Coffee

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.

I've been trying out different brands of dark roast whole beans, kind of on a budget, not finding anything really outstanding -- but the latest bag, Hills Bros. Dark Satin, seem quite a bit better than the usual. Maybe they're just brand new and freshly roasted.

I've gone from dark to light, somehow, given the choice. Pricier beans don't seem to even tell you, or give you a choice when ordering? Funny. More concerned with telling you that it tastes like a tulip or whatever.

For the office I've dug out an old Melita cup dripper and got me some #2 filters. Ripping open K cups is an improvement over the machine. But of course better beans than that usually.

I totally would have gone for a Costa Rica bolsita but have no window to dry it well enough. So it's just as well, not being the office coffee sock guy.

Is making pour over for like 3-4 or more people at a time just pointless? I have a birthday coming up and I currently have no coffee setup other than my one cup Kalita dripper, and I want something to be able to make coffee for company more easily. I could also just get a good drip maker I guess.

Anyone have thoughts on the Simply Good dripper or the new Fellow one that I think just came out (Aiden?), or similar? Preferably one that’s not too massive.

More than two people with any frequency, yeah I'd get a dripper. I've stubbornly avoided replacing my dead Bonavita by getting a 1L French press and me and the missus have been getting along fine with that.

Once in a while though... what a treat for your friends haha

Yeah I only make coffee for myself most of the time, but I do have neighbors I’m friends with or occasional morning jams where it would be nice to offer coffee. I also have work from home days where I could justify brewing two or three cups at a time.

just my opinion but i'd just pick up a mr. coffee drip machine at a thrift store for stuff like that. i too have a kalita pour over thing, since i only ever need to make coffee for myself. but i love when friends offer me drip coffee at their places. plus it stays warm

not to discourage you from getting a "nice" drip machine, whatever that might be. i realize that that is probably part of the fun

My set-up only allows for 4 cups max at a time.

If I'm in a pinch and we're hosting, I'll spring for a gallon from our local Peet's for $30... serves 16 cups.

+1 on the Mr. Coffee machine. I make a pot and the rest goes in the fridge for ice coffee.

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?)

― Mrs. Ippei (Steve Shasta), Friday, October 4, 2024 9:44 AM bookmarkflaglink

I have a couple boxes of Copper Cow single serve drip Vietnamese coffee that makes surprisingly good pour over if I want to have a single serve of something hot.

if you are spending money on halfway decent beans a mr coffee will undo that by ruining your coffee as it sits on the burner in that glass carafe

if you want a mr cofeee more power to you but THERMAL CARAFE IS THE WAY

You know how sometimes coffee will say "Process: washed" or "Process: natural" or whatever

I just bought some coffee that says "Process: advanced"

nowadays it should be "with A.I."

Just bought a shit load of arabica beans in a coffee shop in Hanoi...can anyone attest to the quality?...also bought some Kopi Luwak allegedly...

laurel have you ever had https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/kaffeost?

xpost Kopi Luwak is 100% a gimmick, don't expect anything like good coffee

Hah, no!!! Although I very often do have a chunk of cheddar or havarti or an aged gouda cheese with my coffee! I think they go well together. I would totally try kaffeost.

I'm almost certain that I've had a cheese in coffee discussion with people on here before and someone said they put cheddar in their coffee . . . I want to say it was Carl A but not sure. Will see if I can find it. Anyway, I would also try it.

I have a couple boxes of Copper Cow single serve drip Vietnamese coffee that makes surprisingly good pour over if I want to have a single serve of something hot.

― felicity, Wednesday, October 16, 2024 2:36 PM (yesterday)

ooh, noted. thanks f.!

used to live near a bubble tea place in vancouver that had something called blowtorch caramel cheese tea

Wound up asking for/getting the fellow stagg kettle, a hario 02 dripper, and a little thermal carafe for my bday. It lets me at least make a few cups at a time but still works for my morning pourover. I figure for hosting bigger stuff (which is not often) I can just get a Mr. Coffee as suggested above.

Vancouver is the best city for coffee in North America.

could go in multiple threads, and i know it’s not accepted around these parts, but so many grocers no longer carry whole bean coffee. it boggles my mind that people are willing to settle for pre-ground or, even worse, the horror that are Keurig cups. i fucking hate that i have to go to specific store just for coffee that doesn’t taste like shit.

― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Thursday, December 26, 2024 5:34 AM (thirteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

technological/practical “backwards step”: supermarkets

― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Thursday, December 26, 2024 7:08 AM (twelve hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

― budo jeru, Thursday, December 26, 2024 1:45 PM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

lads i know christmas is a hard few days if theres nothing on telly but cmon now give the heads a wee shake

― tuah dé danann (darraghmac), Thursday, December 26, 2024 2:23 PM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

seems like whole bean is more common now than in the middle past - when I was a kid it was all giant cans of ground Folgers or the instant coffee that got mixed in hot water

― papal hotwife (milo z), Thursday, December 26, 2024 2:33 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i do miss the big grind it yrself machines at Kroger’s. slightly scary to 5 yo me yet also amazing smelling.

― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Thursday, December 26, 2024 6:58 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

the era of whole beans everywhere is probably over. we're back to beans at specialty shops except for a token brand at big chains, Nespresso, etc.

probably for the cof thread but I think we're past peak cof, we'll return again, but being a real "coffee person" at home is back to niche. probably for the best, if you're buying whole beans at the grocery you're buying into a mainstream temporary appropriation of a formerly niche culture that's returning

― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Thursday, December 26, 2024 7:13 PM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

disagree, niche bourgie roasters appropriated an utterly quotidian grocery item - coffee beans - and turned them into something expensive and up its own ass. i’m telling you, people were buying whole beans in redneck supermarkets in the 70s!

― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Thursday, December 26, 2024 7:17 PM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

fair enough

I think they were already becoming niche when they tried to ~bring it back~ though? I think expensive beans really took off after everyone was buying Folgers/Sanka

― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Thursday, December 26, 2024 7:19 PM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

like the mid-90s are what I think about when I think about coffee shops existing and obviously grinding beans performatively. We can probably agree the 80s were when coffee was fully wrecked

also I have doubts about you remembering whole beans in the 70s. sounds like received wisdom

― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Thursday, December 26, 2024 7:21 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

nah it was totally a thing iirc, but also the beans sucked

― sleeve, Thursday, December 26, 2024 7:23 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

like, you were basically buying Maxwell House, but before grinding

― sleeve, Thursday, December 26, 2024 7:23 PM (fifty-eight seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

plz discuss your earliest memories of whole bean or otherwise fancy coffee espresso itt

I first encountered fancy roasted-on-site coffee circa 1986? I did not actually start drinking it until I was maybe 21. I remember the era of ridiculous Seattle-hipster latte variations as being in the early 90s.

first memory was of hulking grinding machine installed right in the coffee aisle of the chapman highway kroger’s in knoxville. there was a metal flap that hung over the output chute. you’d push a big black button and the whole thing would shudder alarmingly to life. your mom would position an empty paper coffee bag under the flap and then scoop the desired beans from a clear plastic bin into the top of the machine, producing an industrious grinding screeching noise. you’d close up the top of your bag as the machine continued to run “dry”, its maw hungry for more, and the timer would finally expire as you walked away. don’t look back, you can never look back

I think we had whatever wave the early/mid 90s one was. One small neighborhood coffee shop persists from that period and they roast on-site, have all these different sourced beans, etc.
idk it's fine but I don't need that much detail but appreciate it

we had the full-on, semi-gentrified downtown space coffee shop that had singer/songwriter guitar people performing, occasional semi-local bands playing, tons of flyers on the board with piles of zines in front place for that era. I was never aligned with it chronologically, it was one of those spaces high school kids would hang out late, one of the only small metropolis area places to hang out late other than Perkins. I don't think people cared about a great product other than being like, ooh that's a good cup of java

I do remember the grocery coffee grinders!
also, on a related spurious quality note, a friend in the early 2000s was annoyed we didn't have a grocery store that had a nut butter grinder. like, I need to go to the grocery like they have in Larger City where I can shove a bunch of almonds in a hopper and make almond butter. I always wondered if that was good and nodded, but it was one of those things like "we need a Chipotle location in this town" where I didn't know if the product was any good or just a local Veblen convenience

it's funny, though. a small Whole Foods location is better than a local grocery of the same size, in that the local chain doesn't know how to do small scale anymore. we either have bins of DEALS and poor produce, or the largest stores imaginable that still lack what I want, but have eight brands of macaroni and cheese.

I’m 95% sure I didn’t know about lattes/cappuccinos until So I Married An Axe Murderer. My mom drank three pots of Folgers a day, black, that was all I knew of coffee.

In the late ‘90s we had a couple of independent second wave coffee places here where college students would hang out late nights and some of us in high school would draft behind them. (Also one called Zombies was our only all ages venue that wasn’t Christian.) I don’t really remember the coffee much - I guess espresso drinks and big pots of regular brewed coffee.

our second wave coffee place was called Java - and it still exists! it made the transition to 3rd wave and otherwise is basically the same except with 100% less cigarette smoke.

it used to have a neon sign in the window that said “Java - A Coffee House” and i had a friend in town once who saw this and was like, that’s so pretentious, it’s like your italian place is “Pasta - A Spaghetti Restaurant”