Coffee

[Colonel Bumcunt]

Just to say, Lavazza Gold beans are the best I've found in 2 years of pissing around with different beans.

[Evelyn Tentions]

5 hours ago, Remmie said:

I've tried a couple fresh roasted beans and don't really notice any difference compared to a cheapo bag from Aldi. I think I want to experiment with different beans than just Arabica anyway, loved the moka beans when I had coffee in Vietnam, anyone know somewhere to buy them in the UK? 

All the good beans are Arabica but there are many varieties of Arabica. It's the particular variety, where they are grown and how they are processed from cherry to bean that makes the difference. That's why a Brazilian Arabica tastes different to a Kenyan or to an Ethiopian.

Robusta is shit, it's mainly used for filler in instant coffee.

For 24 hours or so after roasting the beans give off carbon dioxide. After this the flavor and complexity of the coffee changes slightly over the next 2 or 3 weeks until it starts going downhill. The rate of oxidation (coffee oils going rancid and chemical reactions like that) depends on the surface area. That's why beans are ok for a couple of weeks but ground ANY ground coffee has lost most of it flavour in days, if not hours.

Dark roasted coffee (Italian roast) is stronger and more bitter than a medium roast and because you can see the oils on the surface (that's what makes them shiny) they go rancid more quickly.

if you want to find out more about coffee have a look at

https://www.sweetmarias.com/

You can roast your own green beans at home with a popcorn popper from a charity shop, green beans from eBay or find a local roaster who will sell you some. A cheap grinder will sort of do the job but serious coffee fanatics usually spend more on their grinder than their espresso machine.

[Remmie]

6 hours ago, Evelyn Tentions said:

All the good beans are Arabica but there are many varieties of Arabica. It's the particular variety, where they are grown and how they are processed from cherry to bean that makes the difference. That's why a Brazilian Arabica tastes different to a Kenyan or to an Ethiopian.

Robusta is shit, it's mainly used for filler in instant coffee.

For 24 hours or so after roasting the beans give off carbon dioxide. After this the flavor and complexity of the coffee changes slightly over the next 2 or 3 weeks until it starts going downhill. The rate of oxidation (coffee oils going rancid and chemical reactions like that) depends on the surface area. That's why beans are ok for a couple of weeks but ground ANY ground coffee has lost most of it flavour in days, if not hours.

Dark roasted coffee (Italian roast) is stronger and more bitter than a medium roast and because you can see the oils on the surface (that's what makes them shiny) they go rancid more quickly.

if you want to find out more about coffee have a look at

https://www.sweetmarias.com/

You can roast your own green beans at home with a popcorn popper from a charity shop, green beans from eBay or find a local roaster who will sell you some. A cheap grinder will sort of do the job but serious coffee fanatics usually spend more on their grinder than their espresso machine.

I have fresh roast beans, a machine and a burr at home. Maybe I just don't have refined taste buds but the Pact coffee that costs 5 times the price doesn't taste any better. Tried a couple varieties as well. I saw a Ted talk on making the perfect cup of coffee and the guy was going on about the importance of fresh roast (mentioning some of the things you say above) hence buying some. I don't think I will go through the palaver of home roasting based on what I've tried so far. Maybe I'll pick some up from Karl's link before giving up. 

 

Turns out Mocha beans are a variety of Arabica from Yemen. I just know the type they had in Vietnam had a distinct flavour that I really liked and when I went on a plantation tour they made out it was a different and separate class of bean than Arabica and Robusta. 

[Qwikage]

Spending a lot of time in "that there London" I drank loads of coffee to keep me awake form the sheer fucking tedium of it all.

When lockdown hit, got myself a coffee machine and it's astonishing the difference in quality form the high street shit.

I get my coffee from this site and it is superb.  

 

https://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/coffee?page=1

 

I get the whole beans but they do ground as well. 

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

People who drink any kin of Mocha, or chocolate added to coffee, are the scourge of the society, the SCOURGE.

[s(k)aturation]

6 minutes ago, Ezekiel 25:17 said:

People who drink any kin of Mocha, or chocolate added to coffee, are the scourge of the society, the SCOURGE.

 

Chocolate on top of a cappuccino.  God help us.

