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View Full Version : Are you a coffee fanatic



John Christian
02-26-2011, 10:41 AM
How do you make your coffee? What equipment do you use ? What coffee do you prefer? I use a Black and Decker burr grinder that is okay, i have some issues with its durability and also with it jamming and needing cleaning. I have a Bodum 12 cup French press that does the trick and a plastic but glass lined thermal carafe that i am thinking of replacing. the pour mechanism is broken and I don't like its capacity or its look it was the only one that was in the store i was in at the time. Looking for discussion and recommendations. I am currently grinding Starbucks Italian from Costco.

Rich Konopka
02-26-2011, 10:48 AM
We use a Keurig and Green Mountain Coffee for on the go. My daughter is a p/t barista at a local coffee shop where they roast their own beans. She has told me that there are different methods for grinding coffee based on how it is to be brewed. She brings home 1/2 lb of coffee ground for a Bodum French Press. You cannot go wrong for the ultimate cup with a French Press. She has indicated to us that you need to let the coffee sit in the French Press for a minimum of 4 minutes to get the best the french press has to offer.

Cheers

Ken Fitzgerald
02-26-2011, 11:45 AM
I drink coffee from 5 minutes after I get out of bed until 5 minutes before I go to bed.

I have often said with the love a good woman and good cup of coffee, life is good!

My preference for coffee is pretty mundane....I drink a weak cup of Folgers and use a Bunn coffee maker.

Charlie Reals
02-26-2011, 12:06 PM
I drink coffee from 5 minutes after I get out of bed until 5 minutes before I go to bed.

I have often said with the love a good woman and good cup of coffee, life is good!

My preference for coffee is pretty mundane....I drink a weak cup of Folgers and use a Bunn coffee maker.

Sounds like you got stuck on dog watch coffee lol. Good stuff, you betcha I have a cup somewhere near all the time.

Joe Angrisani
02-26-2011, 12:14 PM
I'm not a fanatic, but I sure like a tasty cup of coffee. I don't have it everyday, but when I do, I like it strong/rich/full-bodied (whatever they're calling it these days). So thick you can walk across it. And you have to eat the last quarter inch. Well, almost. Tons of flavor.

Yummy!!

It's like the morning version of wine.....

Jim Koepke
02-26-2011, 1:33 PM
I have been drinking Peet's Coffee's Major Dickason's blend almost exclusively for about 20 years.

I like a strong cup.

I was kind of like Ken in always having a coffee cup close at hand. Then when I was working my rule came down to no coffee after about 4 pm. Now in retirement, I try to keep it down to only a little more than half a large pot a day.

Kind of like a car I used to own. Use a quart a day even if I don't go anywhere.

I was thinking of copying in the text from the description of Major Dickason's blend, but thought it might have copyright issues. Here is the page with the descriptions of Peet's coffees:

http://www.peetscoffee.com/explore/index.php?cm_re=topnav-_-link2-_-text&cm_sp=coffees-_-topnav-_-text

jtk

David Helm
02-26-2011, 11:01 PM
I have a burr grinder and a midrange $400+ espresso machine. The coffee is shade grown organic fair traded (that way the workers get a fair break for their work). Sometimes I go to an independent espresso shop that uses a very old copper machine where the barrista actually pulls the shots by hand. Incidently, I don't put any adulterants in my coffee. Straight espresso only.

Jim Davenport
02-26-2011, 11:18 PM
Twenty years in the Navy gave me an addiction to coffee.
Like Ken I don't need fancy designer coffee's. I buy either folgers, or maxwellhouse, which ever is on sale. There's usually a cup close at hand in the shop.
Nothing better than watching a beautiful Florida sunrise with a good cup of coffee!!

Joe Mioux
02-27-2011, 3:19 AM
Pretty much like Ken... Folgers or Maxwell house through a Bunn coffee machine. We do have a grinder and we sometimes grind some other types. I can easily finish off a pot in no time, however, I try not to do that anymore. During the work week, I can bring in a cup coffee, set it down at 8 am and find it back at 4 and continue drinking it. Yes its cold.

