Coffee Anyone?

[TomTerrific]

Wonderful thread and another great example that tastes vary.

The best coffee in these parts is from Highland Coffees at the Gates of LSU. Clarke opened the place about 20y ago and buys only premium beans. I used to have my favorite varietal beans and buy only them, but now I purchase whatever has been most recently roasted. My favorites are the African Ethiopian, Yirgacheffe and Harrar, and a good Kenyan AA. A previous poster mentioned that his prices are high, but you are getting a real pound, not 12 or 13oz. Most of his single bean varietals are good. There are a couple I don't care for and the really good ones vary by vintage. The American coffee I like best Terrazu la Minita.

Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain are not the coffees they were a couple of decades ago. A hurricane did some real damage to JBM and it really hasn't recovered. Kona is diluted in order to generate more beans that can be sold at a premium. That said, they are still excellent coffees but not what they used to be.

When I can't get by Highland Coffees, I buy it at Whole Foods. They roast their's but it seems to me it doesn't have the zing that Highland's do. Their bean quality is lower.

The best coffee maker I ever had was the Bodum vacuum one, but I couldn't get them to last more than 18mo. I went thru three of them and they don't make them any more. I use a Hamilton Beach, 75g freshly ground plus 1,500ml of water gives the strength I like, strong but not bitter with no sweetener nor cream. That works out to 2.6oz per cup (8fl oz) water. If I'm making it just for me, I use a French press, same coffee/water ratio. They tell me the best brewing temp is 195-200deg F.

There is nothing in Baton Rouge water to filter out. They zap it with a little bit of chlorine in the summer months to avoid algae growth in the lines but it is clean enough not to require purification. NO water on the other hand . . . .

 

[dantheman]

These coffee threads turn into a contest of who can pretend to be the biggest coffee connoisseur .

 

[JustinB]

The real question is "How does everyone store their coffee?" If you buy the actual beans keep the beans in the freezer until grinding (preferably grind them in a burr grinder and only grind what you are going to use that day) Also, only buy what you can use in about two weeks or so. Keep in a vacuum sealed container.

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

The best coffee maker I ever had was the Bodum vacuum one, but I couldn't get them to last more than 18mo. I went thru three of them and they don't make them any more. I use a Hamilton Beach, 75g freshly ground plus 1,500ml of water gives the strength I like, strong but not bitter with no sweetener nor cream. That works out to 2.6oz per cup (8fl oz) water. If I'm making it just for me, I use a French press, same coffee/water ratio. They tell me the best brewing temp is 195-200deg F.

Heh, this first picture is one I have that belonged to my grandmother. The second is my newest purchase and I have a Cafe Novocento that will be headed to eBay soon. I also have a special edition, 1954 model Cory percolator and a smattering of drip pots and a couple of crappy single serve pod machines destine for the trashcan...

 

[BayouSlide]

French Zimbabwe coffee beans, ground fresh each morning. Ordered from Seven Hills Coffee in Cincinnati. Buy about 10# and store in the freezer until needed.

 

[bayouteche85]

I don't drink a whole lot of coffee at home, so I don't mind paying their prices. The best is the "La Tasse Cajun". Also, the breakfast blend hits you pretty hard and gets you going after the first cup, so smooth! Roasted right here in Breaux Bridge. Give them a try.

http://www.babyscoffee.com/shop-coffee.html

 

[my-rifle]

My wife drinks coffee brewed in a cafetera - one of those angular Spanish coffee pots that looks like two 1950s Hollywood triangular spaceships connected at the narrow ends.

The water steams up through the grinds into the reservoir at the top, and it really gets ALL the flavor out of the coffee. The only thing is that the grinds MUST be ground to dust. It increases the surface area, and allows you to get all the flavor out of the beans.

I started drinking Colombian coffee as well as a few other coffees, and I found that the way you make the coffee has more to do with the flavor than the coffee itself does.

 

[W1nds0rF0x]

My wife drinks coffee brewed in a cafetera - one of those angular Spanish coffee pots that looks like two 1950s Hollywood triangular spaceships connected at the narrow ends.

The water steams up through the grinds into the reservoir at the top, and it really gets ALL the flavor out of the coffee. The only thing is that the grinds MUST be ground to dust. It increases the surface area, and allows you to get all the flavor out of the beans.

I started drinking Colombian coffee as well as a few other coffees, and I found that the way you make the coffee has more to do with the flavor than the coffee itself does.

Yep, that's a Moka pot, it makes espresso similar to the huge thing in my picture above.

 

[posse comatosis]

Lower Ninth Ward Brew, rue de la course, n'awlins. Not really all that good, kind of robust and bitter at the same time. But hey, it's the lower ninth ward.

 

[Mjolnir]

Wonderful thread and another great example that tastes vary.