[Karl_b]

35 minutes ago, Qwikage said:

Spending a lot of time in "that there London" I drank loads of coffee to keep me awake form the sheer fucking tedium of it all.

When lockdown hit, got myself a coffee machine and it's astonishing the difference in quality form the high street shit.

I get my coffee from this site and it is superb.  

 

https://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/coffee?page=1

 

I get the whole beans but they do ground as well. 

 

Hasbean are great, one of those I treat myself to occasionally. I usually get it from a local cafe where it costs 25% more than this but I'll give them a whirl directly, cheers.

[Qwikage]

10 minutes ago, Karl_b said:

Hasbean are great, one of those I treat myself to occasionally. I usually get it from a local cafe where it costs 25% more than this but I'll give them a whirl directly, cheers.

The benefit of buying direct form them is they roast it on the day of dispatch so it's really fresh when you get it. Postage is extra so you might want to try a couple. 

 

I have tried their blends which were not bad but nowhere near as good as the single bean varieties.

 

I really like the Natural Bourbon beans as they produce a fantastically smooth espresso shot and make a banging latte.

[johnsusername]

Had my first Aeropress. Lovely stuff. 

 

Does anyone use the suggested method or the inverted way? And one scoop of coffee or two? 

[Karl_b]

Both methods and generally about one and a half scoops (circa 17g). Have fun trying a few free 'recipes', there are loads of slight variations on the two basic ways out there but you won't go far wrong with any.

[Evelyn Tentions]

22 hours ago, Remmie said:

I have fresh roast beans, a machine and a burr at home. Maybe I just don't have refined taste buds but the Pact coffee that costs 5 times the price doesn't taste any better. Tried a couple varieties as well. I saw a Ted talk on making the perfect cup of coffee and the guy was going on about the importance of fresh roast (mentioning some of the things you say above) hence buying some. I don't think I will go through the palaver of home roasting based on what I've tried so far. Maybe I'll pick some up from Karl's link before giving up. 

 

Turns out Mocha beans are a variety of Arabica from Yemen. I just know the type they had in Vietnam had a distinct flavour that I really liked and when I went on a plantation tour they made out it was a different and separate class of bean than Arabica and Robusta. 

 

21 hours ago, Ezekiel 25:17 said:

People who drink any kin of Mocha, or chocolate added to coffee, are the scourge of the society, the SCOURGE.

Genuine Yemeni Mocha beans are very expensive - about £20/lb and that was before the fighting started. The roasting process results in about a 30% decrease in weight.

They are a back yard crop of heirloom Coffea Arabica, the original coffee plant. The fruits (coffee cherries) are left on the plant until they are dry and then hand picked and the bean is removed by hand. There is a very definite chocolate flavor to the coffee which is why some philistines add chocolate to coffee and call it Mocha. Other Yemeni heirloom  varieties and some dry processed Ethiopian beans also have the chocolate overtones.

I'm not sure what variety they use for Moka in Vietnam, but the processing is probably the difference. Most estate coffees now are wet processed, the Moka is almost certainly tree dried or dry processed.

[Champ]

10 hours ago, johnsusername said:

Had my first Aeropress. Lovely stuff. 

 

Does anyone use the suggested method or the inverted way? And one scoop of coffee or two? 

Always 2

[Ezekiel 25:17]

I should have added I meant chocolate flavored coffee full stop, not the pervert Vietnam coffee Remmie and ET won't shut up about, that might be alright.

[Bobby Hundreds]

Coffee is one of those things I wish I liked but no matter how many times I try it or whatever version of coffee it is it disgusts me. 

 

[johnsusername]

On 24/06/2020 at 08:11, Champ said:

Always 2

It's funny how even though it's a simple process the coffee always tastes slightly different. Simple but lots of variation. 

 

I usually do one rounded scoop. A small amount of warm milk, or a dollop of single cream, and half a sugar. 

 

How much water do you put in the press? I see all different types of methods online. I usually put it up to 2 on the Press, stir, then add in a little more. 

[Evelyn Tentions]

10 hours ago, johnsusername said:

It's funny how even though it's a simple process the coffee always tastes slightly different. Simple but lots of variation. 

