# coffee thread



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 2, 2021)

Thread for coffee snobs 

Gimme your favorite beans!! 

general coffee links
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nat...ng-countries-ethiopia-kenya-colombia-and-more

https://www.cafeimports.com/?r=b3JpZ2lucw==

list of places to get good beans from that I've compiled over the years.

- Phil and Sebastian (Calgary)
- Rosso (Calgary)
- Origin (Granville Island)
- Rocanini (Vancouver)

- Moja (Vancouver)
- Intelligentsia (Chicago)
- Milano (Vancouver)
- East Van Roasters (Vancouver)

Bow and Arrow from Victoria

Huehuetenango (Guatemala) beans

http://www.algcoffee.co.uk/ (london)


Good places if you're in Vancouver: (i have not tried all of these)
http://www.murchies.com/store/coffee.html

http://www.milanocoffee.ca/

https://49thcoffee.com/

https://bluebottlecoffee.com/

https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/

https://matchstickyvr.com/collections/

https://www.facebook.com/ContinentalCoffeeHouse/

http://www.lavazza.com/

http://www.transcendcoffee.ca/

https://www.movingcoffee.com/

http://timbertraincoffeeroasters.com/

https://www.palletcoffeeroasters.com/


Good places if you happen to be in MTL (i have not tried all of these)
https://www.cafeunion.com/

https://sainthenri.ca/

https://www.dispatchcoffee.ca/

https://www.philzcoffee.com/shop


I'm not sure if all of those places are still open due to Covid. 

Feel free to post anything from anywhere in the world you might be.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 2, 2021)

OUT: Ninja Coffee Bar
Braun blade grinder

IN: Capresso Percolator
Cuisinart Burr Grinder

Beans: Starbucks bags if on sale or Kirkland beans.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 2, 2021)

I think Lavazza is overrated. We have a couple of great roasters here in town so we're pretty lucky. 

https://boldbeancoffee.com/

https://www.brasstackscoffee.com/

I order from these guys sometimes: 

https://toydogcoffee.com/

Try the Mysore Nuggets.

https://toydogcoffee.com/collection...s/products/indian-mysore-golden-nugget-coffee

It's amazing to get beans roasted and at your door in like two days for the price point. 

We've had a Saeco for going on 8 years and it's still great.

https://www.usa.philips.com/c-m-ho/coffee/saeco-automatic-espresso-machine#triggername=saeco_black

I have turned into a bean snob. I cannot drink what I call "gas station" coffee anymore.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 2, 2021)

@Seabeast2000 - lol yeah a big bag of starbucks from Costco has become my staple as I moved up to 5-6 cups day. 

I have myself back down to 3 now (that was rough) lol


@jaxadam - the Mysore looks cool. I may order some!


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 2, 2021)

You won’t be disappointed. You may never be able to drink “gas station” coffee again!


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 2, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> You won’t be disappointed. You may never be able to drink “gas station” coffee again!



Gas station coffee might be responsible for a lot of "one-timers". Its shit.


----------



## c7spheres (Jan 2, 2021)

Can't stand the smell of coffee. Drank it black all the time (normal stuff like Dunkin Donuts, Circle k, 8 o'clock Bean etc) and loved it in high school, then suddenly one day out of nowhere it made me nauseous just to smell it. Don't know why. Subsequent office jobs since have been difficult because I basically have to work sick all day, every day. My problem, not theirs.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 2, 2021)

My espresso machine has been broken for years so I don't buy whole beans anymore, but when it worked my favorite was Zoegas Forza, these days for just normal filtered coffee it's Zoegas Blue Java. 
Pretty much all Zoegas coffees I've tried have been really good, but we only get a few kinds over here. So I always ask my relatives from Sweden to bring some when they visit.
For my everyday coffee, I just buy the cheapest dark roast I can find, and it's usually good enough.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 2, 2021)

c7spheres said:


> Can't stand the smell of coffee. Drank it black all the time (normal stuff like Dunkin Donuts, Circle k, 8 o'clock Bean etc) and loved it in high school, then suddenly one day out of nowhere it made me nauseous just to smell it. Don't know why. Subsequent office jobs since have been difficult because I basically have to work sick all day, every day. My problem, not theirs.



interesting! My grandma had the same thing happen with strawberries. Just out of nowhere she became allergic to them or something and they'd just make her super sick.


@poke - looks like amazon.ca is out of the Forza, but I'll keep an eye out for it and see if I can pick some up somewhere!


----------



## IGC (Jan 2, 2021)

I have a long time friend who has become a massive coffee snob over the last 5 or so years, with the precision burr grinder and high end espresso machine, trying different roasters from all over. Though I myself don't take it to those levels, he has talked me into getting a 'pour over' which has been a fantastic improvement on anything I brew at home. Been meaning to try an Aero Press.

Tried these-

https://huckleberryroasters.com <<< the best!

https://henryshouseofcoffee.com

https://onyxcoffeelab.com


Meaning to try-

https://www.birdtowncoffee.com/coffee

https://www.duckrabbitcoffee.com

https://risingstarcoffee.com <<< the biggest coffe snob I know says these guys are supreme!


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 2, 2021)

Dude.... DUDE! The aeropress is the bomb. Once you have a coffee with that you will stick your nose up at high end coffee shop coffees. lol There will be no going back. 

I know it looks ridiculous. But the aeropress is super cheap, and it makes the best coffees ever. I have 2. One for home and one for at work. 

Just make sure your beans are relatively fresh. If you have old grounds or beans it can get a little bleh because it brings out the flavor so much.

/me does italian hand gesture


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 2, 2021)




----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 3, 2021)

bahaha amazing


----------



## TedEH (Jan 3, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> I think Lavazza is overrated.


Lavazza is the only coffee I've ever actively disliked. I don't know why, it was just never quite right. And for all the coffee I drink, I never got all that picky about it (I think 'cause I end up drinking other people's coffee pretty often, so there's not much room to be picky). I'll take instant over that stuff any day.


----------



## Sumsar (Jan 3, 2021)

How do you guys make your coffee? I have a Delonghi Dinamica thing that I got around 1½ years ago. Done about 1000 cups on it and it does hold up fine, even if it looks and feels like dirt cheap plastic on the outside.

I also have a Bodum French press which works great, but I don't drink that much coffee in one go. I know you can get them in like ½ L size to just brew for one cup, but that just seems like a lot of hasle. 

For beans I have been trying pretty much all variations available in Danish super markerts, both the cheaper and the more expensive stuff, but honestly not to impressed. Found one version that I really like, but it is never in stock or maybe it has been discontinued for whatever reason. My plan is to start trying out beans from various local roasters and see if I can find something truly great for what will probably be a bit higher cost.


----------



## LordCashew (Jan 3, 2021)

Sumsar said:


> How do you guys make your coffee? I have a Delonghi Dinamica thing that I got around 1½ years ago. Done about 1000 cups on it and it does hold up fine, even if it looks and feels like dirt cheap plastic on the outside.
> 
> I also have a Bodum French press which works great, but I don't drink that much coffee in one go. I know you can get them in like ½ L size to just brew for one cup, but that just seems like a lot of hasle.
> 
> For beans I have been trying pretty much all variations available in Danish super markerts, both the cheaper and the more expensive stuff, but honestly not to impressed. Found one version that I really like, but it is never in stock or maybe it has been discontinued for whatever reason. My plan is to start trying out beans from various local roasters and see if I can find something truly great for what will probably be a bit higher cost.


I love French press. I like my coffee to have a lot of body and a little mud doesn’t bother me, which is probably why it’s still my favorite.

But if the French press is too big/too much hassle get an Aeropress. They’re cheap, tiny, make one serving at a time, and prep and cleanup are super easy and quick. Brew quality is great to outstanding depending on who you listen to.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 3, 2021)

lol What @LordIronSpatula said. 100% aeropress all the way @Sumsar haha don't be fooled by the weird plastic syringe! The aeropress is great.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 3, 2021)

Left Coast Farm 100% Kona coffee. 
It's ridiculously good.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 4, 2021)

Sumsar said:


> How do you guys make your coffee?








I have exactly this one. It's slightly smaller than the typical models, and I usually make 0.7 liters (unlike other brands, Wilfa's measures are in liters and not small/large cups, which never matches any cups I drink out of  ) which is just enough for a working day. I make it in the morning, drink two cups before lunch and then I get one more smaller cup in the afternoon which I usually make iced coffee out of (since it's already cold by then). The plate under the pot heats up, but because of stupid EU laws all coffee machines these days must automatically turn off after an hour, so it never stays hot until the end of the day.

The things to look for in a coffee maker are the right temperature (if it's too cold, it doesn't absorb the flavor properly and too hot will burn it) and the pipe inside the pot. The pipe makes sure that new coffee always goes to the bottom and mixes with the old, without that the coffee on the top will have all the flavor and the bottom stuff will be colored water (and also slightly colder). I don't remember what the exact right temperature is, but it's a very narrow range it has to hit to make perfect coffee. Maybe it was 80-84°C, anything below or over will make it worse.
Over here (I'd assume it's the same at least in all nordic countries), coffee makers that match those criteria usually have some "belgian coffee bean company" seal of approval on them, so any machine with that will work basically the same.



thebeesknees22 said:


> @poke - looks like amazon.ca is out of the Forza, but I'll keep an eye out for it and see if I can pick some up somewhere!



If you like coffee with very intense flavor, then you'll definitely like that. I also always used to set my espresso machine to grind it as fine as possible to maximise it. It glogs up the grinder after a while that way though, so be careful 

That's a zer0 in my nickname, by the way


----------



## Choop (Jan 4, 2021)

The Aeropress makes amazing coffee, with the only downside being the amount it makes per press. I usually will do a couple presses in a big mug -- at least it's quick to brew in and clean.


----------



## jco5055 (Jan 4, 2021)

I have a standard coffee maker (gf's parents got it for me, i'd been using instant or going to cafes previously), and her dad got me SPY coffee...it's not bad but Im just starting my home coffee bean journey.


----------



## ElysianGuitars (Jan 4, 2021)

I absolutely love coffee. Earlier 2020 we got one of these (and a Capresso burr grinder, not pictured):







And my coffee has been incredible since then. I've done French press, which I also love, but far prefer my fancy pour-over machine.

For beans, our favorite that we can get at the grocery is Magnum Coffee, their Kenyan is incredible. Kicking Horse is another we've had good luck with, and we've got a big selection of Bones Coffee right now, my wife picked up a variety pack. So far I've tried their Kenyan and their Sumatra and both were excellent. She also bought their Big Lebowski themed White Russian flavored, I'm not usually a fan of flavored coffees but this one is great, especially when blended 50% with the Kicking Horse we have.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 4, 2021)

ElysianGuitars said:


> _Picture of a Moccamaster_



Here you can see the seal of approval I was talking about before.


----------



## mcleanab (Jan 4, 2021)

There's a great little restaurant in Bloomington, IN called the Runcible Spoon. They have a blond roast that is really blonde (yellowish, not brown) that tastes like peanut butter. Absolutely amazing and delicious! Put in a bit of a 'traditioal' light roast and it's so good!!! They ship too, and totally worth it! We just got three more pounds for X-Mas!


----------



## JSanta (Jan 4, 2021)

I like coffee in the same way some people like Scotch or Bourbon. 

I prefer a medium Kona, thanks for the suggestion @KnightBrolaire!

A friend of mine sent me a bag of Zeke's Coffee (https://zekescoffee.com/products/royal-blue?_pos=2&_sid=a913f9d1f&_ss=r) from Baltimore that was one of the best roasts I've ever had. I was a big dark roast fan when I was younger and could handle the acidity, but this one is dark and earthy, but not nearly as acidic as some of the more robust Sumatran dark roasts I used to enjoy. 

Anyone with access to a Wegman's Grocery store that likes Kona blends should check out their Island Blend. For something like $17, it's nearly as good as the single-source estate grown stuff I've purchased in the past. 

As far as African coffee is concerned, I get Tanzanian Peaberry from a local place (https://www.javascafe.com/) that is always very good, but I'm not sure where they source it from.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 4, 2021)

JSanta said:


> I like coffee in the same way some people like Scotch or Bourbon.
> 
> I prefer a medium Kona, thanks for the suggestion @KnightBrolaire!
> 
> ...


I usually drink light roasts, but for a dark roast The left hand coast is verrrry smooth going down. There's only a minute hint of bitterness and the fruity floral notes still shine through.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 4, 2021)

@p0ke - i like the design of that. Looks sleek! 

lol that is totally a zero in your name. my bad.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 4, 2021)

I think more important than the roast is the origin. I do not care for Africans like Ethiopian, but prefer South Americans and Costa Rica. Ethiopian and Kenyan are too bitter and citrusy for me, whereas Costa, Guatemala, etc are more earthy.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 4, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> I think more important than the roast is the origin. I do not care for Africans like Ethiopian, but prefer South Americans and Costa Rica. Ethiopian and Kenyan are too bitter and citrusy for me, whereas Costa, Guatemala, etc are more earthy.



Hmm, gotta agree on this. I didn't think of it since pretty much all normal coffees over here are from south/central America.
I tried some really good Ethiopian coffee a couple of years ago, but most have been too bitter.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 4, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> I think more important than the roast is the origin. I do not care for Africans like Ethiopian, but prefer South Americans and Costa Rica. Ethiopian and Kenyan are too bitter and citrusy for me, whereas Costa, Guatemala, etc are more earthy.


Ehh, I think the roast matters. I've noticed that it's significantly harder to pick up on subtleties the darker the roast, plus there's a greater chance of bitterness/burnt qualities coming through with less fastidious roasters. I would agree about the general flavor profiles with Kenyan and Ethiopian beans leaning towards berry/citrus. Most of the Costa Rican beans I've tried seemed brighter and more floral than Guatemalan.

I generally prefer light roasts since you get more caffeine.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 4, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Ehh, I think the roast matters. I've noticed that it's significantly harder to pick up on subtleties the darker the roast, plus there's a greater chance of bitterness/burnt qualities coming through with less fastidious roasters. I would agree about the general flavor profiles with Kenyan and Ethiopian beans leaning towards berry/citrus. Most of the Costa Rican beans I've tried seemed brighter and more floral than Guatemalan.
> 
> I generally prefer light roasts since you get more caffeine.



I think roast matters as well, but with a bean I prefer. I don’t like a light or dark roast Ethiopian, but I like a light or dark roast Costa. Occasionally I’ll combine a light/dark in our bean hopper.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 4, 2021)

Should we really open a can of worms and talk about cold brew and something like a Yama setup?

https://clivecoffee.com/products/yama-cold-brew-drip-tower


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 4, 2021)

ha! That's too much stuff to clean for me.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 4, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> Should we really open a can of worms and talk about cold brew and something like a Yama setup?
> 
> https://clivecoffee.com/products/yama-cold-brew-drip-tower


this is giving me flashbacks of having to titrate shit for chemistry in college lol


----------



## lurè (Jan 4, 2021)

If you have high end espresso machine in which you can set parameters (water temperature, amount of coffee powder...) here are some parameters for optimal/ professional espresso:


Machine pressure: 909 kPa 
Water : the softer the better, calcium and Mg interfere with the taste
Dose: 7,5g of coffee 
Water temperature: around 115°C, 90°C for the erogation.
Coffee Temperature: 70°C. 
Mug temperature: around 50°C at the base, 40°C on the edge
Rate of erogation: 1 mL/s + 5s of pre-infusion.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 5, 2021)

^ water makes a huge difference. One time after moving I thought my espresso machine was broken, coffee just tasted like crap. I swapped a lot of parts in it and nothing made any difference. So then I took it to work instead, and bam, coffee was really good again. 

