coffee - how anal are you?

[Shaunster]

I just press a button on my bean to cup and out pours a coffee. Lovely really.

[zeedubbya]

I’ve run the gamut of coffee makers. Drip to Keurig, to french press, to Moka Pot, back to one of the other. However I keep coming back to my little Nespresso machine. It’s not perfect or the best, but with time and money constrains it’s the best one for me. So am I anal about coffee....only when I get a weak, bad cup. That being said I am really really close to buying myself a Jura fully automatic for Christmas though. The one my boss has is great and it makes awesome coffee/everything under the sun, and he has made me realize it’s way way cheaper in the long run than the Nespresso. We need to call[mention=1935]ethernut[/mention] into this discussion...I think he will have some input here.

 

 

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[CrankYanker]

Give me some whole beans, I will grind them up and put them in the coffee maker and let it do the work.  I store the whole beans in the cupboard.  I use cold water as that is way better than warm water.  That is the extent of me being anal in coffee.  No milk, no sugar....just straight up

[garbandz]

I roast my own,and enjoy the different roasts and base flavors of different regions.

I have a large grinder designed for professional  use, from my espresso days.

Now I use a Bodum press and a drip unit with a gold filter basket.

My feeling is, the perfect cup is made by getting the amount of coffee/water just right.

A little orange or lime zest is a trick I enjoy,or cardamom.........   

[Wailbait]

Speaking as someone that owns a coffee shop with one of those astonishingly expensive Italian espresso machines with a coffee grinder that I’m pretty sure has more power than my car, I can attest that all that equipment does “sort of” make good coffee.  I think it’s more about the driver than the car.  I personally use the same press that I’ve had for about twenty years (though it must be on its 10th glass carafe).  I think it’s less about being anal, but rather being comfortable with routine. if I stick with a roaster for awhile, as I tend to do, the coffee comes out pretty good.  When I take new coffees home from the shop to try, I find it takes a couple of days to dial in the weight and steep time.  I guess my long winded answer is: if one is pretty consistent, routine trumps fussiness.  

[Twodogmark]

Going through the process of making a good cup of coffee is one of those things where the ceremony means more than the outcome.  The process of grinding my own beans, the exact measurement, and using the press give me as much joy as the drinking of it.  It's kind of like uncorking and tasting a good bottle or wine - screw tops and plastic corks work just as well, but there's something to the experience that makes the outcome more enjoyable.

By the way, same holds for me on cutting and lighting a cigar.  IMHO, high quality things should be enjoyed in a high quality way.

[BuzzArd]

It's just coffee.....  

[SMQQKIN]

Like cigars - chasing a great cup of coffee or espresso can lead you down a rabbit hole. I find that high quality fresh beans, a burr grinder, a quality boiler espresso maker & some attention to the grind/tamp/extraction process produces a consistent superior shot that can be easily pulled. Once you figure it out there is no going back to Starbucks or the like.

[Fugu]

Not a bit anal about it, but good coffee is a necessity for me (though I can quite understand one easily getting onto that slippery slope....).

Went back to drip, hand-filtered. Don't weigh, don't gauge, don't freeze (agree, neither necessary nor good, not even storing in the fridge - beans will lose/change flavour). While keeping them dark and airtight my beans usually don't get much older than a week. But what I am micrological about is brewing water temperature (and quality) ....

Preparation of two cups, incl. grinding, hand brewed, is taking me 12 min in total. That's about the time I am willing to afford for a good cup. I likewise love espresso, but owning and caring for a good portafilter macchina at home is just too much of a commitment for me I came to realize, given the pretty limited daily usage, and on the other hand I have yet to be offered an acceptable shot from today's so highly popular full-automats....

[Cigar Surgeon]

I'd say I'm quite particular. But no more particular than when it comes to my taste in cigars, food, or spirits & beers.

I roast my own coffee beans, and grind to order. I weigh my water and my grind to ensure that dosage is correct. All in all, my morning process takes no more than 2 or 3 minutes and provides a spectacular coffee as a result.

And at the end of the day the cost is a fraction of what a cup would cost me from a shop.

