What is the best coffee making strategy?
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Cannot help with your coffee problems, I hate the stuff, but my practice regarding tea may help. Whilst at work, I pick up the phone and ask one of the elves to make me a cup of tea. Whilst at home I ask my wife to make a cup of tea. Occasionally I make my own tea, but it never tastes as good!
------------------------------------ To eat well in England, you should have a breakfast three times a day. W. Somerset Maugham 1925
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
Get a good espresso machine (not automatic) with a good, big boiler, and get a good (I'm talking $$$) grinder. Practice good coffee hygeine and keep the grinder and espresso maker squeaky clean. Residue and old oil will make the coffee bitter. Buy your beans in small lots and keep them dark and dry. Do not buy dark (French) roast. This is a joke done by Starbucks. I've spent many long hour discussing the horror of french roast with Italians. Just say no. Use fresh milk, and since you bought a good boiler you should be able to get a good micro foam going. Angle the steaming rod so you get that whirpool effect in the jug and hold the jug with your hand by it's base so you can feel when it's ready. Read and study this article[^] on frothing milk. If you make a stiff, dry foam then hand yourself, and your coffee machine into the nearest authorities. Let the milk sit while you pull your espresso. Never do it the other way around. Espresso loses it's purity and goodness in 10 seconds. Grind only what you need before you pull your espresso shot. Tamp down hard, and pull 25 ml of espresso in 30 seconds. Breath in the aroma while seated. You may swoon. Pour in the microfoam. Whether you create a fern, a branch with leaves, or whether you're trying to impress an impressionable babe and you do the love heart thing is totally up to you. Sit back, breath, sip. oh yeah.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
Either pay a vast amount of money on a real expresso machine (Gaggia) or overcome your wariness ... somehow
'--8<------------------------ Ex Datis: Duncan Jones Merrion Computing Ltd
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Get a good espresso machine (not automatic) with a good, big boiler, and get a good (I'm talking $$$) grinder. Practice good coffee hygeine and keep the grinder and espresso maker squeaky clean. Residue and old oil will make the coffee bitter. Buy your beans in small lots and keep them dark and dry. Do not buy dark (French) roast. This is a joke done by Starbucks. I've spent many long hour discussing the horror of french roast with Italians. Just say no. Use fresh milk, and since you bought a good boiler you should be able to get a good micro foam going. Angle the steaming rod so you get that whirpool effect in the jug and hold the jug with your hand by it's base so you can feel when it's ready. Read and study this article[^] on frothing milk. If you make a stiff, dry foam then hand yourself, and your coffee machine into the nearest authorities. Let the milk sit while you pull your espresso. Never do it the other way around. Espresso loses it's purity and goodness in 10 seconds. Grind only what you need before you pull your espresso shot. Tamp down hard, and pull 25 ml of espresso in 30 seconds. Breath in the aroma while seated. You may swoon. Pour in the microfoam. Whether you create a fern, a branch with leaves, or whether you're trying to impress an impressionable babe and you do the love heart thing is totally up to you. Sit back, breath, sip. oh yeah.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
Well thank you VERY much, now I have to leave work early to get to the Coffee shop before it shuts :-).
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
Using such pot you can't do much in "tuning" the coffee making process. I think you can experiment with coffee grinder with powder granules' size control (correct the wording, I'm not native English) - it can change coffee taste. But, anyway: the first thing is coffee itself. No machine will help if the powder is crap.
-- Jarek Andrzejewski
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Get a good espresso machine (not automatic) with a good, big boiler, and get a good (I'm talking $$$) grinder. Practice good coffee hygeine and keep the grinder and espresso maker squeaky clean. Residue and old oil will make the coffee bitter. Buy your beans in small lots and keep them dark and dry. Do not buy dark (French) roast. This is a joke done by Starbucks. I've spent many long hour discussing the horror of french roast with Italians. Just say no. Use fresh milk, and since you bought a good boiler you should be able to get a good micro foam going. Angle the steaming rod so you get that whirpool effect in the jug and hold the jug with your hand by it's base so you can feel when it's ready. Read and study this article[^] on frothing milk. If you make a stiff, dry foam then hand yourself, and your coffee machine into the nearest authorities. Let the milk sit while you pull your espresso. Never do it the other way around. Espresso loses it's purity and goodness in 10 seconds. Grind only what you need before you pull your espresso shot. Tamp down hard, and pull 25 ml of espresso in 30 seconds. Breath in the aroma while seated. You may swoon. Pour in the microfoam. Whether you create a fern, a branch with leaves, or whether you're trying to impress an impressionable babe and you do the love heart thing is totally up to you. Sit back, breath, sip. oh yeah.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
That pretty much covers it. I'm looking to buy a new machine with heat exchanger and E61 brew head, possibly a Rocket. It will set me back 2,000-2,500$ though. Sigh...