Man, this thread makes me wanna fix the machine again... I have 2 identical machines, one with a broken water pump and one with a broken grinder, so I've been planning on assembling one working unit out of them, but I just don't have the time.


----------



## ElysianGuitars (Jan 7, 2021)

I've gotten through all the coffee varieties in the Bones variety pack, favorites from the pack were the Kenya, Sumatra, and Guatemala, and least favorite were Costa Rica and Colombia. I've always liked Kenyan coffees and Sumatras a lot, so that's not surprising, but will likely look for more Guatemalan coffees in the future.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 7, 2021)

ElysianGuitars said:


> I've gotten through all the coffee varieties in the Bones variety pack, favorites from the pack were the Kenya, Sumatra, and Guatemala, and least favorite were Costa Rica and Colombia. I've always liked Kenyan coffees and Sumatras a lot, so that's not surprising, but will likely look for more Guatemalan coffees in the future.



Try this.

https://toydogcoffee.com/collections/single-origin-coffees/products/guatemala-antigua-coffee

Or really anything on this page.

https://toydogcoffee.com/collections/single-origin-coffees


----------



## Thaeon (Jan 7, 2021)

Locally I go to a place called Merit. You can order their beans online. Solid roasts.

https://meritcoffee.com/

For fun stuff to try, I go with Bones Coffee Co. A lot of the flavored stuff I've had has actually been pretty good, and the single origin stuff is as good as any I've had.

For prep at home, I do pourover.


----------



## Thaeon (Jan 7, 2021)

lurè said:


> If you have high end espresso machine in which you can set parameters (water temperature, amount of coffee powder...) here are some parameters for optimal/ professional espresso:
> 
> 
> Machine pressure: 909 kPa
> ...



I live in Texas were the water is like stone. A filter is essential.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 7, 2021)

Thaeon said:


> I live in Texas were the water is like stone. A filter is essential.



Yeah man, in AZ the plumbing fixtures start to look like cave formations after a few years if you don't keep up.


----------



## Thaeon (Jan 7, 2021)

Seabeast2000 said:


> Yeah man, in AZ the plumbing fixtures start to look like cave formations after a few years if you don't keep up.



When I owned a house down here, we had a water softener. It was nice. Apartments don't have them, and water filters are pretty expensive to use due to the fact that there's so much mineral content that they don't last long.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 9, 2021)

Proper coffee mug:\


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 9, 2021)

Niice! That looks hardcore haha

I have a bunch of crew gear mugs for my arsenal. I'd post a pic but I'm not sure if I can... My job is pretty uptight on sharing things online. Crew gear shoooould be ok though...mmm...I'll refrain for now just in case.

..but I have some from Lost in Space season 2, Black Widow, Alice through the Looking Glass, and Free Guy. Then I have a bunch of shot glasses from Pacific Rim, but shot glasses would be for another thread. Oh and I have a regular glass from Infinity War, and some other junk.

They're kinda fun to have. Way better than the shirts and hoodies we used to do.


----------



## Bearitone (Jan 9, 2021)

Sounds like I need to try some Kona coffee through my Aero-press.


----------



## nightflameauto (Jan 12, 2021)

I've gone through cycles of enjoying cold-brew coffee of various varieties. I lean towards darker roasts most of the time. I don't have any fancy equipment. I just toss some ground beans into a mason jar with water, stuff it in the fridge overnight, and run it through a filter in a funnel the next morning.

Thing is, I started getting a really harsh caffeine buzz with a crash late in the day, so started hunting for alternatives. Turns out caocao (cocoa bean) nib coffee is a thing now. So I bought some, roasted them myself, ground them and do a hot water steep followed by a twelve hour stint in the fridge before filtering. Holy crap. I mean, it's definitely got chocolate overtones, but there's a fruity, slightly sour coffee like quality to it as well. And no harsh caffeine smash. Just a nice steady energy boost from the combo of much smaller amounts of caffeine and a big dose of theobromine.

After rolling through a pound bag of the stuff in a couple weeks I just ordered out five more pounds. I still have about five days worth of grounds in the fridge, but I'm hooked enough I know I need more.

Highly recommended to any coffee lover that doesn't mind a little trip to the chocolate side.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 13, 2021)

thebeesknees22 said:


> Niice! That looks hardcore haha
> 
> I have a bunch of crew gear mugs for my arsenal. I'd post a pic but I'm not sure if I can... My job is pretty uptight on sharing things online. Crew gear shoooould be ok though...mmm...I'll refrain for now just in case.
> 
> ...



I have a black Iron Maiden coffee mug that I used to use a lot, and at work I have a Star Wars mug... But I've mostly been drinking my coffee out of two Kermansavi (Finnish traditional ceramics brand) mugs I got as a graduation present in 2008. They're really thick, so even though I've dropped them from eye height into the floor several times, they just won't break. They also still look like they're brand new after almost 13 years of daily use. They're pretty big mugs too, 0,37 liters (12.5 oz) if I remember correctly, so I don't need to fill up all the time. When used with the espresso machine, they're just the right size for a 2x2 espresso (simultaneously making two double espresso's, with both going into the same mug) with room for some milk left.

Another point of discussion - how do you guys drink your coffee? Black? Or with milk/sugar/something else? 

I always used to drink it with normal "light milk" that the kids drink (1.5% fat), but a couple of months ago we changed to fat free milk, and putting that into coffee is like putting water out of the tap. So now I'm buying coffee milk separately, called "Café milk" and it's a bit heavier (3% fat), and makes the coffee more creamy. Tastes horrible by itself, so there's no risk of anyone accidentally drinking it  When I started drinking coffee I also put sugar into it, but I stopped that quite early on.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 13, 2021)

p0ke said:


> I have a black Iron Maiden coffee mug that I used to use a lot, and at work I have a Star Wars mug... But I've mostly been drinking my coffee out of two Kermansavi (Finnish traditional ceramics brand) mugs I got as a graduation present in 2008. They're really thick, so even though I've dropped them from eye height into the floor several times, they just won't break. They also still look like they're brand new after almost 13 years of daily use. They're pretty big mugs too, 0,37 liters (12.5 oz) if I remember correctly, so I don't need to fill up all the time. When used with the espresso machine, they're just the right size for a 2x2 espresso (simultaneously making two double espresso's, with both going into the same mug) with room for some milk left.
> 
> Another point of discussion - how do you guys drink your coffee? Black? Or with milk/sugar/something else?
> 
> I always used to drink it with normal "light milk" that the kids drink (1.5% fat), but a couple of months ago we changed to fat free milk, and putting that into coffee is like putting water out of the tap. So now I'm buying coffee milk separately, called "Café milk" and it's a bit heavier (3% fat), and makes the coffee more creamy. Tastes horrible by itself, so there's no risk of anyone accidentally drinking it  When I started drinking coffee I also put sugar into it, but I stopped that quite early on.


depends on the coffee. When I have to drink shitty coffee at the hospital, it's with cream and sugar. At home with good coffee, usually just just a little bit of honey.

Fun fact: milk proteins bind to the tannins/other bittering agents and that's part of why adding dairy mellows bitter coffee out. Also works for booze too (look up milk washing)


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 13, 2021)

Straight black.


----------



## possumkiller (Jan 13, 2021)

I never understood the big deal with coffee. But then, I never saw the big deal with weed or booze either. The only thing I ever really got addicted to after trying it was masturbation.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 13, 2021)

I used to use some milk & 2 spoonfuls of sugar with every cup, but I've cut that to just one a day like that, and I'll drink the rest black. It was just getting to be too much milk and sugar in the day when I hit 6-7 cups a day while on heavy overtime at work. 

@possumkiller - I honestly never was super into coffee. But I was super bored one year and started trying out all kinds of pre-workouts, and they had like 300mg of caffeine in them in one serving. So when I tried quitting, I just had ..like...major...major caffeine withdrawal lol haha It was brutal.

So I just started drinking coffee to get some in my system, and when I bought the aeropress it was so much better than any other coffee that I had up till then that I just find it super tasty now


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 13, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> Straight black.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 13, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> Straight black.



Same here, very rarely I'll throw a splash of milk in or a squirt of honey. Just not into the dairy first thing in the AM these days and more or less completely avoid the synthetics with my coffee.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 13, 2021)

I don't even feel I'm addicted to coffee, really. I mean, sometimes I don't even drink it for weeks if I just don't feel like it. I just really like the way it tastes, and yeah, can't deny it also energizes me when I'm really tired, but I don't generally drink it for that.


----------



## nightflameauto (Jan 13, 2021)

I used to do coffee, back when I was a dairy farmer, with a heavy dose of milk, but not like store milk. We'd just pasteurize our own, and straight off the top (filtered, obviously) and pasteurized it's at something like 4.5% to 5%. Not quite heavy cream, but nothing at all like you can buy as "milk." It sweetened the coffee in a way nothing else really does outside of a heavy blend of whipping cream and milk.

But out of the dairy, I can't take that much fat, so I cut back to just a little touch of agave syrup if the coffee is too bitter, or black if it's not bitter.

But I have to be careful about how much coffee I have now. The caffeine hits me hard if I overdo it.


----------



## ElysianGuitars (Jan 13, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> Try this.
> 
> https://toydogcoffee.com/collections/single-origin-coffees/products/guatemala-antigua-coffee


Currently out for delivery.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 13, 2021)

ElysianGuitars said:


> Currently out for delivery.



Let me know what you think. I need to order from them again soon.


----------



## ElysianGuitars (Jan 14, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> Let me know what you think. I need to order from them again soon.


It's pretty good, made a pot this morning. It's kind of earthy and rich but still has a very slight hint of sweetness. The beans smell amazing. Next time I make it I'll probably add slightly more beans, this brew could be a touch stronger.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 14, 2021)

ElysianGuitars said:


> It's pretty good, made a pot this morning. It's kind of earthy and rich but still has a very slight hint of sweetness. The beans smell amazing. Next time I make it I'll probably add slightly more beans, this brew could be a touch stronger.


----------



## LordCashew (Jan 14, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> I've gone through cycles of enjoying cold-brew coffee of various varieties. I lean towards darker roasts most of the time. I don't have any fancy equipment. I just toss some ground beans into a mason jar with water, stuff it in the fridge overnight, and run it through a filter in a funnel the next morning.
> 
> Thing is, I started getting a really harsh caffeine buzz with a crash late in the day, so started hunting for alternatives. Turns out caocao (cocoa bean) nib coffee is a thing now. So I bought some, roasted them myself, ground them and do a hot water steep followed by a twelve hour stint in the fridge before filtering. Holy crap. I mean, it's definitely got chocolate overtones, but there's a fruity, slightly sour coffee like quality to it as well. And no harsh caffeine smash. Just a nice steady energy boost from the combo of much smaller amounts of caffeine and a big dose of theobromine.
> 
> ...


I've also been a big fan of cold brew, especially darker roasts with nitro. The thing is when I drink more than a little of that stuff, it's basically like being on drugs. It puts me in a weird headspace where I'm wired and a little loopy, which was fine when I did construction. But when I went back to school I found out that trying to play solo classical guitar in front of people while feeling like that did not work out well.

Anyway, thanks for the tip. I plan on trying that when it gets warmer. (Says the guy where it's already 30 degrees warmer  )


----------



## LordCashew (Jan 14, 2021)

p0ke said:


> how do you guys drink your coffee? Black? Or with milk/sugar/something else?



For French pressed coffee made from good quality beans, I usually go black.

For espresso, I usually add a touch of heavy cream if I have it. For really great-tasting roasts I might leave it black and slightly dilute it with water, still keeping it stronger than an Americano. I very rarely sweeten, but will sometimes add honey if the mood strikes me. Much better than sugar IMHO. 

In summer when I make cold brew I'll sometimes add milk and chicory.

Honestly, trying heavy cream in coffee was life-changing. It's so delicious, it got me out of the "sugary coffee" phase most Americans seem to go through. It does add significant calories and will mask some flavors in really high-quality beans, though, which is why I generally take the good stuff black now.


----------



## nightflameauto (Jan 14, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> I've also been a big fan of cold brew, especially darker roasts with nitro. The thing is when I drink more than a little of that stuff, it's basically like being on drugs. It puts me in a weird headspace where I'm wired and a little loopy, which was fine when I did construction. But when I went back to school I found out that trying to play solo classical guitar in front of people while feeling like that did not work out well.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for the tip. I plan on trying that when it gets warmer. (Says the guy where it's already 30 degrees warmer  )


Yeah, that's pretty much what happened to me with my cold brews. I needed to keep myself to just a tiny little bit every hour or two or I'd be, essentially, a vibrating half-real shell of myself.

I had been avoiding exposing the caocao bean brew to too much heat over too long a period due to how coffee gets more bitter the longer its exposed to the heat. Apparently this was a mistake. I forgot to set myself up last night so I'd have it this morning and decided to just wing it by tossing the grounds right into the pot with the water before boiling. What I ended up with was a super rich dark chocolate drink after filtering. Apparently caocao beans don't have the necessary acidity to pollute the water with bitterness.

So I did a bit of research and find out the method I used this morning is basically what the ancient Aztecs did and the drink that legend says Cortez had when he first met with them. What he later referred to as the drink of the gods. I now understand why. And want to facepalm myself into a coma for trying to do this cold-brew style for the last couple weeks. The ground beans really give up the goods under heat.

I'm beginning to suspect I may have to do a gentle blend of coffee and caocao and see what kind of craziness that inspires.


----------



## LordCashew (Jan 14, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> I needed to keep myself to just a tiny little bit every hour or two or I'd be, essentially, a vibrating half-real shell of myself.



Hah, that mirrors my experience exactly, and very well put! The half-real thing is the craziest part--after a few days of being wired from coffee I used to feel really spaced out and not fully present in my body. I would often feel low-key anxious but other than that my emotional bandwidth would be super limited. Interestingly enough, some studies have suggested that coffee drinkers are as much as 30% less likely to commit suicide. Others say caffeine limits emotional intelligence. So maybe it limits the lows and highs? Good or bad, it squares with my experience.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 15, 2021)

You guys must be really sensitive to caffeine  I mean, the only buzz I've ever gotten from coffee was when I got my espresso machine - I made iced espresso in empty coke bottles (1.5L -> 50oz), and one day I drank two such bottles in a couple of hours. My head started spinning as if I was in a super fast carousel. Then in order to try to stabilize it, I drank a whole slab of beer. It didn't help even though I got drunk, and then I had to return to the army base (because I was doing my mandatory service and had been home for the weekend). I guess you can imagine how I felt the next morning when we had to get up and go out running in the snow at 6 am.

