I'm thinking about getting a coffee roaster and was wondering, What makes a cup of Coffee good to you? Some like it Black and strong, and some like weak and loaded with cream. I like mine black and mild with a nice light roast, occasionally I'll put a scoop of sugar or two but mostly black.
What makes a cup of coffee good to you?
-- Edited by The Addiction Club on Tuesday 17th of January 2012 07:40:36 AM
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"Never make someone a priority who makes you an option"
Here's my two cents, though I am well aware coffee purists will run screaming from it: I only drink decaf, very strong, with skim milk and stevia. I am enjoying a big mug right now and am as happy as a clam. Of all the things I have been blessed by God to leave behind, caffeine is the one I miss the least. I am a natural spaz. :)
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I think there's an invisible principle of living...if we believe we're guided through every step of our lives, we are. Its a lovely sight, watching it work.
Mild with milk only for me. I only drink coffee in the am. I drink decaf at meetings in the pm. I don't like the anxious feeling strong coffee brings on. I can do without that.
Not that I'm weird about it or anything, but I have a Krups Machine with a walter filtration system that costs more then most cars I drove while I was drinking, grind my beans fresh, the top layer of the cup of coffee should look like the Exxon Valdez tried to make a crossing, with either 1/2 and 1/2 or manufacturing cream (cream) to cut it, no sugar, and I prefer either a very dark roast or a good Kona
9 Rules for a Perfect Cup of Coffee
I often go to sleep thinking about the cup of coffee I'm going to have the next morning. I adore it! Whether your morning coffee is an estate-grown brew or just the best supermarket blend you can afford, these basic rules from EatingWell Magazine's editors and contributors will help you learn how to make coffee to prevent unwanted bitterness and virtually guarantee a satisfying cup of coffee every time.
Don't Miss: 4 Health Reasons to Keep Drinking Coffee (and 4 Cons to Consider)
Rule 1: Buy fresh beans. Without question, coffee is best when used within days of being roasted. Buying from a local roaster (or roasting your own) is the surest way to get the absolute freshest beans. Be wary of buying bulk coffee from supermarket display bins. Oxygen and bright light are the worst flavor busters for roasted beans, so unless the store is conscientious about selling fresh coffee, the storage tubes get coated with coffee oils, which turn rancid. Coffee beans packaged by quality-conscious roasters and sold in sturdy, vacuum-sealed bags are often a better bet.
Rule 2: Keep coffee beans fresh. Always store opened coffee beans in an airtight container. Glass canning jars or ceramic storage crocks with rubber-gasket seals are good choices. Never refrigerate (roasted beans are porous and readily take up moisture and food odors). Flavor experts strongly advise against ever freezing coffee, especially dark roasts. Optimally, buy a 5- to 7-day supply of fresh beans at a time and keep at room temperature.
Rule 3: Choose good coffee. Snobbism among coffee drinkers can rival that of wine drinkers, but the fact is that an astonishing world of coffee tastes awaits anyone willing to venture beyond mass-marketed commercial brands. Specialty coffees that clearly state the country, region or estate of origin can provide a lifetime of tasting experiences. By all means look for 100% pure Arabica beans. The cheap alternatives may contain Robusta beans, noted for their higher caffeine content but harsh flavors. "Nasty" is a term commonly linked to Robusta coffees by Arabica devotees. Don't Miss: How to Brew a Greener Cup of Coffee
Rule 4: Grind your own. Coffee starts losing quality almost immediately upon grinding. The best-tasting brews are made from beans ground just before brewing. Coffee connoisseurs prefer to grind in expensive burr mills (e.g., Solis, Zassenhaus, Rancilio), but affordable electric "whirly blade" grinders (e.g., Braun, Bodum) will do a serviceable job, especially if the mill is rocked during grinding to get a fine, even particle size. (Scoop for scoop, finer grinds yield more flavor.)
Rule 5: Use good water. Nothing can ruin a pot of coffee more surely than tap water with chlorine or off flavors. Serious coffee lovers use bottled spring water or activated-charcoal/carbon filters on their taps. Note: Softened or distilled water makes terrible coffee-the minerals in good water are essential. Related: How Important Is Filtering Water for Your Health?
Rule 6: Avoid cheap filters. Bargain-priced paper coffee filters yield inferior coffee, according to the experts. Look for "oxygen-bleached" or "dioxin-free" paper filters (e.g., Filtropa, Melitta). Alternatively, you may wish to invest in a long-lived gold-plated filter (e.g., SwissGold). These are reputed to deliver maximum flavor, but may let sediment through if the coffee is ground too finely.