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
Yes I have one of those. The coffee from it is good but a bit weak in taste if not effect. I use it mostly as a party trick nowadays as it amazes people, but it needs work and is a bit messy <edit>while cleaning is hell, just look at the shape</edit>. Most guests complain though about the zombie effect in the small hours. My recommendation instead would be a french press[^], The taste is superiour full and thick. I use a mix of Kenya, Antigua and Colombia beans. Try to find a good supplier of coffee that don't cheat on the roasting. Coffee is sold by weight and therefore it's usually roasted at a to high temperature for a to short time.
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Get a good espresso machine (not automatic) with a good, big boiler, and get a good (I'm talking $$$) grinder. Practice good coffee hygeine and keep the grinder and espresso maker squeaky clean. Residue and old oil will make the coffee bitter. Buy your beans in small lots and keep them dark and dry. Do not buy dark (French) roast. This is a joke done by Starbucks. I've spent many long hour discussing the horror of french roast with Italians. Just say no. Use fresh milk, and since you bought a good boiler you should be able to get a good micro foam going. Angle the steaming rod so you get that whirpool effect in the jug and hold the jug with your hand by it's base so you can feel when it's ready. Read and study this article[^] on frothing milk. If you make a stiff, dry foam then hand yourself, and your coffee machine into the nearest authorities. Let the milk sit while you pull your espresso. Never do it the other way around. Espresso loses it's purity and goodness in 10 seconds. Grind only what you need before you pull your espresso shot. Tamp down hard, and pull 25 ml of espresso in 30 seconds. Breath in the aroma while seated. You may swoon. Pour in the microfoam. Whether you create a fern, a branch with leaves, or whether you're trying to impress an impressionable babe and you do the love heart thing is totally up to you. Sit back, breath, sip. oh yeah.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
That's too dang much work -- especially before I've had any coffee. And milk is for poofters.
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
keefb wrote:
I'm...trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee.
Time to get a civet.
"Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw later in life what you have deposited along the way." - Unknown
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
I'm personally a fan of tea. A coffee will never make my morning, but a tea can do magic. There are plenty of varieties of teas, and some are quite irresistible. It has less caffeine content and the antioxidants are actually good for health as well (honestly I don't care about the "good for health" point, but I drink tea because I find it more suitable for my taste). Try the oolongs (specifically the darjeeling) and try the Indian ginger chai and masala chai. You won't regret it. :) [added] I know this isn't an answer to your question, but I was merely suggesting something to you. I hope you're OK with it. [/added] [added 2] Do not hesitate to drop me a line if you want "expert" tips on preparing Indian style masala or ginger tea. [/added 2]
“Follow your bliss.” – Joseph Campbell
modified on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 11:51 AM
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Get a good espresso machine (not automatic) with a good, big boiler, and get a good (I'm talking $$$) grinder. Practice good coffee hygeine and keep the grinder and espresso maker squeaky clean. Residue and old oil will make the coffee bitter. Buy your beans in small lots and keep them dark and dry. Do not buy dark (French) roast. This is a joke done by Starbucks. I've spent many long hour discussing the horror of french roast with Italians. Just say no. Use fresh milk, and since you bought a good boiler you should be able to get a good micro foam going. Angle the steaming rod so you get that whirpool effect in the jug and hold the jug with your hand by it's base so you can feel when it's ready. Read and study this article[^] on frothing milk. If you make a stiff, dry foam then hand yourself, and your coffee machine into the nearest authorities. Let the milk sit while you pull your espresso. Never do it the other way around. Espresso loses it's purity and goodness in 10 seconds. Grind only what you need before you pull your espresso shot. Tamp down hard, and pull 25 ml of espresso in 30 seconds. Breath in the aroma while seated. You may swoon. Pour in the microfoam. Whether you create a fern, a branch with leaves, or whether you're trying to impress an impressionable babe and you do the love heart thing is totally up to you. Sit back, breath, sip. oh yeah.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
Jeez, I feel like a coffee after reading this. I can almost smell the aromas.
Software Kinetics (requires SL3 beta) - Moving software
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keefb wrote:
I'm...trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee.
