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Coffee for people who don't like coffee

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Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#181
post #10
post #7

1. Good beans. Something not roasted to a charred crisp (looking at you, Starbucks). Eat a coffee bean by itself. If it tastes bad on its own, it’ll probably taste bad in the brew too. I enjoy munching a few beans while I make my coffee. 1.5 Buy your beans whole and grind them. It really makes a difference. 2. Clean water. If your water tastes bad, so will the coffee. I just use filtered water from the fridge. 3. No…

> Eat a coffee bean by itself. If it tastes bad on its own, it’ll probably taste bad in the brew too. I enjoy munching a few beans while I make my coffee. This just doesn't make sense to me. There are a great number of beans and vegetables that taste bitter or unpleasant "raw" but are very delicious with a bit of heat and time.

It’s something that you have to do to get it.

There’s a difference in taste between dark‑roast beans from Starbucks vs medium‑roast beans from your local coffee roaster.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#182

It's quite interesting how coffee is treated in different cultures. In Australia, coffee would normally be consumed as a dark roast, but with texturised (that is aerated and steamed to create a microfoam). Dark roast coffee is less acidic, and when made into an espresso + texturised milk drink it becomes very sweet and smooth tasting. Light roasts used in espresso-based milky drinks are not so pleasant, and are more…

> In Australia, coffee would normally be consumed as a dark roast I live in Sydney and I mostly drink espresso shots (no milk), the roast is very noticeable to me due to the type of coffee I drink. I would say at least half of all cafes that I've tried use a light roast for black coffee, and dark roast for milk-based drinks. Italian-style cafes and non-specialty big chains, use dark roast for everything. But that's b…

Australia is the market where Starbucks struggles the most.

It’s also rare to see automated coffee machines in Australia, outside of a 7/11.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#183
post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started roasting my own coffee a few months ago. I use a light pan with a screen cover I found online and roast the beans by shaking the pan over a high flame for seven or eight minutes. I judge the degree of the roast from the sound, the smoke, and the smell. It took a few batches before I got the hang of it, but now it works great. Home coffee roasting is, as one might expect, a deep rabbit hole that one can spen…

> But if you're only roasting for yourself, a simple setup like mine should be fine. i wonder how consistent it is to do it over a pan with hands... I personally have a roasting attachment in my air-fryer, which is a rotating drum. And the air fryer has temperature setting, which can be used to correctly tune to roast your beans! But i just buy mine from a good local roaster...their skill is worth paying for since i…

I understand. I don’t get exactly the same degree of roasting each time. The roasted beans themselves are not as consistently roasted as ideal, either; after I grind them, I notice some lighter and darker grounds mixed in. But that doesn’t seem to affect the taste, as least as far as I can tell.

Anyway, it’s for my consumption only. I’m enjoying the manual roasting process, and I think I am gradually getting better at it.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#184
post #5

I drink chai lattes instead of coffee. Never could get on board with the bitter, brown bean water.

Chai from a coffee shop or mix is a sugar drink, which is why it is delicious.

Hopefully he means milk tea. Which is indeed great, but so is a good coffee.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An aeropress is really an amazing piece of coffee making gear. I used to use one when I was on a budget and found it to be the best method of making coffee for little investment. There are a few tips and tricks worth looking up, but once you have things sorted out, it brews great coffee.

The Aeropress is great, but makes too little coffee. One day I'll have to try the XL version.

Out of curiosity, what is "too little coffee" for you? I can get about 250ml out of it.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#186
post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An aeropress is really an amazing piece of coffee making gear. I used to use one when I was on a budget and found it to be the best method of making coffee for little investment. There are a few tips and tricks worth looking up, but once you have things sorted out, it brews great coffee.

I've been using my aeropress a lot lately after having it mostly collect dust for the better part of a decade. What I've found, as I've hopefully matured a bit since I got it, is that my problem with it was always more of a problem with myself; being a bit of a contrarian. The thing is just too revered, and for really no good reason. People are so damn pretentious about it with their recipes and championships. James…

>The thing is just too revered, and for really no good reason.

