cup in the morning so I use a one-cup drip thingie.
It is very clean and fresh-tasting.
Then a little Half and Half and real sugar - or a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream.

I never go to Starbucks or other overpriced places but will order coffee if we go out to breakfast.

 

[marcy]

My husband was a daily visitor to Starbucks. He likes Espresso and coffee. He bought the Nespresso espresso machine and one of the Keurig K cup coffee machines and really likes both of them.

 

[CJ2008]

I definitely spend too much $ for my daily coffee - I get it at a local deli and it is so good. When the local deli is closed I get Dunkin Donuts.

So until I can duplicate the taste at home, I'll keep buying it...I make coffee at home only once in a while, if I really don't feel like going out for it. I use Dunkin Donuts coffee and it's not too bad - but again, never tastes quite the same as it does when they brew it.

 

[CJ2008]

I buy the whole beans at Trader Joes (One of their $3.99 or $3.99 per can varieties) and grind them right before using them.
I like it strong.

I only drink one cup in the morning and my SO does not imbibe.
I microwave the water and gradually pour it in.

There is no coffee pot to get gunky mineral build up and take up counter space.
My SO doesn't drink it and I only drink one cup in the morning so I

use a one-cup drip thingie.

It is very clean and fresh-tasting.
Then a little Half and Half and real sugar - or a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream.

I never go to Starbucks or other overpriced places but will order coffee if we go out to breakfast.

Kenny, where do you get the one-cup drip thingie?

 

[HollyS]

I buy my local grocery store's house brand of whole beans; they're actually really good coffees. I can get Sumatra, Columbian, or a whole bunch of other bean varieties or flavors.

I grind fresh each time I brew, unless I'm using the remainder of what I ground the very next day; older than one day, I toss and grind more. That may seem wasteful, but I don't make coffee at home everyday. Not even every weekend. In the summer, we drink far less hot coffee at home or out.

My Braun grinder and Krups coffee maker are at least 15 years old each, and give me the perfect cup of Joe every time. I prefer non-flavored coffee, with a smidgen of Splenda and a dribble of milk or cream.

Dunkin' Donuts is great coffee, even what they sell at the grocery store; it is especially good on the east coast in their shops because they serve Green Mountain coffee.

Starbucks is Starburnt. I'm a desperate slave to their unsweet black ice tea (I'm sucking on one now), but their coffee is an acquired taste . . . and I'm being kind in my criticism.

 

[studyer83]

The grind for a french press has to be really, really coarse -- are you buying pre-ground, having it ground at the store or grinding it yourself? A blade grinder, which you may be using if you are grinding yourself, leaves grinds of all sizes - a lot of gunk gets through the press. A burr grinder will give you a more consistent coarse grind.

When I use the FP I grind it myself, add hot water to "bloom" the grinds for 1-2 mins, fill up and press after 2-3. Maybe it's a bit involved, it might taste the same if I just poured & pressed but I don't want to find out I was wasting time all these years!

Those little individual cup things that Kenny uses are an AMAZING substitute for office swill!

Have you tried cold brew? I never have, but as I understand it you mix the coffee & water, let it sit in the fridge for ~24 hours and then strain. People think it makes a less bitter coffee. Anywho, google it if you're interested, maybe you'll try it and let us know!

 

[CJ2008]

Starbucks is Starburnt. I'm a desperate slave to their unsweet black ice tea (I'm sucking on one now), but their coffee is an acquired taste . . . and I'm being kind in my criticism.

I agree! I don't like their coffee at all. Dunkin Donuts is way better.

 

[kenny]

Kenny, where do you get the one-cup drip thingie?

Gosh, I have had 3 of them for so long, I don't recall where I bought them.
It was probably a grocery store.

 

[Haven]

I buy whole beans and then grind my coffee right before I brew it, and I think that makes a big difference. I use a regular standard drip coffee maker and my coffee always tastes delicious. (I'm another who isn't a big fan of Starbucks. I think Holly's "Starburnt" is spot on. Ick.)