My staff cringes as they see me drinking day old coffee.

joel nucifore
02-27-2011, 4:59 AM
I also grind, my pot is old don't know name but love DUNKIN, right now mixing dunkin wholebean regular with there esspreso whole bean..

Tim Livingston
02-27-2011, 5:51 AM
I did my time in the Navy and drank coffee there. Now a days I only drink coffee at work, if I take two weeks vacation that's two weeks without coffee but at work I'll drink a pot by myself on the nightshift. Like Ken and the others, I'm not fussy, just don't like it burnt.

Chris Kennedy
02-27-2011, 6:28 AM
Definitely a coffee fanatic. I prefer espresso over all other methods of brewing. I had a $200 Gaggia, but it needs servicing. The pump is not working like it should, but it is a great machine when it is working. My second favorite espresso maker are the little stove top ones. Those are really nice, and not particularly expensive.

Peet's makes good coffee, and if you can get the type you want locally, it is a decent price. I couldn't, and ordering it on-line can start to get pricey. I am currently drinking the Italian roast from World Market/Cost Plus and really enjoy it.

Cheers,

Chris

Tim Morton
02-27-2011, 6:38 AM
i used to be a coffee fanatic, but have recently switched to being an espresso fanatic. I just love it...so much fund finding fresh beans, and dialing in the perfect grind...nothing beats it in my opinion. I started talking to my daughter last year about espresso machines and how i was doing research and thought i was really going to buy one, but that i was finding the idea pretty overwhelming. Well Christmas morning, and she wakes me up with a large box and a smile. Yes my daughter bought me an espresso machine. It was the best present ever and i think about her every morning when i am using it. :-)

Jeff Caskie
02-27-2011, 6:47 AM
Fresh roasted (un-artificially flavored) beans are a must for great coffee (look for roasted date stamp). Living in CA you should have a number of local places to choose from. Very few coffee machines get hot enough to extract the best coffee. There are a few out there though. Other methods are time/labor intensive such as vac-pot, French press, aeropress etc....but they produce great results. My favorite method for the past few years has been the aeropress. A great resource for anything coffee is coffeegeek dot com and for coffee related items is sweet marias dot com. If you really get the itch... the next step is roasting your own beans...

Mike Cutler
02-27-2011, 6:55 AM
I use a Kitchen Aid Burr Grinder, and a Krups Mocha Brewmaster.
Beans are usually a Yemen Italian, or an Italian Sumatra. Every now an then an Ethiopian Yrgacheffe is nice.

Glenn Clabo
02-27-2011, 9:02 AM
We are coffee lovers...and have tried a number of ways to make it. These days we have gone with the expensive but for us worth it...Jura-Capresso Impressa F9 Fully Automatic Coffee and Espresso Center...and LOVE it. It makes all the forms we like. Me... espresso or americano...her deanship... cappuccino/macchiato. We have pretty much settled on Italian coffee...LavAzza or Illy. We subscribe through Amazon for 2 Lavazza Super Crema Espresso Whole Bean Coffee, 2.2-Pound Bags per month which gets us in a little cheaper.

Shawn Pixley
02-27-2011, 9:44 AM
LOML and I are coffee afficiandos. I generally prefer a strong, very high quality drip over espresso, but have been known to indulge. We use a burr grinder right before brewing. Brewing at home is either our capresso drip machine, french press, or a small stovetop espresso pot. The capresso was chosen because it has the best water temperature control and setpoint for drip. This is a key to good coffee. I generally don't have coffee after 10 am anymore. Judging from Glenn's comments above we share similar tastes.

I just got back from brazil yesterday and got hooked on cafezinho while I was in Sao Paulo. There is coffee strong enough to defend itself.

Brian Kent
02-27-2011, 10:13 AM
Alfred Peet is to gourmet coffee making in America as Sam Maloof is to creative woodworking.

Grind dark roast beans 8 seconds. Place in French Press. Pour water just off boil. Wait 4 minutes. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Eric DeSilva
02-27-2011, 10:22 AM
Pasquini Moka burr grinder and Salvatore semi-auto espresso machine, beans come from a local roaster, Misha's. Pretty much drink Americanos only. Also keep an ibrik, french press, and Moka vacuum pot for variety. And a toddy for cold coffee extract for the summertime.