Apart from that time, I don't really get any kind of direct reaction to caffeine. And I even used to drink energy drinks (like Red Bull) AND a whole pot (sometimes even more) of coffee every day. The main difference I'm noticing is that I sleep much better now that my caffeine intake is like 90% less


----------



## nightflameauto (Jan 15, 2021)

p0ke said:


> You guys must be really sensitive to caffeine  I mean, the only buzz I've ever gotten from coffee was when I got my espresso machine - I made iced espresso in empty coke bottles (1.5L -> 50oz), and one day I drank two such bottles in a couple of hours. My head started spinning as if I was in a super fast carousel. Then in order to try to stabilize it, I drank a whole slab of beer. It didn't help even though I got drunk, and then I had to return to the army base (because I was doing my mandatory service and had been home for the weekend). I guess you can imagine how I felt the next morning when we had to get up and go out running in the snow at 6 am.
> 
> Apart from that time, I don't really get any kind of direct reaction to caffeine. And I even used to drink energy drinks (like Red Bull) AND a whole pot (sometimes even more) of coffee every day. The main difference I'm noticing is that I sleep much better now that my caffeine intake is like 90% less


I'm not too sensitive to caffeine, as I can still down an energy drink without having too much effect on me. But pure cold brew at concentrated levels, like I used to make it, hits you with such a shit-pile of the stuff that it really fucks with your head. I can drink hot coffee all day long and not get the buzz that my cold brew gives me if I don't space it out in small doses. It's just a completely different world.


----------



## LordCashew (Jan 15, 2021)

p0ke said:


> You guys must be really sensitive to caffeine



I'm currently drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day (or equivalent in espresso) and enjoying a normal state of mind, thank you very much.  But maybe... I know a few people that can have coffee in the evening and go right to sleep, whereas I'll be up until 3 am if I do.

I think I heard that Finland has the highest per capita coffee consumption in the world, something like five cups a day on average? Maybe you've got some kind of genetic resistance to caffeine over there...


----------



## Manurack (Jan 20, 2021)

I like Oso Negro coffee made in Nelson, British Columbia. It's a 40 minute drive from where I live and it's a cool little hippy town, I watched The Wailers perform there about 6 years ago.



I got this cool little Aeropress portable single cup coffee maker for Christmas from my mom, it's basically a travel French press and I like it.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 20, 2021)

sweet glass mug!


----------



## ElysianGuitars (Jan 20, 2021)

Yesterday morning, when I was making the day's coffee, went to clean the carafe (wife managed to burn coffee to it), and my plastic scrub brush just barely tapped the glass and busted it right now 

Wound up guying another from Technivorm, $35 is a little steep but I didn't want to chance getting a different one that didn't fit.


----------



## mmr007 (Jan 24, 2021)

There is a place just outside Las Vegas near The California border called Terrible's....supposedly one of the world's largest Chevrons (100+ pumps) and a convenience store the size of a Walmart (see below). Anyway if you get a chance to get fresh coffee in there, do so. Best coffee I ever had...seriously. From a convenience store in the middle of the Mojave desert.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Apr 8, 2021)

Decided to try a smattering of single origin offerings from Intelligentsia. Their Ethiopian, Rwanda and Burundi ones being my favorite so far. They're all very fruity/bright, with the Burundi one having a super interesting sweet citrus, with a dash of chocolate. 
The weirdest one was the Mexican single origin, which had some citrus/cola flavors. Almost like their Guatemalan and Colombian offerings, but with less chocolaty/earthiness, and more brightness. 

Also tried some other Kona besides Left Coast Farms (this one is from Green Coffee Traders) and both have an interesting blend of darker chocolate/earthy flavors with mellow smooth top ends. They're more finicky about how long you let them steep in a french press though. Go too long or brew it too strong and they get too tannin forward/bitter/cigarette ashy. The african single origins are far more forgiving in terms of experimenting with grounds to water ratio and steep times ime. 


Also tried Bones Coffee Co's Electric Unicorn, which is surprisingly awesome for a flavored coffee. Very similar to Fruity Pebbles flavor (eg lots of citrus notes) but with some interesting vanilla/sassafras thrown in. Overall it's not an overly bright/acidic coffee other than that top note of fruity pebbles/sassafras and pretty well balanced imo.


----------



## jaxadam (Apr 18, 2021)

Picked up a few beans. The Bold Bean is a lighter roast than I usually go for, but I like a lot of their stuff so I thought I'd give it a shot. The Charleston looks pretty good and it was on sale.







Also, have we talked about Fluffy Coffee? Also known as Dalgona Coffee, it is very interesting, not bad, but not something I could have very often.


----------



## nightflameauto (Apr 19, 2021)

Over the last few months I've changed up my coffee game considerably. I've move to darker roasts. I've gotten a really nice percolator coffee maker that's a super quick clean-up/turn-around deal. And I've got a new burr grinder on the way to complete the upgrades for the foreseeable future.

I did make a cold brew of the dark roast I've been using, a French Roast from a local place that makes it extra dark. I used that cold brew to create a black cocoa/coffee sweetener for the rare occasion I feel I need it. Lucky for me as we ran out of dark roast and I had to partake of the wife's "donut shop" generic blend this morning, which is. . . less tasty than I'm used to.

Once a week I allow myself an affogato (hot coffee with ice cream). My favorite so far was a scoop of salted caramel laced vanilla with chocolate chunks. The chocolate and caramel melt in as the vanilla cream becomes a major flavor add-on to the coffee. It's almost overly sweet, but it's a nice dessert style coffee treat.

The rest of the time it's black, black, black. I'm loving the new maker. Apparently the method of brewing makes all the difference. I can't drink much coffee with the traditional drip maker before feeling burnt out on it. This I can sip all day and never really lose interest. Definitely a worthwhile purchase.


----------



## soliloquy (Apr 19, 2021)

i'm not particular about my coffee, but I know that I rather pay extra to avoid Tim Hortons. Either McDonalds used to be great, or my taste has changed dramatically and now i cant stomach either Timmies or McDonalds. Second Cup is supposedly superior beans, but they are super hard to come by in the Greater Toronto Area. Starbucks is 'decent', but i usually dont get their espressos or black coffee, and just use it as a treat every now and then.

I do brew my own coffee using local artisan's roasted coffee which comes from Costa Rica.

All I know is that dairy and coffee (in my opinion) are sacrilege.

I do prefer Medium Roast, and think that Hazelnut AND French Vanilla mix make an interesting take on coffee. But hazelnut anything is a win for me


----------



## nightflameauto (Apr 19, 2021)

soliloquy said:


> i'm not particular about my coffee, but I know that I rather pay extra to avoid Tim Hortons. Either McDonalds used to be great, or my taste has changed dramatically and now i cant stomach either Timmies or McDonalds. Second Cup is supposedly superior beans, but they are super hard to come by in the Greater Toronto Area. Starbucks is 'decent', but i usually dont get their espressos or black coffee, and just use it as a treat every now and then.
> 
> I do brew my own coffee using local artisan's roasted coffee which comes from Costa Rica.
> 
> ...


I'm a big hazelnut fan too. 

But as an ex dairy farmer, saying dairy and anything is sacrilege is sacrilege. In the parlor (milk barn) we used to drink our coffee half whole milk (just filtered and pasteurized, no other processes performed), half coffee. I still miss that sometimes. Whole milk you get at the store isn't the same. It's missing that natural sweetness that comes with high cream content naturally.


----------



## soliloquy (Apr 19, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> I'm a big hazelnut fan too.
> 
> But as an ex dairy farmer, saying dairy and anything is sacrilege is sacrilege. In the parlor (milk barn) we used to drink our coffee half whole milk (just filtered and pasteurized, no other processes performed), half coffee. I still miss that sometimes. Whole milk you get at the store isn't the same. It's missing that natural sweetness that comes with high cream content naturally.



oh, dont get me wrong. Though i cant consume much of dairy due to lactose, I have no issues with dairy as a whole. Cheese, ice cream, butter, or any other variations are all awesome. Just, to me, adding it to coffee specifically, drastically changes the taste of coffee itself. 

Here in Canada, there is a drink called 'double double', or even 'triple triple' if you choose. Black coffee, 2 creamers, 2 sugars. To my taste buds, all i taste is dairy, and the natural bitterness of coffee is completely irradiated. That i find pointless, in my opinion. 

have a milkshake, or just milk on its own, great. leave coffee black (again, my opinion)


----------



## Drew (Apr 19, 2021)

Coffee?? Where?!?!

I brewed most of my own even before the pandemic, at home with a fresh press to take a travel mug in with me, and at work with a single-cup pour-over maker. I buy whole bands and use a Oxo countertop burr grinder, and go through one to two french presses a day - mine's an "8 cup" maker, which the unit of one "cup" of coffee is extremely arbitrary and exists nowhere outside of coffee makers, near as I can tell, but I'd say that translates into about 2-3 mugs worth per french press. 

I jump around a lot sourcing beans - back when traveling was a thing people would do I'd usually come back with a bag or two of coffee from a road trip and usually when I'm in a coffee shop somewhere and can take coffee with me I'll buy a bag if there coffee is any good. Lately, the best coffee I've found locally has been at a brewery near me, Remnant - Barrington Coffee Co, but I look at coffee a lot like microbrews - try whatever's local to you, and whenever you leave your local area, look at it as an excuse to try new coffees.


----------



## TedEH (Apr 19, 2021)

soliloquy said:


> 'double double', or even 'triple triple'


My problem with those is not the dairy but the sugar. IMO sugar is what ruins coffee.

I feel like I've gone kinda full circle in terms of coffee. I went from drinking instant, to drinking mostly Timmies, to working in an area with a bunch of fancy coffee around so I got stuck on the americanos made by one or two places nearby and got kinda picky about coffee, then back to not caring as long as it's coffee. Now WFH means I mostly just make the coffee at home - and I've landed on the cheap President's Choice light roasted stuff.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (May 18, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Decided to try a smattering of single origin offerings from Intelligentsia. Their Ethiopian, Rwanda and Burundi ones being my favorite so far. They're all very fruity/bright, with the Burundi one having a super interesting sweet citrus, with a dash of chocolate.
> The weirdest one was the Mexican single origin, which had some citrus/cola flavors. Almost like their Guatemalan and Colombian offerings, but with less chocolaty/earthiness, and more brightness.
> 
> Also tried some other Kona besides Left Coast Farms (this one is from Green Coffee Traders) and both have an interesting blend of darker chocolate/earthy flavors with mellow smooth top ends. They're more finicky about how long you let them steep in a french press though. Go too long or brew it too strong and they get too tannin forward/bitter/cigarette ashy. The african single origins are far more forgiving in terms of experimenting with grounds to water ratio and steep times ime.
> ...


I tried a bunch of Bones Coffee Co's other offerings (mint chocolate, maple bacon, chocolate orange, paradise pie). I thought the maple bacon was going to be disgusting but it's just good mellow coffee with a strong nose of maple. It's way more subtle when drinking it. The mint chocolate was the most finicky in terms of steep time/ratios and also was the first to get bitter, but the mint quality does come through nicely and plays nice off the darker roast. Chocolate orange was basically a darker, smoother roast with some mild citrus notes. Nothing overly interesting. Paradise pie is basically the same idea but a bit lighter roast and a tad more acidic. 
All of them were solid flavored options but I think the Electric Unicorn is by far the most interesting in terms of flavor. Maple Bacon would probably be my runner up. If you're going to go flavored then at least go for weird sounding stuff imo.


----------



## TedEH (May 18, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I thought the maple bacon was going to be disgusting but it's just good mellow coffee with a strong nose of maple.


Presidents Choice (the in-store brand) has a cheap maple flavoured coffee that I expected to taste funky but turned out to be pretty good.


----------



## myrtorp (Jun 19, 2021)

I've been drinking instant coffee for a long time and had a french press and manual grinder that didn't get that much use, but now I got a bialetti moka pot and some beans and the step up in quality is pretty big haha, now I want to invest in a slightly fancier grinder for a finer grind and try different beans! I honestly haven't figured out what i really like yet so I will experiment. I usually just drink it black but sometimes I go and make an irish coffee or make it with ice and ice cream and milk for a sunny day.

I will probably still drink instant for breakfast because i want it faaast!


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 19, 2021)

Best cup of coffee I ever had was in Paia on Maui, Hawaii. Fresh Kona is pretty amazing. I typically buy Kona blends if straight Kona is unavailable, as it rarely is in Indiana. On a regular basis I will get Central American beans if buying single origin.

I particularly like a little place in Fort Wayne, Indiana called Old Crown. But, I like them for their bar services and food menu as much as I like the beans they roast there. It is one of those places that I have missed since moving. old crown coffee roasters – old crown coffee roasters


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 22, 2021)

Anyone tried making egg coffee before?
I just made it today with some kona I had lying around and it makes for a much mellower/lighter colored/ less acidic coffee with a smoother mouthfeel.

Basically the gist is mixing an egg (egg white/yolk bind to tannins/solids,etc) and eggshells (reduces acidity) with your coffee grounds, then add it to boiling water in a saucepan. Then add cold water and remove from heat. The solidified grounds should be on the bottom and can be easily strained out. 
It also works with a french press if you're lazy fyi.


----------



## p0ke (Aug 22, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Anyone tried making egg coffee before?
> I just made it today with some kona I had lying around and it makes for a much mellower/lighter colored/ less acidic coffee with a smoother mouthfeel.
> 
> Basically the gist is mixing an egg (egg white/yolk bind to tannins/solids,etc) and eggshells (reduces acidity) with your coffee grounds, then add it to boiling water in a saucepan. Then add cold water and remove from heat. The solidified grounds should be on the bottom and can be easily strained out.
> It also works with a french press if you're lazy fyi.



Huh, sounds interesting. Might give that a go someday.


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 22, 2021)

Sounds like two breakfast items I like to keep separated.


----------



## CovertSovietBear (Aug 22, 2021)

I've got eggs, I've got a french press, I'll report back to this thread when the egg coffee has been made and taste-tested. How copy.
Going to buy some Kona first, all I have are StarBucks bags, mainly their french roast.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 22, 2021)

CovertSovietBear said:


> I've got eggs, I've got a french press, I'll report back to this thread when the egg coffee has been made and taste-tested. How copy.
> Going to buy some Kona first, all I have are StarBucks bags, mainly their french roast.


The saucepan way I mentioned works better tbh, plus it's not really any more work. I tried both methods earlier today, and the saucepan way was even smoother/mellower.

This is a good option for overly dark/bitter roasts and mellowing them out. It's not necessary to buy really good coffee to try it, as it'd work with cheap blends too. I just used kona because that's what I had already ground up this morning.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 22, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> Sounds like two breakfast items I like to keep separated.


