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The case for bad coffee (2015)

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Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#481

Post by YLE118 »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #400
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.

Many classic coffee places are steeped in tradition. How would they know there are other ways to roast or brew coffee? There's a good reason that the most interesting espresso machine you can buy right now was from a successful Kickstarter, manufactured in Hong Kong and is controlled by an Android tablet( https://decentespresso.com ) and some of the more interesting coffee nerdery or equipment is coming from the UK,…

There's some interesting history of the decent machine/business in this video. A friend sent it to me when we were discussing what it would take to build an espresso machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKA2COJRt6M

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#482

Post by jon_adler »

murukesh_s wrote: post #466
baxuz wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Austria has pretty bad coffee. 99.9% of shops sell Julius Meinl from pretty badly maintained espresso machines. And their coffee is usually burnt. Italy has, in general, people who know how to make better coffee as they treat their machines and the procedure with more care. The coffee isn't all that better. Both Lavazza and Illy are robusta blends. Turkish coffee has nothing to do with espresso coffee, or filter coff…

Which country has the best coffee as per your opinion then? Just wondering as in south asia we haven't started worrying so much about coffee yet - you either do traditional filter coffee[1] or buy instant coffee powder and be done with it. May be it's because coffee is almost always served with milk and sugar or we have other things to worry about. [1] https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/a-brief-histo...

Melbourne (Australia) probably has the worlds best coffee. It certainly has the highest proportion of baristas sporting man buns.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#483

Post by neuronic »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #339
mikehollinger wrote: post #247

I feel the same way about restaurants. I realized a few years ago that I don’t crave Enoteca’s rigatoni; I crave the feeling of unwinding with some friends after a failed attempt at going to an ice cream festival. We were hot. Annoyed. Tired. And had a great time laughing about it at this tiny bistro as the sun set. The food and the restaurant was a setting, and essential, but it was second place behind the social co…

The older I get, the more I find myself a human, rather than the robot I thought was the ideal goal. Positive social interaction outweighs most other factors in any experience. Doing X may be enjoyable, but doing X with friends can be a memory that last forever. (Tangentially: emotion is a superpower when wielded correctly, but can also be a devastating weapon when wielded incorrectly. I've always bowed down to logic…

There is a lot of days and nights I remember with friends or family. There is very few days and nights I remember in front of my machines (PC, PlayStation, phones what not).

I love computers, digital media and all that but I would always choose a real human interaction first. Especially since my job already puts me in front of a screen 8hrs a day...

To remain on topic: I have a weird fetish for Instant Coffee at times. I try to drink really good coffee most of the time, because I enjoy the taste. But then one day I would wake up and just crave the cheapest instant coffee you can find, especially on road trips and in hotel rooms.

Amazing how the mind can make something objectively crappy into a joyful experience.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#484

Post by YLE118 »

codefreeordie wrote: post #337
bee_rider wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are right wing political coffee roasteries?

Surprisingly, yes. "Mainstream" ones like Black Rifle Coffee (which is trying to lose its political image and focus on being coffee for our military, now that it is big wants to be able to keep growing by "selling across the aisle") But also a whole range of farther-right ones -- Liberty Coffee is one, Stocking Mill Coffee made a bit of a name for itself by commenting over the Kyle Rittenhouse controversy, Thrasher C…

Strangely quite a few seem to be drop shipped coffee. Which I didn't know was a thing, but seems to be a real enough business. I'm sure there are plenty of other brands doing it too.

https://www.temeculacoffeeroasters.com/copy-of-drop-shipping...

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#485

Post by hnarn »

The only part of being a "coffee snob" that I personally respect is the concern regarding the origin of the coffee itself and the conditions of the workers farming it. I'm not interested in the intricacies of what beans are used or what soil it has grown in, but I think there's a case to make that if you're buying Nestlé instant coffee and taking some kind of contrarian pride in that, you're at least partly proud of also not giving a shit about other people or how the things you consume affect our planet. That's of course up to every human to decide, but I don't consider it a very sympathetic trait.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#486

Post by jon_adler »

spread_love wrote: post #113
bombcar wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cheap beer amusingly is often some of the hardest to “craft” - pilsners require some skill. Home brewery stores get people asking if they can make Budweiser to start and have to be steered toward a stout or Porter as those are much more forgiving.

Oft repeated but not true. The commercial processes used to brew cheap beer make it incredibly easy. There weren't a ton of strong flavors to start with and extra steps to remove flavors (ex aging on beechwood) make a consistent result easy. You're using 1 variety of hop, 1 or 2 of barley (or rice), and a battle-tested yeast, no dry-hopping, much easier to control. 100 bbl in a single run then you filter it until it…

Most “cheap” beers use lager yeasts and have subtle flavours by moderating the yeast temperature. Temperature control during fermentation is probably the most important factor, and many new home brewers do not have the equipment to control it yet. Furthermore, ale yeasts are usually happier at room temperature and more forgiving for unexpected flavours (than lager yeasts). So whilst you are right to say cheap commercial beers are “easy” (for commercial brewers), they are actually harder to get a “good” result for most new home brewers. I always suggest beginners start with a basic ale.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#487

Post by spoonjim »

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.

Well many of those places (outside of Italy) add stuff to the coffee like milk or sugar. In that case you want a dark roast because the flavors get cut by the additives. But if you’re drinking it black then a dark roast is very nasty.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#488

Post by snickerbockers »

I'm reminded of the anime "Ouran High-School Host Club", in which spoiled aristocratic teenagers immediately become addicted to "Hescafe" brand instant coffee after trying it for the first time and dub it "commoner's coffee", as if it's some sort of working-class delicacy they discovered while slumming .

When it comes to "artisan" foods like coffee, wine, cheese, etc. I think people over-estimate the subjective value of pedigree brands. They can be different or unique but ultimately no one type of coffee is objectively better than another.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#490

Post by Aeolun »

supernovae wrote: post #405
analog31 wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember when Starbucks just began to branch out of Seattle... people went gaa-gaa over it. A grad school buddy of mine was so honored when Starbucks brought a franchise to his town. Today it's reviled. I doubt the coffee is any different, but it's become too commonplace to possibly be good.

It’s consistent. I can be very happy getting an Americano in Austin and an Americano in Boston and know i’m getting a comfortable cup of coffee. I do appreciate the specialty roasters we have here.. but i don’t need to hate on starbucks - other than the ones that treat their employees like crap

Starbucks is like McDonalds, but for coffee instead of burgers.

I dunno, I don’t need my coffee super fancy, but I do need it conveniently located right next to my office.

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