Time to get a civet.
"Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw later in life what you have deposited along the way." - Unknown
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
:laugh: (does taste good though, if you don't think about it too much...)
No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced. This message is made of fully recyclable Zeros and Ones
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Get a good espresso machine (not automatic) with a good, big boiler, and get a good (I'm talking $$$) grinder. Practice good coffee hygeine and keep the grinder and espresso maker squeaky clean. Residue and old oil will make the coffee bitter. Buy your beans in small lots and keep them dark and dry. Do not buy dark (French) roast. This is a joke done by Starbucks. I've spent many long hour discussing the horror of french roast with Italians. Just say no. Use fresh milk, and since you bought a good boiler you should be able to get a good micro foam going. Angle the steaming rod so you get that whirpool effect in the jug and hold the jug with your hand by it's base so you can feel when it's ready. Read and study this article[^] on frothing milk. If you make a stiff, dry foam then hand yourself, and your coffee machine into the nearest authorities. Let the milk sit while you pull your espresso. Never do it the other way around. Espresso loses it's purity and goodness in 10 seconds. Grind only what you need before you pull your espresso shot. Tamp down hard, and pull 25 ml of espresso in 30 seconds. Breath in the aroma while seated. You may swoon. Pour in the microfoam. Whether you create a fern, a branch with leaves, or whether you're trying to impress an impressionable babe and you do the love heart thing is totally up to you. Sit back, breath, sip. oh yeah.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
Chris Maunder wrote:
This is a joke done by Starbucks
Going to Starbucks for coffee is like going to jail for s_x. You're going to get it, but it'll hurt.
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
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I'm in a perpetual loop, trying to find the perfect way to make perfect coffee. I'm wary of stove-top espresso / "mocha" machines since one exploded on me (literally, not permanent damage done, but enough pain to put me off). I also find cafetieres have cooled too much by the time the coffee is brewed. I've been looking into this http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpId=4&id=1208-01&famId=10&famSubId=1001[^] Has anyone tried the napier/vacuum way of making coffee and are there any other good ways of getting a decent cup (short of moving away from the UK :-) )?
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
Get a secretary.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane
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That's too dang much work -- especially before I've had any coffee. And milk is for poofters.
First thing I do in the morning is switch on the espresso machine and make a long strong coffee. It's a small effort for a great reward.
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
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I'm personally a fan of tea. A coffee will never make my morning, but a tea can do magic. There are plenty of varieties of teas, and some are quite irresistible. It has less caffeine content and the antioxidants are actually good for health as well (honestly I don't care about the "good for health" point, but I drink tea because I find it more suitable for my taste). Try the oolongs (specifically the darjeeling) and try the Indian ginger chai and masala chai. You won't regret it. :) [added] I know this isn't an answer to your question, but I was merely suggesting something to you. I hope you're OK with it. [/added] [added 2] Do not hesitate to drop me a line if you want "expert" tips on preparing Indian style masala or ginger tea. [/added 2]
“Follow your bliss.” – Joseph Campbell
modified on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 11:51 AM
Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
There are plenty of varieties of teas
There are more than sixty varieties of coffee (I think slightly more than teas) - ignoring blends - and each of them can be changed in near-magical ways by altering the roasting, and grinding. Coffee does more magic for me than tea!
No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced. This message is made of fully recyclable Zeros and Ones
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Finding percolators in the UK is hard, even Amazon goes in and out of stock. My parent's had one of these, and I remember the coffee was fantastic. A couple of websites I checked said they tended to overbrew the coffee and I wasn't sure it was just my caffine-fuelled child's memory that was telling me it was so good. I might give this a try.
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
keefb wrote:
Finding percolators in the UK is hard
Try the local Charidy Stores, they always have these types of things.
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
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keefb wrote:
Finding percolators in the UK is hard
Try the local Charidy Stores, they always have these types of things.
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
I wish I could vote 100 for this sugestion!
CCC solved so far: 2 (including a Hard One!)
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Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
There are plenty of varieties of teas
There are more than sixty varieties of coffee (I think slightly more than teas) - ignoring blends - and each of them can be changed in near-magical ways by altering the roasting, and grinding. Coffee does more magic for me than tea!
No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced. This message is made of fully recyclable Zeros and Ones
Yes, yes. I know it's a strictly personal preference. I'd like to mention that I was completely into coffee earlier, but after I started drinking tea, I found that it would do better for me.
“Follow your bliss.” – Joseph Campbell
