I bought an aeropress a few months back and to me it's far, far superior than french press (or drip) coffee. It's just much smoother and less bitter.
You have no idea how much I am looking forward to testing it out. That and coupled with the grinder, I should hopefully be able to produce a very fine coffee that can rival anything short of the greats!
For those of you in the brewing arts, what are some good tools to have to make a good latte or cappuccino? I am thinking about getting a frothing wand. Any alternatives that are more favorable? All recommendations welcome.
I might be a filthy skimmer here. What exactly is BBotE? Is it an ultra concentrated coffee syrup? It sounds like something I need to try.
Strewth wrote:I might be a filthy skimmer here. What exactly is BBotE? Is it an ultra concentrated coffee syrup? It sounds like something I need to try.
It's not a syrup. It has the taste and consistency of normal coffee, but has a crazy high caffeine content and very little bitterness or acidity due to how it is made.
It tastes like joy, liquid joy.
I might be a filthy skimmer here. What exactly is BBotE? Is it an ultra concentrated coffee syrup? It sounds like something I need to try.
It's not a syrup. It has the taste and consistency of normal coffee, but has a crazy high caffeine content and very little bitterness or acidity due to how it is made.
I bought an aeropress a few months back and to me it's far, far superior than french press (or drip) coffee. It's just much smoother and less bitter.
If you're getting a bitter cup out of a French press, you're doing it wrong. The most probable culprit is overextraction. I used to just ballpark how long I was leaving it in there; I've had much better and more consistent results since I got a cheap egg timer to make sure that I'm extracting for exactly four minutes, no more.
French press coffee is never going to be as smooth as other methods, if by "smooth" you mean "free of any solids." That's a matter of taste, though: any method that removes all possible solids is also going to remove a lot of the oils that give excellent high-end coffees their flavor. Personally, I can't imagine going back to coffee that's passed through a paper filter of any kind. That grit you get in good French press coffee? That's where the soul is.
People drank coffee with the grounds still in the bottom of the cup for hundreds of years (and still do, in some parts of the world). If they can do that, I can handle a little grit in my cup.
My brother brought me a pack of ground Sumatra from Starbucks. I had to regrind it to an espresso grind and man, they must be roasting their beans way past any normal human being would. Extreme burnt bitterness in otherwise quite tasty, full-bodied coffee.
Now I drink my espresso the Italian way, small and straight, so I suppose this has been roasted for those who put a lot of sugar and milk to actually feel at least some semblance of coffee taste. But still I wonder: is this normal roast in the US, or just Starbucks specialty?
My brother brought me a pack of ground Sumatra from Starbucks. I had to regrind it to an espresso grind and man, they must be roasting their beans way past any normal human being would. Extreme burnt bitterness in otherwise quite tasty, full-bodied coffee.
Now I drink my espresso the Italian way, small and straight, so I suppose this has been roasted for those who put a lot of sugar and milk to actually feel at least some semblance of coffee taste. But still I wonder: is this normal roast in the US, or just Starbucks specialty?
Starbucks. They're famous for burnt beans.
In my experience, at least 90% of the places you can get coffee in the U.S. use burned beans. The only reason I can think of for doing it is that a burned bean's flavor is consistent for long periods of time (months), so it's easier for coffee shops, restaurants, and the like. Also, people are unfortunately used to that burned coffee flavor that a French or Italian roast gives. A properly roasted bean's flavor will last 2-31 days or so, and in that span of time, its flavor changes quite a bit.
fuzzyb wrote:I bought an aeropress a few months back and to me it's far, far superior than french press (or drip) coffee. It's just much smoother and less bitter.
If you're getting a bitter cup out of a French press, you're doing it wrong. The most probable culprit is overextraction. I used to just ballpark how long I was leaving it in there; I've had much better and more consistent results since I got a cheap egg timer to make sure that I'm extracting for exactly four minutes, no more.
The other thing I've found is that the fineness of the grind is extremely important with the French Press. I picked up a burr grinder over the holidays and getting a coarse, consistent grind has definitely helped with the taste of the coffee. Not sure how much the "burr grinders don't heat the beans" bit matters, since there's no easy way to test that, but I do think it's a factor as well.
Starbucks actually just released their new Blonde roast (light roast for normal English speaking coffee drinkers.) It's a lot better due to the fact there is still more bean than ash. lol
Starbucks actually just released their new Blonde roast (light roast for normal English speaking coffee drinkers.) It's a lot better due to the fact there is still more bean than ash. lol
I remember I got a bag of Starbucks beans one summer that was nicely roasted and had some citrus flavors. I think they said on the bag it was best used for iced coffee. I don't remember what it was called, but the bag had sorta blue-green and yellow pastel colors. Not all Starbucks coffee is bad, but it's harder for me to find stuff that I really like.
wanderingtaoist wrote:My brother brought me a pack of ground Sumatra from Starbucks. I had to regrind it to an espresso grind and man, they must be roasting their beans way past any normal human being would. Extreme burnt bitterness in otherwise quite tasty, full-bodied coffee.
Now I drink my espresso the Italian way, small and straight, so I suppose this has been roasted for those who put a lot of sugar and milk to actually feel at least some semblance of coffee taste. But still I wonder: is this normal roast in the US, or just Starbucks specialty?
Starbucks. They're famous for burnt beans.
It's not just Starbucks, that's a Seattle thing.
It's not just Starbucks, that's a Seattle thing.
