Slashdot Log In
What is Your Favorite Way to Make Coffee?
Posted by
Cliff
on Wed May 16, 2007 05:25 PM
from the good-to-the-last-drop dept.
from the good-to-the-last-drop dept.
markov_chain asks: "For a while I've been making coffee using home-ground whole beans and a standard drip maker. I settled on this method for its simplicity and good taste, even after trying numerous other methods (such as the French press, gravity percolators, and pressure percolators), each coupled with either pre-ground or whole beans. So far, the fresh ground beans are the only factor that made a significant difference in taste. However, when I recently spotted a a site that vaguely extols freshness, I began to wonder how much the freshness of the beans themselves affects the quality. Normally I thought the whole beans would retain the quality far longer, due to less surface area exposed to air, but clearly there still must be a decline; worse yet, it is difficult to gauge that decline since the sellers usually do not advertise the age of the beans. I would now like to pose a few questions. What is your preferred coffee-making method, and how does it compare to other methods you've tried? What are your favorite beans?"
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Fresh ground (Score:5, Insightful)
I found that I had to play with the grinder setting for a while before finding the ideal setting. However, I also found hat the optimum setting varies with the type of bean. I recently changed to a decaffinated bean after getting heart palpitations from too many cups.
At first I found the brew somewhat insipid, but after experimenting with a finer grind, I now get the same intense flavour of regular beans.
Re:Fresh ground (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I have a cheap burr mill grinder, a $30 Mr. Coffee brand machine, that is good enough for the day-to-day. I got it at a Target store last year, but I haven't seen it on the shelves recently. It never makes a mess, if you treat it right. There's a picture of it here [amazon.com], seemingly on the wrong product.
The trick is to find a grinder with a durable cup that has a lid with a small opening (this one is lexan, and the input opening is about 1cm x 2cm). Cover the opening with your thumb, shake the grounds around,
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Fresh ground (Score:5, Informative)
I have discovered that buying good high grade single crop coffee beans is far cheaper in bulk, it also ensure freshness from the roaster. Problem, I cant drink 25 pounds of beans in time.
I came across a solution that works very well. I use cleaned and sanatized 3 liter pop bottles. I fill them with beans and then by using a modified cap I seal them up and charge them with Co2. Getting the air out is not important.Gassing them with co2 from a tube can do that but keeping them under pressure with a high concentration of Co2 is important. I then store them in the basement wher e they are in the dark and in a cool place (66 degrees F.)
They amazingly stay incredibly fresh. Way fresher after 6 months than a new bag of starbucks beans at a grocery store (starbucks beans suck to begin with but that's a roasting problem).
It really works! you can easily make a cap or a modified neck of the 3 liter bottle to have a co2 inlet valve. I get my high grade coffee at way lower prices than you can in the stores or "shops", It's far fresher as they ship directly from the roaster company. and I found a way to store for long duration.
the "vacuum" packed crap is a gimmick you do not want a vaccuum you want pressure and co2 to fight the loss of the co2 in the beans.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Personally, I think the best way to good coffee is to avoid anything roasted or sold in America. I lived in Germany for a while, and found on my return to the US that I couldn't stand ANY of the coffee. Since then, I've been forced to bring back a suitcase full of coffee every time I
Re:Fresh ground (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
How much for a 25 lb bag of beans? Costco has 2.5 lb bags for $8 or $9, MUCH cheaper that the supermarkets, and they are roasting it right there. Is the deal better than that?
Best ask.slashdot ever.
It's the roast that matters the most (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:It's the roast that matters the most (Score:5, Interesting)
Roast is important, not the method, but how dark. To taste the varietal flavors best, a full city roast is recommended. Any lighter and it will have more hay-like or grassy notes than varietal flavors, any darker and the bittersweet taste of the roast will dominate the varietal flavors.
As I said below, the absolute, in fact, the only thing is the amount of time between roasting, grinding, and brewing. I guarantee, 90% of coffee drinkers out there have never really tasted coffee. Once you have tried coffee straight from the roaster, you will know what I mean.
