Coffee

skeets

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BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
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This should be close to all ours heart as we all consume more coffee than we would like to admit, hence more opportunities to look at the country side,,, Now the OL has been complaining that the coffee tastes like _____ ,,well you fill in the blank. Anyway we have tryed every different coffee In the local stores from 8 O'clock to Dunkin Doughnut, to stuff she paid 15 bucks a 1/4 pound seems like nothing has any real coffee taste/flavor any more,, New coffee maker, new filters, new grinder for beans, bottled water, new filter for the fridge , add more add less, nothing makes a difference. So is it maybe just us up here on the ridge or has any one else noticed the same thing
 

hodge

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The coffee maker has something to do with it, and so does the coffee quality. We use a Keurig, and I really like the coffee it makes. The Green Mountain Nantucket is about the best cup of coffee that will come out of our kitchen.
 

Breeze

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L3700, Box Grader, 60" Bush Hog, Rear Grader Blade, York Rake, Boom Pole.
Dec 24, 2010
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One of my sidelines is roasting coffee. I have a 1 kilo Turkish drum roaster, gas fired, and sell around 90lbs. a month. It's a small community here so I do it, my hand to yours, no retail markup, no ad. costs, etc.

I purchase 60 # sacks of green coffee from a reputable source that only handles coffee they have taste tested, before stocking.

Rule of thumb:
Green coffee beans good for 12 months or better
Roasted coffee beans good for 1 month or less
Ground coffee beans good for 15 minutes or less

Your basic grocery store coffee, canned or loose in bins is probably a minimum of 4 months old before you purchase.

Best basic method to brew is a plastic cone over a pot with paper filters. Try to find a source of beans that includes a roast date. I charge $15 for a pound which considering my extra shipping costs and the fact that a can of Folgers is now 12 ounces, ain't bad.

In addition to shrinking the size of the can, the big boys are using cheaper beans these days, Robusta machine harvested, rather than Arabica mountain grown and hand harvested. Arabica trees are an understory forest tree, grown in the shade. Robusta trees are grown in flatter land, in the open. Robusta coffee tends to have at least twice the caffeine than Arabica. Even when they say "Mountain Grown" that does not mean Arabica.

Garbage in, garbage out
 

hodge

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One of my sidelines is roasting coffee. I have a 1 kilo Turkish drum roaster, gas fired, and sell around 90lbs. a month. It's a small community here so I do it, my hand to yours, no retail markup, no ad. costs, etc.

I purchase 60 # sacks of green coffee from a reputable source that only handles coffee they have taste tested, before stocking.

Rule of thumb:
Green coffee beans good for 12 months or better
Roasted coffee beans good for 1 month or less
Ground coffee beans good for 15 minutes or less

Your basic grocery store coffee, canned or loose in bins is probably a minimum of 4 months old before you purchase.

Best basic method to brew is a plastic cone over a pot with paper filters. Try to find a source of beans that includes a roast date. I charge $15 for a pound which considering my extra shipping costs and the fact that a can of Folgers is now 12 ounces, ain't bad.

In addition to shrinking the size of the can, the big boys are using cheaper beans these days, Robusta machine harvested, rather than Arabica mountain grown and hand harvested. Arabica trees are an understory forest tree, grown in the shade. Robusta trees are grown in flatter land, in the open. Robusta coffee tends to have at least twice the caffeine than Arabica. Even when they say "Mountain Grown" that does not mean Arabica.

Garbage in, garbage out
Great information, and it makes sense. Stale coffee.
Fresh coffee like you sell is rare around here. I could go over to Charlottesville and get it- coffee houses are everywhere in that town!
I have gotten coffee in Haiti before and brought it home. It doesn't get much fresher than cleaning the beans, roasting them over an open fire, then bringing it home the next day. That gets expensive, too, considering the cost of a plane ticket...
 

birddogger

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You covered all the aspects of making a cup; I was going to say "water" since coffee is 99+% water, but you tried bottled water.

One thing I've found out in years of trying different methods and makers; most coffee makers like to make at least 1/2 a full batch to get a solid flavor. Making 3 cups in a 12 cup maker is just going to be disappointing. The filter-bed of grounds is too thin and the water just shoots through too fast, not picking up flavor, except filter paper.

If you have a Mr. Coffee type auto-drip, they can be rather hit or miss because as much as they try to standardize them, the brew temperature can vary unit to unit. One thing that can affect their performance is line voltage at your house.

The only suggestion I can make without coming by for a cup is; try a click or 2 coarser or finer on the grinder to see if you can get fuller extraction, I'd try finer first. If you have a "whirlie bird" grinder, and not a burr grinder that may just be the problem. To get an even extraction you need to have an even grind. The whirlie grinders create from dust to chunks and everything in between; so part is over-extracted, part under-extracted. If that is the case it is better to sacrifice "freshness" and grind it at the store to get a proper grind and even extraction.
 
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Breeze

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Birddogger I agree with your comments including the limitations of whirly bird grinders, but not the concept that a better grind on bad coffee will win the taste test. I would prefer dust and bits with fresh roasted beans, every day of the week. : )

Brewed coffee likes to see water right at 205 degrees so the problem with most "automatic" drippers is water temperature being too low. A tea pot just off boil is what you want. The pour over is the least expensive way to extract. A shot of water sufficient to wet the grounds, count to twenty and pour away.