Except for Caffé Vita. They rock!
I just found out there is a World Aeropress Championship! Check it out! I need to get my brew on.
Holla wrote:Starbucks actually just released their new Blonde roast (light roast for normal English speaking coffee drinkers.) It's a lot better due to the fact there is still more bean than ash. lol
I remember I got a bag of Starbucks beans one summer that was nicely roasted and had some citrus flavors. I think they said on the bag it was best used for iced coffee. I don't remember what it was called, but the bag had sorta blue-green and yellow pastel colors. Not all Starbucks coffee is bad, but it's harder for me to find stuff that I really like. :)
I remember that one because it was really different, and the citrus notes were really nice. It was great hot or iced. It was called Gazebo blend, and they havent made it since that summer. If you ask them, they'll tell you their newer "iced coffee" blend is close to it, but it isn't.
tuffalobuffalo wrote:Holla wrote:Starbucks actually just released their new Blonde roast (light roast for normal English speaking coffee drinkers.) It's a lot better due to the fact there is still more bean than ash. lol
I remember I got a bag of Starbucks beans one summer that was nicely roasted and had some citrus flavors. I think they said on the bag it was best used for iced coffee. I don't remember what it was called, but the bag had sorta blue-green and yellow pastel colors. Not all Starbucks coffee is bad, but it's harder for me to find stuff that I really like. :)
I remember that one because it was really different, and the citrus notes were really nice. It was great hot or iced. It was called Gazebo blend, and they havent made it since that summer. If you ask them, they'll tell you their newer "iced coffee" blend is close to it, but it isn't.
That name sounds familiar. It's crazy that you remember it! It was definitely some good stuff.
Starbucks actually just released their new Blonde roast (light roast for normal English speaking coffee drinkers.) It's a lot better due to the fact there is still more bean than ash. lol
Been meaning to post on this, I picked up a bag of the Blonde Veranda when I ran out of my local roast, because, well, it was convenient. (I mean, that's the reason to go to Starbucks in the first place, right? <g>)
It's actually pretty good.
Yeah, I'm liking it too. It's not exactly Kona, but it does the job pretty well.
Tuffalobuffalo - if you liked that Gazebo blend, you might want to give it a shot.
Yeah, I'm liking it too. It's not exactly Kona, but it does the job pretty well.
Tuffalobuffalo - if you liked that Gazebo blend, you might want to give it a shot.
I just might do that! I went to Extracto Coffehouse today. I was with some friends out for breakfast and hadn't heard of it before today. I ended up getting a coffee with some Ethiopian beans that were supposed to have strawberry notes. It always seems like flavors of citrus, blackberry, and grape are more common in coffees. I'd never seen strawberry mentioned before. So, I got the coffee, smelled it, and holy crap! It smelled like strawberries! The strawberry flavor was a little more subdued than the smell. The coffee overall was a touch bitter, but not bad. It was one of the more interesting coffees I've had.
Dark Roasted Blend (which despite the name is an interesting curated image/link site, not a coffee site) did a big post on coffee art and style.
Definitely follow the link, but here are a few samples:
ALL THE COFFEE!
Does anyone else here roast their own coffee? I started doing this recently, and it turned out to be surprisingly easy and cheaper than buying pre-roasted coffee. After having gotten a few pounds of stale and/or burned beans from local coffee shops, I like knowing that if my beans suck now it's my own damn fault.
Yeah, I've been roasting my own for over a year now.
What method do you use? I've been using the popcorn popper method, but my West Bend Poppery II is starting to get kinda gross so I'm thinking I should seek out a new popper.
I'm using the same method and I think even the same popper. I'm already seeing some bubbles in the butter melter thingy from heat generated by extended use, so I think poppers really just aren't built to run continuously for such long amounts of time. If this one dies and I'm still roasting I'll probably just grab a low-end coffee roaster instead.
Let me know what you wind up getting and if it works out for you. I've considered doing that, but the price gap between a popper and even the lowest-end dedicated coffee roaster I've seen was pretty prohibitive last time I looked into it.
ALL THE COFFEE!
So I found a local place that roasts its own beans and sells fair-trade coffee, Just Love Coffee. I really love their stuff, and have been having a good time trying the various beans. Last week, they had a really good offer on Jamaican Blue Mountain, and I decided to try this incredibly famous and expensive coffee.
Is there something wrong with my palate that I found this coffee very average? I really love Kona coffee, and Just Love has introduced me to some amazing beans, including Tanzanian Peaberry and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. I also really like their Sumatran beans. But the Jamaican Blue Mountain was just all right.
So I found a local place that roasts its own beans and sells fair-trade coffee, Just Love Coffee. I really love their stuff, and have been having a good time trying the various beans. Last week, they had a really good offer on Jamaican Blue Mountain, and I decided to try this incredibly famous and expensive coffee.
Is there something wrong with my palate that I found this coffee very average? I really love Kona coffee, and Just Love has introduced me to some amazing beans, including Tanzanian Peaberry and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. I also really like their Sumatran beans. But the Jamaican Blue Mountain was just all right.
Nope. There are all sorts of factors. I've also noticed that really expensive coffees don't sell as much. That means, whatever they've got to sell might have been sitting there 2 or more weeks. Any well done 2 day old coffee is going to taste better than coffee that's been sitting around 2 weeks.
What's a good decaf? (Yes, all decaf is terrible and will eat my babies. Neglecting that.) In the DC area, if it's a local blend.
Pages