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OT: Coffee

RUaMoose

RUaMoose

Heisman Winner
Oct 31, 2004
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Lebanon, TN
Any coffee connoisseurs on here ? A fine coffee is like a fine wine. I am currently brewing some Guatemalan medium I got on Amazon. I buy coffees sourced from around the world including Kenya, Tanzanian, Costa Rica and Indonesia. The Guatemalan is very good I must say with notes of cherry and chocolate (you can barely taste these "notes").

I only brew whole bean. I grind the beans up right before brewing for maximum freshness and taste. A discerning coffee drinker like myself can many times tell where the beans are sourced. African coffees for example have a distinctive fruity and bull bodiness; Colombian coffee tends to have mellow acidity and balance. Central American coffees like those from Costa Rica: smooth and balanced. Indonesian coffees tend to be darker, almost "smokey" and a bit more bitter.

Coffee fact: Did you know Vietnam is the #2 exporter of coffee in the world behind Brazil? The ironic thing about that is I have never had Vietnamese coffee ( I hear Trung Nguyen is very good) and wouldn't rank Brazilian coffees in my top 3. Don't think I'll ever go back to Folgers or Maxwell House after drinking some of the finer coffees of the world. It's like drinking Sutter Home wine. There's nothing wrong with SH wine, there are just better wines out there.
 
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I'm not a coffee connoisseur, but I'm going to get myself a cup now.

I'm not a fan of Starbucks; I find all their coffees to be over-roasted, even the mild blends. But a lot of people hold Starbucks up as a quality mass-market coffee. So I figure if Starbucks is supposedly better than your average cup of joe, and I don't like Starbucks, then it probably isn't worth my spending money on premium coffees the would be even further down the spectrum than Starbucks.
 
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Nice summation of the different coffee bean flavor profiles from around the world. Could you share some links for some specific coffee beans that you recommend? I am a wine connoisseur but always wanted to drink coffee that matches the top quality of wines I drink. However, I didn't find enough time to research and experience them. I love Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee that I tasted at first in Jamaica in 1982. However, the quality I can buy varies a lot and I need to find reliable sources at a reasonable price. I love lightly roasted beans since some of the best coffees show their aromas and complexities fully when they are not masked by roasting too much. Medium roasted coffees also could be great but I dislike most dark roasted coffees. I suspect that the idea behind the dark roasting is that by roasting dark, coffee chains like Starbucks could easily offer uniform-tasting products. Just like fine wine varies greatly, expressing their terroir, the same type of beans would also vary, depending of the terroir. However, Starbucks wanted to have uniform products worldwide and it is easy to create uniform-tasting dark roasted coffee from beans that when roasted light vary differently. Starbucks messed up the palate of many people, especially in the United states since people mistakenly think that Starbucks is what good coffee is about. The direction is moving toward the pathetic state of the American pastry, where the uniformity is accomplished by putting sugar on the top of already overly sugary pastry. If you ever had French, Austrian or Hungarian pastries, you know what I am talking about. There is a choice in life in terms of what you eat or drink. I certainly prefer quality over quantity.
 
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Upstream said:
I'm not a coffee connoisseur, but I'm going to get myself a cup now.

I'm not a fan of Starbucks; I find all their coffees to be over-roasted, even the mild blends. But a lot of people hold Starbucks up as a quality mass-market coffee. So I figure if Starbucks is supposedly better than your average cup of joe, and I don't like Starbucks, then it probably isn't worth my spending money on premium coffees the would be even further down the spectrum than Starbucks.
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Agree completely regarding Starbucks. It all tastes very over roasted to my amateur palate.
 
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My father spent most of his career in coffee research. Much of the taste is derived from the roasting process. Especially the burnt Starbucks flavor.
 
