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The case for bad coffee (2015)

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Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#221

Post by anothernewdude »

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've simplified too. I have a $50 Cezve bought from a local store, and a $100 porlex grinder that actually does a grind fine enough.

With a $10 bag of beans, I'm good for a fortnight.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#222

Post by sakras »

coffee_beqn wrote: post #207
MAGZine wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

starbucks can be good, the trick is to order: 1. espresso drinks 2. order one shot extra (starbucks will only put 1 shot of espresso in an 12oz tall--so you should order AT LEAST one extra shot). 3. ask for blonde roast, which is actually not half bad. pike place/standard is a disaster. it will not parallel any craft coffee shop, but this actually makes for drinkable coffee, which is convenient since there are starbu…

Their cold brew based drinks are also good (as a espresso machine owning snob)

Yes I love getting a large nitro cold brew and dumping milk in it! Helped me lose a lot of weight too!

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#223

Post by acchow »

qbasic_forever wrote: post #149
rubicon33 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I prefer pour over brews too after going through allll the other options and absolutely love natural process beans (usually a lighter roast) from high elevation places like Ethiopia. Light roasts with delicate flavors absolutely shine with a pour over.

Even medium roasts that have floral and fruit notes absolutely shine with a pour over, especially since you can adjust your pour with something like a V60

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#224

Post by clairity »

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…

only 2 things really matter, when the coffee was roasted and when it was ground. everything else has some leeway: the roast, 18g vs 25g of coffee, 300mL or 400mL of water, 195 vs 208 degrees, pour over vs drip. sure, you can micro-tune those things but that’s a different category of coffee drinker. you’ll get good and consistent results if you get coffee roasted within a day or three, and grind the coffee fresh (even a blade grinder is ok, though i do use a burr grinder now).

in LA, stumptown, intelligentsia, and lightwave are good general options. i get mine from trystero, because reading pynchon felt like a rite of passage in college, and it’s excellent. a 14-oz cup costs me $0.90-1.00 per cup, all in.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#225

Post by Falkon1313 »

Agree with the author 100%.

I drink instant coffee, black, sometimes with ice in the summer. I make a big mug or bottle full and then get started on my day. If I'm out traveling, it's diner or hotel coffee, black. Get a cup, wait for it to cool a bit, and start the day.

I'm not thinking or talking about the coffee. I'm talking about how last night went, what today holds in store for us or what we could do. Where we've been before and where we're going. If it's my day off and I'm alone, I'm thinking about my chores, or old hobbies, or about exploring that new city that I saw in the distance in the videogame I was playing last night. Not about the coffee.

The coffee's just a comforting, familiar presence that's always there.

I've tried some of the pretentious coffee before. It's just not as good. It distracts from life. Cheap standard coffee just gets out of the way and enhances life.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#227

Post by markdown »

ryanSrich wrote: post #139
staticautomatic wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> But it’s removing the majority of flavor.

Removing some flavours and adding others. The fact that you prefer the initial flavours is subjective.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#228

Post by acchow »

CptFribble wrote: post #4

Like most things, coffee is subject to diminishing returns. I have also owned nearly every device invented to make coffee - as I'm sure many others here have - and I've settled on a simple over-the-mug pour-over cone, but mainly because there's no moving parts or tubes to worry about cleaning. I don't even know what "correct" pour-over technique is, so I'm basically making bog-standard single-serving drip coffee with…

> Ultimately I think fancy coffee is the same as fancy beer - it's not about the quality of taste of the thing, but rather it's about tribal membership and signaling.

Given most people drink coffee on their own at home with remote WFH standardized, who exactly are we signaling to?

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#229

Post by mrwh »

Tangential, but thanks to my (hopefully brief!) post-covid loss of a sense of smell, the pretty good coffee I've got used to making currently tastes of the worst sort of freeze-dried dreck I grew up drinking. Bleughghhh.
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