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The case for bad coffee (2015)

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Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#81

Post by loonster »

wizofaus wrote: post #18
wolframhempel wrote: post #5

"I don't know when it happened, but I've devolved into an unexpected love affair with bad coffee" - if I'd hazard a guess, maybe around the time the author joined Starbucks? :-)

That was my thinking - I can't imagine anyone who takes their coffee seriously deciding Starbucks was a good place to work. But then again I live in a city of 5+ million people that until recently had almost no Starbucks at all (and still only has about 15 I think). I could care less for single-origin microplot hand-roasted beans, but there's still a world of difference between what you get at Starbucks and the typic…

It sounds like he joined Starbucks decades ago. Maybe before they realized most people dont care about good coffee.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#82

Post by Beltalowda »

jrockway wrote: post #66

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I've never had a cup of coffee I didn't like. There have been some pretty terrible tasting ones. I drank them anyway. All in all, pretty good beverage.

Years ago I visited a customer at his house; the place was a complete mess (I am not a tidy person, and it was a mess even by my standards). He asked if I wanted some coffee. "Sure". He ended up serving it in a soup bowl, as "it's the only thing that's clean". I felt it was a fairly liberal interpretation of "clean". I ended up chucking it in the flower pot (very cliché). I think that's the only "cup" I didn't end up drinking.

Nice guy other than that though; spent quite some time chatting about various things.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#83

Post by ninkendo »

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…

> The fact that so many can honestly profess that these tiny gains in subjective taste experience are Very Serious Business is a testament to humans' ability to convince ourselves of just about anything.

There continues to always be a relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/915/

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#84

Post by gambiting »

I literally just finished a bag of ground coffee(Morrisons own brand!) That's more than one year out of the "best before" date. And you know what? It tasted absolutely fine. I enjoyed it anyway.

I think I'm in the same boat as the author - I went through every fancy brewing method under the sun, sung praises to £50/kg coffee, and now I'd happily buy Lidl's own beans over whatever fancy nonsense the local roasters are selling .

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#85

Post by qbasic_forever »

jrockway wrote: post #66

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I've never had a cup of coffee I didn't like. There have been some pretty terrible tasting ones. I drank them anyway. All in all, pretty good beverage.

Vending machine coffee has always been terrible in my experience. Although there is (or at least was for a time) some Starbucks developed machine that made a perfectly fine cup of coffee but IIRC it was obscenely expensive and meant more for workplaces or small stores.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#86

Post by abstract_put »

ninkendo wrote: post #77
jrockway wrote: post #66

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I've never had a cup of coffee I didn't like. There have been some pretty terrible tasting ones. I drank them anyway. All in all, pretty good beverage.

I’m similar, but I would describe it as “I’ve never had a cup of coffee I could distinguish from any other cup of coffee.” They all taste more or less the same to me. Maybe there are minor differences but if I’m not intentionally trying one cup right after a different one, I’m not going to notice. It all tastes like “coffee” to me. (I drink it hot and black. I can’t stand the taste of any coffee if it’s just warm.)

As someone who really enjoys coffee, this is wild seeming to me. Have you sought out "different" coffees, or just don't naturally encounter them? For example, have you ever had any light roasted coffee? Or naturally processed? My first time having either of those I was shocked how unlike anything associated with coffee they were. Admittedly I didn't like either on the first try, but they were definitely VERY different from standard dark roast offerings.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#87

Post by dsego »

rayiner wrote: post #36
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…

The best beer is Miller 64. My wife calls it “beer for pregnant women.”

For me, the best beer is any cheap cold beer after hiking a mountain, doing a bicycle tour, doing construction work, etc.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#88

Post by markmark »

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…

If the alternative is store-brand beans then it is absolutely about the quality of taste of the thing.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#89

Post by qbasic_forever »

ninkendo wrote: post #77
jrockway wrote: post #66

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I've never had a cup of coffee I didn't like. There have been some pretty terrible tasting ones. I drank them anyway. All in all, pretty good beverage.

I’m similar, but I would describe it as “I’ve never had a cup of coffee I could distinguish from any other cup of coffee.” They all taste more or less the same to me. Maybe there are minor differences but if I’m not intentionally trying one cup right after a different one, I’m not going to notice. It all tastes like “coffee” to me. (I drink it hot and black. I can’t stand the taste of any coffee if it’s just warm.)

Find a good coffee shop and try some different pour over brews. Ask if they have some natural (or dry) process beans and I bet you'll get a cup of coffee like you haven't really tasted before. Natural process beans are super fruity and almost taste like a tea. Also ask if they have some good robusta beans and try that too, again it might be familiar but much different than what you've had before (robusta is what Folgers and cheap coffee typically use, but it can be quite good when done well).

But yeah I do agree if you're getting arabica beans from standard places that may or may not care about how they're roasted, keeping them fresh, etc. it all does start to blend together in taste.

Re: The case for bad coffee (2015)

#90

Post by rjsw »

michaelchisari wrote: post #21
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can take my espresso machine from my cold dead hands. Then again I don’t understand why Americans pay so much for their coffee. Here 1kg of fairly good single origin coffee is 22€ and the quality is miles ahead of instant. You don’t have to become an insufferable snob to enjoy better coffee.

Those little stove-top espresso makers that Italians use make the best espresso. Apparently they're called Moka Pots, never knew that.

Fairly big supermarkets in Italy will have one whole aisle just for Moka Pots in different sizes and spart parts for them.
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