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miklosru said:
Nice summation of the different coffee bean flavor profiles from around the world. Could you share some links for some specific coffee beans that you recommend? I am a wine connoisseur but always wanted to drink coffee that matches the top quality of wines I drink[ however, I didn't find enough time to research and experience them. I love Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee that I tasted at first in Jamaica in 1982. However, the quality I can buy varies a lot and I need to find reliable sources at a reasonable price. I love lightly roasted beans since some of the best coffees show their aromas and complexities fully when they are not masked by roasting too much. Medium roasted coffees also could be great but I dislike most dark roasted coffees. I suspect that the idea behind the dark roasting is that by roasting dark, coffee chains like Starbucks could easily offer uniform-tasting products. Just like fine wine varies greatly, expressing their terroir, the same type of beans would also vary, depending of the terroir. However, Starbucks wanted to have uniform products worldwide and it is easy to create uniform-tasting dark roasted coffee from beans that when roasted light vary differently. Starbucks messed up the palate of many people, especially in the United states since people mistakenly think that Starbucks is what good coffee is about. The direction is moving toward the pathetic state of the American pastry, where the uniformity is accomplished by putting sugar on the top of already overly sugary pastry. If you ever had French, Austrian or Hungarian pastries, you know what I am talking about. There is a choice in life in terms of what you eat or drink. I certainly prefer quality over quantity.
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Looks like you avg 3 posts a year, and this was a very interesting one. If only more of us here had your hit rate.
 
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just enjoyed Jamaican Blue coffee for the first time. Was wonderful. Thinking of buying a grinder, cause I'd like to have ground coffee more. Is it better to get a cheap one or an expensive one?
 
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rutgersal said:
just enjoyed Jamaican Blue coffee for the first time. Was wonderful. Thinking of buying a grinder, cause I'd like to have ground coffee more. Is it better to get a cheap one or an expensive one?
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Jamaican BM is very good but not $50 a pound good. Japan buys up something like 80 percent of it which is the main driver in price from what I understand. Try Jamaican BM blend from Magnum (orange bag) available on Amazon. It's much cheaper and actually better in my humble opinion.
 
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rutgersal said:
just enjoyed Jamaican Blue coffee for the first time. Was wonderful. Thinking of buying a grinder, cause I'd like to have ground coffee more. Is it better to get a cheap one or an expensive one?
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I know the pros will recommend a $300 grinder but my $40 blade grinder is fine for my at-home use. And also I just don't ball like that.
 
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miklosru said:
I should try it one day. Occasionally while travelling I see Green Mountain Lightly Roasted coffee at convenient stores that I like; however, I don't know any place in Somerset county that offers it.
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You can get green mountain kcups for the keurig coffee machine, which are sold most anywhere. The keurig has made it easier for me to consume coffee, though not sure about the environmental impact of all those kcups.
 
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miklosru said:
Nice summation of the different coffee bean flavor profiles from around the world. Could you share some links for some specific coffee beans that you recommend? I am a wine connoisseur but always wanted to drink coffee that matches the top quality of wines I drink[ however, I didn't find enough time to research and experience them. I love Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee that I tasted at first in Jamaica in 1982. However, the quality I can buy varies a lot and I need to find reliable sources at a reasonable price. I love lightly roasted beans since some of the best coffees show their aromas and complexities fully when they are not masked by roasting too much. Medium roasted coffees also could be great but I dislike most dark roasted coffees. I suspect that the idea behind the dark roasting is that by roasting dark, coffee chains like Starbucks could easily offer uniform-tasting products. Just like fine wine varies greatly, expressing their terroir, the same type of beans would also vary, depending of the terroir. However, Starbucks wanted to have uniform products worldwide and it is easy to create uniform-tasting dark roasted coffee from beans that when roasted light vary differently. Starbucks messed up the palate of many people, especially in the United states since people mistakenly think that Starbucks is what good coffee is about. The direction is moving toward the pathetic state of the American pastry, where the uniformity is accomplished by putting sugar on the top of already overly sugary pastry. If you ever had French, Austrian or Hungarian pastries, you know what I am talking about. There is a choice in life in terms of what you eat or drink. I certainly prefer quality over quantity.
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Great post. I've been buying fresh roasted coffee llc on Amazon of late:

Amazon product ASIN B00A29I538
Very good and affordable. Link is 5lb bags but they sell 2lb as well
 
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I didnt drink coffee until I was 36 so I have only been drinking it for about 10 years but now its a vital part of my life...do 2 cups (actually the cup is bigger)O in the morning and 2 in the late afternoon before my gym workout. Have a 12 cup simple Mr Coffee and fill that thing to the gills in the morning and drink the rest when I come home.