Greg Peterson
02-27-2011, 10:47 AM
Out here in the NW, we know how to start and end the day better than most regions. I don't believe for a minute that anywhere else in this country one has a selection of fine coffee and beers on par with what we have here.

Starbucks is to coffee what MacDonalds is to hamburgers. There are so many small, local roasters out here that you have to actually try to find a bad cup of coffee.

Now then, how do YOU drink your coffee? I drink mine black. And I don't don't do coffee based drinks like latte's or espresso's. Call me a coffee fundamentalist.

David Helm
02-27-2011, 10:59 AM
Out here in the NW, we know how to start and end the day better than most regions. I don't believe for a minute that anywhere else in this country one has a selection of fine coffee and beers on par with what we have here.

Starbucks is to coffee what MacDonalds is to hamburgers. There are so many small, local roasters out here that you have to actually try to find a bad cup of coffee.

Now then, how do YOU drink your coffee? I drink mine black. And I don't don't do coffee based drinks like latte's or espresso's. Call me a coffee fundamentalist.

+ a big one! I just got back from Ohio (sister in law funeral). Most of the coffee there was just "ruined water". On the drive back to Columbus airport from Dayton I took a detour to Yellow Springs (a hotbed of radical hippies who just love coffee) to the only real espresso shop around. The owner trained in Seattle. Bought a 4 shot Americano and drove the rest of the way happy!

Pat Germain
02-27-2011, 1:49 PM
I have a Cuisinart which is, by far, the best coffee maker I've ever owned. I paid over $100 for it. Of course, whithin weeks, everyone dropped the price. You can now get the same coffee maker at Costco for under $60. Water is a big part of how coffee tastes. While Colorado Springs water is very good, the built-in filter in the Cuisinart still helps. It's a small, charcoal unit that just drops into the bottom of the reservoir.

And speaking of Costco, their Kirkland brand 100% Colombian coffee is amazingly good! It's more expensive than Folger's, but not nearly as pricey as many other brands.

Matt Meiser
02-27-2011, 2:08 PM
I have a mid-price espresso machine which I use to make a mocha every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon. I use a Krups burr grinder and the Starbucks French Roast beans from Costco. We also have a Keurig machine and buy several different types of K-cups. And I have the filter to use my own which mostly gets used around the holidays when Starbucks has the Holiday Blend.

We've been using bottled water for the past few weeks due to our well troubles and I've noticed the taste is better. Its convinced me we need to get an RO system.

Pat, isn't that coffee the one that is Kirkland/Starbucks co-branded?

Pat Germain
02-27-2011, 2:58 PM
Pat, isn't that coffee the one that is Kirkland/Starbucks co-branded?

The Kirkland coffee is distributed by a Seattle company. But I don't know if there's a Starbucks affilliation. There's no mention of Starbucks on the can.

Russ Filtz
02-27-2011, 3:01 PM
Supposedly the best two consumer level machines for correct brewing temp are the Jura Capresso and Technivorm Mochamaster.

If you like strong coffee (or just a smoother brew), resist the urge to buy dark roast (burnt) or simply adding more grounds. You need to add more coffee AND increase the grind size. You need to experiment as there's a fine balance between just right and under/over extracting the grounds (which means bitterness). The worst would be fine grind and too LITTLE coffee in the brewer, would be way bitter.

Jim Becker
02-27-2011, 7:42 PM
I have a very nice semi-pro espresso machine to make my daily lattés. I grind with a burr grinder and only what I need to make the drink with so whole beans remain in an air-tight container until the next use. While my machine was about the same cost as a very nice cabinet saw...it's paid for itself several times over in the years I have owned it. I started out with lesser machines, but they didn't last very long and ended up being sunk cost, rather than good investments like this machine was.

I generally use Starbucks Sumatra beans, but also like their "Komodo Dragon" blend on occasion. I have not found any locally sourced beans that I like at this point.

Matt Meiser
02-27-2011, 7:50 PM
Jim, your Starbucks beans might be fairly local. They've got a roasting plant in York.