It's a good option for making a big batch of coffee since it stops it from getting overly harsh, but it's not something I would do regularly. It's basically making coffee consomme


----------



## Crungy (Aug 22, 2021)

I've had egg coffee at the state fair years ago, seemed okay though it was pretty regular coffee. It was at one of the little church food stands by the agriculture buildings.


----------



## p0ke (Aug 23, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> It's a good option for making a big batch of coffee since it stops it from getting overly harsh



Hmm, in that case maybe it's not for me, I prefer my coffee overly harsh 
When brewing normal filter coffee for example, I always put 10 cups worth of water and 11-12 cups worth of coffee, and it's gotta be dark roast. When my wife makes coffee she puts exactly 10:10 and it's just too mild for me. Apparently her boss at work prefers her coffee with half that amount of coffee, yuck...

But I'll still give egg coffee a go sometime, just because it sounds interesting. I wonder if it'd work in a filter cooker though?


----------



## wheresthefbomb (Aug 23, 2021)

I keep breaking french presses. Two in two years is too many. They're expensive, so my solution has been to use an empty Adam's peanut butter jar. Same size, 1/4 the price and comes filled with delicious peanut butter. I eat a ton of PB so keeping jars around is no issue.

They're not tempered so I lose one occasionally if my cabin gets too cold at night and I pour the hot water too fast, the biggest tragedy here being that I lose my fresh coffee. The press doesn't fit right so I just wait for gravity. I also tried the "clean sock" method I found online, found doing it this way was just one less step. 


Also here's an anecdote regarding my french press (RIP):

3ish years ago I lived at a house show house. We were doing our thing, having a house show, and as I was walking around collecting donations for traveling bands I noticed a very large man sitting in the corner swilling box rosé out of my french press beaker. At first I thought to go get him a different vessel because, that's my fucking $40 french press beaker, but then I decided, no, let this pass, and let it be an excellent and hilarious memory. I'm glad I made the right choice because that memory warms my heart on a daily basis.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Aug 23, 2021)

@wheresthefbomb sounds like time for an Aeropress!


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 23, 2021)

wheresthefbomb said:


> I keep breaking french presses. Two in two years is too many. They're expensive, so my solution has been to use an empty Adam's peanut butter jar. Same size, 1/4 the price and comes filled with delicious peanut butter. I eat a ton of PB so keeping jars around is no issue.
> 
> They're not tempered so I lose one occasionally if my cabin gets too cold at night and I pour the hot water too fast, the biggest tragedy here being that I lose my fresh coffee. The press doesn't fit right so I just wait for gravity. I also tried the "clean sock" method I found online, found doing it this way was just one less step.
> 
> ...


Buy an all metal french press then. 
These are like 30$ and work like a champ:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JGBK6XV/?tag=sevenstringorg-20


----------



## LordCashew (Aug 23, 2021)

I once opened a bottle of barleywine that had been aging on its side for several years and found I couldn't pour it without tons of yeast sediment coming out. It still tasted great, but it looked really gross with chunks of sediment floating around in it.

So I served my beer out of a French press. Worked like a charm.


----------



## thraxil (Aug 24, 2021)

ElysianGuitars said:


>



We have a bright green Moccamaster that my partner got on deep discount when we lived in the Netherlands (probably discounted because of the color). It's great. My favorite part is that the "extra heat" switch is labeled in Dutch as "extra heet". Of course, the Dutch word "heet" is pronounced the same as the English word "hate". So whenever we have guests over, I like to ask them if they'd like their coffee brewed with "extra hate".


----------



## ElysianGuitars (Aug 24, 2021)

Ordered Roma Kawa's two Ethiopians, got them this week. Had the Yergecheffe this morning, was quite good.


----------



## Drew (Aug 24, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Anyone tried making egg coffee before?
> I just made it today with some kona I had lying around and it makes for a much mellower/lighter colored/ less acidic coffee with a smoother mouthfeel.
> 
> Basically the gist is mixing an egg (egg white/yolk bind to tannins/solids,etc) and eggshells (reduces acidity) with your coffee grounds, then add it to boiling water in a saucepan. Then add cold water and remove from heat. The solidified grounds should be on the bottom and can be easily strained out.
> It also works with a french press if you're lazy fyi.


I know a couple people who save egg shells for this reason and crush or grind them and put them in with their coffee grinds. 

I don't bother - I feel like if your coffee is too harsh without adding eggs to it, then you're probably brewing the wrong coffee. Then again I say the same about cream and sugar, so take that with a giant sized grain of salt.


----------



## BMFan30 (Aug 24, 2021)

thebeesknees22 said:


> @wheresthefbomb sounds like time for an Aeropress!


Is this really the real deal? Your comment made me finnally look up what it was because I've seen that word being tossed around so I figured I'd see what it is since I had no idea. It seems to me like an overly complicated way to make coffee. Like when I tried to make bulletproof coffee with coconut. What a disaster.

Why do people aeropress over just brewing grinded coffee beans?


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Aug 24, 2021)

BMFan30 said:


> Is this really the real deal? Your comment made me finnally look up what it was because I've seen that word being tossed around so I figured I'd see what it is since I had no idea. It seems to me like an overly complicated way to make coffee. Like when I tried to make bulletproof coffee with coconut. What a disaster.
> 
> Why do people aeropress over just brewing grinded coffee beans?


 

in a word. YES. I love my aeropress! I have 2. one for home and the other was for work pre-covid and working from home. It's super simple. Put your filter in the giant syringe. Make sure the cap is tight. Put your coffee grounds in. Add water up to whatever number you want. (2-4 is good). 

Make sure you follow the temperature suggestions for your water so you don't burn the coffee grounds.

Give it a quick stir> PUSHhhhhhh it down! Throw the grounds away and give it a quick rinse and Boom! Done! 

It's literally the same thing as a french press, it just has more pressure and better filtering. The added pressure does seem to bring out more flavor, but that could just be in my head too. The better filtering than a french press is for real though.


----------



## Drew (Aug 24, 2021)

BMFan30 said:


> Is this really the real deal? Your comment made me finnally look up what it was because I've seen that word being tossed around so I figured I'd see what it is since I had no idea. It seems to me like an overly complicated way to make coffee. Like when I tried to make bulletproof coffee with coconut. What a disaster.
> 
> Why do people aeropress over just brewing grinded coffee beans?


I have yet to try, and honestly it's not a high priority because I DO like what my french press produces and a lot of the suppsed weaknesses (the less fine filtering) are perks for me since I like what it does to the body...

...but people who use them swear by them. Invented by the same guy who invented the frisbee, I understand, which is kind of cool.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 24, 2021)

Drew said:


> I know a couple people who save egg shells for this reason and crush or grind them and put them in with their coffee grinds.
> 
> I don't bother - I feel like if your coffee is too harsh without adding eggs to it, then you're probably brewing the wrong coffee. Then again I say the same about cream and sugar, so take that with a giant sized grain of salt.


Ehh I find harshness highly dependent on brew time, method and coffee used/roast. I don't mind acidic coffee and vastly prefer light roasts (since they tend to have more caffeine available and taste better black). I've noticed harshness is more typical with darker roasts, which is yet another reason I try to avoid them.
The Kona I used for my test was a darker, harsher roast than the previous kona I bought. It's way more finicky about brew times. That's the plus of egg coffee, you can basically let coffee brew/percolate for a long time without it getting harsh.
I a/b'd the same amount of grounds/water in my french press vs the egg way and the egg way is markedly better.


----------



## TedEH (Aug 24, 2021)

I used to think I was a bit snobbish about my coffee, but then I met some actual coffee snobs. I'm not picky about coffee- I just like drinking excessive amounts of it. People talking about different roasts and sources and brewing methods and I'm just fine with my cheap grocery store coffee made in one of those cheapo $20 drip/filter machines.


----------



## BMFan30 (Aug 24, 2021)

thebeesknees22 said:


> in a word. YES. I love my aeropress! I have 2. one for home and the other was for work pre-covid and working from home. It's super simple. Put your filter in the giant syringe. Make sure the cap is tight. Put your coffee grounds in. Add water up to whatever number you want. (2-4 is good).
> 
> Make sure you follow the temperature suggestions for your water so you don't burn the coffee grounds.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info, I'll have to try it sometime. I've never had french press either so if aeropress was a step up from french press then aeropress should be a huge step up from me just using an old traditional coffee pot you have to press the mesh filter down on which pours about 2 cups at a time. But I'm super happy with it.

Is it expensive?


Drew said:


> I have yet to try, and honestly it's not a high priority because I DO like what my french press produces and a lot of the suppsed weaknesses (the less fine filtering) are perks for me since I like what it does to the body...
> 
> ...but people who use them swear by them. Invented by the same guy who invented the frisbee, I understand, which is kind of cool.



Never had french press either. At least I don't think I have. I always keep it simple but threads like this make me wonder if the grass is really greener on the other side and if it's even worth the hassle because the vids I'm seeing have shit loads of steps on deck.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Aug 24, 2021)

BMFan30 said:


> Thanks for the info, I'll have to try it sometime. I've never had french press either so if aeropress was a step up from french press then aeropress should be a huge step up from me just using an old traditional coffee pot you have to press the mesh filter down on which pours about 2 cups at a time. But I'm super happy with it.
> 
> Is it expensive?



Nah, that's the great thing. Aeropresses are pretty cheap. They're literally just giant plastic syringes so they aren't really all that fancy tbh lol. I picked mine up for $39 CAD, but in USD they're like $29 or whatever. You can probably find some cheaper with some bed bath and beyond coupons or whatever. 

You'll only get one cup at a time with an aeropress tbh. That's the down side. But it's not like it takes long to make a 2nd cup. just put in> squish> empty/clean> repeat. haha

I prefer the paper filters too for an aeropress. I have one of the metal mesh ones, but the filter is too fine and it's a royal pain to push the plunger down with it. And it's more to clean.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 24, 2021)

BMFan30 said:


> Thanks for the info, I'll have to try it sometime. I've never had french press either so if aeropress was a step up from french press then aeropress should be a huge step up from me just using an old traditional coffee pot you have to press the mesh filter down on which pours about 2 cups at a time. But I'm super happy with it.
> 
> Is it expensive?
> 
> ...


French press is dead easy. grind coffee, slap it into the press, then add boiling water, press, and wait a few minutes.
That mueller press I linked earlier in the thread is a great cheap durable french press, and I basically never have issues with grounds making their way through the metal mesh (double layer of stainless mesh). Granted I also grind the beans pretty coarsely to guarantee nothing gets through. Clean up is super easy too, and you don't have to replace filters.
My whole time to make around 1L (around 32oz) of coffee is maybe a few minutes, with the majority of that being me waiting for water to boil (not including the 3-5 minutes to let it steep). The end result is definitely better than drip coffee or keurig ime. I've a/b'd my current setup against my keurig, my old drip coffee maker and my mom's fancy espresso machine using the same coffee type/ratio because I'm a fucking nerd.

French presses only get a bad rap because people either buy prebought ground cofeee (booo hisss) that's ground too fine for their filter, or they have a really useless filter (like the ones on the cheap ikea presses).


----------



## p0ke (Aug 25, 2021)

TedEH said:


> I used to think I was a bit snobbish about my coffee, but then I met some actual coffee snobs. I'm not picky about coffee- I just like drinking excessive amounts of it. People talking about different roasts and sources and brewing methods and I'm just fine with my cheap grocery store coffee made in one of those cheapo $20 drip/filter machines.



Sort of same thing. The main thing I'm picky about is that the coffee has to be strong enough. It's not like I won't drink too mild coffee, but I complain a lot about it 

I like to try all kinds of different roasts and tbh I prefer espresso over normal filter coffee, but at the of the day I'm happy either way as long as there's enough of it. I have a more high end "drip/filter machine" though, but considering you might have to buy a new one every 10 years or so, I think it's definitely worth the investment. I'm not saying there aren't good AND cheap ones, but the ones that have the Belgian bla bla seal of approval are more likely to be good. I explained why they're better a few pages back.

We also have french presses in various sizes, but those are mainly just backup in case the proper machine breaks (also my wife uses those to make tea sometimes).

By the way, the best "normal" coffee I've ever had was back when I lived in Sweden - we had a percolator coffee maker and that just made really good coffee. Pretty much exactly this one, but I think it was a different brand:


----------



## myrtorp (Aug 25, 2021)

Now a while later I have also bought an Aeropress and a really nice grinder (Timemore slim plus) And I really like the aeropress, its fast, easy to clean and coffee taste great. I use it twice everyday. I really recommend it. I was hesitant to get it and didn't like the plastic look. Grinding beans and brewing is fast however and I will never drink instant coffee again!
I got a metal filter for it too, but since you get 350 paper filters with it I will probably use it more when those run out. Just be mindful when plopping out the coffee afterwards, that you will want to save the metal filter  I have also brainfarted a couple of times and thrown the end cap in the trash lol.

The Timemore is a joy to use, I wish it wasn't so fast so I could hold it longer. A a full load takes around 30-40 seconds to grind. 
The moka pot i have is 6 cups so I now mostly use it if im making coffee for more than just myself. Though you can save some and drink later too, still tastes good.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Aug 25, 2021)

myrtorp said:


> I got a metal filter for it too, but since you get 350 paper filters with it I will probably use it more when those run out. Just be mindful when plopping out the coffee afterwards, that you will want to save the metal filter  I have also brainfarted a couple of times and thrown the end cap in the trash lol.



ha, I do this more often than I'd like to admit when I do happen to use my metal filter.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Aug 25, 2021)

p0ke said:


> Sort of same thing. The main thing I'm picky about is that the coffee has to be strong enough. It's not like I won't drink too mild coffee, but I complain a lot about it
> 
> I like to try all kinds of different roasts and tbh I prefer espresso over normal filter coffee, but at the of the day I'm happy either way as long as there's enough of it. I have a more high end "drip/filter machine" though, but considering you might have to buy a new one every 10 years or so, I think it's definitely worth the investment. I'm not saying there aren't good AND cheap ones, but the ones that have the Belgian bla bla seal of approval are more likely to be good. I explained why they're better a few pages back.
> 
> ...




I finally went to one of these after decades of machinery and internally plumbed makers. Works great, nothing to break or clog. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa were onto something.....


----------



## Drew (Aug 25, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> My whole time to make around 1L (around 32oz) of coffee is maybe a few minutes, with the majority of that being me waiting for water to boil (not including the 3-5 minutes to let it steep). The end result is definitely better than drip coffee or keurig ime. I've a/b'd my current setup against my keurig, my old drip coffee maker and my mom's fancy espresso machine using the same coffee type/ratio because I'm a fucking nerd.


I've got it down to a minute or two, tops, of active time - in the morning, fill up a kettle and start it going on low on the way to the shower, when I get out it's usually just shy of boiling or just starting to whistle so if need be turn it up for a couple seconds while I press the button to grind a batch of coffee beans from my countertop burr grinder, then shut off the kettle, dump the grounds into my french press, add water, stir, and let it steep while I get dressed. I've found it isn't even terribly sensitive, within limits, to steeping time - anything from 2-10 minutes still gives a really good pot of coffee, so once I'm dressed I'll press it, pour a cup, and - back when i went into the office - fill up a Thermos travel mug to take with me. It's really no more work than pre-filling a drip maker the night before and setting an alarm, you just choose when you're going to spend your minute of work, the night before or the morning of.