[Cold Smoke]

Why does this topic make me think of civet coffee?

[Ken Gargett]

i should say that i meant anal in the most positive way. was not intended to insult those that do take great care.

re freezing beans, i must say that i have heard people on both sides insist their way is the only way. i honestly don't know but freezing seems to work for me so until otherwise, i'll stick with it. that mate of mine i mentioned is a research scientist and he has gone that route - would not have done so without reading everything available on it, from all sides, and from his own extensive testing. but i guess whatever works for each of us is the way to go.

funny how people are about these things. i have another mate with whom i often travel around wine regions/restaurants/wineries (his wife doesn't like to travel). he is extremely knowledgeable about wine (he would tell you he is extremely knowledgeable about everything) and he thinks coffee. i remember once in france heading down to breakfast. he was already there and said i really had to try the coffee, it was fantastic. i looked over and it was being pumped out of a 44 gallon drum. spare me!

 

[MIKA27]

Love my coffee, but I'don't think I'm a coffee snob by any stretch.

I use a Nespresso machine at home as well as a stove top with fresh ground coffee beans.

Saying this: My family think I am a coffee snob as I refuse to drink instant....! I mean... who drinks instant coffee anymore!?  I'd rather drink a glass of water!

[kalibratecuba]

It's just coffee.....  

How. Dare. You. Sir!
If this was a coffee forum, you'd be roasted and your ashes placed in a Folgers jar.
️

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[JamesKPolkEsq]

Personally, I have a love for all coffee - Highbrow and Lowbrow. 

I developed a taste for crappy instant coffee (NesCafe) while traveling the world, and while I certainly wouldn't pick it above a awesome ristretto, it's enjoyable nonetheless. 

My personal order of importance for great coffee:

1) properly ground for preparation of choice 

1a) excellent water

2) correct water temperature 

3) not over extracted (proper contact time) 

4) fresh beans

5) quality of beans

6) type of brew

Much like cigars, ingest what you love  and everyone else's opinions are not that important... 

[Fatshotbud]

No to OP query

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[Miner]

Back in the day the parents of a friend of mine had a coffee plantation in Kenya. I would get the raw beans from them and roast them in the oven. You could smell the amazing aroma down the street. I would then pretty much do what Ken's friend did. What a palava but the coffee was amazing.

Nowadays I just chuck a Nespresso capsule at the machine and in a seconds there's a cup of drinkable coffee.

[maxcjs0101]

I use a French Press in office and an Espresso machine at home.

I almost tried roasting my own beans but dropped the idea when i learnt how messy my place was gonna be.

[Fugu]

2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

re freezing beans, i must say that i have heard people on both sides insist their way is the only way. i honestly don't know but freezing seems to work for me so until otherwise, i'll stick with it.

Absolutely, I am aware of that, there is two camps out there. But this is simply what I've found for me or perhaps my particular way of preparation, frankly, not giving too much for opinion of others in this regard. Coffees actually taste differently. For me, they lose a part of their flavour (depth and complexity), e.g. similar to strawberries that have been kept in the fridge over night (if you get what I mean, then you might be able to note the difference in coffee, too). Still good, but not the same.

But let me ask - for how long are you keeping your beans, Ken? Because there is likely no universal answer to the freeze-non-freeze question. Freezing may be a good thing for those who buy in bulk and need to store roasted beans for weeks and months. Then that might indeed be the better way to go. Me, I am getting a small and constant supply of fresh beans from a local roaster, so don't need doing that. The main process negatively affecting taste during storage and aging of coffee beans is the oxidation of fatty acids from the coffee oils (rancidity). This process can be slowed down by lowering temperature, indeed. However, freshly roasted beans are naturally shielded against oxygen for some time by their own protective atmosphere of carbon dioxide from roasting. That gas has simply replaced and pushed out all oxygen from within the beans and from the surrounding atmosphere. The gas is still under pressure in the bean (you notice that frothing when brewing fresh roasts) and gasses out for some time following roasting, even replacing losses from handling and pushing out most oxygen. So, for short-term storage, keeping beans airtight in small containers (or in bags with a CO2-outlet) is the preferred way to go, at least for me. ommv

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, Fugu said:

Absolutely, I am aware of that, there is two camps out there. But this is simply what I've found for me or perhaps my particular way of preparation, frankly, not giving too much for opinion of others in this regard. Coffees actually taste differently. For me, they lose a part of their flavour (depth and complexity), e.g. similar to strawberries that have been kept in the fridge over night (if you get what I mean, then you might be able to note the difference in coffee, too). Still good, but not the same.

