How do you take your coffee?

[BegintheBeguine]

Again with the poo, scotrace?

Now look what you made me do all over the monitor! lol lol lol And right when What's New Pussycat comes on the radio.

 

[bolthead]

Don't drink it....

I couldn't tell you the last time I drank a cup of coffee. I'll bet it's been a few years.....

Does this make me an oddball? [huh]

 

[Matt Noir]

I have my Bodum Santos vac pot for regular joe

I have an Expobar Athenea espresso machine that makes the best espresso ever!

I use a Mazzer Mini burr grinder to get a really nice espresso grind.

I generally go for a nice cup of coffee from the vac pot - I enjoy a good espresso when I have the time to do it properly. I also enjoy a good latte (I have had tons of fun trying my hand at latte art - but you have to be careful because you have to drink your mistakes!) - and when I have a sweet tooth I will heed the call for a good mocha.

I have a local roaster that has great variety. I have gotten into roasting my own for about the last year or so. I buy the beans green locally and use an iRoast 2 roaster.

Here are my best unsolicited tips for coffee:

1. Don't be a coffee snob! I admit that I really like the whole process of selecting the beans, roasting, grinding, brewing and drinking. I have always been a hands on sort of fellow - so I have to do the whole shebang when I get into something - but I am definitely not a coffee snob - I won't turn down a cup of Eight O'Clock at a friends house!

2. Hand in hand with number 1. - if it tastes good to you...then drink and enjoy! I will admit that Starbuck's is not the best coffee - but it isn't bad either. It is overroasted (Charbucks) - but I have enjoyed my fair share of Starbucks. I have also enjoyed a cuppa joe from McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts!

3. Whole bean > ground. I know ground coffee is convenient. But whole bean coffee that is freshly ground and used right away is so much better.

4. Do not refrigerate or freeze your coffe. Yes indeedy - it has been said that to keep your coffee fresh you should store it in the icebox. Well, a coffee gets its flavor and aroma from the oils in the bean. A bean is very porous - and while coffee will go rancid eventually due to the high oil content - the icebox is not the answer. The reason for this is that the fridge and freezer change the composition of the oils - when you warm them up again much of the flavor is changed and lost.

5. Buy small and use fast. Going to Sam's Club or Costco for your 55 gallon drum of beans for $14.96 may sound like a great bargain - but coffee will always be at its best in taste if you use it and do not store it for a long period of time

6. The most important coffee advice - enjoy coffee with someone you care about - friends and family make every cup of coffee taste so much better!

Have a great Friday, all!


Regards,

Matt

 

[patterson]

I just pull back the old skull cap and pour it directly on the cerebrum (or telencephalon if we have any brain surgeons out here)... Once the digestive tract gets through with it, it just kinda - I don't know - loses its edge...

I grew-up just outside of Seattle, so I've been drinking Starbucks and SBC (when it still stood for Stewart Brothers Coffee) for a long time... During grad school, I was known for drinking a quad tall non-fat and curling up in the library for a nap...

 

[Miss Neecerie]

in a Mug

 

[Smithy]

Impressive espresso machine you have there Matt.

I like the eagle on the top as well, I'm tempted to stick a "Spirit of Ecstasy" on the top of the old percolator

 

[Riposte3]

"It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
For it is by the Beans of Java that the thoughts acquire speed,
The hands acquire shakes,
The shakes become a warning.
It is by Caffeine alone I set my mind in motion."
-Anonymous

Seriously though, I like my coffee black, hot, and strong. I prefer the espresso blend from a local shop here that roasts in the store. I introduced it at work and got compliments for days.

For coffee tips, check here, and click on.... coffee!

-Jake

 

[carter]

in a Mug

A Dame after my own heart.
Kona Blue, straight up, in a cup.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Impressive espresso machine you have there Matt.

I like the eagle on the top as well, I'm tempted to stick a "Spirit of Ecstasy" on the top of the old percolator

The Rolls Royce of coffee makers, Smithy?

Yes, Matt, that is a beautiful espresso machine. I love all things mechanical, especially if made of brass.

Call me a rebel-without-a-cup, but I don't take coffee at all: tried it several times and in several forms, but never acquired a taste for it, don't like the smell of it. (Disclaimer: Coffee candy and coffee cake notwithstanding. ) But, since I've been looking for somewhere to use the quote below. . . .


Lee
__________________________

"A lot of people say: 'I'm no good in the morning until I've had my coffee.' I'm no good in the morning even after I've had my coffee." - Robert Benchley
. . . I'm sure one or two of you can relate.

