Cbloom: It only takes a couple of minutes to grind. I thought it would get old but I'm so used to it now it doesn't bother me. I may stick with it or break down and get a hand grinder.

Elsapo: anything by Zassenhaus or Peougeout and your gold. Zassenhaus has had some production probs over that last year or so. The only place you can really find them available is Ebay. Expect to pay top dollar.

I once worked with a sergeant in the Army who didn't wash his coffee pot for years. One day an enterprising private on CQ thought he'd impress "Top" by cleaning his coffee maker. The poor private had no a** left after the chewing out he'd got the next day. He liked his coffe hot, strong, cheap and black. I'm pretty sure he didn't care much about roasted beans.

I have pretty much the same taste, or lack of it, in coffee. More is better. I just wash the caraffe from time to time.

I think strong and milky is the best - you get all the flavours.

Re. how much coffee to put in a stove-top machine - we use a 4 cup model I think, and one tblspn per person makes 2 mugs (with lots of milk in).

re. enjoying coffee - it's just a unique flavour that lots of people love. if you want to give it a go maybe think about how the coffee tastes, e.g. nutty, rich, spicy. We don't really have the words to describe most coffee flavours though.

I know this is a pretty profane subject for anyone who appreciates well-brewed coffee, but I'm curious: what's the best instant coffee out there?

You are banned for 40 days and 40 nights!

Obviously joking but if you wish to drink instant coffee then do so. Folgers instant coffee crystals, I suppose, are good enough. But remember it is instant coffee so why not go for the cheapest. You are not really after flavor right?

I am sure the mention of instant coffee sent a shiver down the spine of all the coffee aficionados. We have had an excellent thread and I do not think much more can be added. We didn't get much information on roasting your own coffee beans; most just purchase good quality coffee beans etc. If someone wants to make the effort, perhaps a separate thread about all the ins and outs of roasting your own coffee beans can be started, a fresh pot on coffee so to speak. I don’t feel I have the expertise to start a thread of this nature so will bow out and let others more appropriate attempt the task if they want.

Have a good cup of coffee on me.

-Zeno

I've only had two kinds of instant coffee, one was horrible and I don't remember the name (might be Folgers), but the other is Taster's Choice and it is excellent.

I had a feeling my question would get that kind of reaction. I love coffee, been drinking it for over 18 years. I actually love a good cup, but will settle for less at times. I'm an addict.

So with my busy schedule which includes working long shifts in 3 different clinics, instant coffee is very convienant. So far I think Tasters Choice is the best one out i've tried. Was hoping someone could shed light on something better. Sorry to derail. Also FWIW we have a small chain here in Ann Arbor called'Expresso Royale' which has fabulous coffee.

You can also take a one-day coffee bar master class in which they teach you the secrets of making a great latte, coffee, capp, etc.

I use a French Press at home, and the best advice I received for it was from Peet's and is as follows:

Don't boil the water. It should be hot, but a tad under boiling. Pour the water into the press, over the grounds. Let it sit for exactly one minute then gently stir. Let it sit for exactly one minute again, then gently stir again. After a third minute, plunge and pour. Coffee does not need any more time to steep, and the additional time will hurt the quality of the brew.

I am bumping this thread to ask a question: I caught a segment on Food Network last night about Mountain Thunder Coffee in Hawaii. They're supposedly 100% Kona Coffee, organically grown, yadda yadda. Their online store rates are pretty reasonable (as far as Kona Coffee goes) and while I'll probably try some anyway, I wanted to ask you guys if anyone had any experience, positive or negative, with this company?

I've been using the freezer but I wrap the re-sealed whole bean coffee bag in about five extra plastic freezer bags sucking the air out each time. While I'm resealing the coffee beans I'm using a $10 electric grinder in about six or seven widely spaced five second bursts to grind the coffee (to avoid overheating the coffee). My coffee maker is your basic $25 Mister Coffee drip type.

Am I taking too many short cuts?

~ Rick

PS First time in this thread (linked today by Zeno from The Lounge).

Having recently moved to North Carolina, I recently reviewed six espresso beans available around here. Counter Culture was my absolute least favorite, being handily beaten by Harris Teeter.

That's not to say it isn't a good bean - just that I didn't like it. People talk a lot about right and wrong when it comes to coffee prep, but in the end it's all personal preferance.