Coffee is complex and is after all a crop. To the big guys, blend is everything out of a desire to maintain a flavor profile, ton after ton. Single origin or co-op coffees vary quite a lot in the cup. I prefer the somewhat chocolate flavor of Central/South American coffee; El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador. The real "snobs" advise against dark roasts but I enjoy my coffees a bit on the dark side.

Take care with some "coffee shops" that don't roast on site. Their coffee can be as stale as the grocery store.

All that said, I consumed god knows how many red cans of Dominicano coffee down here and if given the choice of nothing at dawn or that, I'd take that!

Anyone interested in home roasting, the good beans are at Sweet Maria's. Methods of roasting vary and can be accomplished with something simple as a steel dog bowl and a heat gun!

http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php
 
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300zx

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1979 B7100D, 2009 ZG20, 1991 B2150, 1990 B6200
Dec 1, 2010
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The coffee maker has something to do with it, and so does the coffee quality. We use a Keurig, and I really like the coffee it makes. The Green Mountain Nantucket is about the best cup of coffee that will come out of our kitchen.
Hodge, I am with you on the Keurig and Nantucket. Nantucket is primarily because Sam's sells it in the large boxes. Keurig because it is so easy to make in small quantities any time day or night.

John
 

ipz2222

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May 30, 2009
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I never drank coffee untill my wife bought a Kerig. Actually , she has two. She said if I can have 2 mowers, she can have 2 Kerigs. I drink one every day now. There are so many different flavors available.
 

RDR

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Danevang, Tx.
I have to have a poll here before making any comments. How many cups do you drink a day? How do you drink it, black, cream, sugar, both?

I have a tendency to forget threads. If I'm not back in here in a week, would someone pm me?
 

skeets

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BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
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Well most of a pot before going to work all day long at work and with meals so theres bunch and what ever there happens to be if sugar is areout it goens in creamer it goes in if nothing then black,,, My name is skeets and Im an addic:D
 

RDR

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Danevang, Tx.
Well skeets, I guess we are the coffee drinkers here. I drink a minimum of two 12 cup pots a day. I've never messed around with a grinder and beans. I used to drink strictly MaxwellHouse. When coffee prices went up years ago I tried the Wal-Mart Arabica. I only buy MaxwellHouse when on sale.

Give up on the fancy, high priced crap, buy a can, open it and start making it and drinking it. Adjust the amount to the strength you like. Everytime my wife has bought any of the high priced "fancy" coffee I was glad to get back to what I usually drink. I'm partial to the Arabica Dark Roast, but has less caffiene. Doing the dark roast on coffee cut out some of the caffiene. Didn't know this until recently.
 

Carl k

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L3800DT
Jun 3, 2012
42
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0
Rice, Virginia
I agree, its very hard to find good coffee. The coffee at my work is the worst. Many folks in my area make their coffee on the weak side, too. Not good at all. I need full bodied coffee. Best coffee for my taste is espresso. Grind fresh roasted beans just before you use them. You can either use a stove top moka pot for about $30 to $40, which makes a great cup of what many people call espresso, but is not really espresso, or a pull out all the stops and get a 9 bar (thats about 130 psi) espresso machine that will cost anywhere from $800 to $1500, or more if you really want something fancy. Steam your own milk, for a cappuccino or a latte. Now your talking coffee!!! If anyone is interested two great places to learn about making espresso at home is

http://coffeegeek.com/forums

and

http://www.home-barista.com/forums/
 

aquaforce

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L245DT FEL, JD450 Track loader, 5' scrape blade&mower, 5x10 trailer, Dump truck
Apr 22, 2009
757
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Stockbridge, Ga. USA
Hello my name is aquaforce and I'm a coffee-hollic.... :D:D:D
I use a Cuisinart coffee machine with the bean hopper and grinder built into the top of the machine for fast easy use. It can vary the grind amount, brew temp and uses a brass filter. It also has a built in water filter but I only use distilled water for my brewing. This all has a great impact on brewing but just like grilling, what quality of product used makes a difference in the result too. I like a strong but smooth and almost sweet brew and this machine is very tuneable to different palates. I drink my coffee black and fresh with nothing else but great taste.
I have found that the cleanliness of a regular brew coffee machine affects the taste a lot too. When I make the ground canned coffee at work everyone wants to drink what I make because I always clean the machine for good flavor but they don't.
I do like the dark roasts because I can brew strong flavor with them and have the smooth taste and lower caffeine. I like a roast at second crack.
I am curious now to roast some beans myself. I didn't know the beans went bad that fast.
I drink at least one 12 cup pot a day and quite often more than that.
 
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RDR

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147
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Danevang, Tx.
Most of the time when I get up my wife has made coffee. What little bit of coffee she drinks leave me enough to drink while brewing another 12 cup pot. When she isn't here I make sure my thermos is full for morning. The drip coffee maker is set up where all I have to do is turn it on to be done before my thermos is empty. I don't seem to function without at least 3 cups.

Before I forget, I always use a paper filter. There is something that isn't good for you in coffee that the paper absorbs. I don't care if where I am visiting, the coffee maker has a fine screen. I still use a paper filter.

When my wife isn't here I drink all 3, 12 cup pots of coffee. I don't want espresso where you get a cup's worth of caffiene in a 2 oz. shot. I like the taste of beer, but don't want to get drunk on a small amount of concentrated alcohol.

If you make junk of many different flavors, have some kind of foam on top, etc. I don't consider you a coffee drinker. A coffee drinker wants it strong, but not concentrated and black. When it is over 100 degrees out I still drink straight, unflavored, black coffee all day long.