Mac McQuinn
02-27-2011, 10:07 PM
I'm a Espresso enthusiast w/ a Rancilio Silvia V-1 machine and Baratza Vario grinder w/ Ceramic burrs. I use "Magnum Coffee Roastery's" (Nunica, MI) Italian Espresso beans or "Sweet Marias" Donkey blend if I roast my own using a I-Roast. Just like a great woodworking machine.....it's the only way to really control your quality.

Mac

Stephen Tashiro
02-27-2011, 11:51 PM
It's disgraceful that this thread has gone on for two pages without more pronouncements about sugar-or-no-sugar, cream-or-no-cream.

I like almost any Columbian or "straight" Starbucks coffee with half-and-half (not cream) and no sugar. Sometimes I grind beans Most of the time I use pre-ground coffee. Every now and then I'll have coffees adulterated with Vanilla or Hazelnuts and every now and then I'll use sugar. I make coffee in a funnel that holds a Mellita type cone filter, one cup at a time. ( Coffee made in larger batches by other methods tastes fine when it is fresh. By the time I'm ready for my second cup, a large batch would be stale.)

I find half-and-half to be a temperamental product to store. Some cartons of prematurely get lumpy.

Belinda Barfield
02-28-2011, 7:15 AM
I guess I'm a rarity, not a real fan of Starbucks. I love coffee, but I'm not an aficianado. I really enjoy a good cup of Espresso, but no one in my company at the time does . . . itmakesmetalkreallyreallyfastandawholelotmorethanu sual. I once had a serving of Turkish Coffee and didn't sleep for two days. Actually, I like coffee but my heart doesn't, so I have to stick of a relatively mild brew of half caf/half decaf (Yuck!) and limit myself to three cups between 4:30 a.m. and noon. I really shouldn't have caffeine in any form after noon if I want to get any sleep at night. If I really want to live on the wild side I have a really good cup of strong coffee on Saturday morning and just deal with the heart palpitations for a couple of hours.

Joe Angrisani
02-28-2011, 8:53 AM
Hey Coffee Gurus....

I generally use a French press. I've heard everything from 180 degrees with explantions of "not evaporating the good stuff", to a full rolling boil with explantions of "releasing everything from the beans". What's the consensus on water temp?

Shawn Pixley
02-28-2011, 8:56 AM
Komodo dragon blend is tops for Starbuck IMO.

Jim Becker
02-28-2011, 8:26 PM
Komodo dragon blend is tops for Starbuck IMO.

Yea, while we prefer the Sumatra, we buy the Komodo to change things up once in awhile. It's a really great blend! In fact, Professor Dr. SWMBO is due to pick up a bag of Komodo beans tomorrow morning as I'm almost out of beans. My girls enjoy a one-shot iced latté on Sunday mornings now so it goes a little faster. LOL

Gary Redden
02-28-2011, 9:13 PM
I with Belinda on Starbucks, not really a fan at all of their coffee. My coffee preferance is pretty basic, Folgers is fine with me. Sometimes I want a dark roast but more often than not, a medium roast is the standard for me. My rule is no more coffee after 10:30 in the morning, just figure that is enough and I have been known to also talk really fast if I have too much.

Gary

BOB OLINGER
03-01-2011, 1:50 PM
Ditto to Ken and several others. We've tried various but always back to Folgers Classic made in a Bunn.

Gary Hodgin
03-01-2011, 2:51 PM
I drink at least a 12 cup carafe daily. Not too picky about the brand (usually Folgers or Maxwell House) but have gone to a mixture of regular/decaf due to heart problems. My heart was actually better back before I switched to the mixture but my wife insists on the decaf mix. Seems my hair has turned grayer too.

Chris Padilla
03-01-2011, 3:24 PM
Are you a coffee fanatic

Nope...not in the least. I never touch the stuff. Smells wonderful, tastes awful. In fact, I don't like anything coffee-flavored! :)

Roger Frey
03-01-2011, 9:21 PM
Can't live without it...I will drink regular, decaf, or whatever looks like a coffee bean in the morning and a cup in the afternoon. Keeps me moving.

Jeff Caskie
03-01-2011, 10:01 PM
Hey Coffee Gurus....