You can roast your own beans at home if you can find green beans. Most coffee roasters will be more than happy to sell you green beans, as coffee loses 10-25% of its weight during roasting, so they can make more money selling you unroasted beans at roasted bean prices.
You need a cast iron skillet and a hot stove. Just heat the skillet up as hot as you can get it and throw in enough beans for one pot. Stir until they are a couple of shades lighter than you normally want your coffee, then throw them into a metal bowl to cool. They will continue to darken as they cool. You will find the resulting cup of coffee tastes far more intense than any you have had previously.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
We actually went up to a Blue Mountain coffee farm and got some on a day trip. The trip was more interesting than the coffee.
Re:It's the roast that matters the most (Score:5, Informative)
Green beans are less than half the price of roasted beans. Green beans are available at several websites, just search on 'green coffee beans'.
Stovetop roasting is interesting, but it is difficult to produce an even roast. Using a hot air roaster, even an old hot air popcorn popper, will make a real difference in the final product.
Parent
Overrated? Kona? (Score:5, Interesting)
And while a cast-iron pan is a wonder for cooking damn near everything, you cannot evenly roast with it. Hell, I have two home brew coffee roasters at home. One butane, one hot air. Both makes a wide range of wonderful roasts, with noticable differences with both meathods. And I care not only about location, but size. I prize Kona because its "perfect" bean is the smallest I have ever encountered, enabling a better medium roast without undercooking, or a perfect french without burning. I have found small beans all over the world, each making a fine cuppa', but it is Kona that still makes my heart sing.
Parent
Jamaica Blue Mountain (Score:5, Interesting)
Excellent and informative post about roasting coffee, but I absolutely disagree with you about the taste of Blue Mountain coffee. Where did you have Blue Mountain coffee, and how was it prepared? Was it a blend of seconds from different plantations, as is typically the case with the crap that's usually exported under the Blue Mountain cachet? "Blue Mountain" only refers to coffee grown in designated regions of the Blue Mountains, between 3,000 and 5,500 feet, and YMMV. I'm sure that you wouldn't be surprised to discover that some absolute rubbish beans qualify for the Blue Mountain name.
For some reason, about 95% of the Blue Mountain coffee crop winds up in Japan, and my brother was taken aback on a trip to Tokyo to find chilled cans of the stuff available from vending machines. Japanese buyers pay top dollar for the entire crops from select plantations sight unseen, and the second rate stuff, usually from the plethora of rural folk with some plants growing behind their houses, finds its way to the rest of the world at ridiculous prices. I should add that the interior of Jamaica is very hilly, and many, many homeowners will casually keep a couple coffee plants in their yards in the same way that many North Americans or Europeans will keep a kitchen garden, and expecting them to produce top-class beans is like expecting Mrs. Smith down the block to produce export-quality squash. But hey, they live in the designated growing areas, so they're technically growers of Blue Mountain Coffee(TM). I actually have a few plants in my yard and the coffee is pretty damned good, but since I live at about 2,000 feet above sea level and nowhere the Blue Mountains, it qualifies as "Jamaica High Mountain". Compared to the top quality beans, what is typically available in North America or Europe is an embarrassment to the Blue Mountain name, and I sincerely hope that your experience with Blue Mountain wasn't tainted by an encounter with this second-rate battery acid. I've had Kona, and Colombian, and they don't compare to top-class Blue Mountain.
I drink Blue Mountain coffee every morning, one of the perks [sorry!] of living in Jamaica (my user name is how locals fondly refer to our blessed, cursed homeland, "Jamrock" or "The Rock"). I am fortunate enough to be able to get the green beans of Blue Mountain coffee and I roast them exactly as stated in your excellent post, and grind them myself. I like a robust coffee, so I prefer a fine-ground dark roast, and I despise drip makers, because the water doesn't get hot enough. My favorite preparation method is the Moka Express [wikipedia.org], a much-battered example of which resides permanently on my stove. Best coffee maker EVAR. Blue Mountain generally has a mild flavor (certainly not "weak" or "insipid"), but it's anything but mild how I prepare it.