I am not a connisseur at all so do not drink the so called real coffee that the OP drinks. Like flavored stuff like Melitta hazelnut or french Vanilla and do splurge for X Mas for Moose Munch and Caramel Butterscotch whole beans from Harry and David. I think Chock Full of Nuts is a cut above Maxwell House and Folgers. You will never see me in a Starbucks, thats just ridiculous sheeple coffee. WaWa makes excellent coffee when I am out but usually make my own and it doesnt take that long to make coffee so I am always wondering why people have to stop at Starbucks on the way to work,
 
Day to day I just drink the BJs house branded coffee, but when I want to splurge on a good cup of coffee I go to Grover's Mill Coffee House in West Windsor. The old man roasts the beans himself in the back part of the store, and they sell beans from all over the world under their own label. They are also supporters of Rutgers, so there's that too.
 
I too am a "coffeeholic". I'm surprised to hear the negativity toward Starbucks. Ever since I went to their bolder blends I've become an even bigger fan, particularly their Verona, Casi Cielo, and during the holidays, Christmas Blend. When I buy their whole beans, I typically grind them (corse of course) for my French Press. For those of you that use a FP, I received a tip from a coffee connoisseur who suggested you put about 1 inch of the off-boil water into the urn and let it build a "must" for about 30-seconds or so, then add the remainder of water for the usual 4-minutes. Anyone have any experience with this?
 
Very interesting thread so far. I am enjoying reading it and learning.
 
Ridge 22 said:
Agree completely regarding Starbucks. It all tastes very over roasted to my amateur palate.
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agree completely. from just a coffee standpoint their coffee sucks. Maybe they overroast so people order the more expensive triple latte fluffacinnos.
 
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RUaMoose said:
Jamaican BM is very good but not $50 a pound good. Japan buys up something like 80 percent of it which is the main driver in price from what I understand. Try Jamaican BM blend from Magnum (orange bag) available on Amazon. It's much cheaper and actually better in my humble opinion.
Click to expand...
interesting. I had Blue Mountain a long time ago and it was ridiculously good. but as you say not $50 /lb good so I havent had it since. Will have to check this option out.
 
bac2therac said:
the worst coffee is Dunkin Donuts..awful, I like WaWa because they allow you to fix your coffee your own way
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I drink it during the day @work because I have two choices: DD or Starbucks. Classic pick your poison. I go half dark roast/regular cause I find their regular a little weak. The worst of the convenience store coffee is Quick Check lmo and they're also the most expensive .
 
Check out Devocion in Brooklyn, NY. You can stop by or order bags from their website. They work through farmers in regions of Colombia's mountains, much of the areas virtually untouched.

They then overnight the coffee to Brooklyn and roast the coffee on site within 10 days. Most companies complete this process after 4-12 months of receiving the coffee. Thus, you are virtually having the freshest cup of coffee available anywhere. It really is an amazing dedication put forth by these guys. Check it out ...
 
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Always thought we needed a good coffee thread. Good stuff, Moose.

Love coffee and love supporting local coffee shops and roasters. I have a few in town that I buy beans from all the time. Just started getting the 5 lb bag so I don't have to go every week.

I'm not really into breaking down the individual flavor profiles but love a good dark roast. French press is the way to brew, IMO, though it's more for weekends than every day for me.

Any good coffee shop recommendations from around NJ or anywhere? I used to go to a great place in Rocky Hill, not sure if it's still there: By the Cup. They had great coffee for $1 a cup and iced coffee in the summer with coffee iced cubes, also $1. For some beans, they'd roast them to order and you'd pick them up a couple days later. More a grab and go place with very little seating and atmosphere but great coffee at a great price.