I generally use a French press. I've heard everything from 180 degrees with explantions of "not evaporating the good stuff", to a full rolling boil with explantions of "releasing everything from the beans". What's the consensus on water temp?

There should be a detailed explanation on SCAA.org (they have a standards section). I did a quick review and they state 'approximately 200 deg' on their cupping standards PDF. I am not as precise as I used to be.... and use water just prior to boiling.... or wait a moment after boil for it to cool down a bit before using.

Ron Jones near Indy
03-01-2011, 10:20 PM
Some call me a real coffee snob.:eek: As long as it's Folgers Classic Roast from a Mr. Coffee 4 cup I'm a happy camper.:)

Rick Prosser
03-01-2011, 10:43 PM
For the longest time, I thought coffee smelled great - but tasted bitter.
Then Starbucks showed up and I tasted a latte. Freshly ground makes all the difference. Now I own a Saeco Vienna Espresso machine. I switch up on dark roast and medium randomly.
In the winter, I average 3-4 per week. Summer, maybe 1 a week. Obviously, not a fanatic - but serious about the taste when I drink.

Brett Robson
03-02-2011, 9:21 AM
Can't live without it...I will drink regular, decaf, or whatever looks like a coffee bean in the morning and a cup in the afternoon. Keeps me moving.

I second that! I've actually eaten a spoonful of instant coffee in an act of sheer desperation once or twice in my life! :-)

alan whitehead
03-02-2011, 9:49 AM
I have three cups a day.
Folgers is my choice.
I bought a Cooks Coffee machine at JC Penneys and I love it.

alan

Alan Trout
03-02-2011, 10:08 AM
I am sort of a coffee snob. I like my coffee strong and fresh. We have a local roaster so I get my beans from them. Depending on the time of the year depends on the beans I like. I tend to like African coffee's in general and roasted to little over a medium roast. My coffee maker is a Bosch super automatic so basically you dump your beans in and it grinds, and extracts the coffee. I love latte's so having a super automatic is a must. They are pricey but after having one for several years I could not live without it. Before the super automatic I used either French press and I really liked perked coffee out of my 1950's vintage glass Pyrex percolator which I still use from time to time. My other summer favorite is making toddy. It is cold brewed/processed coffee. It is incredibly strong and luscious. Being it is brewed cold it keeps the oils out of the coffee which means it is never bitter. Great stuff over ice with heavy cream, MMMMM,Good.

Alan

Bill Cunningham
03-03-2011, 9:57 PM
I drink what ever is on sale.. But, I did a job for Starbucks Canada, and the rep who came to my shop, gave me a couple of boxes of their new 'instant' coffee.. I thought 'yuk' like most instant coffees, until I tried this stuff.. It Actually tastes like coffee, and good coffee.. It looks like its made from fine powder ground coffee beans, and it seems to brew in the cup.. But like I said, my normal coffee is anything on sale, so perhaps I'm not the best person to judge this. I'd buy it if I 'needed' instant coffee and was too lazy to make a pot.. But I have to say, it was the best instant coffee I have ever tasted..

Robert LaPlaca
03-07-2011, 9:45 PM
Equipment of choice; Techivorm Moccamaster 10 cup, equipped with a Swiss Gold filter, Capresso Burr Grinder. Peets Coffee Major Dickinson or Mocha Java blends..

Neil Brooks
03-10-2011, 8:44 PM
I have a Cuisinart which is, by far, the best coffee maker I've ever owned.

Me, too.

The DC-1200

http://coffeegeek.com/images/5808/200x200/cuisinartbrew.jpg

I think it makes a darned good cuppa.

The daily is Dunkin' Donuts, dark.

The mix-it-up tends to come from Brazil, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ethiopia, or ... whatever sounds and smells good, at the time.

And ... every year or so ... I get me a bag of "real" Jamaica Blue Mountain -- maybe the most over-priced coffee *I've* ever bought, but ... oooh. It's soooo good.

Cream and sugar.

Drinking coffee since I was about 6. 40 years later, I STILL can't drink it after dinner, or .... I'm down in the shop, sharpening Forstner bits with my wife's emery board ;)

Starting to think about an espresso machine, too.

Meaning: coffee WAS the gateway drug, in THIS house :)