That being said, the very best coffee I've ever had wasn't Blue Mountain. It came from the farm of a friend of mine who lives about 20 miles away and 1,000 feet higher up than I do. He used to keep a couple acres of coffee for his personal use, and once in a blue moon he'd generously bestow a few pounds of green beans on each of his friends. Much to my horror, he eventually got sick of locals stripping his plants at night, and decided it was better for his blood pressure to cut them down and remove the temptation, rather than camp out with his shotgun and get himself into serious trouble.
It's always been somewhat interesting to me that the soil and climate of the hilly interior of Jamaica are so conducive to top quality specialty crops. The coffee of course, but Jamaican ginger also enjoys a global reputation for it's strong, sharp flavor. And not to mention the Indica variety of ganja, which has an unusual minty scent and highly aromatic smoke. Or so I've been told....
Parent
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The only reason Kona is special is that it is the only coffee grown in the US.
Strong (Score:5, Funny)
Chemex (Score:5, Informative)
I use a Chemex coffeemaker, which is every chemistry geek's dream. It is a very simple all-glass vessel that accommodates a lab-grade folded square filter. You pour hot water through the grounds and end up with a very nice cup o' joe. It looks elegantly labware-like.
I like it because the water never touches metal or plastic, which impart a flavor. I like it because the lab-grade filters make for a very mild flavor even with lumberjack-strength brew. People marvel at how good my coffee tastes "for how strong it is."
I suppose if you want to be truly geeked-out you could use a vacuum pump and extraction funnel. I've done that myself to show off, but it is a lot of work to do before I've had me coffee!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
This story is about coffee, not masturbation techniques.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I have made coffee with a Soxhlet, with buchner funnels, gravity filters, but my favorite is . It has a few advantages, namely that you're capturing all of the volatile oils, not carrying over the more bitter substances, and you're using freshly distilled water. [wikipedia.org]
Also, if you use a Soxhlet to make coffee, you need to run the extraction under slightly reduced pressure, so you aren't overheating the pot. However, i
After working at Starbucks for 3 years, (Score:5, Informative)
Re:After working at Starbucks for 3 years, (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
As a user of a La Pavoni Europiccola, I would have to respectfully quibble. Pulling by hand puts you in the driver's seat. Yes, it isn't as easy or convenient as a pump-powered machine, but for my purposes (only 2-3 doubles at a time) it can't be beat.
Th
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Simplicity (Score:5, Funny)
2. Make coffee
3. Pour enough milk/sugar in that I don't taste the coffee
4. Consume
I'm way too tired in the morning to do much else or worry about the freshness of my beans.
Jackoffee (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Jackoffee (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Roast your own (Score:4, Informative)
If you can find someone to supply you with green beans, your can roast your own in a hot air popcorn maker. The beans float once roasted and you can control how dark a roast you want.
You'll also want a very fine grind to get the maximum flavor out of your beans.
Wimps! (Score:5, Funny)
Real men suck on plugs of grounds. Liquid coffee's for sissies....
Divine Turkish Coffee (Score:5, Insightful)
- For two mugs, dissolve one spoon of ground beans and half a teaspoon of sugar in a small amount of milk in a mug
- Heat pan
- Pour viscous mass into pan
- add two mugs of milk
- heat until the milk rises to the edge of the pan
- pour divine coffee into mugs, while avoiding the dregs to leak into the mugs
- enjoy
Roast your own (Score:4, Insightful)
Never store your coffee in the freezer or fridge. No matter how well you seal it, moisture can still get in. Also, moisture gets in when you open the package. Nothing stales coffee faster than moisture. So - roast what you can consume in a week and only that. When you're done with that, roast for the next week and so forth.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/ [sweetmarias.com] is the premier source of green tho I get my Kona direct from a farmer I know - they also have a decent home-roaster's forum too. You can roast with a West Bend Poppery I or II popcorn popper - I started off with the Poppery II - and there are roasters in levels of sophistication all the way up to the fancy drum roasters. I have a pair of Alpenrosts that work fine for me for the moment. I'll upgrade when they die but they're perfect for my coffee currently. Store your coffee in a button-bag and press out the air and keep it in a cool dark location. I use the coffee press exclusively because I like a heavier bodied coffee. Home roasted coffee tastes like it smells - hot, tepid or chilled. Zero bitterness and wonderful taste - something you'll never find in a store-bought coffee.