 

I usually do one rounded scoop. A small amount of warm milk, or a dollop of single cream, and half a sugar. 

 

How much water do you put in the press? I see all different types of methods online. I usually put it up to 2 on the Press, stir, then add in a little more. 

You can go to a quality coffee shop and two baristas (horrible word) using the same equipment and ingredients, can turn out different tasting coffees.

[Karl_b]

I'm trying to convince family members to ditch their single use coffee pods and convert to reusable ones. Has anyone got any experience using any? I thought that they'd make a nice gift alongside some good coffee:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07V24ZX8S/?coliid=I1D6IU02JQI1A8&colid=21VE8MNAI1BGA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TD5BFTK/?coliid=I21F8XVNKZBLDH&colid=21VE8MNAI1BGA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Evelyn Tentions]

2 hours ago, Karl_b said:

I'm trying to convince family members to ditch their single use coffee pods and convert to reusable ones. Has anyone got any experience using any? I thought that they'd make a nice gift alongside some good coffee:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07V24ZX8S/?coliid=I1D6IU02JQI1A8&colid=21VE8MNAI1BGA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TD5BFTK/?coliid=I21F8XVNKZBLDH&colid=21VE8MNAI1BGA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

ebay

they've got to be more environmentally friendly and taste better with decent coffee. It could be difficult getting the grind size right.

[PestiRed]

Anyone else vaguely addicted to watching James Hoffman on YouTube? I find his reviews unbelievably relaxing to watch

[Numero Veinticinco]

18 minutes ago, PestiRed said:

Anyone else vaguely addicted to watching James Hoffman on YouTube? I find his reviews unbelievably relaxing to watch

Yeah, I quite enjoy his stuff. 

[Jarvinja Ilnow]

On 22/06/2020 at 18:21, johnsusername said:

Finally got my Aeropress. Is this coffee okay to use in it? Or do I need a different kind?

 

As you can see, coffee isn't my expert topic. But I'm looking forward to this and it's the only ground coffee in the house (came free with something else).

 

Ta. 

This is good stuff (possibly a little more expensive than your Costa one). Postage is £2.50 up to 1kg weight. It's an aeropress suitable one (didn't know there was any difference to the cafetierre one).

 

https://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/product/finca-capetillo/

 

I prefer Guatemalan coffee, even over Ethiopean (love the bitter tastes).

 

 

 

 

 

[Champ]

6 minutes ago, Jarvinja Ilnow said:

This is good stuff (possibly a little more expensive than your Costa one). Postage is £2.50 up to 1kg weight. It's an aeropress suitable one (didn't know there was any difference to the cafetierre one).

 

https://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/product/finca-capetillo/

 

I prefer Guatemalan coffee, even over Ethiopean (love the bitter tastes).

 

 

 

 

 

I bet there is no difference.

 

My favourite commercial coffee for a good while has been CafeDirect Rich Roast but when there were supply problems I started buying Taylor’s Hot Lava Java and really like that. It produces a really good crema

[Tony Moanero]

Years ago, I popped round to see my nan.

 

”Fancy a cup of coffee, lad? I’ve got some posh stuff in”

 

”Yeah, sound, go on then”

 

She disappeared into the kitchen, came back a few minutes later and handed me a cup of boiling water and Coffee Mate, just water and Coffee Mate, no coffee!

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

On 07/07/2020 at 18:49, PestiRed said:

Anyone else vaguely addicted to watching James Hoffman on YouTube? I find his reviews unbelievably relaxing to watch

I've just started watching his videos - I thought he was a mickey taker on the first video I watched which was the Aldi coffee machine that was supposedly 'cheap' at about £300. But then I started watching more of his videos including one from a pack from the 1970s which actually included ground coffee from the 1970s, grinders that were upwards of £300 by themselves and lots of details on brewers etc. He clearly knows his stuff. There also seems to be a fair bit of innuendo that he used that I find humourous and he has a way of articulating perfectly what others would really struggle to do. My recent favourite was "coffee beans are very irritating once they're outside of the place that you want them to be". If I had kids, that's how I would describe their lego pieces.

 

At some point I'm going to move into the fresh coffee stakes but the costs involved alongside the risks of getting the wrong things are a potential car crash - but perhaps now I have a chance.