Coffee...what do you like?

[adina]

Since I've given up lattes, I've been experimenting with different coffees, trying to find the one I like best.

Right now, I'm drinking an organic Sumatra from Alterra, which is a Milwaukee based company. It's really really good, unless I find something better, this is what I'm sticking with.

I got a pound of Peets Sumatra from a client of mine, we were talking about coffee, she orders it online and has it shipped in, that was really good as well. However, in case of emergency, the nearest Alterra is about 20 minutes from me, so I can run out and get a bag if need be. Easy acess is a considering factor.

Tried the Starbucks, didn't really like that at all, I tried a couple different kinds, nothing really stood out. Whatever brand it is Whole Foods uses was okay. We did bring home some Jamican Blue Mountain (I think that's what it's called) when we were there in April, but I gave it to my mom, so never tried it.

Anyone? I'm thinking this Alterra is going to be hard to beat.

[Xia_Ke]

Jamaican Blue Mountain is very good. Gevalia's Peruvian Organic has been my favorite for a while now. Though lately I find myself drinking Maxwell House because coffee was one of the budget items I cut to help pay for film

[shutterman]

I like the way it smells, but the way it tastes.........ugh. Give me Diet Coke and Iced Tea (non sweet) any day!

[another view]

What do I like? A lot, and don't water it down with that cream and sugar stuff...

I've bought a lot from Cafe Campesino and really liked everything. Not a fan of Starbucks.

I don't know what they serve at Red Cup on Washington Island (Door County) but like they say, it's Killer Coffee. A bit of a journey to get there, but well worth the trip.

[mjs1973]

It's VERY rare that I will even touch the stuff. When I do have a cup, I have to add so much french vanilla creamer that it almost looks like milk. If I can taste the coffee, there isn't enuf creamer in it!!!

My wife is a big fan of Antiqua from Gevalia. She had some Jamaican Blue Mt. coffee we picked up on our honeymoon, but she wasn't impressed.

Amy has been a big fan of the latte's she would get at the local gas stations, but the machines were never set up the same. One day she would get a great one, the next, it would be crap, and that is from the same store. Throw in 3 separate stores, and your chances of getting a good one were about the same as winning the lottery. Just this month the removed all of the latte machines from their stores because they had so many problems with them.

[another view]

If I can taste the coffee, there isn't enuf creamer in it!!!

:yikes: Sorry, this post will be deducted from your count.

[mn shutterbug]

I'm not particular as long as it's flavored and high in caffeine.

[MJS]

I'm fine with the Starbucks Sumatra since I can get ity without any problem.

[Frog]

Black and hot. Starbucks is bitter but Seattle's best is ok.

[GB1]

Believe it or Not, but I find that 7-11's coffee is the best for me. I can't stand a lot of the oddball coffees coming out now. Starbucks' taste bitter to me.

[Sushigaijin]

I really have no problem with cheap, black coffee. I drink so much of the swill anyway that the caffeine content is almost more important than flavor, and cheap coffee has more caffeine in it than designer coffee. (look up robusto and arabica for more explanation.)

I find starbucks to be over-roasted and usually bitter, but one cup isn't bad. I'll usually go to a local shop over starbucks though, despite the local "Intelligentsia" brand lacking umph.

As far as regions go, it's all a crapshoot. Sumatra, costa rica, jamaica, and all the other coffee producing regions are big places and grow a lot of coffee, some is better than others. Eventually I think that these places will become apellations like wine regions, which isn't a bad idea. If I'm gunna pay top dollar for "jamaican blue mountain" coffee, it better be good beans from a good growing region and not just the shake that falls to the bottom of the barrel and is marketed to tourists and in grocery stores.

It is amazing the difference the geography makes, even in a few hundred feet of distance. A southern facing slope grows different coffee than the same plants on a northern facing slope, and I bet the age of the trees effects flavor also. Then, the roasting process changes the way the coffee tastes too - this is similar to wine styles, where traditionally the different coffee producers style the beans in different ways. This is why sumatra is almost always a blonde bean compared to italian roast.

Having some kind of consortium or governing body to regulate what can be called "jamaicain blue mountain," or "Kona," or even "Costa Rica" or "Sumatra" would greatly help high-quality coffee producers get their product to market. I hate to see more government ANYWHERE, but at least I know EXACTLY what is in a Burgundy wine, and I have a pretty solid idea of exactly what I shoud expect it to taste like. Just to say "french" wine seems terribly inspecific.

Edit: I can't remember specifically, but I seem to recall that Kona coffee only has to contain something like 10% kona beans and that is why people are usually unimpressed. Go figure.

[walterick]

Never had a cup in my life.

[adina]

Nobody asked you, Rick.

[Didache]

Look out for "Old Brown Java" (serious coffee importers will know what you mean). Like most Asian coffees (including Sumatra) Java is deep, rich, chocolatey, earthy. In the old days they had to send it on a long ship journey - they used it as ballast and it took 9 months. These days they just keep it in a warehouse for that period before roasting - it is more winey and complex than young coffees and absolutely wonderful.