Toddy (Score:4, Interesting)
Brew an entire pound of coffee in one shot, then dilute a cup's worth whenever you want some. It's easy to adjust the strength, and all you need to do is heat the coffee to your taste (or stick in a couple ice cubes for iced coffee).
Easy way (Score:5, Funny)
I'm your coffee answer man! (Score:5, Informative)
Coffee beans lose 90% of their varietal aromatics within 3 days of roasting if unground, and within four hours if ground. Coffee quality is at least as much a function of the care taken in combing over the beans for clinkers as it is in the quality of the beans. A single clinker, that is, an immature bean, can ruin an entire pot of coffee, imparting a bitter, burnt flavor. They will look lighter in color, may be smaller, and will be lighter in weight than other beens, and you can remove them yourself. Obviously, if you are buying a blend with lighter and darker beans, they will be harder to find than a single varietal.
Method of brewing is important, with the major factors being the temperature of the water and the length of time the water is in contact with the grounds. Water temperature should be between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, and ideally should not stay in contact with grounds for more than six minutes. After that amount of time, the grounds start to release more bitter compounds.
As for the taste of beans, you will find there are three distinct coffee producing regions. Central and South American beans have low acidity, medium to high body (that is, the feel of the coffee in you mouth. If it feels thick, that is high body. If it feels watery, that is low body.) and tends towards spicy flavor notes. Eastern African coffees tend to have high acidity, low body, and winy flavor notes. Southeastern Asian coffees tend to have medium to low acidity, medium body, and earthy or nutty flavor ntoes. Of course, I am talking about Arabica beans from these regions, not Robusta, which all tend to taste like hay.
Re:I'm your coffee answer man! (Score:5, Informative)
The important thing is to consume it right away, like within a week - in an airtight container, they say 14 days, but in my opinion its a little less.
And never freeze your coffee, like I've heard some people say. I've read that it is the release of carbon dioxide and other minerals that makes coffee go stale and lose its sweet taste. Freezing does delay this, however, freezing causes the air moisture, along with impurities in the air, to freeze on the coffee, and when thawed, leaves unpleasant flavors and aromas in the coffee. So don't freeze it unless the air in your freezer and between the coffee beans inside the container is completely free of impurities of any kind. The coffee will also more readily pick up any smells present when frozen.
Parent
Re:I'm your coffee answer man! (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Three favorites (Score:5, Interesting)
Drip brewed using the fine screen rather than filter paper is the 2nd best, particularly with lots of finely ground coffee. I like it best about halfway in strength between regular drip and expresso. Unlike a paper filter, the screen does not perform chromatography on all of the tasty oils in the coffee so more flavor gets to the coffee.
I spend a lot of time in the wilderness and my choice there is a stainless steel percolator on a gas burner with very low flame. If the flame is too high the coffee tastes scorched and bitter, but if it is just enough to perc every 1-3 seconds it produces really strong full flavored coffee. I wait about 15 minutes of percolating. More boils off too much flavor, less makes it weak. YMMV I don't know whether electric percolators work as well, my recollection of electrically percolators is that the coffee tasted bitter but it was decades ago. I have looked longingly at the backpacking expresso maker sold at backpacking stores, and wonder if it really works. Maybe somebody here has used one and could comment.
Now, for the beans vs. ground topic. I have long been a fan of grinding beans but the Costco Columbian ground coffee is so good that it is hard to tell from fresh ground beans. There are good beans and poor beans and maybe I hit a run of poor beans, I think.