There are two local places here that have a good bean, but my favorite was actually Larry's Beans espresso roast, which was really rich but also crisp and not at all bitter.

CC had a kind of metallic-soap aftertaste I couldn't get over.

If you have any interest in the bean review it's at www.TranscendentalSandwich.com, but it's mostly useful if you're in the Carrboro-area.

Update. 10 lbs later and I love the graffeo stuff. It's a bit expensive but worth it to me. My dad likes the half-half and light roast, I prefer the dark roast. If you are in SF it should be easy to buy a little and try if not, looks like you have to order a lb. and try it out. I think it's pretty good.

i used to drink the premium coffee but then I ran out of money. i used to get my coffee from this crazy dude who spent a full year traveling around the world tasting coffee before he opened up his shop. his beans were spectacular.

i am now out of monies so I usually roll with trader joe's. it's surprisingly good...much better than charbucks and half the price.

No experience with the company but I will probably order because I love Kona but don't love paying so much for a bag at your run of the mill coffee joint. I'll post a report here if I do order.

i concur... every morning a large w/ cream and sugar for me. then to the crap work gives me...

lol, you have the same coffee maker as my grandma.... they do work very well

i drink illy espressos and cappuccinos - illy, i get the pods in the mail every month

no frills espresso machine - nothing special, but i'm happy with it:

My first experience with coffe was when I was about 9 years old. My mom made some cheap Foldger's or something in her old percolator pot, and gave me a cup (with a little cream) with a couple stale chocolate chip cookies. The taste of crunchy chocolate chip cookies dunked in coffee is still one of my favorite memories.

Ever since then I've been feeding my coffee addiction. I've spent crazy money on coffee & gear. $1500 for an espresso maker, $45/lb for Jamacian Blue Mountian beans, ordered Kona Peaberry directly from a plantation in Hawaii, etc. I now use my french press all the time.

My favorite coffee of all time so far is Sumatra from Intellegentsia. Other vendors I like are Stumptown & Peet's.

And here's a suprising twist. Cafe DuMonde Coffee & Chickory in the french press is suprisingly good. Better than 90% of whole bean coffees, and cheaper too. I can get cans of it at Whole Foods in Chicago, and it's my day to day coffee.

The most horrible days of the month are when I run out of coffee for my daily expressos and I don't have time to go to the coffee shop 'till the weekend.
No sugar, no milk, nothing expressos = valhalla without dying.

Re the freezer debate: I've tried keeping ground coffee in an airtight container both in the fridge and on the counter. My experience is that ground coffee in the fridge retains that wonderful coffee smell much better. But the final brewed coffee tastes the same either way.

(Yeah, the much better answer is to grind it fresh each day but I'm just too lazy.)

I haven't had any caffeine for almost a month now. First few days were really rough, but I'm good now. Not sure if I'll go back or not.

Interesting, I had no idea I have been drinking something other than espresso. I picked one of these up a couple years ago after trying it at my Italian friend's home.

I did end up ordering a pound each of Kona Private Reserve Vienna Roast and French Roast. I'm not a connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, but both are very smooth and have excellent flavor. I usually have my morning cup with a little vanilla soy milk, but both of these are easily drinkable black. Came to about $73 w/ shipping.

I also visited the Kauai Coffee Company while on vacation and brought back some Koloa Estate and Kauai Mundo Novo which were both tasty (and waaay cheaper).

the problem with putting coffee into the freezer is when you take it out

when you take coffee out from the freezer, it is cold and the room is warm, and soon there is condensation on it... this change the flavor for the worse supposedly....... obviously, ideal solution is to freeze, and then warm up slowly enough to not condense.... which is just silly.... practical solution obviously is to go through your coffee quicker

I think this effect is more theoretical than anything. You only remove the coffee from the fridge for a few seconds -- just as much time as you need to scoop out the coffee. I never noticed any condensation but I imagine it would only be a small amount on the top level of coffee. But if you kept it in the freezer and then left it on the counter for 5 minutes I could see condensation being an issue.

And as I mentioned earlier, the fridge-kept coffee definitely seemed to maintain that fresh ground coffee smell better, which must be a good sign that the coffee is being preserved well.