Coffee Thread

[the Catfishman]

yeah, but in this case whiskey has half the amount of alcohol compared to wine

It was more a general statement, you often hear people say stuff like; Oh no, no espresso for me, I'll be hyper all day. Which is nonsense as normal coffee gives a bigger boost.

[yorost]

I grind fairly fresh whole bean and hand pour it with Chemex twice a day.  Those auto drips really fuck a cup of coffee up.  They make two cardinal sins that emphasize the bitter, bring hints of burnt, and waste coffee bean.  Drip by steam puts boiling water onto the grounds, which is too hot(it's a cheap way to automate the process).  They don't create a bath on the beans because it could cause an overflow, but this under extracts most of the grounds.  I buy probably half as much coffee to get a similar strength brew with hand pouring.   Once you start learning to successfully brew coffee yourself it gets hard to stomach the stuff most chains sell.

I buy fresh roasted whole bean coffee every month.   Really, once the bean gets two to three weeks past its roasting the quality period for brewing is gone.  I just don't like paying the shipping on too small orders.  The very best is within a day or maybe two of roasting.  That decline is always emphasized when I switch from the end of a month to the newly arrived orders.. I'm doing research into and shopping for a personal roaster as my next step for improving my coffee.  It's a hobby at this point, but a hobby with very tangible results.

...oh, and I love espresso.  Always thought it was vile until I was in Rome for a couple of weeks, then I started learning what it was all about.  I guess I still think it's often vile in North America.  Some time after I get my roaster I plan on getting a manual espresso machine, a steep learning experience as I understand it.

[wolfandwolfandwolf]

I really like a good a french press.  I just purchased a four cup press and it is just the right size.

On the subject of drip brewers, I can't stand them.  There's really no way to get the thing totally clean.

[yorost]

On that end, the Chemex is actually easier to clean and maintain than the automated machines.  It seems like hand pouring should be more work, but especially if you already grind for an auto drip I think it might actually be less work overall.  Brewing is fast and simple once you get the hang of it.

French press is good, I just prefer to have the filtered coffees.  Unfiltered (Frech press, Turkish coffee, etc.) doesn't remove some of the bad oils, and it doesn't really taste that better, to me anyways, once you start making quality filtered coffee.

[wolfandwolfandwolf]

Just did a Google of the Chemex.  I'm interested.

EDIT: Explain the difference between this and the pour-over if you don't mind...

[yorost]

Chemex is an aided pour over.  You get control over water temperature, how water is poured, etc., while the conical top piece is in place for you to do the brew.  The filter is different than standard paper filters to slow the water drainage down and allow the brew to happen in a big bath(he grinds go only in the neck area, but the brew happens in the entire cone).  It's a lot easier to master than unaided pour over styles, like cheese clothe hand pouring, which is a real mess and takes a lot of patience. ...and it might not be better, I completely quit doing that a few years ago because it was way too much work and I was woefully inconsistent.

The Chemex, once I mastered it(probably a month or two of testing different methods), is a consistent method that offers you the control over the variables in the brewing process.  If you spend a few hours after watching some online videos you can probably master it the same day you get it, I just wanted to try learning on my own.

[Rina]

Chemex is an aided pour over.  You get control over water temperature, how water is poured, etc., while the conical top piece is in place for you to do the brew.  The filter is different than standard paper filters to slow the water drainage down and allow the brew to happen in a big bath(he grinds go only in the neck area, but the brew happens in the entire cone).  It's a lot easier to master than unaided pour over styles, like cheese clothe hand pouring, which is a real mess and takes a lot of patience. ...and it might not be better, I completely quit doing that a few years ago because it was way too much work and I was woefully inconsistent.

The Chemex, once I mastered it(probably a month or two of testing different methods), is a consistent method that offers you the control over the variables in the brewing process.  If you spend a few hours after watching some online videos you can probably master it the same day you get it, I just wanted to try learning on my own.

Wow, sounds crazy, but fantastic if mastered. 

[yorost]

Really, it's not that crazy!   It's one of the single most popular methods of making coffee for coffee nuts, like myself.  Only the real coffee freaks look down on it, because they either a) look down on all methods, or b) think anything that doesn't take an hour to make and clean up is a disgrace to the world.

Fun video on how to use it: https://vimeo.com/6161817

...although some small hints that can help are missed.  No boiling water should be put on the grinds, roughly 200 degrees F is good, or just wait a second or two after the roll of the boiling water stops.  Boiling water is bad.  Divoting the grinds can help slow the drain if you have trouble with that.

