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The case for bad coffee (2015)

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Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#131

Post by ryanSrich »

rubicon33 wrote: post #119
ryanSrich wrote: post #105

I’ve gone through several coffee phases, some bordering on extreme — extremely sensitive weighing, timing, $2,000 grinders, $10k espresso machine, etc. My happy medium is just doing basic pour overs, but with really good locally roasted coffee. To me, this is the cheapest and best approach. In fact, even if pour overs require too much work (weighing, timing), then just do drip. But do it with quality coffee. Quality…

You clearly did not read the article lol. His point was really not about money at all. It was a piece about slowing down, fussing less, and just appreciating moments with people over things like roasting dates and quality of beans. That said, have any good coffee recommendations?

My point still stands.

Doing a pour over or drip is low fuss. You could argue grinding your own beans isn’t low fuss, but most grinders have a preset with a hopper, so it’s still pretty quick and easy to grind your own beans.

As for recommendations, I always say go local, and make sure it’s been roasted recently.

As for what’s near me (Portland OR) I have quiet a few — Case Study, Coava, Heart, and Never are my current favorites.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#132

Post by WastingMyTime89 »

blowski wrote: post #28
michaelchisari wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those little stove-top espresso makers that Italians use make the best espresso. Apparently they're called Moka Pots, never knew that.

You’ve given me my opportunity to be a pedantic coffee snob… those don’t make espresso as they don’t generate enough pressure. But they do make fantastic coffee.

They are finicky little things however (say the guy with a Silvia). It’s easy to burn your coffee if you don’t pay attention.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#133

Post by chongli »

bigDinosaur wrote: post #120
abstract_put wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The moka pot is how I transitioned from coffee as a utility drink to coffee I enjoy drinking. James Hoffman (popular coffee YouTuber) has a video[1] where he goes over what it takes to get consistently good results out of the moka pot - it's not easy. Used naively they kinda go heavy "bitter and dark". What appealed to me about the moka pot at the time was the reeeeeally "strong" coffee flavor. As I've moved away fro…

I didn't find his advice on preheating the water (and also cooling down the pot before pouring the coffee out) to be particularly useful (or make any appreciable difference at all) but got a few burns for my trouble. Grrr.

Better to go straight to the source [1] (who Hoffmann credits in his video). You don’t need to preheat the water in a separate kettle, you can preheat it in the base. You just need a towel or some mitts for when you screw on the top. The other trick to it is to keep moving it on and off the heat, keeping it at the minimum temperature to keep the coffee flowing gently up and out of the spout, and then stopping it before it gets over extracted.

[1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=u-PeYeiqPLU

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#134

Post by ryanSrich »

smeyer wrote: post #130
ryanSrich wrote: post #105

I’ve gone through several coffee phases, some bordering on extreme — extremely sensitive weighing, timing, $2,000 grinders, $10k espresso machine, etc. My happy medium is just doing basic pour overs, but with really good locally roasted coffee. To me, this is the cheapest and best approach. In fact, even if pour overs require too much work (weighing, timing), then just do drip. But do it with quality coffee. Quality…

How much do you spend per cup for your "happy medium"? I ask as a happy non-coffee drinker.

About $0.42 per “true” cup. That’s around 40 cups per week. If you’re talking 12oz coffee cups it’s closer to $1

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#135

Post by jamal-kumar »

kar5pt wrote: post #127
jamal-kumar wrote: post #117

I moved somewhere that has incredibly good coffee. You can literally just walk into a park in the city and find a coffee bush that probably nobody is harvesting, grab some, and bring it home to roast in a toaster oven. Good stuff from the grocery store [1] is about 4$ for a half kilo (20$+ for a bag on amazon if you can find it), and the way to make it is basically an apparatus (Can be made out of anything from nice…

Where do you live that has unharvested coffee bushes in the middle of the city?

There's a few candidates for this but it's between Costa Rica and anywhere in the Andes.

It's actually a really nice looking plant with the berries. They are colored between green to orange and red, depending on how ripe they are, and they're grown even just as an ornamental plant all over the place.

The key to better quality coffee is lower oxygen, so the best stuff in the world is grown up high.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#136

Post by b3morales »

bobthepanda wrote: post #123
ryanSrich wrote: post #105

I’ve gone through several coffee phases, some bordering on extreme — extremely sensitive weighing, timing, $2,000 grinders, $10k espresso machine, etc. My happy medium is just doing basic pour overs, but with really good locally roasted coffee. To me, this is the cheapest and best approach. In fact, even if pour overs require too much work (weighing, timing), then just do drip. But do it with quality coffee. Quality…

I enjoy cold brew for the reason that it is extremely little work. Really, it’s all about timing, but if you prepare it at the end of the workday you’ll have concentrate ready in the morning, and it generates so much concentrate. The “work” is just grinding the coffee, letting it soak, and then filtering.

You can heat up cold brew, too, if you want something hot. As long as you don't boil it, it makes an excellent cup. I do this sometimes on short camping trips for the simplicity. And at home, if I have some in the fridge but the weather's cold in the morning.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#137

Post by robbrown451 »

I'm an advocate for the middle ground. I get store brand whole bean coffee (1) , and grind it and use a Mr. Coffee. Then put sugar and milk in because black coffee is nasty.

I see no value to obsessing over perfect coffee. I have friends who do and love to talk endlessly about it. Holy crap how boring.

Nor am I going to drink Maxwell house unless I have no other reasonable option.

1: typically light or medium roast... if nothing else, dark roasts clog up my grinder

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#139

Post by ryanSrich »

staticautomatic wrote: post #125
ryanSrich wrote: post #105

I’ve gone through several coffee phases, some bordering on extreme — extremely sensitive weighing, timing, $2,000 grinders, $10k espresso machine, etc. My happy medium is just doing basic pour overs, but with really good locally roasted coffee. To me, this is the cheapest and best approach. In fact, even if pour overs require too much work (weighing, timing), then just do drip. But do it with quality coffee. Quality…

This isn’t directed at you/OP, but the anti dark roast thing seems to me to be a distinctively American coffee snob hipster thing. Many places in the world have wonderful dark roast coffee. Honestly, are these people just wandering around Austria, Italy, Vietnam, Cuba, or Turkey complaining about bad the coffee is? Give me a break.

I mean people can drink coffee however they want, but dark roasting beans absolutely destroys the majority of flavors within the bean. There’s no denying that. It’s similar to eating a steak well done. People do it, and it’s even very common in certain countries. But it’s removing the majority of flavor. I don’t see how anyone could deny that.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#140

Post by tashoecraft »

smeyer wrote: post #130
ryanSrich wrote: post #105

I’ve gone through several coffee phases, some bordering on extreme — extremely sensitive weighing, timing, $2,000 grinders, $10k espresso machine, etc. My happy medium is just doing basic pour overs, but with really good locally roasted coffee. To me, this is the cheapest and best approach. In fact, even if pour overs require too much work (weighing, timing), then just do drip. But do it with quality coffee. Quality…

How much do you spend per cup for your "happy medium"? I ask as a happy non-coffee drinker.

I'm very similar to OP. I typically have one, 18g of bean coffee a day. Beans range from about 15-20/lb, so that's ~25 days of coffee, so between .60 - My gear is a ~$250 hand grinder, an aeropress $40, and a flair manual espresso maker $250. Along with a kettle, $80, I'm able to make coffee and espresso that'll taste nearly as good as some of the best in the world.

It's part hobby, part practical.

I also love dinner coffee and understand cheap coffee has its time and place. For the majority of people it's good enough.

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