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The case for bad coffee (2015)

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Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#531

Post by goosedragons »

krageon wrote: post #508
erikpukinskis wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

An Americano is a normal cup of ESPRESSO with water added. It's a common drink in north american cafes and is similar to a "long black" in Australia and other places. Supposedly it's called that because GIs in Italy during WWII would get it/do it because they wanted a larger cup of coffee.

Most coffee in the North America is drip which has a similar strength to an Americano. If you go to a Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons, McDonald's, most cafes and ask for just a coffee they will give you drip.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#532

Post by baxuz »

__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?

My bad, I got some of my brands mixed up when writing the post. Illy is 100% Arabica, but Lavazza cafe blends are usually mixed with robusta.

In Croatia, Illy is basically the only coffee brand which serves 100% arabica in cafes.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#533

Post by abrookewood »

williamtrask wrote: post #512

To everyone replying with their coffee preferences, you may be missing the point. This post isn’t about coffee, it’s about people and experiences in life being more important than products. It’s about a product’s quality being defined not by its substance but by its reminder of things that can’t be purchased. It’s one of the most beautiful posts I’ve seen in a long time. Hope you look beyond the coffee. Edit: Hope I…

Very well said - it was a great read.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#534

Post by 5560675260 »

spudlyo wrote: post #199
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.

To me, light roasts taste like somebody squeezed half a lemon into my cup of coffee. That bright floral/citrus flavor is something I absolutely do not want in my morning brew. I crave that slightly bitter, heavy body, chocolate/nutty flavor that I associate with dark roasts.

You should also check if your beans are washed or naturally processed - this also has significant effect on the taste. Natural/dry processing is the one that will get you a heavier body and will hide acidic notes.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#535

Post by Jiocus »

Finnish coffee culture context here, which prescribes an incessant intake of an agreeable light roast, all day long from morning to evening.

This is why I brought a plain coffee brewer to my workplace of whole-bean espresso machines. Filtered and unfiltered coffees differ quite remarkably. Taste and texture aside, there's health factors to consider. Filtered coffee can reduce cholesterol raising components by 80% compared to unfiltered preparations, which may add up if you're a big consumer.

Espressos and such quickly reaches a physical threshold of minor caffeine poisoning if you're trying to substitute water.

edit: Instead, "coffee" means filter brewed, household-name coffee labels, "the usual" roast (so no one need to think too much of it). This is why I brought a plain coffee brewer to my workplace.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#536

Post by goosedragons »

kortilla wrote: post #295
astrange wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Australians I’ve met all seem to think they invented something they call “coffee culture” (or at least that Melbourne did). I don’t know why they think this because it seems to be exactly the same as Seattle in the 2000s.

Perhaps because it’s older? Coffee culture took off post WW2 in Australia with an influx in Italians but it didn’t start to catch on in the US until the 90s.

Wasn't Starbucks founded in the early 70s? It's an extension of the already existing Seattle coffee scene at the time.

I think Australia has a fondness for espresso but not coffee. FFS the default drink in a McDonald's breakfast isn't even coffee but hot chocolate. What kind of coffee culture does that?

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#537

Post by MrDresden »

Echoing the authors sentiment, the best cup of coffee is the one that requires no fuss to make, does not take center stage, and just facilities human interaction.

My best cups where made by my late father. Using a steel coffee pot with multiple layers of burned tarry substance on the inside, he was able to brew and fill the whole house with a scent that drew every family member to the kitchen, to grab a cup.

We would then all sit and talk for a long time. The 90's and no mobile phones.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#538

Post by taffronaut »

williamtrask wrote: post #512

To everyone replying with their coffee preferences, you may be missing the point. This post isn’t about coffee, it’s about people and experiences in life being more important than products. It’s about a product’s quality being defined not by its substance but by its reminder of things that can’t be purchased. It’s one of the most beautiful posts I’ve seen in a long time. Hope you look beyond the coffee. Edit: Hope I…

Non-exhaustive list of places I will happily drink bad/instant coffee:

- community centres where the coffee is made by volunteers and typically costs 50 pence

- anywhere that I'm invited into a social group that includes drinking coffee of whatever quality

- visiting friends who aren't coffee snobs

- visiting a workplace to promote my own stuff

- waiting to get my tyres fixed and its Maxpax but it's free

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#539

Post by MezzoDelCammin »

williamtrask wrote: post #512

To everyone replying with their coffee preferences, you may be missing the point. This post isn’t about coffee, it’s about people and experiences in life being more important than products. It’s about a product’s quality being defined not by its substance but by its reminder of things that can’t be purchased. It’s one of the most beautiful posts I’ve seen in a long time. Hope you look beyond the coffee. Edit: Hope I…

Kudos. Best TLDR I've seen in quite some time ;-)

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#540

Post by farslan »

slim wrote: post #433
sgc wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The darkest Italian roast has nothing at all to do with what goes as dark roast - and especially not Italian roast - in the US. The absolute darkest roast I ever saw in Italy was with just a hint of oil showing on the bean, and I only saw that once. They drink a medium roast most of the time, although there are light roasts readily available. I have seen documentaries with Italian roasters from Illy and on down to sm…

turkish coffee is also not only coffee. it's a mix with other flavors. so it's some sort of art. with each family having it's own recipe.

That's wrong. Turkish coffee is a coffee making technique, where you dissolve very finely grounded coffee (finer than espresso) in a boiling water directly. There are no filters or puck or anything alike. You get a very strong cup of coffee, similar to espresso, but tastes quite very different. Some people prefer to put sugar (because it's strong) or other stuff to make it taste less strong. But that's the exception (I live in Turkey and know the customs very well)
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