[Kotowboy]

Costa > Caffe Nero > Starbucks > Instant.

[El Barto]

I grind fairly fresh whole bean and hand pour it with Chemex twice a day.  Those auto drips really fuck a cup of coffee up.  They make two cardinal sins that emphasize the bitter, bring hints of burnt, and waste coffee bean.  Drip by steam puts boiling water onto the grounds, which is too hot(it's a cheap way to automate the process).  They don't create a bath on the beans because it could cause an overflow, but this under extracts most of the grounds.  I buy probably half as much coffee to get a similar strength brew with hand pouring.   Once you start learning to successfully brew coffee yourself it gets hard to stomach the stuff most chains sell.

I buy fresh roasted whole bean coffee every month.   Really, once the bean gets two to three weeks past its roasting the quality period for brewing is gone.  I just don't like paying the shipping on too small orders.  The very best is within a day or maybe two of roasting.  That decline is always emphasized when I switch from the end of a month to the newly arrived orders.. I'm doing research into and shopping for a personal roaster as my next step for improving my coffee.  It's a hobby at this point, but a hobby with very tangible results.

...oh, and I love espresso.  Always thought it was vile until I was in Rome for a couple of weeks, then I started learning what it was all about.  I guess I still think it's often vile in North America.  Some time after I get my roaster I plan on getting a manual espresso machine, a steep learning experience as I understand it.

Why don't you buy a roaster and roast your own beans?  Cheaper, and it makes your place smell wonderful.

I'd love to go the chemex route,  my stepfather was a big proponent,  but the advantage of waking up to coffee already brewed wins out. 

[yorost]

Well, to be fair to me, what you quoted did have me saying I was planning on buying a roaster.  The price is holding me back because I'm still trying to learn about them and figure out what I want.  Dropping $500 on something I only think is probably what I want isn't viable right now.

[Elaitch]

I have never heard of a Chemex brewer before, and I don't consider myself a coffee newbie. But damn, I feel like an amateur now That thing seems amazing 

[El Barto]

Well, to be fair to me, what you quoted did have me saying I was planning on buying a roaster.  The price is holding me back because I'm still trying to learn about them and figure out what I want.  Dropping $500 on something I only think is probably what I want isn't viable right now.

My bad.  Literacy is not my strong suit.

[SinTrade]

I have a burr grinder and Aeropress. Aeropress costs around 30$ and makes a great cup of coffee. I also have a french press and a moka pot, but I hardly use those.

[Cyclopssss]

Cofee, YES! One of life-necessities. I used to take it with milk and sugar, but I've cut back on the sugar...(yeah right, let's NOT start a Chocolate-thread okaY??)

Funny thing is, at work I take it wih cream, at home I don't....mmmm...

[jcmistat]

Took too many shots of espresso this morning. 8 total. Bad idea.

[Rina]

Took too many shots of espresso this morning. 8 total. Bad idea.

Ooh, been there done that. Let the shakiness commence!

[SystematicThought]

Took too many shots of espresso this morning. 8 total. Bad idea.

Let the bathroom trips begin. And not #1's

[yorost]

Took too many shots of espresso this morning. 8 total. Bad idea.

Let the bathroom trips begin. And not #1's

Face it, your septic system is inferior.

[SystematicThought]

  8 shots of espresso would destroy the plumbing

[jcmistat]

Took too many shots of espresso this morning. 8 total. Bad idea.

Ooh, been there done that. Let the shakiness commence!

I'm not actually shaking or amped at all. I feel like I have a hangover and want to crash. Don't know why I did it, same thing happened a few months ago.

[Rina]

Took too many shots of espresso this morning. 8 total. Bad idea.

Ooh, been there done that. Let the shakiness commence!

I'm not actually shaking or amped at all. I feel like I have a hangover and want to crash. Don't know why I did it, same thing happened a few months ago.

Ah, I'm very small so I get super shaky after having a few cups of coffee/some espresso. 

[MetalMike06]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PcoMrwEa5o

[Ħ]

I've gotten food poisoning about three times from having coffee on an empty stomach. I deal with coffee perfectly well if something's in my belly though. Does this happen to anyone else?

[SystematicThought]

I've gotten food poisoning about three times from having coffee on an empty stomach. I deal with coffee perfectly well if something's in my belly though. Does this happen to anyone else?

Not food poisoning, but a really bad stomach ache and cramps

[Rina]

I've gotten food poisoning about three times from having coffee on an empty stomach. I deal with coffee perfectly well if something's in my belly though. Does this happen to anyone else?

Not food poisoning, but a really bad stomach ache and cramps

Ooh, rarely, but sometimes if your stomach is empty it can be awful.

