Hello (a cup of) Joe, what do you know? (um we're talking about coffee)

[Lanx]

title was a double american slang reference, one can instantly recognize the first, the other one is old, probably heard it in the movie AI.

anyway, let's talk coffee, starbucks is now doing a 7buck coffee.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/starbucks-7-dollar-coffee_n_2204805.html

I've only bought starbucks once, and that was for my wife, i don't drink starbucks, i'm not a coffee snob, but i kinda want to be, but i find coffee houses (at least the first one i went to) too snobby, or at least the owner was a douche.

I did spend 2 weeks in italy recently, had esspresso, cafe latte, cappicino, whatever, everywhere it was all consistently good, i did watch a few youtubes about barista and stuff before my trip so i guess if a guy/girl showed me once or twice how to do it, i'd make something decent, i go through the same process at home.

i use a modified version of good eats true brew, coffee tips.

i do use full beans (8 oclock coffee beans are SURPRISINGLY great, the cheapest and better than other coffees imo, costing twice as much), but i use a burr grinder as opposed to a blade grinder.
i do use filtered water.

but i use an aeropress

my coffee tastes great and not bitter.

i did say in another thread that i want to try out a full ceramic hand grinder, that'll be a christmas present, but besides just trying out different beans, there isn't much to do really, i'm thinking about either

1. getting a cheap mr coffee espresso maker, but not for coffee, for the frothing wand so i can learn to froth milk or.
2. ger this milk frother machine for like 60bucks

i do have the cheap little battery operated wand thing but i'm interested in hot froth.

i won't get those single serve machines, i have tried a few of them at other ppls houses and they kinda suck, mostly everyone get's the keurig varient with a flavia thrown in here and there, but the coffee just, ain't great doesn't even matter if they use keurig coffee or "other brands" i've had neuman and starbuck refills, bleh, i don't feel bad talking about my friends coffee's either, i mean it's not like they make it for me lol, it's a one button press.

let's talk about joe.

[keyboardlover]

I use a Keurig. Mostly happy with it so far. Good coffee is a necessity in my life.

[IvanIvanovich]

I use the hell out of my $15 mr. coffee espresso machine, and even get good crema from it. The first key is having the grind correct, and the second is to only put exactly 150ml of water in it, ever. Never attempt to make more than a double, or it just turns into an Americano no matter what. When I don't make espresso I use a french press.
For my beans, I tend to favor these cheap Guatemallan beans from the Mexican grocery, sold as bulk style not packaged. They have a really pleasant fudgey brown sugar flavor. It's so mellow and sweet I barely ever use sugar. I am also quite fond of Kenya AA.

[Halverson]

When I'm at home, it's espresso all the way. Bought a Nespresso machine and do not regret it.
When I'm on the road I drink Tim Hortons. It's horrible. Very inconsistent, sometimes too creamy, watery, burnt etc. But I don't mind, keeps me going and matches my cigarettes.
I rarely go to Starbucks, I don't mind their coffee. I'm actually quite find of the chai tea latte with soy milk.

[Turbo Slaab]

I hate Tim Horton's coffee with a passion. Starbucks coffee is up there as well but they do have good espresso. I usually get DD, does it's job and they are USUALLY consistent. I'm actually in the market for a coffee/espresso machine, because I put espresso in my coffee. Anybody have any recommendations?

[Halverson]

^^Nespresso machines are great, but have two problems. 1) They are not cheap 2) The capsules you use are generally online order only, unless you live in a major city that has a store.
I buy a couple hundred capsules at a time, so I don't mind ordering.

[SmallFry]

Black. I don't care what type, just black. Odd for somebody nowadays it seems, 'specially my age. Either way, it must be black.

[rowdy]

There are only 6 Strabucks stores in Melbourne, and I haven't been to any of them, hence never tried it.

Gloria Jeans are all over the place here, but it is one of the worst coffees I have ever tried.

I try not to drink coffee at work (I was on about 10 cups a day), but at home I have an espresso machine and prefer Harris black label ground coffee when I can be bothered to spend the time making it and cleaning up afterwards.

I did used to grind my own beans, but after going through two grinders and also having an extended bout of laziness, I just buy pre-ground now.

[The_Beast]

Half sugar, half cream and just a slash of coffee

[Lanx]

where i live, is near the outlets, so sometimes i get friends (usually the wife's girlfriends) coming down and i'll drive them to the outlets (literally 4minutes away) and one friend said, "wait, you have a drive thru starbucks?". I'm like it's a high traffic area and it's on a highway (the local kind) so yea i guess. She's like that's really rare, and she's a starbucks girl who basically travels all over.

found this cool infographic


anyone have any bean preference? as far as i know it's 3
arabica
robusta
kona

i've been told robusta is cheaper (is that the sumatra stuff?) and grows on a lower plain or whatever, but you'll get more flavor with arabica, so i just buy beans that are 100% arabica. I've tried kona which is the beans from hawaii, didn't taste any different to me really, maybe the hotels just had bad coffee in hawaii.