I've been buying Zavida French Hazelnut beans from Sam's Club for a while now. Someone brought them to my mom's house for dinner once and the coffee was so good I had to go out and get my own beans.

There's no way I would pay for a cup of coffee from a store every morning, but if I did it would be DD all the way for me. Love their coffee. When I taught high school I used to treat myself to a cup most Thursday mornings, it helped me get through our awful all-faculty, all-morning meetings.

 

[missydebby]

I smoke my coffee through a crack pipe. This option might not be for everyone.

 

[steph72276]

I Lurve my Keurig machine. You can make all kinds of coffes, teas, hot chocolates, etc. I haven't been to Starbucks in so long, but I'm sure I'll be back in the fall and winter for their special edition flavored lattes. Not a fan of iced coffees, so I cant really help you there.

 

[Octavia]

Oobie, if you're going to leave the grounds in the coffee while it's in the fridge, make sure to start with cold water. Hot water releases certain oils or chemical compounds (not quite sure what the exact science of it is) that will give the coffee a bitter taste if the grounds are left in too long. If you're leaving the french press in the fridge overnight, that should be plenty of time to cold-brew. I posted a link in DeeJay's recent coffee thread about the proportions of coffee to water for cold brewing, can't remember it right now but it's a lot more coffee than you'd expect (but is intentionally strong so that when you put it over ice, it won't get too diluted).

Using fresh grounds also makes a huge difference, as Haven said. Burr grinders work much better than the little ones with just one blade, since you get a more even grind with the burr grinders (I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Grinder-Black/dp/B0000AR7SY and love it!). The coffee tastes much richer and more complex when you use freshly ground beans.

My favorite beans are the peaberry ones from Trader Joes, but they're "limited edition" so not always available. The Columbian Supremo TJ's beans are also pretty good. Lately I've been lazy and have been grabbing whatever is on sale at Whole Foods (closer to my home than TJ's) and haven't been disappointed yet.

 

[CJ2008]

There's no way I would pay for a cup of coffee from a store every morning, but if I did it would be DD all the way for me. Love their coffee.

I know - definitely one of my vices. Sometimes I'll get the deli coffee in the morning and will go out for DD at night...I try not to look at how much it adds up in a month...or a year...yikes.

 

[portia]

My DH went on a quest to learn how to make the best coffee for the least amount of money after he lost his job a couple of years ago. We were spending $5/day on coffee - just coffee, no fancy drinks, just plain 'ol coffee every single day. In the past we've tried regular coffee brewers, the Keurig machine and a french press, but the taste wasn't as good as he thought it could be so he did some research and learned that he could roast his own coffee beans using a hot air popcorn popper. He buys a 10 lb. bag of Sweet Maria's unroasted beans for $48 and once a week he roasts one pound of beans. Each morning he grinds the beans and makes the coffee in a special device that looks like a lab experiment - an AeroPress. It's so much better than a french press. You can find it here http://www.areobie.com. I have to say that the coffee he makes is better than Starbuck's, Caribou and Intelligensia which is our favorite. Maybe try the grinding the beans and/or getting an AeroPress - that might help with your iced coffee. Also, try using filtered water.

Another tip my DH just told me as I'm writing this post (and I see that Octavia already mentioned it)... he said that you might want to try grinding your beans with a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder. With a blade grinder, the blades have to spin at a high rate of speed and causes heat to build up which then scorches the beans giving them a bitter taste. The burr grinders use gears at a slower rate of speed to grind the beans - no heat build up and evenly ground beans. All the coffee retailers use the burr grinders.

 

[kenny]

I smoke my coffee through a crack pipe. This option might not be for everyone.

 

[kenny]

I hear people with those Chemex coffee makers are very passionate about them being the ultimate coffee maker.
I was considering one.

They have an interesting history.
The creator was a chemist in the 50s or something.
The design is classic, still unchanged and is so cool one is in some fancy Modern Art Museum.

I like that only glass touches the coffee.
Glass is inert and can contribute no flavor or chemicals.
My one-cup cheapo is plastic.

http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/Coffeemakers.htm

 

[studyer83]

OK I'm an idiot and suggested cold brew when that is what you're doing.....I need to learn to carefully, sorry!

