Coffee Addicts Thread

[Pete H]

Bought this a couple months ago and I love it.

It's so easy and fast I'm having an espresso or two almost every morning. I had a manual espresso maker before and used it only few times a month.

The milk foamer could be a little bit better, but it's no biggie for me as I'm having 20+ espressos for every cappuccino I make.

So far my favourite beans are a local blend of extra dark roast. It has an amazingly smooth taste.

[Jeff W]

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My friend strongly recommends the Ariete "Macinacaffe" Burr Grinder - but like to hear any other suggestions <$200 or so.

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Guide to Grinders

Sub-$100 electric grinders are generally garbage.

[Kintamayama]

Since I'm a former co-founder and co-owner, I may be biased, but IMO the best coffee can be found here, at Phoenix Coffee in Northeast Ohio. All coffee is fresh roasted to order.

I don't drink coffee any more, but when I did, my personal favorite was Sumatran Mandheling, which is a rich, smooth, full-bodied coffee.

It's been a while since I've been involved, but I've been around the coffee business for most of my life, so I'll be happy to answer any questions I can about the coffee biz, operating a cafe, etc.

[LetItBe]

The most important thing for coffee: bean storage! Do NOT PUT BEANS IN THE FREEZER. This is horrible for them. Why? There are 4 things that are bad for coffee: light, moisture, air, and time. Constantly taking coffee in and out of the freezer lets moisture build up inside the coffee. Not good. What I would recommend is buying an air-tight container, pouring the beans in there, and storing them in a cool, dry place. This will ensure that the beans are fresh and they will be fresher for longer.

As for beans, Starbucks isn't horrible, espcially when you consider how much they produce and roast. But I agree, you can find much better coffee. I just recently ran out of coffee that I brought home from Costa Rica...I love their coffee (Monte Verde coffee is fantastic). In Denver, go to Novo Coffee. Pricey but well worth it and they have a great selection.

Novo website.

[cbloom]

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The most important thing for coffee: bean storage! Do NOT PUT BEANS IN THE FREEZER. This is horrible for them. Why? There are 4 things that are bad for coffee: light, moisture, air, and time. Constantly taking coffee in and out of the freezer lets moisture build up inside the coffee.

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If you use them frozen they never get moist. Taking anything in & out of the freezer is bad for it. I don't believe that you can freeze bread & salmon but coffee beans are too delicate. Anyway, just use them quickly, I don't recommend storing them at all (I never do). If you don't use them fast enough, buy less.

edit : anyway the original point was, don't just leave it in the bag you bought it in (after opening) and have it sit in your cupboard for a month, it will taste like ass.

[cbloom]

BTW is anyone here an expert/advocate of using a french press? I've heard you can make great coffee with a french press, but I've never been successful with it. I've read some tips online but they haven't really helped. If I grind the beans course it comes out watery. If I grind them fine, I get tons of nasty sludge.

[Peter McDermott]

If my house was burning down, the first thing I'd run for is my Mazzer Mini.

[AZK]

Which grinder are you using for french press...I think it's normal to have a little bit of "silt" at the bottom of the cup for french press, I don't use french press a lot but it's nice when I do...

[LetItBe]

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Anyway, just use them quickly, I don't recommend storing them at all (I never do). If you don't use them fast enough, buy less.


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Compeltely agree. I didn't mean storage in the long term sense...I meant storage for the week or two you will have the beans.

As for your french press problem, I use my french press a lot. Like someone else asked, what kind of grinder do you use? You have to get a burr grinder if you want to use a press. The beans have to be ground as coarse as possible- otherwise they go through the screen. Are you having a problem with proportions of water/grounds? You also shoudn't use boiling water- it should be hot, not boiling.

[cbloom]

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As for your french press problem, I use my french press a lot. Like someone else asked, what kind of grinder do you use? ...

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I have the cheap Starbucks branded burr grinder. Maybe it's time to upgrade; there's some crazy coffee-snob web sites that really recommend $200-500 grinders. Thanks for the tips, I'll try to go coarse & just use more grounds and do some experiments.