I disagree. I think the reasons are all solid. It's (used to be) cheap, almost unbreakable, easy to use, easy to clean, easy to carry, no faffing (unless you want to be pretentious), highly tolerant on incontinences regarding grind size or brew times. There is no other coffee brewer that ticks all these boxes simultaneously, and I tried them all. The only downsides are it doesn't make huge hearthy portions for multiple people.

>People are so damn pretentious about it with their recipes and championships.

So what? You don't have to be. Just use it the way it suits you best. That's kind of the beauty of it: you can use it like a caveman or like a campion barista if that's your jam.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#187

It's quite interesting how coffee is treated in different cultures. In Australia, coffee would normally be consumed as a dark roast, but with texturised (that is aerated and steamed to create a microfoam). Dark roast coffee is less acidic, and when made into an espresso + texturised milk drink it becomes very sweet and smooth tasting. Light roasts used in espresso-based milky drinks are not so pleasant, and are more…

> In Australia, coffee would normally be consumed as a dark roast I live in Sydney and I mostly drink espresso shots (no milk), the roast is very noticeable to me due to the type of coffee I drink. I would say at least half of all cafes that I've tried use a light roast for black coffee, and dark roast for milk-based drinks. Italian-style cafes and non-specialty big chains, use dark roast for everything. But that's b…

Ah yeah, I'm in WA and although things have really advanced a lot in the last ten years, there are still plenty of cafes that "you don't really go to for the coffee" and it's more normal to just have one set of beans on offer. A lot of cafes, you just go there for the ham and cheese croissant or smashed avo or the great view. I reckon less than a quarter of the cafes would really be "coffee specialist cafes" where you'd get multiple roasts on offer.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#188

So, the way I make coffee, and as far as I'm concerned the easiest and most versatile way to make it: Needed: 1. One small to medium aluminum or steel pot (any will do, just hopefully narrow enough for an easy boil) 2. Obviously, coffee, preferably freshly ground by you or some seller, but bagged, ground coffee is just fine if it's a good brand. 3. Distilled water. You could use tap water, but damn do I hope you live…

There are certainly better options if you're at home but brewing coffee like this has worked for me before. You don't even have to filter it. You can just put ground coffee in a cup, add hot water, stir it to make the bites go to the bottom and drink it very carefully to avoid churning up the sediment. It's worked for me before when travelling. If you plan to make coffee while camping you might as well bring a Moka p…

Had to look up what you meant by moka pot, and see that you're talking about what we call an Italian press where I live. Agreed that it's a useful camping tool, and in general for good, easy to make coffee, also much less fragile than a french press. Though I still think a simple pot and literally any sort of straining filter screen, even a spare paper coffee filter cup, is an even easier combo. No need to ever avoid swallowing grounds like that.

Anything fancier than the above for just coffee is a waste to me. Big complex devices break down and with the accumulated heat, humidity, oils and so forth, quickly turn into refuge camps for both cockroaches and bacteria..

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#190
As an ignorant kid, yet unwise to the evils of this world and my part in fighting them, I had a magical source from which to procure endless jolt cola. All it required was a little nocturnal recon work involving dark clothing, slithering prone, and timing. And of course, a momentary suspension of morality, a concept I hadn't yet figured out wasn't just adult propaganda.

And holy fukuda, those things changed me. I'd sometimes drink one right before boarding the school bus, and what havoc I hadn't wreaked during the journey, was thoroughly unleashed at school. Until the effects wore off, by which time some iteration of a suspension or prelude to one was often in the works. Grade A canned trouble. And the only substance I can remember that ever made me actually kind of want to go to school.

The only truly excellent coffee I've ever had was an African pea berry, as good as fine tea, in a way that discouraged adulteration with any form of sweetener or cream. It was vaguely floral and silken, and reminded me of indigo and velvet. Every coffee since has been a neutral or unpleasant means of banishing weariness, or barter for inspiration.

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