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Coffee for people who don't like coffee

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Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#81

Post by temp0826 »

90s_dev wrote: post #31

> You'll get diabetes. Have a coffee. When I was a kid, I hated even the smell of coffee so much, that tasting it could make me throw up. A few years ago, to help kick my soda habit, I forced myself to drink black coffee every single day. The first day, I could barely stomach a few sips. After a week or so, I could finish the whole cup with great difficulty. After another few weeks, I could finish it without minding.…

While working at an ayahuasca retreat center I did several very long traditional master plant diets. This is a very restrictive diet (no salt, oils, sugar, spices, usually no fruits or green veggies. Very bland food- oatmeal, rice, quinoa, beans, lentils, plantains, fish). Some days you wake up starving only to find yourself unable to stomach a bite of oatmeal. Some people have a really hard time with it for a couple weeks or less. After a few months I surprised myself actually looking forward to eating a big bowl of unsalted, unspiced lentils. Yum!

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#83

Post by Chathamization »

pton_xd wrote: post #10
nkrisc wrote: post #7

1. Good beans. Something not roasted to a charred crisp (looking at you, Starbucks). Eat a coffee bean by itself. If it tastes bad on its own, it’ll probably taste bad in the brew too. I enjoy munching a few beans while I make my coffee. 1.5 Buy your beans whole and grind them. It really makes a difference. 2. Clean water. If your water tastes bad, so will the coffee. I just use filtered water from the fridge. 3. No…

> Eat a coffee bean by itself. If it tastes bad on its own, it’ll probably taste bad in the brew too. I enjoy munching a few beans while I make my coffee. This just doesn't make sense to me. There are a great number of beans and vegetables that taste bitter or unpleasant "raw" but are very delicious with a bit of heat and time.

Right, most people are would hate eating a 100% pure cacao bar, but that doesn't mean they won't enjoy chocolate. There's so much variability in these things, and in the end, it mostly comes down to "try different stuff and see what you like." I almost always drink coffee without any cream or sugar (exception listed below), but I wouldn't say I enjoy coffee more than someone who drenches theirs in both. It's just different tastes.

Even the oft-maligned Nescafe is pleasant for me if I make it correctly. Not the original formula, but the 100% coffee one without the extra ingredients. I thought it tasted horrible when I first tried it, but if I drowned it in a lot of soy milk it actually made for a fairly pleasant drink.

In general, people are going to be happier if they stop trying to cultivate aristocratic aversions to common food, and instead start cultivating curiosity and an interest in finding ways to enjoy things they didn't expect themselves to enjoy.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#84

Post by athrun »

k310 wrote: post #2

The article discusses a drip system which I used to use under a different name, but went away. It has a cone with a filter mesh and a valve that remains closed as long as the cone and its integral base are sitting on a level surface, but which opens when you place it on a cup. It's now called "Clever Dripper" The main reason I got one is because it's so easy to empty the grinds after use, unlike a French Press, even…

The Clever dripper and the Hario Switch are the two main ones I think, but then there's a lot of niche ones. The overall category is called "immersion dripper".

My main concern is the plastic, so I've got one from a smaller brand entirely made of ceramics. (it's much more expensive though).

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#85

Post by Kirby64 »

rectang wrote: post #62
nkrisc wrote: post #7

1. Good beans. Something not roasted to a charred crisp (looking at you, Starbucks). Eat a coffee bean by itself. If it tastes bad on its own, it’ll probably taste bad in the brew too. I enjoy munching a few beans while I make my coffee. 1.5 Buy your beans whole and grind them. It really makes a difference. 2. Clean water. If your water tastes bad, so will the coffee. I just use filtered water from the fridge. 3. No…

> Something not roasted to a charred crisp (looking at you, Starbucks). Not everyone is going to like less-roasted beans. Less roasted beans have strong, distinct flavors which might be characterized as "green" or "floral" or "woodsy", and it's true that a lot of the individuality of the bean varieties is obscured by darker roasts. But I for one usually prefer the standard roasts of the mainstream vendors over the li…

> Less roasted beans have strong, distinct flavors which might be characterized as "green" or "floral" or "woodsy",

Anything that could be called “woodsy” or “grassy”, or possibly “green” depending on what you mean by that is a roast defect. Either under roasted, or not roasted properly. I roast coffee that is frequently on the very end of light roasts and it should never have those flavors.