on the single serve machines i did some bit of research and i think i can catagorize em into

K-cup (keurig)
T-cup (tassimo)
Flavia
Nespresso
Senseo (gone?)

so basically i think, it comes down to which pony do you want to pick or which type of "pod" (some places call it a pad) do you want.
i think the k-cup or keurig is probably the most popular, in terms of other manufactures making pods for the machines.

next would be the t-cups

i believe flavia only has their own pods (in this case more like a bag) and i'm positive nespresso only has their pods (they do that whole thing where they have their own bean farmers and stuff) and as far as i know senseo is gone.

i have no idea why these machines cost a lot of money, to me they just seam like really expensive electric water kettles, i mean sure i think the t-discs have that bar code system where you get a different programmed thing, and some of these systems even take out the pod and dispose of it, but really it just heats up water.

[xsphat]

I drink coffee every day but mostly as a utility. i think Starbucks exemplifies all that is wrong with America, maybe even better than Wal-Mart since Starbucks is even more of a rapidly spreading virus, so there you have it. There're a few Biggbys in my town, but I don't hit 'em up regularly. I usually drink Dunkin Donuts coffee at home since it tastes very good and is cheap enough. I buy the flavored kind in the winter, but I'm not gay.

[jwaz]

French press with a light to medium roast (gotta have that extra caffeine and flavor, over roasting doesn't make for very tasty coffee)

I'm a big fan of Ethiopian coffees (mmm blueberry!) especially the ones that Stumptown had... man I miss that place. We have Blue Bottle, Ritual, Four Barrel etc but they just aren't the same.

http://stumptowncoffee.com/guide/press-pot/#

If you feel like investing in a press, protip: The one Bodum makes for Starbucks is about as cheap as a replacement beaker normally.

I also really like the Clover technology but that can be really hard to find now that Starbucks owns the machine :/ vacuum press FTW, wish I had 11k

[IvanIvanovich]

Oh yes, Ethiopian is pretty nice too but the lightest I like to go is full city. Mostly I go for vienna and italian roast, spanish roast and beyond to burnt cinders is not good though.
I agree the Bodum is a pretty good press, I got a brazil model one free due to some crazy world market coupon semi-abuse.

[metafour]

+1 for Aeropress

[Lanx]

French press with a light to medium roast (gotta have that extra caffeine and flavor, over roasting doesn't make for very tasty coffee)


I also really like the Clover technology but that can be really hard to find now that Starbucks owns the machine :/ vacuum press FTW, wish I had 11k

ah yes that was something i learned recently, the darker the roast = less caffeine, so if you want more caffeine go for light roast.

quick list from light to dark
new england roast
american
city
fully city
vienna
french
italian
spanish

[xsphat]

This place is turning into hobbyhack.

[noisyturtle]

If you go to Starbucks for a sit in, get the off menu french press. It's about the same price as a medium and you get 3-4 cups from it.

[JoeC]

Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks.  <-- Saw that on a bumper sticker somewhere.
We have one Starbucks drive thru here.  I think EVERY grocery store here has a Starbucks inside.
Dutch Bros. is very popular, and there are a lot of other little coffee huts around town.
I decided to stop getting the coffee at McDonald's.  It always tastes burnt.  Haven't had much of Burger King's coffee to really have an opinion.
For percolators, I like Folgers>Generic>Maxwell House.  Extra sugar, no cream.
Anyone have experience with home roasting?  My aunt made some really good coffee when we were on vacation in Baja.  She used a french press and some home roasted beans she got from somewhere.  We used most of it for Keoke's .

As for A.I.:
Gigolo Joe: She will make you a real boy for I will make her a real woman and all will be right with the world, because you held my hand and saved my brain. So once again my customers may ask for me by name: 'Gigolo Joe, wha'd'ya know'!
[Joe starts dancing]
David: Why do you do that?
Gigolo Joe: That's just what I do.
<ref: IMDB.com>

[jwaz]

There is a local green coffee supply/ home roasting spot but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Sounds like a fun endeavor

[Internetlad]

As far as I'm concerned, if you're a true coffee lover, you'll drink whatever you can find, black, straight up and not complain about it.

Either way, I drink with a bit of half & half  and Sugar. I can stomach black, but I enjoy it with about 1/8 half and half and a tsp or 2 of sugar.

Double Double from Tim Hortons is where it's at. True North!

[asura]

If I'm drinking cafetiere coffee, I'll go for; Blue Sumatra, Colombian, or Java.  I either take them pure, or will mix Blue Sumatra with Colombian, or Colombian with Java, but never Java with Blue Sumatra...

I don't drink as much strong coffee as I used to, but I still enjoy the occasional Turkish coffee, either Blue Sumatra, or if I'm in need of a treat/reward then some Jamaican Blue... that's happened twice in over a decade of drinking coffees, I think.

My partner loves her Monsoon Malabar, tastes like ashes to me.