BMFan30 said:


> Never had french press either. At least I don't think I have. I always keep it simple but threads like this make me wonder if the grass is really greener on the other side and if it's even worth the hassle because the vids I'm seeing have shit loads of steps on deck.


As others have said, one of the nice things about most of these alternate methods is, they're pretty cheap to try. Most french presses are $30 or less, an aeropress is about the same, and one of those stove top italian style percolator things is about the same, maybe a hair more, if you want to try that as well. The biggest hassle, if you want to call it that, is making sure you have appropratey ground beans (french press requires a fairly coarse ground, I'd assume aeropress as well but no clue there), and honestly at some point youre going to want to buy a grinder anyway, as fresh ground beans really are better. That's not too expensive either for a simple blade grinder, about the same as a french press, but if you want to go burr for a more uniform grind you're getting closer to $80-100 at the lower end. For something I use essentially every morning of my life when I'm home, it's worth it to me.


----------



## nightflameauto (Sep 13, 2021)

Went out to Spearfish for Grandma's 100th birthday over the weekend. She's in great shape yet. We walked together a bit and I sometimes had trouble keeping up. And I typically get yelled at by coworkers and friends for walking too fast, if that gives you any indication of how she's getting along.

Anyway, we took her out to one of her favorite places for breakfast. Place called the Millstone. Great service, great food. But more importantly, that was the best restaurant coffee I've ever tasted, and ranks within the top three of any coffees I've ever had in my life. It was sweet without being cloying, smoother than I'd normally go for, but had enough richness to make up for that smoothness. The table behind me I heard the lady tell the waiter that this was by far the best coffee she'd ever had in a restaurant, so it wasn't just my opinion. At some point I'm going to have to research what it was.


----------



## nightflameauto (Sep 21, 2021)

So, spurred on by the aforementioned coffee in Spearfish, I've noticed my coffee has been getting more and more bitter at home. I've had my suspicions my brewer (a newer percolator with a supposed temp controller) has had it's temperature regulator futz up and over-heat by a lot. So I gave it a good cleaning, and bought some known sweet coffee which I ran through my freshly cleaned burr grinder on a coarse setting and tried to brew a pot with it right after.

Bitter. Horribly bitter.

So, either my grinder is overheating the beans or my percolator is over-heating. I tossed a jar with cool water and ground beans in the fridge before heading to work this morning. If that's bitter too, I'll know it's the grinder. I will say even at a super coarse setting it spits out far more fines than I would like.

At any rate, I've ordered a hand burr grinder that's highly praised and an Aeropress. At the very least, that gives me variables to work with.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Sep 21, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> So, spurred on by the aforementioned coffee in Spearfish, I've noticed my coffee has been getting more and more bitter at home. I've had my suspicions my brewer (a newer percolator with a supposed temp controller) has had it's temperature regulator futz up and over-heat by a lot. So I gave it a good cleaning, and bought some known sweet coffee which I ran through my freshly cleaned burr grinder on a coarse setting and tried to brew a pot with it right after.
> 
> Bitter. Horribly bitter.
> 
> ...


yeah...i'd bet either you need to adjust the steep time or it's the temperature regulator.


----------



## nightflameauto (Sep 22, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> yeah...i'd bet either you need to adjust the steep time or it's the temperature regulator.


Kinda sucks it has no adjustment for anything. It's one of those lovely "Push the button and go" percolators, which was great when it was working right. But testing has shown it's clearly not working right now.

So I went with a 24 hour steep in the fridge with the same grind type for a cold brew just to make 100% certain I didn't get a bad batch of beans. I didn't think I did since this company is pretty well known to be quality through and through, but I'm a problem solver by nature and NEED to test things when something isn't right just for my own peace of mind. So, the beans in question:



Currently testing using the bag on the right as I've had that a few times over the years and know what it should taste like. So the pronouncement from the 24 hour cold brew? HOLY SHIT! Rich, chocolately, buttery smooth with a very tiny bit of acidity in the finish. Basically, exactly what I expected. Even the wife dug it and she's not typically a coffee person. 

99.9% sure my temperature regulator is fucked on my percolator now. I may bust it open and see if it's something easily fixed/replaced, but it wasn't the most expensive thing in the world so it may just disappear into the back room to be wondered at when we clean the room once every couple years.

I'm getting excited for the aeropress to show now.


----------



## Empryrean (Sep 22, 2021)

myrtorp said:


> I've been drinking instant coffee for a long time and had a french press and manual grinder that didn't get that much use, but now I got a *bialetti moka pot* and some beans and the step up in quality is pretty big haha, now I want to invest in a slightly fancier grinder for a finer grind and try different beans! I honestly haven't figured out what i really like yet so I will experiment. I usually just drink it black but sometimes I go and make an irish coffee or make it with ice and ice cream and milk for a sunny day.
> 
> I will probably still drink instant for breakfast because i want it faaast!


I’m ecstatic to see someone else here mention a Moka cup. Easily the best coffee I can make for myself is putting some grinds into a moka cup and letting it do it’s thing


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Sep 22, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> Kinda sucks it has no adjustment for anything. It's one of those lovely "Push the button and go" percolators, which was great when it was working right. But testing has shown it's clearly not working right now.
> 
> So I went with a 24 hour steep in the fridge with the same grind type for a cold brew just to make 100% certain I didn't get a bad batch of beans. I didn't think I did since this company is pretty well known to be quality through and through, but I'm a problem solver by nature and NEED to test things when something isn't right just for my own peace of mind. So, the beans in question:
> View attachment 97950
> ...



That metal jug is dying to be target practice, it told me.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Sep 22, 2021)

Seabeast2000 said:


> That metal jug is dying to be target practice, it told me.


fill it w tannerite yeeyeee


----------



## nightflameauto (Sep 23, 2021)

Seabeast2000 said:


> That metal jug is dying to be target practice, it told me.


Alas, despite being in the middle of hunting country, I have no guns.

I do, however, have swords. Wonder how hard I'd have to swing to slice the damn thing in half?


----------



## nightflameauto (Sep 27, 2021)

Aeropress and hand grinder arrived over the weekend. Thus far I've made:
A) Super weak shitty coffee
B) The second most excellent cup of coffee I've ever tasted.
C) Absolute over-brewed acidity piss-water coffee.

All using the same beans. I'm finding the grind setting to be the most important part of the Aeropress. To fine and it's bitter, too coarse and it's weak city. I found the balance once, but that hand grinder's settings are not super cooperative for fine-grained control. I'll get it figured out eventually.

At the very least I know how to make a good cold brew.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Sep 27, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> Aeropress and hand grinder arrived over the weekend. Thus far I've made:
> A) Super weak shitty coffee
> B) The second most excellent cup of coffee I've ever tasted.
> C) Absolute over-brewed acidity piss-water coffee.
> ...




Now is the time to get a gun and shoot the beans for compliance.


----------



## LordCashew (Sep 28, 2021)

Seabeast2000 said:


> Now is the time to get a gun and shoot the beans for compliance.


It's an expensive way to grind but it works.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Sep 29, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I tried a bunch of Bones Coffee Co's other offerings (mint chocolate, maple bacon, chocolate orange, paradise pie). I thought the maple bacon was going to be disgusting but it's just good mellow coffee with a strong nose of maple. It's way more subtle when drinking it. The mint chocolate was the most finicky in terms of steep time/ratios and also was the first to get bitter, but the mint quality does come through nicely and plays nice off the darker roast. Chocolate orange was basically a darker, smoother roast with some mild citrus notes. Nothing overly interesting. Paradise pie is basically the same idea but a bit lighter roast and a tad more acidic.
> All of them were solid flavored options but I think the Electric Unicorn is by far the most interesting in terms of flavor. Maple Bacon would probably be my runner up. If you're going to go flavored then at least go for weird sounding stuff imo.


Decided to try a bunch more of Bones' coffee flavored offerings. I got samples of blueberry, peaches and cream, buttered rum, jelly donut and chocolate raspberry this time. Peaches and cream is amazing. The nose is super peach heavy, but flavor wise it's just a dash of peach. It's just a nice well balanced coffee.. Probably my second favorite behind Electric Unicorn. Blueberry is also reallllly good. Nice acid, just a dash of the blueberry flavor and scent.
Jelly donut is a weird one, but it works pretty well. Definitely nails that bready/fruity scent I associate with jelly donuts. It can be a bit much if you brew it too long, but shorter brew times give a nice result. 
Buttered Rum smells awful and artificial, but actually tastes pretty good as it cools down. Cameron's has a highland grog that's similar in that aspect. 
Chocolate raspberry was ok. I hoped it would be great but the raspberry scent/flavor got buried by the chocolate and darker roast.

Once I kill these off I'm going to open up the single origin guatemalan and colombian bags I got from Tandem Coffee. My cousin bought me some of their stuff earlier in the year and they had some really neat single origin offerings.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Sep 29, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Decided to try a bunch more of Bones' coffee flavored offerings. I got samples of blueberry, peaches and cream, buttered rum, jelly donut and chocolate raspberry this time. Peaches and cream is amazing. The nose is super peach heavy, but flavor wise it's just a dash of peach. It's just a nice well balanced coffee.. Probably my second favorite behind Electric Unicorn. Blueberry is also reallllly good. Nice acid, just a dash of the blueberry flavor and scent.
> Jelly donut is a weird one, but it works pretty well. Definitely nails that bready/fruity scent I associate with jelly donuts. It can be a bit much if you brew it too long, but shorter brew times give a nice result.
> Buttered Rum smells awful and artificial, but actually tastes pretty good as it cools down. Cameron's has a highland grog that's similar in that aspect.
> Chocolate raspberry was ok. I hoped it would be great but the raspberry scent/flavor got buried by the chocolate and darker roast.
> ...



What are the flavorings? natural or science?


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Sep 29, 2021)

Seabeast2000 said:


> What are the flavorings? natural or science?


prob artificial shit but they don't specify


----------



## jaxadam (Sep 29, 2021)

Happy National Coffee Day.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Sep 29, 2021)

is it?!!!! 

I need to go make another cup


----------



## jaxadam (Sep 29, 2021)

thebeesknees22 said:


> is it?!!!!
> 
> I need to go make another cup



You can always wait until Oct 1 which is International Coffee Day.


----------



## nightflameauto (Oct 26, 2021)

My coffee journey has taken me some weird places. Had the best cup of my life out in Spearfish visiting relatives. And have been utterly obsessed with finding a way to brew coffee at home that tastes that good. Thus far I've gone percolator, aeropress, pour over, cold brew, and some other odd-ball experiments. Then I stumbled on a web page describing how to use more alkaline water to balance the coffee flavors and extract more sweetness rather than acidity. Which makes sense to me since Spearfish would be using what's essentially mountain water that's heavily laced with alkaline producing rocks.

So now I've got alkaline supplement drops and a case of alkaline water on the way. I'm an apron and a set of goggles away from going mad scientist here.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Oct 26, 2021)

interesting! I'm curious if that works. Report back once your experiment is completed lol


----------



## jco5055 (Oct 26, 2021)

What's everyone's favorite roast level? I started off on my more boutique coffee journey (aka I got a coffee maker at home and a grinder) with medium roast since that's kinda the "default" roast style, but it seems like when I look at coffee enthusiast forums (the kind that look down on non-black only drinkers), light roast seems to be the only way basically.

I had some great cold brew at a local place in Chicago (Heritage bikes) where I could have drank it black easily, but I'm unsure what the roast was...my gut says Light because it had that "floral" kind of taste.


----------



## nightflameauto (Oct 26, 2021)

I'm much more into dark roasts, though some medium roasts work for me too. I'd rather have that richness with hints of caramel or chocolate than the more floral, lighter coffees. Though I won't dump a cup of the floral stuff if I happen to get one.

Italian roast ranks pretty high on my list of favorites.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Oct 26, 2021)

jco5055 said:


> What's everyone's favorite roast level? I started off on my more boutique coffee journey (aka I got a coffee maker at home and a grinder) with medium roast since that's kinda the "default" roast style, but it seems like when I look at coffee enthusiast forums (the kind that look down on non-black only drinkers), light roast seems to be the only way basically.
> 
> I had some great cold brew at a local place in Chicago (Heritage bikes) where I could have drank it black easily, but I'm unsure what the roast was...my gut says Light because it had that "floral" kind of taste.


light roast to medium roast. Most dark roasts range from decent to barely drinkable for me, especially if we're talking drinking them black.


----------



## jco5055 (Oct 26, 2021)

i've had the really dark roasts, and to me (again the "boutique stuff, not talking like Dunkin' coffee) tastes almost like a tootsie roll haha


----------



## p0ke (Oct 27, 2021)

jco5055 said:


> What's everyone's favorite roast level? I started off on my more boutique coffee journey (aka I got a coffee maker at home and a grinder) with medium roast since that's kinda the "default" roast style, but it seems like when I look at coffee enthusiast forums (the kind that look down on non-black only drinkers), light roast seems to be the only way basically.
> 
> I had some great cold brew at a local place in Chicago (Heritage bikes) where I could have drank it black easily, but I'm unsure what the roast was...my gut says Light because it had that "floral" kind of taste.



I buy the normal grocery store "dark roast", which is about in the middle of the scale. It's not too dark but has more flavor than the light roast version of the same coffee. 
In general though, I can't be bothered buying "boutique" coffee these days, since the mid-priced brand I keep buying is surprisingly good (the even cheaper ones are undrinkable though), and since I drink a lot of it, I'd go bankrupt drinking something more expensive


----------



## jco5055 (Oct 27, 2021)

p0ke said:


> I buy the normal grocery store "dark roast", which is about in the middle of the scale. It's not too dark but has more flavor than the light roast version of the same coffee.
> In general though, I can't be bothered buying "boutique" coffee these days, since the mid-priced brand I keep buying is surprisingly good (the even cheaper ones are undrinkable though), and since I drink a lot of it, I'd go bankrupt drinking something more expensive



i feel like I like the Dark Roast of "normal" brands, probably because the flavor is a little lacking so with light or even medium roast it's easier to taste the bad flavor haha


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Oct 27, 2021)

jco5055 said:


> i feel like I like the Dark Roast of "normal" brands, probably because the flavor is a little lacking so with light or even medium roast it's easier to taste the bad flavor haha


if the flavor is "lacking" in a light/medium roast then it's more down to brew time/method imo. Not every coffee brews the same and some really benefit from having some extra time to steep/brew with say pour over, cold brew or french press methods. Cold brew in particular makes subtle flavors much more obvious ime. Also, taste buds work optimally around room temperature, so if you want a good idea if your coffee is actually good, don't drink it hot or cold, try it at room temp. Good coffee will taste good regardless of temp. Shitty coffee won't. 
Brands like starbucks, peets and caribou are definitely less consistent with their roasting versus smaller brands too, which also makes it more noticeable when you get some unevenly roasted beans in a light/medium roast ime.


