Coffee

I tried this new thing called Cometeer - they basically flash freeze supposedly premium coffee into little pucks and then you just pour hot water on them to get a cup of coffee. I wanted to see if it might make a good office coffee option since I hate the keurig and theres no good coffee place near my office.

Verdict: not really worth it. They came out to about $2.50 per cup (at the 4-pack price, maybe cheaper if you can order a larger one). The taste is somewhere in between instant and fresh. It’s a notch better than the Starbucks Via Colombian, which is the best instant I’ve tried, but it still has this slight instant-tasting staleness to it. And each pod only makes a 6-8 oz cup. So you’re not paying that much below a NYC price for an 8oz coffee from a Joe or coffee project type place and you’re getting a significantly worse cup. Makes much more sense for me to just bring extra pour over brew in a yeti.

Ordered a cappuccino at this cafe, it came in a massive, wide, low cup. Beyond a latte, this is coffee soup.

STarbucks espresso really does smell liek the store when you brou it at home

I just got back from Korea and I was surprised how big coffee was there. (I spent a week in Seoul and traveled around the country for the other week, so it wasn't just Seoul.) I don't really drink alcohol anymore so it was kind of nice to see so many coffee shops instead of bars. Not expensive, and it was much needed to help cope with a busy schedule and jet lag.

FWIW, I highly recommend this place if you're in the area: https://www.instagram.com/khakimoon_official/

It was next to our car rental place, which is the only reason why I found it, and not only is it a beautiful, little shop, the coffee I had was amazing. There were several other coffee options surrounding it, but the presentation drew me in. (One of the options was a Nata O Bica, which has other locations in Seoul, but I only went to this one and they make a DAMN good Portuguese egg tart, so I highly recommend that as well.)

(just to clarify, went to Khaki Moon for the coffee, then when I walked back to the car rental place, I stopped at the Nata O Bica for a tart.)

I should add, besides having so many coffee shops (there was at least two or three between every intersection where I was staying in Seoul), further outside of Seoul, it wasn't unusual to see coffee shops with two stories, sometimes three. Starbucks even has a presence in Korea and apparently they do crazy business there. 70% of the country is forested mountains, so depending on where you are, you could have a fantastic view while sipping on some coffee.

Really lovely country, I can't emphasize how wonderful it was to be there. I was also highly impressed at how diligent they were about recycling, which extends to the coffee shops as well. Most of the country's trash is actually recycled or composted, with a projected rate of 80% by 2026 - pretty mind-boggling! Rationally it makes sense - when you're a relatively small peninsula, you probably have far less resources to waste.

cooffee is essential to a productive society

Just out of curiosity, I wondered what it's like to get coffee in North Korea, and there was actually a blog entry on it from a German tourist's perspective. I haven't read the whole blog, but it's sent my head spinning that there's an agency dedicated to traveling to the least desirable destinations in the world.

Correction, he's Irish born. (The brief reference to Berlin at the bottom threw me off.)

Dubbed North Korea’s first “hipster cafe”

love the idea of N Korean hipsters

True story: I have had coffee in North Korea.

It wasn’t very good. We added Starbucks Via instant to it, which helped not very much.

Kim Jon-un’s cousin Kim Han-sol is kinda hipstery

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/03/09/world/asia/09maylaysia-video/09maylaysia-video-superJumbo.jpg

https://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2013/08/27/20130827000916_0.jpg

https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/41sqZAOQp3CmkGMIMVFf9fDtWSE.jpg

to create an entire structure - a translucent cup - yet only for one drinkin' - oh they say s waste

just bought a clever dripper, a pour over coffee maker with a mechanism to let the wet grounds steep for a few minutes before dripping. first cup of brew was delicious. anyone else tried it?

Ordered a cappuccino at this cafe, it came in a massive, wide, low cup. Beyond a latte, this is coffee soup.

― default damager (lukas), Monday, August 12, 2024 1:46 PM (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

I feel like this used to be a big thing maybe 25 years ago, giant soupy cappuccinos in wide mugs, huge layer of very thick froth. Often at cafes with vaguely french themes. Some "nice" restaurants still serve them like this. Not a fan.