But let me ask - how long are you keeping your beans, Ken? Because there is likely no universal answer to the freeze-non-freeze question. Freezing may be a good thing for those who buy in bulk and need to store roasted beans for weeks and months. Then that might indeed be the better way to go. Me, I am getting a small and constant supply of fresh beans from a local roaster, so don't need doing that. The main process negatively affecting taste during storage and aging of coffee beans is the oxidation of fatty acids from the coffee oils (rancidity). This process can be slowed down by lowering temperature, indeed. However, freshly roasted beans are naturally shielded against oxygen for some time by their own protective atmosphere of carbon dioxide from roasting. That gas has simply replaced and pushed out all oxygen from within the beans and from the surrounding atmosphere. The gas is still under pressure in the bean (you notice that frothing when brewing fresh roasts) and gasses out for some time following roasting, even replacing losses from handling and pushing out most oxygen. So, for short-term storage, keeping beans airtight in small containers (or in bags with a CO2-outlet) is the preferred way to go, at least for me. ommv

nice timing with this post - and may i stress again that the use of the word 'anal' was never meant to imply a negative. agree with those who say that however you most enjoy your coffee, that is the best for you (that said, i'm sure that truly great coffee does require a bit more but i am not going to the expense of effort).

i just posted my mate to ask him why he freezes. because he will have thoroughly researched it. hopefully i'll get a response i can post. personally, i have nothing concrete to add other than that my limited experience between freezer, fridge and the pantry - in a very minor way attempting to analyse this - that works best for me.

to be honest, in attempting to answer your question, my coffee is usually in the outlet bags you mention, but as for time, it varies. i certainly try and turn over far more quickly than months, though i could not say that they have never been there for that long. but i aim for a much quicker turn-around.

will let you know if my mate responds.

[Fugu]

1 minute ago, Ken Gargett said:

and may i stress again that the use of the word 'anal' was never meant to imply a negative

No worries, never taken that way! 

[Tan1801]

Love good coffee and have sampled many different shops across Melbourne (although so many pop up it's hard to keep track). Double espresso is my drink of choice, and being in sales i range between 3-8 cups a day.

 

Whilst I've got my favorite spots around town, at home I'm a lot more lax. For the most part I'm only making coffee on the weekend.

My setup is a mid end home espresso machine and grinder (i.e. pretty basic). I try to purchase my coffee as freshly roasted as possible and have a handful of places I purchase from. 

Don't measure weights, but when I change to a different bean I will spend a bit of time (~3-5 coffees) playing around with the grind and tamp to figure out what I like. 

 

Aside from all of this the coffee I mainly drink are Vietnamese Coffees, which I must admit is more about the sweetened condensed milk .

[BuzzArd]

3 hours ago, kalibratecuba said:

How. Dare. You. Sir!
If this was a coffee forum, you'd be roasted and your ashes placed in a Folgers jar.
️

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I get it. But this is a cigar forum, and I can't count on my fingers and toes the number of times Rob has said "relax, they're just cigars". 

 I grind it fresh. I put it in the filter. I fill the auto drip reservoir and push the start button. 

 Boom! Coffee.

[Fuzz]

4 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i should say that i meant anal in the most positive way. was not intended to insult those that do take great care.

 

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

nice timing with this post - and may i stress again that the use of the word 'anal' was never meant to imply a negative.

 

1 hour ago, Fugu said:

No worries, never taken that way! 

I just thought Ken was talking about a coffee colonic treatment...

 

[Fatshotbud]

Now THAT is perfectly believable@Fuzz

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