----------



## LordCashew (Oct 27, 2021)

p0ke said:


> since I drink a lot of it, I'd go bankrupt drinking something more expensive


I heard a segment on NPR (public news radio in the US) that said Finland has the highest coffee consumption per capita of any country - something like 5 cups a day on average. Does that square with your experience? Or do you drink even more than that?

The same segment said the government of Finland also has massive quantities of coffee beans stockpiled along with their emergency food reserves.


----------



## LordCashew (Oct 27, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Also, taste buds work optimally around room temperature, so if you want a good idea if your coffee is actually good, don't drink it hot or cold, try it at room temp. Good coffee will taste good regardless of temp. Shitty coffee won't.


That's a really good point. I've noticed that most of my favorite coffees actually develop new and more subtle flavors as they cool in the mug. Surprisingly I've seen that the most in Starbucks' horribly overpriced "reserve" coffees which are only carried in select locations but are often actually quite delicious. The Kona, which I've never actually tried, is something like $50/lb.  I've had some great Ethiopian and Latin American from that line though.



KnightBrolaire said:


> Brands like starbucks, peets and caribou are definitely less consistent with their roasting versus smaller brands too, which also makes it more noticeable when you get some unevenly roasted beans in a light/medium roast ime.



Huh, I've never thought of it before but I think that point about uneven roast consistency being more obvious in lighter roasts is spot on. I remember when Starbucks' "blonde" roasts first came out I was all about the Veranda blend, but it somehow went downhill. That's probably it - I started getting bags that were roasted more than they should have been.

"Red Brick" (Formerly Cascade Pride, WinCo's house brand) is the absolute worst offender in this regard in my experience. I've had allegedly the same roasts go from lovely and nuanced to bitter and disgusting within an interim of a month or two. I would blame it on employees indiscriminately filling bins with the wrong stuff but it's happened most notably to their Tanzanian peaberry, and it would be pretty visually obvious if that one got subbed out.

I've generally found Peet's to be quite consistent but I usually get darker roasts from them.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Oct 27, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> I heard a segment on NPR (public news radio in the US) that said Finland has the highest coffee consumption per capita of any country - something like 5 cups a day on average. Does that square with your experience? Or do you drink even more than that?
> 
> The same segment said the government of Finland also has massive quantities of coffee beans stockpiled along with their emergency food reserves.




hmmmm...... I should move to Finland. (ー_ーゞ

I'm averaging 4 a day now. I tried cutting back to 2-3 and I just can't do it lol


----------



## CovertSovietBear (Oct 27, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> So now I've got alkaline supplement drops and a case of alkaline water on the way. I'm an apron and a set of goggles away from going mad scientist here.


Record it, do it in triplicate, write it down, analyze and you're already a scientist. Use GraphPad Prism to plot your charts!  
Super interesting idea that I'd like to try! Not sure what/how much supplement or alkaline water you're using, but you could use PH strips to measure how basic your water is before brewing, then measure again after brewing. Use a sample of clean Spearfish water as your input/baseline using similar methods? Then you could form a dosing curve for your drops using alkaline water and normal water as different buffers. Lot's of ways to do this. 

On the subject of roasts, only dark roast I've liked is the StarBucks French Roast. I like light roasts the best but haven't brewed much at home since we have over 8 different coffee machines where I work - usually 4-6 cups in different buildings (to walk around so no one knows my true level of consumption)


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Oct 27, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> That's a really good point. I've noticed that most of my favorite coffees actually develop new and more subtle flavors as they cool in the mug. Surprisingly I've seen that the most in Starbucks' horribly overpriced "reserve" coffees which are only carried in select locations but are often actually quite delicious. The Kona, which I've never actually tried, is something like $50/lb.  I've had some great Ethiopian and Latin American from that line though.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah it's an aspect of trying food/drinks that doesn't get talked about much, if at all in "foodie" circles. It doesn't just apply to coffee either, it's also readily apparent with beer and a lot of foods. Shitty beer is drinkable when it's cold but often gets worse as it gets closer to room temp e.g. Natural Light. Better beers should be better at any temp.
I've dabbled with Starbucks' reserve coffees and they're alright. Legit Kona is never going to be cheap, with the gold coast stuff my mom got me as a present starting at like 40$/lb and better stuff easily hitting 60$+. 
I think a lot of the "brown sugar/caramel" vibes people describe in darker roasts are largely from roasting the residual sugars on/in the bean. I've had those vibes even in some Mexican and Colombian single origin light roasts. Anyone who's ever tried to make caramel or molten sugar knows that there's a fine line between getting a darker more complex sugar flavor and getting a burnt, bitter flavor. Obviously if the mucilage is removed quickly and they wash the hell out of them, then you'll probably get way less of the burnt/bitter flavor as they roast the bean more deeply. I'm betting the bigger bulk roasters don't care quite as much about the cleaning process, so it become more noticeable once roasted. Probably helps that Starbucks and other big coffee chains have indoctrinated a lot of consumers into drinking bitter ashtray water that desperately needs milk/sugar to be remotely palatable.


----------



## LordCashew (Oct 28, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Yeah it's an aspect of trying food/drinks that doesn't get talked about much, if at all in "foodie" circles. It doesn't just apply to coffee either, it's also readily apparent with beer and a lot of foods. Shitty beer is drinkable when it's cold but often gets worse as it gets closer to room temp e.g. Natural Light. Better beers should be better at any temp.
> I've dabbled with Starbucks' reserve coffees and they're alright. Legit Kona is never going to be cheap, with the gold coast stuff my mom got me as a present starting at like 40$/lb and better stuff easily hitting 60$+.
> I think a lot of the "brown sugar/caramel" vibes people describe in darker roasts are largely from roasting the residual sugars on/in the bean. I've had those vibes even in some Mexican and Colombian single origin light roasts. Anyone who's ever tried to make caramel or molten sugar knows that there's a fine line between getting a darker more complex sugar flavor and getting a burnt, bitter flavor. Obviously if the mucilage is removed quickly and they wash the hell out of them, then you'll probably get way less of the burnt/bitter flavor as they roast the bean more deeply. I'm betting the bigger bulk roasters don't care quite as much about the cleaning process, so it become more noticeable once roasted. Probably helps that Starbucks and other big coffee chains have indoctrinated a lot of consumers into drinking bitter ashtray water that desperately needs milk/sugar to be remotely palatable.


I might need to nominate you for SSO's resident culinarian. 

The most brown sugar flavor I've had from coffee recently was a dual-origin Kenyan/South American peaberry medium roast from Trader Joe's. I've had pretty good luck with their small batch stuff but I imagine there's better coffee for the money out there. I just don't have a ton of time to look for new stuff. Any quick and dirty recommendations for solid coffee that's readily available?


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Oct 28, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> I might need to nominate you for SSO's resident culinarian.
> 
> The most brown sugar flavor I've had from coffee recently was a dual-origin Kenyan/South American peaberry medium roast from Trader Joe's. I've had pretty good luck with their small batch stuff but I imagine there's better coffee for the money out there. I just don't have a ton of time to look for new stuff. Any quick and dirty recommendations for solid coffee that's readily available?



uhh are you looking for single origin stuff, or more of blends? That alone would be a big deciding factor, as a lot of single origins are seasonal or limited offerings. 

If you want specific roasters, check out Tandem coffee, Red Rooster Coffee, Intelligentsia . If you like that brighter, fruitier vibe from African coffees, Intelligentsia has some really nice Ethiopian and Kenyan single origins. Tandem had some really cool Central American and African options earlier in the year. 

For more mainstream stuff Target has a surprisingly good pile of house blends/single origins (their kenyan is quite good). Gevalia's breakfast blend is pretty nice for an easier to find option too. I don't know if you'd be able to find Camerons' out your way but they also have some solid options.


----------



## LordCashew (Oct 28, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> uhh are you looking for single origin stuff, or more of blends? That alone would be a big deciding factor, as a lot of single origins are seasonal or limited offerings.
> 
> If you want specific roasters, check out Tandem coffee, Red Rooster Coffee, Intelligentsia . If you like that brighter, fruitier vibe from African coffees, Intelligentsia has some really nice Ethiopian and Kenyan single origins. Tandem had some really cool Central American and African options earlier in the year.
> 
> For more mainstream stuff Target has a surprisingly good pile of house blends/single origins (their kenyan is quite good). Gevalia's breakfast blend is pretty nice for an easier to find option too. I don't know if you'd be able to find Camerons' out your way but they also have some solid options.


Thanks, that's helpful. I generally do prefer single origin as it's more unique/interesting but I have no problem drinking a solid blend.

I totally forgot about Target's coffee! About 10 years ago I used to get some really great whole bean stuff there from Archer Farms, which I think may be a house brand. My favorites did seem to be seasonal as they wouldn't stay in stock long. I should pop in and see what they've got nowadays. I basically haven't been to Target since COVID...

And we do have a supermarket chain called Sprouts nearby which carries Intelligentsia, of which I've only tried their decaf.  I'll have to give something else from them a go.

Thanks for the recs!


----------



## p0ke (Oct 29, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> I heard a segment on NPR (public news radio in the US) that said Finland has the highest coffee consumption per capita of any country - something like 5 cups a day on average. Does that square with your experience? Or do you drink even more than that?
> 
> The same segment said the government of Finland also has massive quantities of coffee beans stockpiled along with their emergency food reserves.



Sounds about right  I usually drink 3-4 cups a day, but the cup I drink out of is way bigger than the average cup you'd get at a café for example. And yeah, coffee is extremely important to people here, so I wouldn't be surprised if the government had a secret coffee stash somewhere.


----------



## nightflameauto (Nov 2, 2021)

So, while I wait for my alkaline water (which is apparently in short supply like every other damned thing), I did another experiment and I stumbled on a discovery.

I used to keep aquariums and tended towards fish that preferred heavily alkaline water, so knew a few tricks to take our RO water (less than .1 ppm dissolved solids) and make it alkaline. Through several iterations I found that 1/4 TSP of baking soda in my kettle before heating destroys the harshness I've been experiencing. I've brewed five cups of absolutely KILLER coffee over the last few days using pour-over with less grounds at a higher grain size than I had been using just using that track. It's chocolatey, caramely, rich goodness. I usually drink it black but tried one this morning with a touch of milk and it was awe inspiring.

I was using Kauai Coffee Estate Reserve Red Catuai. Fantastic coffee once you figure out how to deharshify your process.
Kauai Coffee Estate Reserve Red Catuai


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Nov 2, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> So, while I wait for my alkaline water (which is apparently in short supply like every other damned thing), I did another experiment and I stumbled on a discovery.
> 
> I used to keep aquariums and tended towards fish that preferred heavily alkaline water, so knew a few tricks to take our RO water (less than .1 ppm dissolved solids) and make it alkaline. Through several iterations I found that 1/4 TSP of baking soda in my kettle before heating destroys the harshness I've been experiencing. I've brewed five cups of absolutely KILLER coffee over the last few days using pour-over with less grounds at a higher grain size than I had been using just using that track. It's chocolatey, caramely, rich goodness. I usually drink it black but tried one this morning with a touch of milk and it was awe inspiring.
> 
> ...




oh wow that's super interesting! I may have to try that.


----------



## nightflameauto (Nov 4, 2021)

And this is where the experimentation goes into the territory of surreality.

We're here to make coffee metal.






We're gonna make everything metal.





Blacker than the blackest black. . .

























. . .times infinity!





And that's how you make black coffee.

I did notice that the steeping is a bit different with this stuff. It sits longer and doesn't get quite as rich. I imagine the carrying capacity of the water is a bit lowered due to the mineral content. That said, there's no hint of harshness with it, much like the baking soda trick. There is a tiny bit of a coating on my tongue after, but not much worse than rich coffee to begin with. I'm gonna try tomorrow with a heavier ground load in the filter to see if I can't get it a little richer tasting, but other than that it's pretty tasty as is.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Nov 4, 2021)

lol that's awesome dude


----------



## LordCashew (Nov 4, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> So, while I wait for my alkaline water (which is apparently in short supply like every other damned thing), I did another experiment and I stumbled on a discovery.
> 
> I used to keep aquariums and tended towards fish that preferred heavily alkaline water, so knew a few tricks to take our RO water (less than .1 ppm dissolved solids) and make it alkaline. Through several iterations I found that 1/4 TSP of baking soda in my kettle before heating destroys the harshness I've been experiencing. I've brewed five cups of absolutely KILLER coffee over the last few days using pour-over with less grounds at a higher grain size than I had been using just using that track. It's chocolatey, caramely, rich goodness. I usually drink it black but tried one this morning with a touch of milk and it was awe inspiring.
> 
> ...



Just to clarify, you’re using 1/4 tsp per cup? I tried this yesterday and noticed no appreciable difference, but I may have misunderstood and used 1/4 tsp in the kettle before pouring in a French press that makes about 3 cups.

It’s also possible that my water is already hard AF - our shower heads get clogged with some kind of deposit that you can break off in chunks…


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Nov 4, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> Just to clarify, you’re using 1/4 tsp per cup? I tried this yesterday and noticed no appreciable difference, but I may have misunderstood and used 1/4 tsp in the kettle before pouring in a French press that makes about 3 cups.
> 
> It’s also possible that my water is already hard AF - our shower heads get clogged with some kind of deposit that you can break off in chunks…


if you have calcium salts on your shower heads then you don't need baking soda lol
Also you can remove the salt by soaking your shower head nozzle in vinegar.


----------



## nightflameauto (Nov 4, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> Just to clarify, you’re using 1/4 tsp per cup? I tried this yesterday and noticed no appreciable difference, but I may have misunderstood and used 1/4 tsp in the kettle before pouring in a French press that makes about 3 cups.
> 
> It’s also possible that my water is already hard AF - our shower heads get clogged with some kind of deposit that you can break off in chunks…


You're already saturated with similar solids if you have hard water so I wouldn't think adding more would make much of a difference.

If you get a chance, try either distilled or purified water of some type plain, then try the 1/4 tsp baking soda trick. There you'd taste the difference.


----------



## LordCashew (Nov 4, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> if you have calcium salts on your shower heads then you don't need baking soda lol
> Also you can remove the salt by soaking your shower head nozzle in vinegar.



Yeah I know about the vinegar trick… I’m just too lazy.  Our shower head has little rubber nipples that the water comes through, and if they get clogged they’re flexible enough that I can just break or peel the calcium off. 



nightflameauto said:


> You're already saturated with similar solids if you have hard water so I wouldn't think adding more would make much of a difference.
> 
> If you get a chance, try either distilled or purified water of some type plain, then try the 1/4 tsp baking soda trick. There you'd taste the difference.



I was dealing with a pretty harsh-tasting bulk roast and wondered if raising the pH even further might help. Probably the roast just sucks due to unrelated factors, but I’m going to add even more baking soda next time just to see what happens. I’ve got nothing to lose lol.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Nov 4, 2021)

LordIronSpatula said:


> ...Our shower head has little rubber nipples that the water comes through...









I'm sorry.... i had to.