Cheers
Mike

[drg]

How do you prepare your Coffee?

Drip (glass of course) and Melitta style or pump style?
Vacuum.
Espresso.
Percolator.
French Press (my current favorite)
Direct to insulated carafe?

Filtered, distilled, bottled, de-ionized, or tap water?

Do you vacuum seal your beans, freeze them, thaw them, or just keep them in glass or mirror finished stainless??

Grinder- blade or mill? A manual crusher is anoter option.

There always Maxwell House in a blue cowboy coffee pot on the fire. Not for the timid.

The coffees from Columbia that come from mid-altitude in low to moderate shade and are dark roasted are my favorite drinking coffees. Sumatran in very light roasts (very high caffeine) are good 'spikers' when blending your own beans to grind.

A fresh French Roast grind added to your freshly ground beans in a ratio of 1:4 (FR:your beans) adds a nice flavor to accompany gelatto's or other dessert items.

Cup's empty, need more . . .

[adina]

wow, you are the official PR.com coffee expert!

I'm using a french press, when I buy the beans, they ground them for me at the coffee shop. I used to freeze it, but now I keep them in the bag in the pantry. Sometimes filtered water, sometimes tap, depending on how awake I am.

All this new info...off to make coffee!

[MJS]

Charcoal filtered through the fridge door, I change the filter every month, drip since I don't have to think and kept in an airtight canister in the fridge. A regular cup for breakfast and a travel mug to go on the way to school does it for me.

[Jimmy B]

I buy my beans from costco Starbucks esspresso beans 2# bag. 8 scoops ground and made in a drip machine.
In the past at work we did what we had to do as seen in picture. The coffee pot is on the vise on the right and Rob fired the torch up! Rob lost his life this past summer in a plane crash, He was a creative smart person.
Jimmy B

[Skyman]

My Local (and favourite) coffe shop calls there special blend the "Jumping Llama Blend" they have a drink called the socrates, which is 6 shots of espresso, which you have 10 minutes to drink. if you can do it you get your photo up in their hall of fame. I am up there twice. As well as doing the normal coffees, they do a lot of blended novelty drinks. my two personal favourites are the "Keltic grog" a marbled concoction of cold espresso, milk, irish cream and ice, that is served in a glass "chalice" and the Irish roulette, the drink i order when i don't know what i want. they ask you to pick a number and depending on the placement of the syrup bottles and the number you pick you get a hot layered mocha with 2 or three of there syrups. definately not for the faint hearted, a mint and strawberry mocha is not for any other than the serious caffeine addict!
did i mention that they also have great live music and a gallery that is increasingly selling great works from the best local photographers.

[ciddog91]

As a midnight working stiff, I drink coffee from pretty much anywhere. I really like Tim Horton's and 7-11 does well. Starbucks is bitter to me, but I will drink it if it is the only one around. My fav is just regular old gas station coffee that is strong. I drink it with cream and sugar. My philosophy is if it looks like my Harley oil and tastes like it, it is good coffee...

Jimmy, I am sorry to hear about Rob, I too lost 2 friends in a plane crash a few years back.

Phil

[walterick]

Hey, that sounded mean

[Frog]

I buy whatever says 'columbian' at the store, put 3 scoops in my old coffeepot that's never known soap, put it on the stove,(electric), turn it on high, when it starts perking good I turn the burner off, when it stops perking its done and I pour a half cup because if I pour a whole cup its too cool by the time I get to the end.

[Medley]

100% Kona beans, imported from Hawaii, slow roasted in a home roaster, mill ground just before being used, filtered water, and a gold plated filter (no joke- it reduces acidity).

Is my "Pacific Northwestness" showing?

- Joe U.

[GirchyGirchy]

Is my "Pacific Northwestness" showing?

Nah, just your appreciation for good coffee...I'm from central IN and prepare mine in a similar fashion.

Everyone on here should start roasting their own beans. Run out to Goodwill and find you a hot-air popcorn popper (of the correct type...use Sweet Maria's website for details), order some green beans from Sweet Maria's, and in about ten minutes, you've got some fresh roasted beans cooling in a jar and everything's cleaned up and put away.

I used to hate coffee because I, too, enjoyed the smell but hated the taste. My home roasted beans taste how they smell....fresh, clean, with no bitterness. It's the only way to go. Plus, it's cheaper than buying store-roasted beans.

[another view]

Rob lost his life this past summer in a plane crash, He was a creative smart person.

Sorry to hear, sounds like he was a neat guy. This reminds me of stories from construction guys cooking lunch on the equipment's engine or cooking a whole salmon in a dishwasher (no soap, please).

Back to coffee - I couldn't remember exactly how this works, but from Farmer's Almanac:

"According to weather lore, coffee supposedly can foretell what type of weather is in store for you. There is a belief that if the bubbles of coffee collect in the center of your cup, you can expect fair weather. If they adhere to the cup, forming a ring, you should expect rain. If they separate without assuming any fixed pattern, changeable weather should be on its way."

Of course you have to be outside for this to work... It has to do with barometric pressure and how it affects the surface tension on the top of the cup.