Miscellaneous Coffee....

[Pete Thomas]

The thing is if it's a well made espresso, then it has surprisingly little caffeine in comparison to taste. The less pleasant effects of caffeine seem to be more prevalent with filtered or cafetiered coffee. The point about espresso made with optimal pressure and grind etc is that tasty oils are extracted without too much caffeine - so even when it tastes strong it has less of the coffee jitters.

This is why I ended up with the Delonghi, it makes great expression been to cup without having to faff as if you are a barista.

 

[mrblackbat]

I dunno, drink 20 espressos in a day and you aren't doing much sleeping.

 

[wakyct]

My coffee habit has waxed and waned but these days it's mostly just weekend mornings, 18g in a Baratza Encore set to 12 and 88 deg. C into an inverted Aeropress. Otherwise it's green tea in the morning.

 

[jonf]

No coffee 🙁

Let that be a lesson to you. I have made a living over many years largely based on one rule: coffee first, then computers. Never, ever the other way round.

 

[skeller047]

I love coffee, but opt for a relatively simple routine at home. I have a glass Hario V60 filter holder, and use Hario filters. #2 size. I like Peet's coffee, I generally use Major Dickason's blend. I actually met the good major once, I was a customer of the very first Peet's shop on Vine St. in Berkeley. Now it's an international chain (!) Alfred Peet was always there, and he once showed me how to make coffee in a Chemex brewer. We always called him "Mr. Peet".

I also have an AeroPress, which I take with me while traveling. I go through phases of using it at home.

I will occasionally try other roasters, but most of the cafe-erat these days go for medium or light roasts, and I do not care for them. Peet's often has short runs of single origin beans, and I will substitute a pound or two of those for the Major Dickason's blend. I'm visiting Seattle next week, so will pick up some coffee from a roaster there that I like very much. FonteTheir Espresso Blend is perfect in the V60 🙂

I go through about a pound a week, 2 large mugs of pour-over from the V60 (about 350 ml) every day. Sometimes a third 🙂 Or a long shot from the Aeropress. Both of these brews take about 22 grams of coffee per serving. FWIW I grind quite fine for the filter coffee, and just a bit larger than espresso grind for the Aeropress. I have a Baratza Encore grinder, not bougie in any way, but it does a good job.

None of this stuff is expensive (except the coffee!), and it's easy to stumble to the kitchen in the morning, put on the water, grind the beans and make a cup. I can and sometimes do accomplish this while not really awake.

 

[Pete Effamy]

I can and sometimes do accomplish this while not really awake.

I managed a few gigs that way…

 

[ESJohn]

Boring around here. Decaf coffee (ground) 29.3 oz can sells for $20 to $25 these days. I was just able to pick up one only can at $10 online from CVS pharmacy nearby. I would have bought two. Maxwell House (for some reason unknown to me) is less expensive than Folgers. I really don't care about the brand.

 

[ESJohn]

I forgot to mention that I generally don't drink coffee in the early morning unless I am staying in a hotel somewhere. Late afternoons are a good time or mornings after around 10 am if I'm at home. My coffee maker can brew a single cup or up to five, but it doesn't have a hot plate to keep it warm. I'm the only one in the house that drinks it, so it's not a problem.

 

[bodak]

Lidl instant for me.

Same here !

 

[mrblackbat]

I managed a few gigs that way…

Just don't ever try server upgrades that way.... ahem.

 

[Tenor Viol]

I have always been a fan of the drip filter in its various guises. My preferred coffees are East African or Arabian Peninsular e.g. Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya. I used to live in a town (Sandbach) where the grocer roasted coffee on the premises and I sued ot get them to grind it for me. That was the best coffee I had regular access to.

When I moved to Shropshire, I bought a burr grinder to grind my beans, and that was how mostly was until I moved two years ago to Cumbria. I now have a Melitta machine with a bean hopper and it's an all-in-one bean-to-cup filter machine. It does a decent job.

I do struggle to find decent supplies of beans. Not that many roasters opt for the coffees I prefer - everyone goes for Java, Brazil, Colombia etc. If they do have say an Ethiopian Sidamo, it's often under-roasted making it very bland (and no it shouldn't be burnt either).

Locally, there's Farrer's in Kendal and a place in Carlisle - you have to pick and choose which coffee to go for. There are some small roasters in the area which I need to investigate.

I did buy a 'nespresso' machine for making espresso based coffees. I found all the coffees from the less expensive suppliers to be awful. I've retired the machine. I will in due course buy a Delonghi but other things are taking priority at the moment.

 

[Targa]

Not been so much fuss over a hot beverage since the lady of the house used to lock the tea caddy to stop the servants pilfering it.
Now they all come in pretentiously carrying their takeaway coffee, I must be paying them too much.