[jwaz]

@internetlad You're kidding me... If you really like coffee you appreciate having it but once you've had the really good stuff there is no going back.

“Even bad coffee is better than no coffee at all.”
― David Lynch

[Internetlad]

What i'm saying, JWAZ, is that the word "Coffee" has become so twisted and contorted that if you get one of the designer coffees from starbucks, you usually end up with half a cup of froth, a quarter milk/creme, an eighth syrup, a sixteenth unflavoured whitener and then the last part of it is the actual coffee.

If you want to drink fancy flappa-clappa-chimos feel free, but it's pretty far away from a black cup of Joe.

As far as "good coffee" and "Bad coffee" go, I'm not saying I'd drink (or enjoy, at least) coffee that some guy crushed in his dirty sock on a rock in the wilderness because we were stranded, but at least it's staying true to the basics.

also just had that weird moment where you realize what a weird word "Coffee" is after reading it ten times.

EDIT: as far as the "once you've had the good stuff you'll never go back" my wife has a Tassimo. I've tried a couple of them, the caramel whatever-os and whatnot. I don't really get it. twenty bucks gets you a 4-cup coffeemaker and a tin of Folgers, a bit of sugar and creme, that's all I need.

[rowdy]

FTR I have mine black.

With two sugars.

[Malphas]

I've never been to Starbucks. I'm not a coffee snob, but I drink coffee semi-regularly. I use a french press and bags of grounds, which is really no more hassle than instant in my opinion.

[tp4tissue]

Caffeine pills, screw coffee....

[Internetlad]

Caffeine pills, screw coffee....

Tried. Didn't like.

EDIT: actually made me throw up on occasion. Used to take a handful of pills before heading out the door (multivitamin, cod liver oil and caffiene) and they didn't seem to sit well together.

[chewyfruitloop]

I prefer arabica grown in the old world
I generally drink Ethiopian or Javan
Always black with no sugar, in quantities of pint
Strength.....developer

Oh and never ever do this...it's awful http://www.flickr.com/photos/chewy_fruit_loop/4521041055/in/set-72157623756250586 

[Lanx]

I prefer arabica grown in the old world
I generally drink Ethiopian or Javan
Always black with no sugar, in quantities of pint
Strength.....developer

Oh and never ever do this...it's awful http://www.flickr.com/photos/chewy_fruit_loop/4521041055/in/set-72157623756250586 

can't see pic, and also don't know double brew?

[nar]

I wasn't really a fan of Coffee (more far into Tea myself) but I had a really really nice cup of coffee while I was visiting relatives in China and I've been trying to reproduce it.

So far I've just been trying to keep things as cheap as possible without sacrificing too much quality. Use the Hario Hand Grinder with a Swiss Gold Filter (Using the Kyocera and Muji branded versions of them though) and I get my coffee roasted fresh from this place: http://www.waterloocoffee.com/

Otherwise if I want coffee I usually just drink whatever is available next to me, I get a half and half (Half Coffee Half Hot Chocolate) at Tim Hortons for any Canadian wondering.

P.S. Forgot to mention, my favourite coffee is not really full coffee but a mixture called Yeunyeung served in Hong Kong and any HK-related place elsewhere. About half coffee and half HK-Style Milk Tea, also meaning the milk in the coffee isn't normal milk or cream but evaporated milk like Vietnamese Ice Coffee. I order it enough that waiters at one restaurant don't ask me for a drink order any more XD

[chewyfruitloop]

double brew is when you brew one pot of coffee and use that coffee to brew another pot
brewing coffee with coffee instead of water

...it will keep you awake....but your belly will wish you whern't

[jwaz]

to me coffee does not equal anything that has something other than black coffee in it. maybe some sort of dairy but usually that just points to bad quality coffee or preservation of the PH in your stomach

[keyboardlover]

I put a little milk in mine...that's it. No sugar...coffee should taste good without it!

[rowdy]

Not having milk means that I keep well out of the arguments at work about who will go to get the next carton of milk when we run out.

Actually, due to an earlier dispute over coffee machines, I don't have coffee at work either, so I also get to keep out of arguments about who will get the next jar of coffee, or who boiled just enough water for one cup.

[Lanx]

gevalia coffee beans surprisingly smooth.

[chewyfruitloop]

I used to play WoW with a guy who's work place banned calling moo juice free hot drinks black and inversely white
It had to be coffee / tea with or without milk

eeek we're scared of the being seen as racist because we call coffee black >_>


I currently treat coffee as the supplier of caffeine and tea as a warm drink with a slight pick me up effect

[Internetlad]

I used to play WoW with a guy who's work place banned calling moo juice free hot drinks black and inversely white

Yeah stuff like this is so retarded. It's like that story of the black lady who ordered a "tiger woods" at a restaurant. (the drink she actually wanted was an arnold palmer)

It's not called an Arnold Palmer because he was a white golfer, it's called that because he frickin' invented (Or, at least popularized) the drink.