----------



## jaxadam (Dec 8, 2021)

So I am not really into this type of stuff but we have some west coast granola eatin' vegan gluten free dairy free hippies staying with us and let's just say this is amazing in the foamer with two shots of quality bean espresso.


----------



## nightflameauto (Dec 9, 2021)

jaxadam said:


> So I am not really into this type of stuff but we have some west coast granola eatin' vegan gluten free dairy free hippies staying with us and let's just say this is amazing in the foamer with two shots of quality bean espresso.


My instant internal response is a little kid running around screaming going, "NOOOOOOOOO!"


----------



## TedEH (Dec 9, 2021)

I'd be willing to give it a try if it wasn't for the peppermint thing. To my taste, coffee and peppermint don't mix.


----------



## jaxadam (Dec 9, 2021)

nightflameauto said:


> My instant internal response is a little kid running around screaming going, "NOOOOOOOOO!"



Mine too. I wouldn't go out of my way to get this stuff, and I am typically not a fan of just peppermint ones, but this one comes out looking like dark chocolate milk, and has more of a mocha thing going on with it. I also wouldn't just do it by itself. It needs to be in the foamer. It also needs two shots, that's the magic combo.


----------



## p0ke (Dec 9, 2021)

TedEH said:


> I'd be willing to give it a try if it wasn't for the peppermint thing. To my taste, coffee and peppermint don't mix.



Same here. Mint goes really well with coffee, but not peppermint IMO.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Dec 9, 2021)

p0ke said:


> Same here. Mint goes really well with coffee, but not peppermint IMO.


Mint is a generic name for plants in the mentha family, not a specific species. All the mint family contains menthol to some degree. Peppermint does have higher concentrations of menthol than other mint species though.


----------



## TedEH (Dec 9, 2021)

I'm no plantologist, I just I know I don't want any of that in my hot bean juice.


----------



## p0ke (Dec 10, 2021)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Mint is a generic name for plants in the mentha family, not a specific species. All the mint family contains menthol to some degree. Peppermint does have higher concentrations of menthol than other mint species though.



Oh well, we only have one kind over here so ...  Anyway, there used to be a mint liquor simply called Minttu, and that was really good with coffee but for whatever reason the "normal" version of it was discontinued sometime ago. Now there's only Minttu Black (with liquorice I think) and Minttu Peppermint and neither of those are good with coffee.


----------



## p0ke (Jan 9, 2022)

Fuck tea, I went back to drinking coffee again. I figured I've adjusted enough other aspects that I can probably afford to drink a few cups a day without my arteries exploding


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 9, 2022)

p0ke said:


> Fuck tea, I went back to drinking coffee again. I figured I've adjusted enough other aspects that I can probably afford to drink a few cups a day without my arteries exploding



welcome back to the dark side ... muwahahaha


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jan 12, 2022)

My mom bought me some kopi luwak beans and they're very interesting. Super mellow in terms of acidity and bitterness, with some almost goji berry hints.

I also got some Ethiopian worka from Red Rooster, which is awesome. Very bright, smooth, with no bitterness, and a strawberry esque flavor.


----------



## cwhitey2 (Jan 12, 2022)

I LOVE COFFEE...sadly I can't drink nearly as much as I used to due to heartburn


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 12, 2022)

cwhitey2 said:


> I LOVE COFFEE...sadly I can't drink nearly as much as I used to due to heartburn



Yeah I get that too now but I just power through it.


----------



## cwhitey2 (Jan 12, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> Yeah I get that too now but I just power through it.


The problem is that it ruins my whole day 

I should probably take medication for it, but I don't. 

I really just drink tea anymore. The key (just like with coffee) is to find a great shop. I have been to several that were just mind blowingly awesome with the selection they have.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 12, 2022)

cwhitey2 said:


> The problem is that it ruins my whole day
> 
> I should probably take medication for it, but I don't.
> 
> I really just drink tea anymore. The key (just like with coffee) is to find a great shop. I have been to several that were just mind blowingly awesome with the selection they have.



No I hear ya…. I’ve switched out my afternoon Monster and 1,4-andro for different matcha lattes.

We have a really good foamer, so I’ll do a variety of green or blue matchas with honey, cinnamon, turmeric, etc. You have to get a very high quality one though (I think it’s called ornamental or ceremonial grade) or it tastes like bitter dirt. Much easier on the stomach and the road rage!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT2jkpzD-Tr/?hl=en


----------



## AMOS (Jan 12, 2022)

I use various beans and I drink cold brew only. Even in the winter.


----------



## jaxadam (Jan 13, 2022)

@cwhitey2 Party time...


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jan 13, 2022)

Nucular coffee?


----------



## BMFan30 (Jan 13, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> @cwhitey2 Party time...


Whoa what's this and why is it so neon yellow? Is it turmeric? Only thing I know that gets so neon, although my turmeric is this deep orange color. Looks good though.


----------



## cwhitey2 (Jan 13, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> @cwhitey2 Party time...


What the heck is that? I feel like a noob


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Feb 4, 2022)

Keeping my expeditionary skills alive for any future adversity, I am gulping down day old, burnt coffee left over from yesterday in the percolator. 
I will make fresh shortly but this works as I woke up a little too early today.


----------



## p0ke (Feb 4, 2022)

Anyone else noticing coffee prices skyrocketing recently? The coffee I usually buy used to cost 2.80€/500g, then at the start of the year it went up to 3.20, and last time I checked it was 4.50! I mean, it's still not expensive and it's on sale right now, 2 packets for 6€ but still, the price almost doubled in a few months. And back when it was still cheap, you could get 3 packets for 5€ when it was on sale.


----------



## jaxadam (Feb 4, 2022)

French press this morning.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Feb 4, 2022)

Seabeast2000 said:


> Keeping my expeditionary skills alive for any future adversity, I am gulping down day old, burnt coffee left over from yesterday in the percolator.
> I will make fresh shortly but this works as I woke up a little too early today.




did it age like fine wine, or was it pretty disgusting ahah


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Feb 4, 2022)

thebeesknees22 said:


> did it age like fine wine, or was it pretty disgusting ahah



pretty sour tbh, a little ice and got my fix.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Feb 4, 2022)

Seabeast2000 said:


> pretty sour tbh, a little ice and got my fix.



hahah nice


----------



## nightflameauto (Feb 4, 2022)

p0ke said:


> Anyone else noticing coffee prices skyrocketing recently? The coffee I usually buy used to cost 2.80€/500g, then at the start of the year it went up to 3.20, and last time I checked it was 4.50! I mean, it's still not expensive and it's on sale right now, 2 packets for 6€ but still, the price almost doubled in a few months. And back when it was still cheap, you could get 3 packets for 5€ when it was on sale.


Can confirm. Like everything else, the shipping failures of the previous few months has lead to coffee prices jumping like crazy. Even the grocery store swill level garbage is about double what it used to be. Quality coffee beans shipped are astronomical at this point.


----------



## wheresthefbomb (May 30, 2022)

So for a long time I swore by a French press. I've been through a couple nice fancy expensive ones, been making my coffee that way for years.

I think my single favorite memory of my last French press was when I was living at my last house and we had a huge house show, and I was looking around for my French press and saw a very large man drinking rosé out of the beaker. I was too hyped for him to be mad.

Anyway, eventually a person gets tired of breaking French press beakers over and over again. At least, this person does. The last time I broke my French press, the morning after I was trying to figure out how to make coffee. I have all these Adam's peanut butter jars around, And at first I tried a couple of different methods like the "sock method" what do you use a clean socks like a teabag.

Eventually, I realized that I can get just as good of results simply letting gravity do all the "pressing" for me. Now, I just pour my boiling water over my coffee, give it a couple stirs, and wait.

I've been doing this for two years now. The best part is, whenever I break a "French" press now, I have a dozen more in the cabinet.


----------



## jaxadam (May 30, 2022)

wheresthefbomb said:


> So for a long time I swore by a French press. I've been through a couple nice fancy expensive ones, been making my coffee that way for years.
> 
> I think my single favorite memory of my last French press was when I was living at my last house and we had a huge house show, and I was looking around for my French press and saw a very large man drinking rosé out of the beaker. I was too hyped for him to be mad.
> 
> ...



We have a metal French press…. Problem solved!


----------



## Kaura (May 30, 2022)

Coffee sucks. I prefer energy drink. :-D


----------



## wheresthefbomb (May 30, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> We have a metal French press…. Problem solved!



That was originally my next step, but at this point I've gotten this solution working too well to justify another purchase. Also it's possible I'm a tiny bit stubborn.


----------



## jaxadam (May 30, 2022)

Kaura said:


> Coffee sucks. I prefer energy drink. :-D



Summer’s here!


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (May 31, 2022)

Kaura said:


> Coffee sucks. I prefer energy drink. :-D


So weirdly I am the same way... But I wish I could drink coffee. I like the taste okay and it certainly seems healthier than the energy drinks I suck down on the regular. 

But weirdly when I drink coffee, pretty much in any amount, it makes me feel weirdly jittery and ill, sometimes accompanied by joint ache. Same amount of caffeine from an anaergy drink : no problem. So I've no idea what's going on there.


----------



## rokket2005 (May 31, 2022)

I used a French Press for probably 7-8 years, then I got my Flair and an aeropress and french press is garbage in comparison. I usually use the aeropress on weekdays cause it's marginally faster, but a good ground espresso tastes so much better.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (May 31, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> We have a metal French press…. Problem solved!


i have the same one lol


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jun 1, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> We have a metal French press…. Problem solved!


Can I get a cupcake


----------



## LordCashew (Jun 1, 2022)

rokket2005 said:


> I used a French Press for probably 7-8 years, then I got my Flair and an aeropress and french press is garbage in comparison. I usually use the aeropress on weekdays cause it's marginally faster, but a good ground espresso tastes so much better.


Which flair did you get? The one you have to heat with water or the one with the weird power supply?


----------



## Kaura (Jun 1, 2022)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> So weirdly I am the same way... But I wish I could drink coffee. I like the taste okay and it certainly seems healthier than the energy drinks I suck down on the regular.
> 
> But weirdly when I drink coffee, pretty much in any amount, it makes me feel weirdly jittery and ill, sometimes accompanied by joint ache. Same amount of caffeine from an anaergy drink : no problem. So I've no idea what's going on there.



Same for me, really. I mean energy drinks also make me jittery sometimes if I drink them to an empty stomach but coffee does that always.


----------



## rokket2005 (Jun 1, 2022)

LordIronSpatula said:


> Which flair did you get? The one you have to heat with water or the one with the weird power supply?


Nah, I got mine like a year before they put the 58 out. I think mine is the signature, but I bought the brew head from the pro 2 afterwards for it's bigger capacity.


----------



## p0ke (Jun 1, 2022)

Finally, one of the local grocery stores got my favorite coffee in stock:






I always used to ask my relatives in Sweden to bring a bunch of it when they came over, now I can buy it myself


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 1, 2022)

Seabeast2000 said:


> Can I get a cupcake



Shit yeah doggie. They were for a Memorial Day pool party that went sideways and I ain't eatin' that shit.


----------



## Empryrean (Jun 1, 2022)

Been really into pourovers lately, my partner keeps buying fruity smelling coffee which I wouldn't mind if it didn't have such a strong acidic after taste to it that makes me nauseous. Also been sneaking in some instant espresso as a treat if I'm feeling beyond lazy


----------



## TedEH (Jun 1, 2022)

I had to look maybe 3 times, 'cause the cupcakes blended into the countertop texture.


----------



## SCJR (Jun 1, 2022)

Using a French press for a couple of years now. Looking at other options though so I'll have to read through this thread. Though I do like the process, not sure why.

Best beans I've tried in a long, long time. Other than some stuff a friend brought me from Asheville that I can't remember for the life of me. Everyone I make this for asks me what beans I'm using.









Subtle Earth Organic Coffee


Buy fresh roasted specialty coffee online from Don Pablo. Choose whole bean, ground, or K-cup coffee from the best coffee producing countries in the world. Also available Subtle Earth Organic Coffee, Bourbon Infused Coffee and Swiss Water Processed decaffeinated coffee.




donpablocoffee.com


----------



## LordCashew (Jun 1, 2022)

rokket2005 said:


> Nah, I got mine like a year before they put the 58 out. I think mine is the signature, but I bought the brew head from the pro 2 afterwards for it's bigger capacity.


I love the idea of those—both the price point and the hands-on appeoach. But while having that much direct control over the shot-pulling process seems really appealing, the thought of trying to shoehorn the workflow of a Flair into my morning routine gives me pause. I'm thinking about maybe just getting a Rancilio. Already have a flat-burr single dose grinder.

Thoughts?


----------



## rokket2005 (Jun 1, 2022)

LordIronSpatula said:


> I love the idea of those—both the price point and the hands-on appeoach. But while having that much direct control over the shot-pulling process seems really appealing, the thought of trying to shoehorn the workflow of a Flair into my morning routine gives me pause. I'm thinking about maybe just getting a Rancilio. Already have a flat-burr single dose grinder.
> 
> Thoughts?


I've heard the Rancilios are really good, and if I had the counter space for one I probably would've gone that route instead of flair. The one holdup for me is trying to do maintenance on a machine of that caliber. With a flair its basically just gaskets that wear out and need replacing, so I can comfortably keep it in working order basically forever. With automated machines there are water pumps, and heating elements, and steam wands, etc. Getting into espresso in and of itself is basically taking on a new hobby, and I don't want the time commitment of a secondary hobby keeping my machine descaled and maintained.


----------



## nightflameauto (Jun 9, 2022)

OI.

Been working on my cold brew game for the last few weeks as weather is supposed to "heat up" around this time of year.

Well, the weather can bite my balls. Cold, rainy, depressing shit.

But, yesterday / this morning's batch of cold brew knocked it out of the park. Just 1st in Coffee Kenyan AA beans, blk water, and time. Holy fuck. Sweet, chocolatey with a hint of fruit on the finish, and possibly the smoothest coffee, even for cold brew, I've ever tasted sans-sweetner.

I've got a little hand-grinder. One grinder full of those beans in a sixteen oz mason jar, fill to near the rim with blk water, shake, fridge. 24 hours later, dump into a double-filter setup involving a funnel, a paper cone filter, then a steel mesh filter inside the paper filter. It usually takes about a half-hour to finish dripping through, but worth it. Simply awesome.


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 9, 2022)

A coworker of mine spent the last three weeks in Hawaii and brought back a pound of peaberry from the islands. He was nice enough to share. 

This batch had a very woody aroma with a hint of sweetness. I would describe it as if mahogany had a taste. I got that woodiness in the first taste, but that faded to a bit of volcanic soil flavor. It had a touch of acidity, but was never harsh. This faded to an aftertaste of very woody again, but tropical. It tasted like the way a forest near a beach smells. It was nice to experience that cup of coffee since the last time I had coffee on Maui was over twenty years ago.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jun 9, 2022)

nightflameauto said:


> OI.
> 
> Been working on my cold brew game for the last few weeks as weather is supposed to "heat up" around this time of year.
> 
> ...