 

[Dagwood]

Let's hear it for Kopi Luwak !!

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I love the smell and taste of coffee when I first wake up, but drink decaf as caffeine makes me too wired.

I like a good brand, dark roast, brewed and then, of all things, my favorite thing to put in it is Cremora or some sort of powdered concoction, prefer it to half and half or cream or anything. I do, however, like to drink it with Bailey's Irsh Cream in it now and then.

When I go to a coffee shop, I like to get a Latte. Prefer decaf if they have it.

karol

 

[Matt Noir]

Impressive espresso machine you have there Matt.

I like the eagle on the top as well, I'm tempted to stick a "Spirit of Ecstasy" on the top of the old percolator

I was lucky - my mom actually bought it from a small caf?© that closed and had a sale - I think she picked it up for around $100 bucks and gave it to me as a gift. She is a great bargain hunter since she owns and antique shop...I wish she lived closer...I could be in vintage heaven!

 

[Estevan]

I must fess up...

Sorry Paddy et all.....I drink whatever....I'm so ashamed, especially living in Spain and having great coffee available 24/7. I must blame this on the military. I never drank coffee before I joined the navy, and then after I was drinking a pot a day. When you wake up at 0300 to take the 04 - 08 watch, well you need to wake up. I would walk from my bunk (rack) bumping into bulkheads searching out a cup of java. Walking into the messdecks you would find a huge 10 gallon urn with about a pint remaining. Well, this pint would be stronger than even the strongest espresso, it was like drinking molasses with a double dose of caffeine! Well, ever since my shipboard days, a cup of Folgers was as good as gold. Sorry, but when your starving even a cracker looks like a feast.

 

[Air Boss]

Just black, thank you

Way back in the 1960's (66 - 68) we lived in rural Pennsylvania and my father worked in NYC. His commute was about 2 - 2 1/2 hours each way so he was up about 4:30 AM (0430). He kept his suits in my closet so that he would not wake up Mom. I was usually awake before he came in so when I heard the shower, I would get up and start the coffee (Mom would get it ready the night before). Since I made the coffee Dad didn't see any harm in letting me have a cup; and since he drank his black so did I. That's how I still drink it.

About 9 years ago my Doctor told me I should stop drinking coffee, or at the very least switch to decaf and cut back. Now I have 5 - 6 cups of 1/2 caf coffee a day. My favorite is a good Kona but with three kids (one in college) it's usually Folger's or Chock Full o'Nuts brewed in my little (4 cup) machine.

Now the Mrs. takes it with Splenda and half-and-half., Number one son like flavored coffee and number two takes after Dad - just black thank you.

Oh yeah, I have a mug that I "borrowed" from the Mess Hall at Fort Rucker almost 25 years ago that I still bring out. As silly as it sounds it is one of my prized possessions from 25-years Army service. It's white, heavy and has a slight flair. It's fits my hand perfectly - life is good. Excuse me while I pour myself one more cup...

 

[thebadmamajama]

...as tea.

 

[Smithy]

Coffee's a morning thing for me, 2 strong cups and then I drink tea for the rest of the day (and lots of it).

 

[carter]

When it's cooler, I'll make a fresh pot every morning and work on it all day. You know, almost everything tastes better with coffee, especially cranberry-orange scones.
OK, where's the baking thread?
Actually, I buy them at Starbucks.

 

[HamletJSD]

Ditto on the tea ... hot tea in the morning and iced the rest of the day, all black.
The exception being a weekly Friday morning breakfast with friends; during which I drink at least a pot of black "whatever the diner serves" coffee.

 

[BJBAmerica]

Don't drink coffe that often, but I do enjoy it....Particularly love semlling a pot being freshly brewed. We usually buy coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, both the pre-ground and the whole beans, and brew that back at our place.

Like Quigley Brown, I prefer my coffee sweet, and also like him enjoy the flavored creamers......French Vanilla is a favorite, and 'round the Christmas Holidays, especially love the Pepermint flavored creamer!

 

[Jovan]

I've become a snob since working at a coffee shop and learning all about it. Arabica beans only, please. Starbucks isn't 100%, and it shows. Yet they charge you the same or more as the other guys. No thanks! And yes, as the OP said, they roast their beans far too much. Probably because people will think it's "strong," which is a common misconception. Good coffee doesn't taste like charcoal.

Okay, all snobbery aside, I'm pretty simple. A bit of sugar and milk for me. I long for being able to make steamed milk for myself again.