[wolfandwolfandwolf]

I'm learning slowly that if I don't eat something before I go to work, I will have a terrible stomach ache.  I'm trying coffee a lot during the work day, and it makes me very queasy.

Buh.

[Ultimetalhead]

I quite enjoy the flavored lattes from Starbucks, the seasonal gingerbread one being my favorite. I don't need it in the morning though. Most of my Starbucks runs occur in the afternoon after I've had a shitty day.

[Jamesman42]

I haven't had coffee or caffeine in quite a while. Went to the gas station and got some of the Colombian strong stuff, mixed with equal parts milk. Fuck I am so ALIVE right now

[TempusVox]

While I was growing up, my matriarchal grandparents house was the central gathering place for my family. Various family members would breeze in and out each day at various times. My grandmother would brew a pot of coffee in the morning, which was usually quickly consumed, and then would brew a second pot. This second pot would sit in the percolator allllllll day; hot and ready for the next person to drop by and share a cup or two with her. After dinner, she would normally brew a fresh pot. It was the second pot of coffee that I usually wound up drinking from when I got older. Typically on the days I stopped by, it was already afternoon, and that coffee was strong enough to raise a dead horse. I would pour a cup, and then add cream to it. I like a lot of cream in my coffee. When I was in high school, my grandfather once said I drank coffee like a "Creole woman." I was ready to get defensive, but he smiled, leaned over, and out of earshot of my grandmother said "Creole women usually have long dark hair, and wild green eyes, and their skin looks like a cup of coffee with just a little bit too much cream in it. Just like your coffee." I was stunned. My ultra conservative, very Christian grandfather had a little bit of jungle fever in him, as did I (of course I love all races and nationalities of women...who am I kidding?    Hell, maybe that was PawPaws way of saying he did too!  ), and although I am married to a blonde...I've always been partial to dark, strong, wild, and mysterious, and my "creole coffee". 

[FlamTap]

Keurig Espresso Blend....delicious

[nightmare_cinema]

I really love decent coffee, though I'm one of those people who like a coffee to be like a dessert, syrupy sweet, full soya latte, sugar and the works. I drink black instant with no sugar at work just for something to do but I prefer Costa coffee, a chain we have in the UK. Starbucks tastes like crap to me, it's the most expensive, and it just tastes sub standard so I avoid it when I can. Costa coffee actually tastes lovely even without syrup or sugar, I've been dieting lately so my drink of choice is a regular soya latte with sugar free vanilla or caramel syrup, mmm... I often do decaf too, as I'm not bothered about the caffeine in it, I just like the taste, so I'm one of those annoying people who say 'regular decaf soya sugar free caramel syrup latte, please'. But I really do want all of those things lol, it just looks like I'm being pretentious/annoying.

[Ħ]

How does caffeine affect exercise?

And if you are training for a long distance event, will breaking off a caffeine habit be helpful, in that you respond more greatly to caffeine effects if you need a shot of energy in the middle of the event?

[jasc15]

Bump

I've had a single cup french press for a while and have been trying to use it seriously for the last few weeks.  I have a grinder and have been purchasing whole beans from a roaster near by.  I've been recording all the variables for each cup I make, and comparing the results.  I record:

Amount of coffee (I use 3 tablespoons or beans.  Imprecise, but I don't feel like buying a scale)
Grind number (one setting coarser than I use for drip)
Amount of water (the press barely holds 12 ounces and I fill it)
Water Temperature (see below)
Pour half of water over grounds, stir, and sit for 1 minute
Pour rest of water and record total time (I've found 4:30 is the best time I've used)

Reading about french press coffee, it seems 195-205 deg F is the best temperature, but I can barely get 190.  I know my thermometer works because it reads 212 in the boiling kettle, but as soon as I pour the temperature drops to nearly 180.  I can't imagine it loses that much heat just by pouring, but the steam does contain a lot of heat.  Is there some other technique to actually keep the brew temperature high?  Even if I managed to pour it at 200, my press is not insulated, nor is any other that I know of.

[yorost]

That's the target temp for hot brewing most coffees, for successful extraction without burning the bean. Avoiding cool down is an interesting question, it's bound to happen and I think most guides are referring to the initial pour. I can't recall ever reading about controlling the cool down rate to modify a brew, wonder how the impact is.

Anyways, use a larger sprout and pour closer to the container to maintain heat. If you know you lose 5 degrees try starting 5 degrees hotter. Remember it is always about taste, experimenting is good. Even betterr if you can do side by side comparisons.