FYI, the Coffee Excellence Center found that you only need to steep it for 6-7 hours for cold brew. Nearly all of the flavor compounds are extracted at that point.
Also try 1 cup ground coffee to 4-7 cups of water (depending on how strong or weak you want it). 
I usually do 1:7 for mellower coffees


----------



## LordCashew (Jun 9, 2022)

Grindspine said:


> It tasted like the way a forest near a beach smells.


Going a bit off topic but your anecdote about your coffee reminds me of an experience I had with a bottle of local Teroldego (wine) I had a month or so ago. The combination of the aroma of dry leaves and the flavors of brambly berries and earth made it taste like an autumn day in the woods. 

But I drank it in the late spring, right as the weather was starting to heat up. So even though it was an incredible bottle of wine it reminded me of the wrong season. 

Maybe this belongs in the first world problem thread...


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 9, 2022)

Tasted like Nehi grape soda and cotton candy. Packed quite a punch. If it was gonna give me a heart attack I would be pissed if this was the last thing I ever drank.


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 9, 2022)

LordIronSpatula said:


> Going a bit off topic but your anecdote about your coffee reminds me of an experience I had with a bottle of local Teroldego (wine) I had a month or so ago. The combination of the aroma of dry leaves and the flavors of brambly berries and earth made it taste like an autumn day in the woods.
> 
> But I drank it in the late spring, right as the weather was starting to heat up. So even though it was an incredible bottle of wine it reminded me of the wrong season.
> 
> Maybe this belongs in the first world problem thread...


I totally get it. My wife and I got a bottle from a winery not too long ago; that red blend was titled "Grateful". We both agreed after a few sips that it tasted like fall, similar to what you are describing with dried leaves. Of course, this was a lower priced red blend, so it had zero vanilla or oak overtones. The lack of those overtones really allowed some pit fruit and leafy aromas to come through though. I think that derailing a coffee thread for a few posts to discuss wine is a fair move.


----------



## Joan Maal (Jun 10, 2022)

I've recently bought an espresso machine and now I don't drink coffee anywhere else (except a couple of specialty coffee shops I know) I've rediscovered what coffee tastes like and how blind I was. Of course, no more sugar


----------



## nightflameauto (Jun 10, 2022)

KnightBrolaire said:


> FYI, the Coffee Excellence Center found that you only need to steep it for 6-7 hours for cold brew. Nearly all of the flavor compounds are extracted at that point.
> Also try 1 cup ground coffee to 4-7 cups of water (depending on how strong or weak you want it).
> I usually do 1:7 for mellower coffees


My timing works with my day, though I may have to give that a shot at some point. I've found cold brew can be extremely touchy when it comes to over extraction and turning bitter, depending on the bean, so too much ground into the water over any period of time can get tricky.

Then again, a few years back I was basically doing what you said above with a dark french roast and getting good results, so it could just be my methods now. IDK. I try something different almost every summer.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jun 10, 2022)

nightflameauto said:


> My timing works with my day, though I may have to give that a shot at some point. I've found cold brew can be extremely touchy when it comes to over extraction and turning bitter, depending on the bean, so too much ground into the water over any period of time can get tricky.
> 
> Then again, a few years back I was basically doing what you said above with a dark french roast and getting good results, so it could just be my methods now. IDK. I try something different almost every summer.


I've never had a problem with the way I mentioned, even with darker, more bitter roasts. I highly recommend you give it a shot.


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 14, 2022)

Anything's one serving if you're brave enough.


----------



## nightflameauto (Jun 14, 2022)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I've never had a problem with the way I mentioned, even with darker, more bitter roasts. I highly recommend you give it a shot.


Tried it. Somewhere around the seven hour mark seems pretty good. Six was just not quite there yet.

I'm fussy. LOL.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jun 14, 2022)

Ngl the cold brew I brought to Vegas a few years ago did not have the evacuating effect I rely on with hot brew.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Jun 14, 2022)

Seabeast2000 said:


> Ngl the cold brew I brought to Vegas a few years ago did not have the evacuating effect I rely on with hot brew.


the caffeine is the primary driver of bowel motility, so you prob made a weak batch


----------



## nightflameauto (Jun 14, 2022)

Yeah, my cold brew can clear a lower intestine pretty quickly if slammed fast enough.


----------



## Drew (Jun 14, 2022)

Haven't posted here in a while - just updating to say that while I'm still a French press brewer at home, I've been using an Aeropress with a Fellow alternate head/reusable filter in the office as a one-cup maker right now. 

I like it - definitely closer to an espresso than a traditional cup. The store bought ground coffee I'm using in it now is if anything a little TOO fine, still tastes ok but it takes a lot of pressure to press, so once I finish it (it was a gift) I'll be bringing in a bag of beans I've ground myself to taste. But, it's a pretty good one-cup option, an seeing as it's plastic, I'll probably be using it as a travel maker as well.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jun 14, 2022)

KnightBrolaire said:


> the caffeine is the primary driver of bowel motility, so you prob made a weak batch


That explains it, weak ass coffee to boot. I tried to get this pre-packaged stuff to alleviate having to walk downstairs to get my fix. Forgot the brand but they came in big 32 oz cartons from Costco.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jun 17, 2022)

I've been super tired today... so I got another coffee. I'm on #6 right now for the day. 
....
...
.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jun 17, 2022)

thebeesknees22 said:


> I've been super tired today... so I got another coffee. I'm on #6 right now for the day.
> ....
> ...
> .



There's a gas leak in the building sir.


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jun 17, 2022)

Seabeast2000 said:


> There's a gas leak in the building sir.




I think coffee #6 is finally working. My vision is becoming a lot more clear lol


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 19, 2022)

Coffee is so…. Wintertime. Legendary energy, epic focus.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 11, 2022)

FYI: Trader Joes has a really good single origin from Uganda. It's very different from most African coffee I've had. It's very mellow, with none of the acid/fruityness of say a kenyan/ethiopian coffee. There's a hint of walnut to the smell/taste and it's quite interesting.


----------



## SCJR (Aug 11, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> Coffee is so…. Wintertime. Legendary energy, epic focus.



Saw and confirmed you were in Jacksonville -- but I swear I can smell the air in a picture taken in Florida, even one as nondescript as this.


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 11, 2022)

SCJR said:


> Saw and confirmed you were in Jacksonville -- but I swear I can smell the air in a picture taken in Florida, even one as nondescript as this.



It just smells like Monster Energy around here!


----------



## LordCashew (Aug 11, 2022)

KnightBrolaire said:


> FYI: Trader Joes has a really good single origin from Uganda. It's very different from most African coffee I've had. It's very mellow, with none of the acid/fruityness of say a kenyan/ethiopian coffee. There's a hint of walnut to the smell/taste and it's quite interesting.


I'm in, thanks for the recommendation. 

In other news, this morning I finished off a bag of Ethiopian from Spearhead in Paso Robles. Blueberry and dark chocolate to the max, with acidity I would describe as "only medium." Maybe my favorite Ethiopian so far.

Also recently had a bag of Kona from Bean and Bean. The beans were beautiful and roasted perfectly, and the coffee had some subtle nuttiness that paired well with savory breakfast food. But despite the obvious quality I may just not be a Kona guy. I actually prefer Bean and Bean's honey-processed coffees from Latin America, which are more complex and distinctive despite being less expensive. They are also more acidic, particularly the Red Honey which gets into the realm of strawberry and even lime zest notes.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 11, 2022)

LordIronSpatula said:


> I'm in, thanks for the recommendation.
> 
> In other news, this morning I finished off a bag of Ethiopian from Spearhead in Paso Robles. Blueberry and dark chocolate to the max, with acidity I would describe as "only medium." Maybe my favorite Ethiopian so far.
> 
> Also recently had a bag of Kona from Bean and Bean. The beans were beautiful and roasted perfectly, and the coffee had some subtle nuttiness that paired well with savory breakfast food. But despite the obvious quality I may just not be a Kona guy. I actually prefer their less expensive honey-processed coffees from Latin America, which are more complex and distinctive. They are also more acidic, particularly the Red Honey which gets into the realm of strawberry and even lime zest notes.


My favorite ethiopian coffee is Worka Sakaro from Red Rooster. I think I mentioned it a few pages ago. The fermenting intensifies the fruity and berry qualities of the coffee, so it had a really neat strawberry/goji vibe to it. Definitely on the brighter/more acidic side but not in a bad way. 

Good Kona tends to give me that chocolate/earthy quality I find in central american coffees like Guatemalan or Costa Rican stuff.
Intelligentsia had a really cool Mexican single origin coffee that had like a cola/lime flavor to it.


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 11, 2022)

dbl


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 11, 2022)

Shit is about to get real... I have a new obsession with energy drinks that I have no idea what the flavor is. Breezeberry?


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 15, 2022)

I'm not saying they're making flavors up now, but I'm pretty sure they are.






I'll let you guys know about the SUPERHUMAN PERFORMANCE in a bit.


----------



## nightflameauto (Aug 15, 2022)

I thought maybe SUPERHUMAN was the flavor, and Performance was the type? Like, you may not be drinking Homelander, but you may have gotten a little bit of A-Train in there.


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 15, 2022)

nightflameauto said:


> I thought maybe SUPERHUMAN was the flavor, and Performance was the type? Like, you may not be drinking Homelander, but you may have gotten a little bit of A-Train in there.



Probably would have tasted better!


----------



## CanserDYI (Aug 15, 2022)

Nah i swore superhuman was the flavor too!

How was that Ghost one by the way? I have those near me and need to switch up caffeines every once and a while, bang does nothing anymore, switched to Red Bull which weirdly has less caffeine but started "working" and now thats losing its "bite".


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 15, 2022)

CanserDYI said:


> Nah i swore superhuman was the flavor too!
> 
> How was that Ghost one by the way? I have those near me and need to switch up caffeines every once and a while, bang does nothing anymore, switched to Red Bull which weirdly has less caffeine but started "working" and now thats losing its "bite".



That Ghost one was legit. The Cellucor C4 has a little too much beta alanine in it for my liking (they used to make a preworkout powder back in the day that would get you going bigtime, though). 

I kind of like those Alani Nu's or whatever the fuck they're called. You can get them by the truckload at Wal-Marts around here, and they even have them in the drink coolers up front so now you can become a raging dickhead before even leaving the parking lot!


----------



## MFB (Aug 15, 2022)

Man, C4 protein powder when you get a good batch is fucking delicious as shit, taste like a Frostee that's good for you; but when it's bad? It's fucking BAD. I got burned on legit half the ones I bought so I kicked them to the curb in favor of Dymatize or Premier Protein.


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 30, 2022)

It’s that time of year folks.


----------



## nightflameauto (Aug 31, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> It’s that time of year folks.


Kill it with fire!

Pumpkin spice belongs nowhere near coffee. WTF basic white girls? WTF?


----------



## KnightBrolaire (Aug 31, 2022)

nightflameauto said:


> Kill it with fire!
> 
> Pumpkin spice belongs nowhere near coffee. WTF basic white girls? WTF?


Pumpkin spice donuts are the only acceptable option besides actual pumpkin pie imo


----------



## nightflameauto (Aug 31, 2022)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Pumpkin spice donuts are the only acceptable option besides actual pumpkin pie imo


If anyone needs me, I'll be heading down the hallway to puke out my breakfast. Retch.


----------



## TedEH (Aug 31, 2022)

Y'all can turn your noses up all you want, it just leaves more pumpkin spice nonsense for me.


----------



## nightflameauto (Aug 31, 2022)

To be completely fair, even as a kid I hated pumpkin pie. Mom still talks about how she could set a piece in front of me with whipped cream when I was a baby and I'd somehow peel off every tiny bit of evidence it ever had whipped cream on it, without touching the main film of the pie. I tasted it once and that was enough for me.

I tried it again as an adult and yup. I made the right decision. How anyone likes that texture / flavor profile is utterly beyond me.


----------



## jaxadam (Aug 31, 2022)

nightflameauto said:


> Kill it with fire!
> 
> Pumpkin spice belongs nowhere near coffee. WTF basic white girls? WTF?



SO Starbucks pumpkin spice is an abomination, that shit I posted up above is an abomination, but the woman wanted it. There is a local coffee shop right down the street that makes their own pumpkin stuff and theirs is amazing. It's about the only one I'll do.


----------



## wheresthefbomb (Sep 2, 2022)

I love eggnog but am lactose intolerant. As such, it is a holiday tradition to try every abominable "nog" alternative I can find. Most of them are fucking awful. Last season I found some pumpkin spice nog that was shockingly good, I would buy that shit again.

For those curious, the best two imo are the So Delicious one and, surprisingly, the Nut Pods sweetener free nog creamer. Great in coffee or added to sweetened non dairy milk of choice.

Currently enjoying a cup of coffee re-heated in the microwave. Yum.


----------



## jaxadam (Sep 10, 2022)




----------



## KnightBrolaire (Sep 10, 2022)

Got some peruvian single origin light roast from BLK & BOLD that's really good. It's not overly bright and there is a blueberry nose/flavor to it. It's not overly bitter or acidic, even when I use my french press and let it sit for quite a while.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Sep 11, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> Shit is about to get real... I have a new obsession with energy drinks that I have no idea what the flavor is. Breezeberry?


Breezenuts coming this fall.


----------



## nightflameauto (Sep 12, 2022)

Ran out of "good" coffee this weekend and had to tap the local grocery chain dark roast as a stop-gap. *SHRUG* Not sure why I buy the expensive shit when this is at least 95% of the way there for about half the cost.


----------



## jaxadam (Sep 12, 2022)




----------



## wheresthefbomb (Sep 12, 2022)

You know how some people are proud of how crusty their coffee cups get? Well, that's not me, but...

I put hash oil and a little butter in my first cup of coffee every day. I get most of it, but plenty sticks to the sides of the cup. At this point, I could probably catch a buzz just pouring straight coffee in here.


----------



## jaxadam (Oct 3, 2022)

Freedom Ice. Have you ever tasted the ice of freedom?


----------



## nightflameauto (Oct 3, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> Freedom Ice. Have you ever tasted the ice of freedom?


That can gives me about twelve different ticks from marketing/patriotic bullshit infusion.


----------



## jaxadam (Oct 3, 2022)

nightflameauto said:


> That can gives me about twelve different ticks from marketing/patriotic bullshit infusion.



I played tennis with some buddies yesterday, and one of them said he took some pre-workout. I was like hell yeah man what kind? He said I don't know that 6-Star bullshit from Walmart. I said damn right what flavor, American flag or Camo?


----------



## p0ke (Oct 3, 2022)

I finally bought an electric coffee grinder, so now I can buy whole beans and grind them myself for use in my filter coffee maker. Now I just hope the 2-3 bags of beans I happen to have still have some aroma left in them...


----------



## thebeesknees22 (Jan 3, 2023)

So I finally broke down a bought a new kettle.

I must say for a cheapo one with a thermometer, I quite like it. It pours not too fast, not too slow. Plus it's bigger than my old gator one, and it's in a swanky black.


----------