They were never very good, it was always like "Mmm, the burnt coffee really balances out the scalded milk taste"

the odl espresso machines at Starbucks - that was some concentrated java glory. extract of culture itself

xxxp I am maybe going to get a Clever because I'm not great at v60 technique apparently

I've been dumping out my "bloom water" lately and liking the result. Not sure if that's easy to do with the Clever system.

no its designed to avoid having to do that

bloom water sounds gross

It is gross. All underextracted and shit.

clever dripper is nice for making a bit more than i can make in an aeropress. on work days i like to make 400 ml and drink half of it right away and take the rest to work in an insulated mug. it's also nice that they just use regular #4 melitta filters that you can buy anywhere.

second day of clever cup: i was in a rush and didn’t steep it for as long, came out a bit on the weak side. but very tasty

I ordered a Hario Switch, which is a similar concept to the Clever dripper. Will report back after trying it out.

I use a Hario hand grinder.. this model: https://www.hario-usa.com/products/small-ceramic-coffee-mill

it works well with dark roast beans, but a friend just gave me a bunch of light roast beans he got free somewhere, and it's like grinding gravel

Cute.

I think it's pretty likely that my Capresso grinder will make 20 years with no repairs. Less than two years to go.

cheese with caoffee- classic or dull?

hello coffee heads. has anyone tried this?

https://i.imgur.com/HoeEpkd.jpeg

could be a gamechanger

bulletproof coffee I guess?

Yes cheese with coffee. I will often cut a slice of cheddar or gouda or something to nibble with my coffee, esp if no actual breakfast will be forthcoming.

But I'm still in cold brew mode, aka "the best coffee, actually."

thought the cheese was a reference to what's in the stomach in that image! i thought, hmm, maybe it's popcorn with cheesy powder, sounds good

i rarely have cheese with coffee! i need to try that out :)

i thought this would be about cheese tea making its way to coffee

https://jollytomato.com/wp-content/uploads/cheese-tea-anatomy-600x590.png

Special sipping lid sounds great until they forget to give you one and you already took off. Then what would you do, without the lid?

eat the cheese

I'm liking the Hario Switch so far. Its a bit easier to get consistent results than with a regular dripper, and it brings out a bit more body in the brew. Also perhaps slightly more of a bitter note but nothing too off-putting - it balances the tartness, I think. I might get tired of it and switch back but for now this is my regular home brewer.

I've stepped up and bought a Technivorm Moccamaster KBT thermal carafe machine and so far I'm very pleased. Looks simple and cool, you can see the water bubbling like it's a little aquarium. It brews quick, strong, and hot.

(I used a Krups Savoy, also with thermal carafe, for a decade or more until it finally started to leak, but the model seems to have been discontinued)

I've had my eye on Moccamasters for a while, but they are so damn expensive. The main thing that draws me to them is that they are one of the few auto pourover coffeemakers that have larger carafes that you can actually clean effectively. I hated the fact that the carafe for my old Cuisinart coffeemaker couldn't go in the dishwasher, but the opening on it was also too narrow to get a hand in to scrub it out.

Yeah, this machine must have cost me more than double what I paid for the Krups and aside from aesthetics the only obvious advantage it has is that it's a little easier to fill the water reservoir. Krups has a new model somewhat similar to the Savoy for $100 but it uses basket-style filters instead of the conical ones I prefer - I owned one of these briefly and brewing quality was inconsistent and disappointing. Would still recommend the Krups Savoy if you can find one on the secondary market.

I always wonder why people who do the pods don't just go full instant coffee at that point. Seems way easier and cheaper and same outcome (maybe loads less waste?)

it’s a totally different product. instant coffee is a powder that dissolves in water, the pods push hot water through grounds. i’m not a big fan of either but they do taste different

gf didn’t let me buy a moccamaster cause she didn’t like the way it looks. i think they’re beautiful. but she made a good point that for 350 bucks, it should be made of metal and glass not just plastic

Fair points both. I'm in an office that has cup machines but does not provide cups. I won't rely on that and bring some French pressed from home.

But i wound up getting an emergency cup supply... they are dire. I don't know anyone who can stomach the output without cream. Probably switch to an emergency instant crystal supply when these guys are used up.

Moccamasters come with a five-year warranty, which may offset the price somewhat. But I do understand the reservations people might have.

xp

I think they make reusable cups you can fill with your own coffee that should work in those machines.

I think they make reusable cups you can fill with your own coffee

Hello, Bialetti is still here!

https://www.thespruceeats.com/thmb/VnN4KcIgb83z4LdOu4LrU8nPeaQ=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/Bialetti_Moka_Express_HeroSquare-41f36c00328d4ac3809f5364a67d2be4.jpg

<3

do they have a stove in the office?

nope

I think they make reusable cups you can fill with your own coffee that should work in those machines.

I have some of these. There's mesh on the sides. Makes a very watery, poorly brewed cup.