I have a chemex i use once and a while. What I don't like about it is cleaning it. I don't use much soap on my coffee goodies because it is so hard to really, truly rinse off & can impart a weird flavor. Much like with wine & wine glasses. Anyways, getting the coffee oils off of the chemex with minimal soap or baking soda is really hard! Also, it shows fingerprints. But other than that, it does make a kick-ass cup of coffee! I find it better than aeropress, but coffee is really personal

 

[kenny]

Hey this may be the best of both worlds.
Porcelain is as inert as glass but easily cleanable since there is not pot - brews right into the cup.
Cheaper than a Chemex and makes only one cup, which is all I want.

This model has only one hole in the bottom so the coffee has longer to infuse if you are lazy like me and want to pour all the water at once instead of a little bit at a time.
They sell another with 3 holes and another with one large hole if you prefer to stand there and pour small amounts over a few minutes.

Source: http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/coffee-brewers/filtercones.html

 

[Arkteia]

http://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Coffee-ce ... B000UTD3Q4

You either buy a coffee mill or ask to grind coffee very thinly at Starbucks.
Cold water, probably one third of ground coffee, sugar to extract the coffee.
Brew on your regular stove, when the coffee "rises up" (starts boiling), put it aside, mix with a spoon to let this "crust" dissolve, then heat again.

It is my home way to make Turkish coffee. Some Greek restaurants make better ones.

I would usually drink two to three cerves in the morning + some instant coffee during the day (talk addiction!), but in one Greek restaurant, I had severe palpitations after the second cup.

My friends from Pakistan tell me that Pakistani drink their coffee from very small cups, and it is so strong that they practically do not drink it but suck out of pieces of sugar that they soak in the coffee.

Now this is coffee!

 

[kenny]

OMG, this guy is really a coffee-geek.

. . . "be sure to use your refractor to measure the extraction" Hahaha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0fa8v_wWQ4

 

[Miscka]

Didnt have time to read all the replies, but check the food blog Smitten Kitchen, she has a SUPER easy and delicious cold brew method. Basically let your grounds sit in water on counter overnight, then strain 2x. Also it is double strength, so add equal part water. We make it in large batches.

 

[Arkteia]

OMG, this guy is really a coffee-geek.

. . . "be sure to use your refractor to measure the extraction" Hahaha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0fa8v_wWQ4

He uses "natural hemp". I think hemp and caffeine make an interesting combination...

 

[oobiecoo]

You guys are full of coffee knowledge! I just realized that I wasn't very clear in my first post. I don't let the coffee brew overnight... I strain it first so its just the brewed coffee that gets refrigerated, not the grounds as well. And I don't grind my own coffee. I honestly buy whatever is cheapest or close to it so right now I have Maxwell House . Its not my favorite but I'm adding a syrup anyway so as long as its not super bitter like Starbucks then I can deal with it. I think Costco is supposed to have pretty cheap/good coffee that you can grind in the store so maybe I'll try that when we run out. Thanks for the tip on grinding really coarsely. It seems like what we have now is fairly coarse but I guess I don't really have anything to compare it to. Also, we may be getting a programmable coffee maker soon with the baby on the way... more for DH than me though because I'll still have to make mine and chill it since I prefer it cold even in the winter.

Anyone have recs on the flavoring syrups?



FL Steph- I had coffee from a KCup machine once and it seemed really weak. Do you think it was because of the particular flavor I selected, or was it because I chose the largest amount of ounces for my cup?

 

[Imdanny]

I smoke my coffee through a crack pipe. This option might not be for everyone.

LOL!

 

[Miscka]

OObie, you may WANT to let it sit and cold brew overnight, its a totally different thing than chilling regular coffee. So much less bitter. Thats why it never tastes the same. You could def. try it with any old coffee you want.

 

[Imdanny]

I actually live on coffee farm in Hawaii (strange but true). I love coffee. I won't lie. The stuff that's grown here is the best I've had.

We don't get it nearly often enough for my taste and buying it is expensive, not to mention I don't need the caffeine and I drink it with sugar that I also don't need on a regular basis.

