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The case for bad coffee (2015)

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Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#501

Post by thom »

sershe wrote: post #234
ryanSrich wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Or you could argue it eliminates the flavor that needs to be eliminated; using your steak analogy from a sibling comment, drinking medium/light roast may be like eating the steak raw or frozen. Totally different flavor from medium-rare, just not the one many people want. I recently had an unwitting encounter with medium roast (at the same "semi-fancy" price point as I typically buy) when my wife put some fresh beans…

I have this problem. I’ve tried for years to ‘acquire’ whatever the acquired taste is in these fancy coffees, but it just tastes of compost or dung and makes me feel like I’m drinking the water from the bottom of my kitchen bin. I would never deny it’s a more complex taste and differentiated across different beans, I just can’t force myself not to gag and actually finish a cup of this fetid water.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#502

Post by martyvis »

__alexs wrote: post #496
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…

Illy advertise themselves as 100% Arabica and Lavazza have many products that claim 100% Arabica. Are you saying these are false advertising? Or is this one of those things where the cafe blend is totally different to the store blend?

Lavazza do have Arabica and Robusta blends, they tend to be the more "Intenso" ones, but their default is 100% Arabica.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#503

Post by krageon »

pentagrama wrote: post #381
ceedan wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also like cafe du monde. I just had some pecan praline coffee that was amazing. Bottom shelf of the grocery store. I only got it because nothing else was on sale... It might be my new go-to for a while. Give it a shot if you can find it

Sorry everyone but this thread is starting to sound like this https://youtu.be/4ZK8Z8hulFg

There is as always an XKCD relevant to these types of conversations: https://xkcd.com/915/

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#504

Post by thesaintlives »

I am a coffee addict. I drink what makes me feel better after I have drunk it. At home I have a good grinder, the best supermarket beans I could find (I tested them all, found a brand that was acceptable then bought 40kg online). I simply put the ground coffee in a french press and drink it. Job done. Not the best taste, not the best hit but acceptable. Nescafe or maxwell house for example literally makes me feel sick if I try to drink it. I get more utility from a glass of water. Better no coffee than bad coffee...

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#505

Post by krageon »

eurasiantiger wrote: post #418
slothtrop wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> absolutely destroys the majority of flavors Notwithstanding that this isn't measured whatsoever, it also develops flavor. It's just that it becomes more one-note. You won't taste fruitiness or other delicate things, but I don't want my coffee to taste like fruity tea. Neither do most people.

And that is because the harsh taste is a proxy for how much psychoactive MAO-A-inhibiting beta-carbolines the brew contains. You like it because it gets you more high.

Disparaging why someone likes it doesn't make you more right. If anything, attacking their reason for liking it (rather than the relative merits of liking one flavour profile versus another) makes you more wrong: It signifies that you've run out of meaningful things to say and must now attack the character / moral fiber of the person in question to get anywhere.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#506

Post by 0xdeadbeee »

thesaintlives wrote: post #504

I am a coffee addict. I drink what makes me feel better after I have drunk it. At home I have a good grinder, the best supermarket beans I could find (I tested them all, found a brand that was acceptable then bought 40kg online). I simply put the ground coffee in a french press and drink it. Job done. Not the best taste, not the best hit but acceptable. Nescafe or maxwell house for example literally makes me feel sic…

May I ask how much coffee you go through to purchase 40kg in one go? I would expect the beans to go stale, even vacuum sealed.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#507

Post by lycopodiopsida »

cercatrova wrote: post #108

I bought a very expensive espresso machine thinking I'd cut down on my coffee shop visits. Turns out, I use the machine maybe a few times a month and I go even more frequently to coffee shops. I realized I don't go to coffee shops for the coffee itself, I go because I want to get out of the house, take a walk, sip good coffee and enjoy the ambiance of the world.

I've bought a not so expensive espresso machine and a good mill and my coffee shop visits went to almost 0. I know what to expect there - pretty mediocre german coffee from espresso machines which are not cleaned often enough. Maybe if I would live in a part of the world with a descent coffee I would feel different about it, but it is what it is here. It also turns out that I care 0 about feelings and atmosphere, I just care about a good espresso.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#508

Post by krageon »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #321
technothrasher wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I was in Oregon I tried to go into a coffee place and get a cup of coffee. Now, I'm admittedly not a big fancy coffee guy, usually drinking whatever Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's swill I can get, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the hell I was supposed to order. It was all fancy names on the menu and nothing that was just "coffee". I finally just said, "I want, like, normal, I don't know, Eas…

You can just ask for a “small coffee”, you don’t have to turn it into a weird territorial thing. Most places will have normal drip coffee ready to go. In the rare case somewhere only does made-to-order, you want an Americano. It’ll be fast and good and what you want.

An Americano is a normal cup of coffee with a large amount of water added. It's like a medium-strong tea. I was under the impression it was called that as some sort of disparagement of the US. Is this actually what is regularly consumed there?

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#509

Post by vesinisa »

thesaintlives wrote: post #504

I am a coffee addict. I drink what makes me feel better after I have drunk it. At home I have a good grinder, the best supermarket beans I could find (I tested them all, found a brand that was acceptable then bought 40kg online). I simply put the ground coffee in a french press and drink it. Job done. Not the best taste, not the best hit but acceptable. Nescafe or maxwell house for example literally makes me feel sic…

> bought 40kg online

You are aware that roasted coffee is a perishable product? After roasting, it is at its best for just a few weeks. After just two months it has lost the best of its flavours, but for "bulk" coffee the taste is often considered acceptable for up to 18 months if sealed (at which point most cheap supermarket brands seem to have their "best by" dates.)

I am afraid you will find your 40kg of coffee degrade in quality over time.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#510

Post by stephen_g »

LilBytes wrote: post #500
jon_adler wrote: post #482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Nah, you lost that mantle years ago. Brisbane reigns king now, Yours LilBytes the pretentious online only coffee snob /s

Brisbane does have amazing coffee. The 'Melbourne has the best coffee' thing is at least ten years out of date, it's mostly just 'Australia has the best coffee' now.
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