Coders guide to good coffee • Hacker News Board

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#71

Post by datasink » Thu, Jul 15, 2010, 11:29 PM UTC

kwantam wrote: post #60

jamesbritt wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"roasted using a popcorn machine as a roaster " Seriously? I have a cheapie air popper thing that works great for popcorn. For coffee beans, how does it work? For example, how do you know when they're roasted?

A couple references: http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php http://coffeegeek.com/guides/popperroasting I'm thinking of trying this out; it sounds really easy.

From the first link: "For legal reasons I can't talk about air popper roasting too much."

And the author doesn't elaborate. Weird?

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#72

Post by hugh3 » Thu, Jul 15, 2010, 11:30 PM UTC

minus1 wrote: post #5

I like nice things, I really do, but what I've found is that sometimes being a connoisseur kills your ability to enjoy simple things.

Exactly. Being a connoisseur is a disability. Becoming a connoisseur deliberately is a terrible idea, and doing it because you think it'll make you look more sophisticated is akin to poking one of your own eyes out so you'll fit in better at the Veteran's Association.

Me? I accidentally drank too many good cups of coffee while I was living in Melbourne, and now I'm stuck as a coffee connoisseur. I ate too many good cheese and now I'm a cheese connoisseur. Whisky? Oh yes, whisky too. Luckily I've managed to avoid drinking too much good beer and wine, so I can still enjoy readily-available mass-market versions of those.

I know people who would rather have caffeine withdrawl symptoms than drink Starbucks. Personally I just drink the damn Starbucks and try to ignore the taste.

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#73

Post by jgg » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 12:19 AM UTC

I'm not the most cultured coffee drinker, but it's amazing to me what passes as "good" in the US. All the self-proclaimed coffee addicts I know drink either McDonald's or Starbuck's, which taste like lukewarm piss water and burnt coffee bean scraps mixed with 77 different varieties of mint flavoring, respectively.

The one time I had coffee that I though was "good" was some sort of expensive French blend. I can't remember the name or taste, as it was a long time ago.

I stopped drinking coffee regularly a while ago, along with most soft drinks. I find that not being addled by caffeine/sugar rushes, while drinking lots of water, makes me fairly energetic for most of the day.

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#74

Post by MartinCron » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:05 AM UTC

gkelly wrote: post #41

What kinds of places sell freshly roasted whole beans? Someone mentioned Whole Foods, but are there others?

I'm lucky enough to live in Seattle, where we have lots of great small roasters. My very favorite place (no affiliation besides fanboyism) is Espresso Vivace. http://www.espressovivace.com/ You can order freshly roasted whole beans from them online.

It's not cheap, but life is too short to drink the cheap stuff.

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#75

Post by Terretta » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:06 AM UTC

jon_dahl wrote: post #2

One more item: in a work environment, it's really useful to have single cups of coffee on demand. A pot is usually too much, and is only really good for a short time (even in a thermal carafe). So my office sprung for a super-automatic espresso maker. We got this one - http://www.amazon.com/Jura-Capresso-13185-Impressa-Espresso-... - but there are a few dozen models that are similar. It makes really good espresso (fr…

Absolutely. Five years ago I calculated the cost of daily Starbucks (or local coffee bar of choice), considered why I preferred their coffee over regular coffee pot brews, found there really is a texture and taste difference with fresh ground espresso made coffees (see Wikipedia "espresso" paragraph on "crema"), and bought this:

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-ESAM3500-N-Magnifica-Super-Au...

Some three thousand cups of perfect coffee later, it seems like it's not just a good idea for an office.

PS. Use distilled water in these machines, and you don't have to descale them, and you avoid coloring the taste of the coffee.

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#76

Post by ecuzzillo » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:25 AM UTC

rubashov wrote: post #67

ecuzzillo wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think so. Month-old beans are certainly better than beans older than that, so it's something, but I can certainly taste coffee being noticeably worse after about 10 days from the roast date. I'm not a huge expert, but my impression is that coffee gets stale mainly by exhaling CO2, not by oxidation (although it may oxidize as well), and so you can seal them as well as you want and they'll still go bad after 10…

I'm an expert because I live next to a place that roasts daily. It tastes the same when the beans were roasted a few weeks ago, I assure you.

All right. Where was I wrong? Does sealage matter? Does CO2 release matter?

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#77

Post by dashr » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:26 AM UTC

Not to be a Danny Downer- because I love my coffee (Philz Ambrosia!) - but drinking lots of coffee greatly increases your chances of colon cancer - especially as you approach your mid 30s. Enjoy that cup a day but learn to like tea too.

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#78

Post by rubashov » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:31 AM UTC

ecuzzillo wrote: post #76

rubashov wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an expert because I live next to a place that roasts daily. It tastes the same when the beans were roasted a few weeks ago, I assure you.

All right. Where was I wrong? Does sealage matter? Does CO2 release matter?

No idea. Throw 'em in tupperware and they keep just fine.

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#79

Post by Perceval » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 2:27 AM UTC

c1sc0 wrote: post #17

kuro3hat wrote: post #6

> [Originally I posted this article on Thu Apr 25th, 2002 at 02:29:34 PM EST to Kuro5hin.org. I am reprinting it here with minor corrections.] wow, kuro5hin.org, that brings back memories... and it is still kickin' (barely)

I've always wondered if a revival of kuro5hin-style huge articles & stories would be possible. Or maybe we call that blogs nowadays.

Yeah, it seems like long-form pieces have just been decentralized to blogs. You can still publish quality stuff at Kuro5hin (if you introduce yourself in the Diary ghetto first).

The decentralization to blogs seems like a shame to me. Publishing in a public sphere like Kuro5hin guaranteed an automatic audience, whereas publishing something on your personal blog is more of less a shot in the dark unless you're already famous or somehow get picked up by Digg/Reddit.

Re: Coders guide to good coffee

#80

Post by stcredzero » Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 3:23 AM UTC

shmulkey18 wrote: post #69

joeld42 wrote: post #48

I swear by the Aeropress: http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm I brew it a little differently than the instructions -- I use 2 scoops of coarse espresso, fill the canister, let it drip halfway out (about 2 mins) then top it off, wait another 30 secs, then use the plunger. Makes a perfect 12oz cup of coffee, every time. I also have a hand-pull Gaggia espresso machine from Italy. So it's not like I'm com…

The Aeropress is fantastic: it's cheap, easy to use and clean, and portable. It makes fantastic coffee. I'm not an espresso expert, but I think you would have to spend hundreds more to get an espresso machine which can make as good Americano coffee. Spend a few bucks on a burr grinder, however. I bought a Saeco Titan from Costco some time ago for $70 and have been very happy with it.

I bought a used burr grinder off of Amazon for $40.