My method (Score:5, Funny)
my personal setup (Score:5, Informative)
My setup:
In detail:
Grind the beans, boil the water then wait a few minutes for it to cool a few degrees, pour and enjoy fresh.
espresso in a bialetti mokka pot (Score:3, Insightful)
My system is simplicity itself (Score:3, Informative)
I have been known to grind and brew from beans on occasion, but that's become rare since discovering the Keurig. I have one in my house and I bought another one for the office.
New World Italian Style (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I second that. Moka pot does not make espresso though. It is something else, really an espresso like only much better and often stronger then espresso. Myself, I grind my coffee beens not as fine as for espresso making and tap it a bit with a spoon. The main trick is really to use very low flame and take it off as soon as it is done. It may take a while to make but result is well worth it, especial
Re:New World Italian Style - now with line breaks! (Score:3, Informative)
Very competent overview on the italian moka style. =)
If you're interested in it here's a spot on tutorial with pro tips and some "classy" touches:
http://www.caffeina.org/caffe/inglese/casamadre.ht m [caffeina.org]
some hilights:
- avoid pressing the powder with the spoon at all. just fill the filter a make a dome in the middle
http://www.caffeina.org/caffe/inglese/08.htm [caffeina.org]
http://www.caffeina.org/caffe/inglese/09.htm [caffeina.org]
- the stove goes at the minimum setting
htt [caffeina.org]
I'm not sure Freshness is a factor. (Score:3, Funny)
Moka Express (Score:3, Informative)
August 28 2000 was a significant day in my coffee life as I changed to the Italian Moka Express http://www.bialettishop.com/MokaExpressMain.htm [bialettishop.com]. This radical change followed a change in my perception of what constitutes a true coffee experience after a visit to Italy. Since then I only drink moka or expresso. I bring my own coffee maker on any travels not destined for Italy. There should be left no doubt that a trip to Italy for the coffee experience is a must for the true coffee enthusiast.
I think the best maker is the 2 or 3 cup size, the bigger the makers have higher water:coffee ratio. But the right maker is not enough, you gotta get the right blend of torrefacto and natural roast (torrefacto is made by roasting the beans with sugar). Shop arround to find the blend and roast that you like. Once you have found your coffee pusher, stick with him as he will know your specific taste and preferences and make sure to have your blend.
Dad's coffee (Score:4, Funny)
1. Open the freezer and take out the 5:1 mixture of Kona mild roast and Kenya AAA dark roast beans, which I stored in an air-tight plastic tub.
2. Measure exactly 1/4 cup of beans into my grinder, add 1 teaspoon of ground chicory, which I stored air-tight but at room temperature.
3. Grind medium fine and pour half into the bleach-free Melita filters in my Braun drip machine.
4. Grind the remainder extra fine and add to the filter.
5. Fill the machine with the filtered water I'd let stand overnight to outgas the chlorine, and start the machine.
6. While coffee is brewing, use a soft-tipped brush to clean out the grinder and put the coffee and chicory away.
7. Pour the coffee into a my very clean mug, reserved just for coffee, just as the pot finishes brewing. Enjoy the appearance, aroma and intense flavor of the first sip, and let the flavor bloom through each subsequent sip.
8. Discard any coffee that's been sitting on the warmer for more than 30 minutes, and make it fresh.
9. Wash pot, filter, lid and mugs by hand with very hot water and a mild Alconox [vwrlabshop.com] solution, to remove residues. Dry with a soft towel and replace, ready for the next pot.
How I do it now, with four kids:
1. If there isn't any cold coffee left from yesterday, open can of Folger's.
2. Put four or five scoops into the paper filter I got in bulk at Costco, in my Braun drip machine.
3. Fill pot with water straight from the tap. Add to machine. Press button.
4. Feed kids while coffee is brewing.
5. Pour coffee into whatever mug's closest, as soon as I get the chance. Drink. Repeat until either pot is empty, or I have to go to work.
6. Leave empty mug, empty pot on counter. Go to work.
Re:Use a press pot (Score:5, Informative)
I don't know what to do. Going back to drip coffee would make me awfully sad, but better to be sad than prematurely dead.
Parent