Man, am I ever fighting it this morning at work. So, I decided to brew a pot of Ethopian Yirgacheffe. While waiting for it to brew, I was inspired to do a little research.
I already knew that Yirgacheffe grew in only one place in the world. However, this was news to me:
Anyway, just thought you might find this interesting. Tell me what your favorite coffee is. Any brewing techniques that you’ve thought up? Any interesting coffee stories? 
Hmmm… guess I’m the only one…
<kicks a tumbleweed>
[sub]Poor thread didn’t have a chance. ;)[/sub]
Wow, guess dopers don’t drink coffee.
Neither here nor there, but I was born in Addis Ababa and I think that Yirgacheffe tastes like ass. I am pretty partial to Trader Joe’s Bay Blend, but since getting an espresso maker for my birthday 6 months ago, I only drink espresso. I also like to add a little cardamom to my coffee drinks.
Tanzanian Peaberry is by far my favorite, but I like all the East African coffees, including the aforementioned Ethopian Yirgacheffe (probably my second favorite) and Kenya AA (which is a little too expensive).
These are my top three coffees, probably mostly because they are grown in the East African Rift on soil derived from peralkalic volcanic rocks, which I love. A colleague of mine prefers Sumatran Mandeheling(sp?), probably because of the calc-alkalic volcanic soils. Hawai’ian Kona, grown on soils weathered from alkali basalt, is pretty damn good, too.
Regarding technique, I use the best damn coffee maker ever made: the Black and Decker Thermal Carafe™. Brews it right into a thermos, with no hot plate to overcook the coffee. My back up system: French Press–again, no overcooking hot plate.
Mmmm… coffee… I’ve got a coffee story, too, but I’m tired of typing–after lunch doldrums and no afternoon coffee made yet, you know.
Oh, this Doper drinks huge amounts of coffee!
But I’m boring. I drink whatever coffee is around, except for instant. I’ll have to look for this Ethiopian coffee… sounds good!
I love trying new coffees but am not really a connessiuer (sp!)
I’m partial to Sumatran. Seems to have a nice balance to it.
My husband likes Italian or French roast - something dark and bitter.
I put too much cream (real cream, thank you!) and sugar in my coffee to really appreciate its true taste probably! 
Oh yes… Pardon my language, but that thing kicks so much ass! My colleague has one, and I’ve yet to find one when I have money. I love it tho’, and I really haven’t scorched a pot since I started using it. Not that I ever really did to begin with.
The thing I really like about Yirgacheffe, blainer, is that it has such an amazingly rich taste, but you’d have to be a complete and utter idiot to make that coffee bitter in any way.
Rasa, I definitely recommend you get some. Kenya AA is also really good. Yirgacheffe is a seasonal coffee though, and can be hard to find.
Well… apparently everything I had to say was important.
Sorry 'bout that.
In all fairness to the Yirgacheffe drinkers, I have only had it once. I found it to have a lot less body than I would normally prefer. I think that I will have to go back and try it again. I bought it in a mall, so maybe I was actually ripped off.
I was once lucky enough to get a small (one pot worth) package of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. That was a nice rich and aromatic coffee.
America, home of the bottomless cup, has come around lately. People are developing a taste for good coffee.
I’ve been a coffee lover for many years. Initially, at home, it was strictly instant. Then, at some point in my development, my tastebuds perked up:) and, from then on, I never looked back.
Has to be dark. Continental Dark, Dark Roast (depending on the origin). I’ve recently had Mocha Java Dark Roast, which I liked very much. Kona, IMHO, isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. The only time I had some was when I went to Hawai’i a couple of years ago, and I expected (much) more from it. Granted, we probably didn’t have the right paraphernalia at the time but still… bit of a deception. P.S.: Don’t go to Hawai’i expecting bargains on Kona. Sheesh. Pretty much the same price as on the continent.
I exclusively use French Press, but that B&D thing has me intrigued…
If you want a treatise about coffee, Johnny L.A. is probably your man. Seems to be somewhat of a coffee nut (or bean).
Man, Bunny, that was misspelled BIG TIME:D: the word is connoisseur.
Finally, here’s something I think you’ll like. Enjoy.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/magazine_items/2001/feb19_01_cuppa.shtml
Like Rasa, I’ll drink pretty much whatever’s around. At least, I used to be able to drink anything even mimldly coffee-based. Then Simetra spoiled me (even more) by buying me Yirgacheffe; now, I’m ruined for office coffee, instant coffee, and from-a-packet chilled coffee drinks. I even keep my stash of precioius Yirgacheffe hidden in my room, so no one else in the house will use it. Yes, that’s right – I’m spoiled and greedy. 
Coffee.
I love coffee. Mostly French Roast or any kind of African coffee… as long as it’s strong without being bitter. I also like flavored coffee: hazelnut, cinnamon, toffee. Slurp!
I like espresso, latte, cappuccino, any and all of the above hot or iced, with or without cream and sugar.
Coffee, coffee, coffee!
By the way, I read in Newsweek (I think), a couple of weeks ago, about some kind of coffee that is actually harvested from the poo of a civet, some sort of wild kitty cat.
Apparently the kitty likes to eat coffee beans, and I guess some enterprising coffee-picking dude waits around until the civet evacuates the beans and extracts them from kitty’s droppings.
I think the coffee is sold for something like $300 a pound. Yikes.
Was I imaginging this? Does anybody know more about it?
It was the work of the master, Creaky…
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010525.html
uh, I think I’ll pass on the cat-sh*t coffee. eeeeeeewwwwww.:eek
I like Gevalia Kaffe. It’s a Swedish coffee that’s only available mail order.
mmmmmm, tasty!
Oh, Odieman! I read the article.
Poor little civets! That’s terrible. I mean about the civets that they harvest stuff from for perfume. Ouch!
Man, now I’m all sad for the civets. I hope that Chanel and the other perfume companies are telling the truth and are not really using the real civet secretions anymore.
But thanks for the link; it was excellent.
Here’s some tips on coffee chemistry. I also make mention of the special Vietnamese fox dung coffee back on 09-27-2000 10:56 AM. I guess it takes a while for things like dung coffee to trickle down (as it were) to the masses. Cecil’s column dates from 25-May-2001.
Mmmm… ass coffee. If we could only brew that with some of that New York Ass Water[sub]tm[/sub], ((ask Serendipity)) we’d have one hellacious brew going.
I’m with Ruby on this one… no thanks on the cat poo coffee.
Hee! Dung coffee! (Heh. Heh, heh. He said “dung”!)
Zenster, your coffee chemistry bit really got me going! If it weren’t so darned late right now I swear I’d make a pot (Caribou Coffee from Walmart, surprisingly good, ground at home, made in a French press pot, with nonfat creamer and lotsa sugar —hey, I got to sin a little sometimes!).
The rest of those recipes made me way hungry too. Alas, I am always on a diet!