We have a French press (I think that's what it's called?). I'm not much of an expert or anything, I just like to drink it when I can.

My parents when I was growing up, and still today, drink black coffee from morning to night. I couldn't do that.

This reminds me I want to get cups with saucers. I don't have any and I think it would be fun to have them to drink coffee and tea.

If you want to buy the coffee from here, it's some of the best in the world- it's called "Kona coffee" after Kona (the place) and it comes in different grades (I think), different strengths, organic and not organic, etc.

 

[steph72276]

You guys are full of coffee knowledge! I just realized that I wasn't very clear in my first post. I don't let the coffee brew overnight... I strain it first so its just the brewed coffee that gets refrigerated, not the grounds as well. And I don't grind my own coffee. I honestly buy whatever is cheapest or close to it so right now I have Maxwell House . Its not my favorite but I'm adding a syrup anyway so as long as its not super bitter like Starbucks then I can deal with it. I think Costco is supposed to have pretty cheap/good coffee that you can grind in the store so maybe I'll try that when we run out. Thanks for the tip on grinding really coarsely. It seems like what we have now is fairly coarse but I guess I don't really have anything to compare it to. Also, we may be getting a programmable coffee maker soon with the baby on the way... more for DH than me though because I'll still have to make mine and chill it since I prefer it cold even in the winter.

Anyone have recs on the flavoring syrups?



FL Steph- I had coffee from a KCup machine once and it seemed really weak. Do you think it was because of the particular flavor I selected, or was it because I chose the largest amount of ounces for my cup?

Hi! Mine never seems to be weak, but I know there are lots of brands that make the KCups. My favorite is Green Mountain Hazelnut. They also make an adapter you can buy for $14 at Target that lets you use your own coffee in it.

 

[kenny]

I actually live on coffee farm in Hawaii (strange but true). I love coffee. I won't lie. The stuff that's grown here is the best I've had.

We don't get it nearly often enough for my taste and buying it is expensive, not to mention I don't need the caffeine and I drink it with sugar that I also don't need on a regular basis.

We have a French press (I think that's what it's called?). I'm not much of an expert or anything, I just like to drink it when I can.

My parents when I was growing up, and still today, drink black coffee from morning to night. I couldn't do that.

This reminds me I want to get cups with saucers. I don't have any and I think it would be fun to have them to drink coffee and tea.

If you want to buy the coffee from here, it's some of the best in the world- it's called "Kona coffee" after Kona (the place) and it comes in different grades (I think), different strengths, organic and not organic, etc.

So is ALL coffee from Hawaii Kona, ALL Kona is from Hawaii?
Are all the different coffee names just different locations that the exact same coffee plant was grown?

 

[Imdanny]

Kenny, like I said I'm not an expert but the answer to your first question is Yes. I don't know the answer to your second question.

Here's a link about Kona coffee from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kona_coffee

Edit: it looks like there are different species:

"Kona coffee beans are classified according to the seed type. Type I beans consist of two beans per cherry, flat on one side, oval on the other. Type II beans consist of one round bean per cherry, otherwise known as a peaberry. Further grading of these two types of beans depends on size, moisture content, purity of bean type and size. The grades of Type I Kona coffee are Kona Extra fancy, Kona fancy, Kona Number 1, "Kona Select" ,and Kona Prime. The grades of Type II Kona coffee are Peaberry Number 1 and Peaberry Prime. There is also a lower grade of coffee called Number 3 which can not legally be labeled as "Kona".

Infestations of the Root-knot nematode damaged many trees in the Kona districts in the 1990s. Symptoms are single or clusters of trees with stunted growth, especially when transplanted.[3] In 2001, rootstock from the Coffea liberica species was found to be resistant to the nematodes. It could be grafted with Coffea arabica 'Guatemala' variety to produce a plant that both naturally resists the pest, as well as produces a quality coffee product. The combination was named after Edward T. Fukunaga (1910–1984), who was superintendent of the University of Hawaii's Kona Research Station in Kainaliu in the 1950s through the 1970s.[4]"