Floral is a flavor note that some coffees have especially at the lighter end, but not all of them.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#86

Post by tiltowait »

werdnapk wrote: post #70
dgunay wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's pretty much how a french press works, if anyone wants to try it. Loads of cheap french presses available everywhere. It's very portable too if you need to make coffee and have nothing but water, heat, and ground coffee.

An aeropress is really an amazing piece of coffee making gear. I used to use one when I was on a budget and found it to be the best method of making coffee for little investment. There are a few tips and tricks worth looking up, but once you have things sorted out, it brews great coffee.

The Aeropress almost feels like cheating. The Clever Dripper is similarly very nice and easy to use.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#87

Post by kQq9oHeAz6wLLS »

alabastervlog wrote: post #27
dgunay wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's pretty much how a french press works, if anyone wants to try it. Loads of cheap french presses available everywhere. It's very portable too if you need to make coffee and have nothing but water, heat, and ground coffee.

IKEA sells a very cheap steel (i.e. your kids won't break it when they knock it off the counter—ask me what happened to my first three of these, which were all ceramic) pourover cup with integrated fine-mesh metal filter (so you can still make coffee if you run out of paper filters—though there's some evidence the oils that paper filters remove are bad for heart health, and it does affect the flavor, too). I think it…

I have a reusable cotton filter that I use in a metal mesh pourover. Seems to work and is easy to clean.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#88

Post by elteto »

athrun wrote: post #64
kaishiro wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s funny you mention that. I moved to Melbourne AU a while back and quickly realized how bad the coffee I had been drinking my whole life had been. I honestly had trouble finding a bad cup of coffee there - although as it’s primarily an espresso based coffee culture it’s admittedly quite a different animal. I dove in pretty deep over the years, finally ending up with a Silvia/Mazzer setup, but oddly enough would so…

I hear you on diners coffee and the fact that it feels like it a different beverage altogether. I also crave it from time to time. —do you have tips on how to actually brew it in a home setting? Or this is something can only be achieved by brewing large batches of the stuff, keeping it warm somehow, and letting it go stale for a few hours?

A cheap supermarket drip maker? I’ve tasted home drip coffee and tastes pretty close.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#89

Post by elteto »

kaishiro wrote: post #45
maxwellg wrote: post #37

During Covid I spent a lot of time on my home coffee setup - I've since dialed it back but I've kept the pourover, the grinder, and the Chemex. We found a local business that roasts beans in their garage that we love. The biggest problem is that really good coffee ruins bad coffee foreger. After making my own for so long, traveling and dealing with gas station or hotel breakfast coffee is especially jarring. Sometime…

It’s funny you mention that. I moved to Melbourne AU a while back and quickly realized how bad the coffee I had been drinking my whole life had been. I honestly had trouble finding a bad cup of coffee there - although as it’s primarily an espresso based coffee culture it’s admittedly quite a different animal. I dove in pretty deep over the years, finally ending up with a Silvia/Mazzer setup, but oddly enough would so…

There’s something especial about crappy diner/gas station coffee. I can’t enjoy American diner breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast) without crappy drip coffee. It’s essential.

McDonalds has surprisingly “good” coffee in this regard.

Re: Coffee for people who don't like coffee

#90

Post by cmrdporcupine »

fallingmeat wrote: post #67
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two kinds of coffee in my brain: Third wave fancy coffee I make at home in our Chemex or Technivorm or get in really really good shops, as you describe. McDonald's, gas station, donut shop coffee. It's swill but you confectionize it with cream and sugar. Double double as we say up here. It's not good, but it it's a utility. You just don't expect much from it, and that's fine The problem coffee is the stuff…

what is wrong with dark roasts? tastes like a nice cigar (and pairs well). some like smokey flavor (eg bourbon)

dark roast can be good but it's not my preference

but dark roasting can also cover up faults (especially around freshness, etc), and masks the more complex berry notes in beans if not done well

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