The best coffee in these parts is from Highland Coffees at the Gates of LSU. Clarke opened the place about 20y ago and buys only premium beans.

Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain are not the coffees they were a couple of decades ago. A hurricane did some real damage to JBM and it really hasn't recovered. Kona is diluted in order to generate more beans that can be sold at a premium. That said, they are still excellent coffees but not what they used to be.

Love the atmosphere and I really like Clarke. It was my spot everytime I'd come home for Christmas. I still prefer to go there doing a dreary, rainy day. something about the atmosphere I guess (and the coffee and desserts are great).

Yes, the majority of the JBM you get now is a blend but who could/can afford the straight stuff anyways??? I am not a connisseur of fine anything (well, fine sports cars, fine women and fine 1911s notwithstanding ) and I have had the good fortune of having real JBM every weekend for about 2 yrs and the stuff is ambrosia for someone who doesn't really like the bitterness of coffee (that would be me).

 

[Cat]

I can't say much about coffee snobs. Spec asked me yesterday if $20 for two ounces of green tea is a lot. NOPE! Not for the right leaves picked at the right time.

I'll drink coffee sludge but there is an art form to tea. And tea bags are just a bloody travesty.

 

[jailhouse]

I enjoy community coffee as well. I like the Between roast and the Dark roast. Every now and then I drink some with Cafe Du Monde chickory coffee. I enjoy that as well. That Blue mountain coffee I have never tried but at that price with how much I drink I don't want to try it.

On average I am a pot a day guy. Somtimes two pots. I like mine with a little bit of fat free cream (seems like an oxymoron) and no sugar or one sugar (the real stuff)

And I use only filter water like was suggested above. I can really taste the difference. I am going to move towards a french press or percolator one of these days but you can't beat the convenience of a coffee pot with a timer. It is nice waking up to a fresh pot already made.

I thought about joining a coffee forum because I don't know much but I enjoy the taste of coffee a great deal. I don't really know how to describe the taste however so I can't explain to individuals what I like so I can get suggestions. Taste is a unique sense to describe...... It just never comes out correctly

I enjoy this as well!

 

[troy_mclure]

i learned the pleasures of coffee in seattle, THE coffee capital of the usa.

ive had Kopi luwak= tastes like old community, blue mountain= some good stuff, kick ass kona= better than blue mountain.

i have paid $30/cup for coffee in my quest to have the best coffee ever. ive been on "coffee tours" of the seattle coffee shops. so im a pretty good judge of good coffee.

and community is dang near the BOTTOM of the list! just above 8'o' clock coffee.

if i can find it localy i buy tullys, its made in seattle.

if not a decent local coffee is mello joy, its not great but its better than community.

i make my coffee with an areobie aeropress, http://aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm it makes a real smooth and strong cup of coffee.

 

[dantheman]

and community is dang near the BOTTOM of the list!

That would be YOUR list .

 

[bearfutedninja]

i cant do the coffee either i rather a cup of tea any day it doesnt give me the shits

 

[irishredhead]

As a college student i practically live on coffee. lol. and community is the way 2 go! and if i dont have that. i hit up starbucks since its like 5 mins from campus

 

[posse comatosis]

I like to take a nose hit on fresh ground coffee before bedtime. Great motivator to get my ass out of bed the next morning.

 

[dwr461]

We have not even discussed. Unless I missed all the different methods of making coffee. Remember as the italians said, the beans, the grind, the brew are all equally important. For example if I buy $50/lbs coffee and run it through an automatic drip machine with a paper filter I should've just bought $5/lb community. You just removed all the oils from the coffee and took a lot of the taste from it.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Express-3-Cup-Stovetop-Espresso/dp/B0000CF3Q6/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1282446654&sr=8-11[/ame]

The above is sold in america as an espresso maker but any coffee is better it in. The french press. The vacuum coffee brewer.

Dave

 

[curdog77]

I like community dark roast but while on vacation this summer in missouri I really enjoyed a brand called Canes! Good coffee !

 

[TomTerrific]

We have not even discussed. Unless I missed all the different methods of making coffee. Remember as the italians said, the beans, the grind, the brew are all equally important. For example if I buy $50/lbs coffee and run it through an automatic drip machine with a paper filter I should've just bought $5/lb community. You just removed all the oils from the coffee and took a lot of the taste from it.

The flavor change when you quit using paper filters is remarkable.

http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Expr...?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1282446654&sr=8-11

The above is sold in america as an espresso maker but any coffee is better it in. The french press. The vacuum coffee brewer.

Dave

That makes 3-2oz servings and would hardly wet my whistle.

Is it easy to tell when the water has perked to the top? I assume they have larger sizes. I use 1.5l of water or about 50oz.