In good old NB, Legal Grounds by the courthouse was my favorite shop. Green Mountain coffee.
 
Instead of a separate grinder get a coffee maker with the grinder built in. No more spilling the grinds. Beans in, one button to push easy breezy.
 
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I hate DD coffee. Terrible mouthfeel, it's like drinking syrup.

Give me a nice light roast (city roast or less). Java moon (man I miss that place) used to have a amazing cup fresh ground. Was still a little sweet in the cup.
 
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Also, anyone have a rec for a good burr grinder? Had two inexpensive ones that both broke within a year so now back to a blade grinder. Would like to get back to burr but not it's going to break in a year.
 
FanuSanu52 said:
Always thought we needed a good coffee thread. Good stuff, Moose.

Love coffee and love supporting local coffee shops and roasters. I have a few in town that I buy beans from all the time. Just started getting the 5 lb bag so I don't have to go every week.

I'm not really into breaking down the individual flavor profiles but love a good dark roast. French press is the way to brew, IMO, though it's more for weekends than every day for me.

Any good coffee shop recommendations from around NJ or anywhere? I used to go to a great place in Rocky Hill, not sure if it's still there: By the Cup. They had great coffee for $1 a cup and iced coffee in the summer with coffee iced cubes, also $1. For some beans, they'd roast them to order and you'd pick them up a couple days later. More a grab and go place with very little seating and atmosphere but great coffee at a great price.

In good old NB, Legal Grounds by the courthouse was my favorite shop. Green Mountain coffee.
Click to expand...
Fanu, El Monte in Chester was always pretty good. I haven't been in a few years, but used to go regularly for beans. They also had pretty good blends during Christmas time for gifts.
 
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FanuSanu52 said:
Always thought we needed a good coffee thread. Good stuff, Moose.

Love coffee and love supporting local coffee shops and roasters. I have a few in town that I buy beans from all the time. Just started getting the 5 lb bag so I don't have to go every week.

I'm not really into breaking down the individual flavor profiles but love a good dark roast. French press is the way to brew, IMO, though it's more for weekends than every day for me.

Any good coffee shop recommendations from around NJ or anywhere? I used to go to a great place in Rocky Hill, not sure if it's still there: By the Cup. They had great coffee for $1 a cup and iced coffee in the summer with coffee iced cubes, also $1. For some beans, they'd roast them to order and you'd pick them up a couple days later. More a grab and go place with very little seating and atmosphere but great coffee at a great price.

In good old NB, Legal Grounds by the courthouse was my favorite shop. Green Mountain coffee.
Click to expand...


Try Rook in Red Bank. Best cup of cofffee I've ever had.
 
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198hamilton said:
Instead of a separate grinder get a coffee maker with the grinder built in. No more spilling the grinds. Beans in, one button to push easy breezy.
Click to expand...

This. Have a Cupresso brand, reliable for the last 20 years. You can set the timer and it wakes you up to fresh ground coffee. Only way to go!
 
I prefer Starbucks overs DD any day. My favorite coffee house in the city is 71 Irving Place. They also have a kiosk lower level Grand central.
 
Coffee addict, not a connoseur... Hot black and I'm good. Btw, I like dunkin donuts coffee. Anytime u can get a donut into a cup I'm all in.
 
FanuSanu52 said:
Also, anyone have a rec for a good burr grinder? Had two inexpensive ones that both broke within a year so now back to a blade grinder. Would like to get back to burr but not it's going to break in a year.
Click to expand...
Used a Capresso for yrs and now have a Krups. Both very good and decent priced.

As I gifted a Cuisinart k-cup brewer to my wife, I've been using a reusable wire k-cup and filling it with an espresso grind, like Pilon or Cafe Oro, since i like my morning joe bold and the normal k-cups are too weak for me. Does the trick and less waste than what i was doing previously (grind & brew). Still enjoy a good french press as you get more of the oils, which really carries the flavor.
 
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