I hate coffee

it feels good

there should be a thread where people in the know for various things help us learn what words we need to know to be in the know

I don't really get all the sbx hate. No, it's not the best coffee ever, but there is so much worse coffee in the world (hello, dunkin donuts, diners, etc.).

the rocky is a p serious grinder - what espresso machine?

The machine is also a Rancilio--Sylvia (Silvia?) model. Husband wants to upgrade to the next Rancilio up, but that thing is lolhuge and I'm like wtf we are not running a coffeehouse here dude.

i ended up getting another french press because i could not decide on drip pots! i got an oxo one that has a stainless sleeve (meant to keep coffee warm) and a "grounds keeper" to help make grounds disposal easier? we shall see...

i use a breville bcg450 burr grinder that i got at crate & barrel for about $100, it's lasted me about four years now and shows no signs of slowing down. i couldn't justify the price of the rocky and i actually prefer the look of the breville (italian design usually turns me off) but i will say that grinding the beans fresh with a burr grinder makes more difference in my experience than just about anything else.

i use a glass chemex and pre-wet the unbleached chemex filters. this usually takes care of any flavor from the paper. as a chemist i have a glassware fetish and i also don't like mixing food, plastic and heat. but i usually make two 16-ounce tumblers in the morning, if i were making a smaller amount i would probably not use a chemex.

The Sylvia is a good machine - that and the Pavoni Europiccola are kind of considered the gold standard of the lowest tier of high-end machines, if that makes sense. Like you basically have to spend a lot more money to get anything better.

I've used a Capresso burr grinder for about five years now and it still seems to work well. I basically asked the coffee equipment guy at Zabars what the lowest priced grinder I could get that would still give me proper espresso was, and he recommended that one. You can get a great shot, it just doesn't have the precision of a higher-end machine and also is a bit messy to work with. You can also adjust your tamp against your grind to get the right pressure. It's perfectly fine for french press coffee, of course.

At work we have a Hario hand-powered grinder, which was the cheapest way we could get a decent burr grinder (me and the two other people who chipped in to get good coffee and pour-over gear). I'm not crazy about it -- I feel like the finest setting is still very coarse, and it's hard to adjust.

I guess part of the appeal of pour-over is the low-tech, off-the-grid vibe. Espresso is probably power-intensive. Drip coffee a little less so. Of course you still need fuel to heat the water for pour-over so it's not completely impact-free.

also your coffee beans are shipped from very far away places

see i don't make espresso, only pour-over filter coffee. so i only need to ever grind at medium, sometimes fine or coarse for cooking but it's not really mission-critical to get a perfect grind for coffee ice cream or whatever.

grinding the beans fresh with a burr grinder makes more difference in my experience than just about anything else.

this has also been my experience

i keep my beans in a bamboo canister with a vacuum seal lid

now i understand how this keeps them cool and dry and out of light, but the airtight part sort of makes no sense - I mean, there is plenty of oxygen in there, they're going to oxidize anyway, so what diff does it make if they oxidize under fresh or stale air??

― the late great, Monday, February 27, 2012 7:20 PM

get yr 'îron game up, rap

http://www.koracoffee.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=57

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/1/2/8/7/0/7/webimg/524562846_o.jpg
http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/1/2/8/7/0/7/webimg/524562859_o.jpg

I need to find a kettle w/ a spout like that

― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, March 10, 2012 11:48 AM

if i didn't already have the hario i'd get this cuz its half the price

http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Pouring-Kettle-1-Liter/dp/B005YR0IBU/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1327523010&sr=1-2

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GOdQpknDL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

good lookin out am0n

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg87E1tjTOE

I am making cold brew for the first time right not. Excited!

This came out amazing btw.

what is it made

I realize I'm late to the party but was given an aeropress and am drinking the first cup right now. Delicious!!!

I thought i could get by drinking shittty supermarket coffee but today I had some coffee brewed from counterculture beans and my resolve is crumbling

You know what I do to save a little money is I go back and forth between cheaper Trader Joe's beans and good shit like Stumptown/Counter Culture/Intelligentsia. That way the good stuff feels like a treat.

I also make a real point of seeking out and remembering places that sell the good stuff cheaper, e.g. there's a weird cafe by my work that will sell you counter culture beans for $13/lb, which is pretty cheap in NYC (normally $13-16 for a 12oz bag), and they just like scoop it for you out of their own wholesale bags.

http://maxgif.com/52s

that camera doesnt have a lens on it

I bought starbucks coffee because it was on sale and I think it has twice the amount of caffeine as normal coffee does. twice. bzzzzzzzzzzzz

do any of these people still post to ilx?

― gershy, Thursday, March 13, 2008 11:12 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

weird reading this thread and recognizing webber and fergus as frequent posters on a msg board that i started posting on in 2006

or maybe not weird at all

maybe you should ignore this post

good day

have noticed that with starbucks. it feels like they boiled off half the water.

i've realized that i don't like a lot of the more acidic coffees that have started to become more popular. anything fruity is just not my speed. more caramely or chocolately light roasts are good, though. i've had some sharply acidic coffees that taste like pungent lipton's tea.

sounds like youre a sumatra man

i have tried but don't think i like anything lighter than medium dark

a friend of mine runs a very good, very small coffee business out of his house and tends to specialize in good dark roasts, hmu if interested

balanced citrus notes can be amazing imo but it's easy for it to go overboard. i get this dark-roasted yemeni coffee sometimes that's very dark chocolate and spicy in a root beer kind of way.

I haven't bought artisanal coffee in like 2 years =(

more caramely or chocolately light roasts are good, though.

Hey, I agree with this!

Although I'm currently going through Fresh Direct's Breakfast Blend, whatever that is.

"this velvety brew balances dark-roasted Ethiopian beans (known for chocolatey, berry flavors) with a lighter roast of smooth Costa Rican beans" apparently.

generally speaking "velvety" is an adjective I look for when buying coffee, as opposed to "floral" or "citrus". I think darker roasts when done poorly can taste a bit ashen but when done well can be as smooth as a good light roast. worst coffee I've had in recent memory was the scalding hot piss they serve at a very popular place a couple blocks from me. Dark or light? Could not tell.

Ooooeee Bustelo espresso grind is a leeeetle bit stronger than any other coffee I've ever made before.

kinda hate the coffee i make right now. i can't go back to french press though. it takes too long in the morning and i'm already suffering chronic lateness.

i think maybe i need a bean change

describe your current coffee routine

whole foods french roast
cheap blade grinder
cuisinart auto drip maker
grind an amount larger than the max fill line while rotating the grinder for evenness
dump in the thing
water up to 8-9 "cup" line

probably using too much coffee idk

i just don't trust all those lines

Those lines are hard to trust

I need to do something about my coffee game too but first I need to stop using Cafe Bustelo espresso grind in my french press.

bustelo. i spent a lot of time at HARD TIMES CAFE MN And spend a lot of time at ROCHAMBO here and at MA FISCHERS

3cup max 20m @ ma fischer's. [email protected] refills@rochambo. 1$cup/.50ç rfl@mn. im going to rochambo now

My friend had an espresso machine at her apt and used the Bustelo and it was SO GOOD (although also "so hot" and "so sweet" so maybe I should try those qualities too). Sadly does not work out the same w my french press.

The ridiculously cheap totally not fancy Mexican beans we have been using somehow taste pretty good with our espresso machine! I say "our," but it is totally the spouse's baby. I never touch it, I just drink the stuff. We also use milk and sugar so I dunno I'm sure that helps the el-cheapo beans.

in orbit, harbl - your respective sitches sound custom-made for the mighty aeropress. trust