Rule 7: Don't skimp on the coffee. The standard measure for brewing coffee of proper strength is 2 level tablespoons per 6-ounce cup or about 2 3/4 tablespoons per unce cup. Tricks like using less coffee and hotter water to extract more cups per pound tend to make for bitter brews. Don't Miss: Coffee Shop Drinks You Can Make At Home
Rule 8: Beware the heat. Water that is too hot will extract compounds in the coffee that are bitter rather than pleasant. The proper brewing temperature is 200°F, or about 45 seconds off a full boil. (Most good coffeemakers regulate this automatically.) Once brewed, don't expect coffee to hold its best flavors for long. Reheating, boiling or prolonged holding on a warming platform will turn even the best coffee bitter and foul-tasting.
Rule 9: Keep your equipment clean. Clean storage containers and grinders every few weeks to remove any oily buildup. At least monthly, run a strong solution of vinegar or specialty coffee-equipment cleaner (e.g., Urnex) through your coffeemaker to dissolve away any mineral deposits. Rinse thoroughly before reuse.
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Light a man a fire and he's warm for a night, set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
I like my coffee fresh, black, medium to light body. I usually stop in the AM at a local service station called "Race trac", the coffee is always fresh with good flavor. They have about 4 different types and a seasonal blend.
Humility is the order of the day, I bring my own large refill mug costs $1.00, and saves on enviornmental waste. I'm in the car most of the day going to appointments, I like it cold or warm, so I'll drink a little all day in between a bottled water and fresh fruit in a small cooler. Seems to help me stay calm and focused, and I don't get hungry.
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Rob
"There ain't no Coupe DeVille hiding in the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box."
Whole Foods has a house brand (the name escapes me) but it's affordable and I love the name, Pleasant Morning Buzz.
For cream, I use Coffee-mate Caramel Macchiato only because they stopped making Vanilla Caramel and my angry faces at the dairy case, to date, have been powerless to bring it back.
As with most things, it could be better, but it's good enough
-- Edited by gladlee on Wednesday 18th of January 2012 08:00:41 AM
The coffee day. First cup is a half pint mug of quality instant, like nescafe espresso or kenco millicano. with one spoon of raw cane sugar. This wakes me up enough to put on a turkish percolator with lavazza Black or lavazza Gold. I pre heat the mug with boiling water while the turk does it's job. empty the boiling water out of the now hot mug and pour the black or gold in there - black, no sugar. A hot cup of coffee in a hot coffee cup.
after that, it's whatever I have to hand - could be Costa expresso grind, could be lavazza red, could be taylors of harrogate, could be ringtons, could be economy blends from the supermarket, could be Illy (my favourite Italian coffee) - usually made in the cafetiere, with semi skimmed milk, occasionally made with cocoa or hot chocolate as a mocha.
Out on the road it's whatever is available as a flat white or what gets called an americano (espresso with added hot water) but most of the coffee shops over here are seriously rank - Starbucks (weak and bitter) Costa (weak, but their ground coffee is good) coffee nation (housewife coffee). after 11 am, as an Englishman, I switch to tea, by the pint, strong enough to stand a spoon in, a dribble of milk (called builder's tea) no sugar.
Special treat at tea time is a double espresso from my krups espresso machine.
If I'm pulling a late nighter at work, then the coffee pot is on and it's usually one coffee to two teas. Don't do fruit teas, don't do decaff. Sometimes go for tea no milk, no sugar. almost always use leaf tea, but will use teabag as a last resort.
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It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you got. BB
What makes a cup of coffee good for me?...Truthfully? It's in (and always has been in) the the label of Glad's brand..."Pleasant Morning Buzz" with the emphasis on the Buzzzzzzz. I'm exNavy and we use to brew up those 60+ cup urns of the most real modifying coffee known to humans and truthfully I drank for the effect. Now today is different...my spouse is a decaffer if she has coffee at all and she does the shopping and gets decaf and what is most financially affordable. I know I won't get the buzz so I play with the past. I will get it hot and black though before I mess around with it just for the taste. As honest as I can be.
Should have known there would be some great coffee info from a room of drunks lol.. I'm going to buy a roaster I think, I've always wanted my own cozy coffee shop in the mountains, with good books, big chairs and couches, awesome baked goods, and home roasted coffee. I dream of it being right next to a trout stream or at least within walking distance, so the fishermen can relax on poor fishing days.. me included lol.
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"Never make someone a priority who makes you an option"
Ooooooo...do we get to talk baked goods now? (Something this drunk is getting way too familiar with!) A chocolate croissant with a cup of coffee is pretty close to my idea of heaven. :)
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I think there's an invisible principle of living...if we believe we're guided through every step of our lives, we are. Its a lovely sight, watching it work.
I've never had a chocolate croissant before lol, I'm going to have to get one and try it with some coffee.. Maybe we need a what are you eating thread lol.
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"Never make someone a priority who makes you an option"