# On preparing coffee . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [January 25, 2017, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137 "2017-01-25T12:59:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/41 "2017-01-26T14:30:29Z")
I’m at a loss as to why you wouldn’t chose to sit at the kitchen table sipping that first cup of the day while watching the birds stopping by the feeders in the yard as the sun breaks over the tree tops. In which case you wouldn’t need to hurry the process along. And it makes for a much nicer day. ---
**Author:** ![Emergency911](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/43a26b/32.png) [@Emergency911](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emergency911)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/42 "2017-01-26T14:43:18Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > I guess that’s a no. > > However this just made me think of another question. What if you used coffee instead of water? I imagine it would be bad for a coffee maker, but would it make “stronger” coffee? Or some horrible liquid? > > (I don’t know why I have so many odd questions today, maybe I shouldn’t have had the extra cup) I had a boss that would do this when the pot was getting low. Fresh grounds, add water to the 1/3 of a pot of coffee and run it through again. I didn’t know he was doing this at first, but noticed when he made a fresh pot, the coffee always tasted “off”, (I don’t know how to explain this), it wasn’t bad, it was just very different than when I would make it. After observing him do this, I finally figured out why. I can only guess, but it seemed like the coffee going through the maker again seemed to add a burned taste to the coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/43 "2017-01-26T19:14:18Z")
Talking Coffee Brewing is a lot like talking politics on the SDMB; You’re going to have a wide range of opinions where half the people think you’re wrong. 🙂 So I’ll do what I try to do on subjects like this… I toss out there what works for me, mixed with a question to two. My coffee maker is a standard, no frills, drip coffee maker with an insulated carafe. No burner plate, but it does have a water filter. My wife or I will set up the pot the night before so that the next morning the first one in the kitchen presses the button. I drink my coffee black, my wife adds creamer. It literally takes her less than 1 minute to add a tablespoon of creamer to her coffee. Are you really so pressed for time that you can’t spend one more minute? Adding creamer and sugar to the coffee pot is definitely going to put you in the negative when it comes time to clean out the pot when you get home from work. (I assume you’d clean it out in the evening because it’s going to take longer than the minute you would waste just adding cream and sugar to the cup.) Your best bet if you need to shave a minute off your busy morning schedule might be to find some other way to save a minute. i.e. Have you thought about laying your clothes out before you go to bed? What about, I don’t know… getting up 1 minute earlier! It’s just silly to think of someone that thinks they are so busy they need to find a way to pre add sugar and cream the night before. Which begs the question, why are you drinking coffee? Seriously. Why are you drinking it? For the caffeine? Is it because you like the taste of coffee, sugar and cream mixture? If you’re drinking for the caffeine, have you thought about drinking cola instead? It has caffeine and you’re not opposed to the sugar. If you’re drinking it because you like the cream/sugar/coffee mixture, have you thought about a [premixed concoction](http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/08/best-iced-coffee-drinks-at-the-supermarket/index.htm)? As said above I think your best bet is to learn to like coffee black; not disguised. You’ll save a ton of calories too. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/44 "2017-01-26T19:31:49Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I use Malaysian-style “Three-In-One” sachets (Powdered Coffee, Sugar and Milk) when I’m camping or somewhere without access to a fridge, but I can’t see that being an acceptable option for people who really, _really_ take their coffee at hipster-levels of seriousness. There is a wide, wide, wide gap between “_hipster-levels of seriousness_” and the soulless, brown-flavored\*, sweet-water that comes from those three-in-one sachets. \*Yes, they taste _brown_ and sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/45 "2017-01-26T19:38:24Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I use Malaysian-style “Three-In-One” sachets (Powdered Coffee, Sugar and Milk) when I’m camping or somewhere without access to a fridge, but I can’t see that being an acceptable option for people who really, _really_ take their coffee at hipster-levels of seriousness. Those are also the most prominent means of coffee distribution in Thailand and Vietnam, but I could never seem to find one without sugar and powdered whitener. I’m willing to drink Nescafe in an emergency, but those things were just disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/46 "2017-01-26T19:58:23Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Which episode? Or do I have to watch them all, and wait for the Citation? (I thought I had seen them all. I guess I’ve missed one.) Kramer decides he can save time by [washing his veggies and showering at the same time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15puo-dSEIY). He even installs a garbage disposal under his shower drain. Things don’t go so well when he tries serving a mixed salad to Elaine and others and he explains his new time saving method… ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/47 "2017-01-26T20:14:46Z")
> [@Azeotrope](#): > > “Hey, Marie, we’ve got another one who was, ahem, washing vegetables in the shower. What’s that make, two carrots, a parsnip, and a rutabaga this week?” _Marie rubs hands: “Time for a stew !”_ ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/48 "2017-01-26T23:37:38Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > There is a wide, wide, wide gap between “_hipster-levels of seriousness_” and the soulless, brown-flavored\*, sweet-water that comes from those three-in-one sachets. > > \*Yes, they taste _brown_ and sweet. You say that, but some of the stuff I’ve had from them is quite nice. Sure, it’s never my drink of choice, but it’s not automatically terrible stuff like the industrial-grade “coffee” found in your stingier staffrooms. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/49 "2017-01-27T01:03:14Z")
> [@Azeotrope](#): > > It takes a longer time to spoil since the microbes can only get in once it’s opened, but it won’t stay good forever either. Indeed. It well near impossible to spoil, since it already tastes like dreck. I wouldn’t let the stuff near my coffee. Btw, was the OP a serious question, or an entry to some competition for the King or Queen of Lazy? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/50 "2017-01-27T04:03:28Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > You say that, but some of the stuff I’ve had from them is quite nice. Sure, it’s never my drink of choice, but it’s not automatically terrible stuff like the industrial-grade “coffee” found in your stingier staffrooms. I had it in the Philippines, once just to try and once because I ordered coffee and expected coffee, not that instant pack (I wasn’t pleased that second time). I’ll take the industrial-grade stuff any day, as that’s what I grew up with in NYC delis and street carts. Probably didn’t help that I only like a hint of sweet in my coffee, and those packs try to cover up the lack of coffee flavor with extra sugar flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/51 "2017-01-27T04:37:00Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I’ll take the industrial-grade stuff any day, as that’s what I grew up with in NYC delis and street carts. I assure you, industrial-grade instant coffee is really, _really_ bad. And this is coming from someone who will contentedly drink Nescafe Blend 43 (it’s pretty much standard issue in most staffrooms, it seems :p) I’m quite fond of American “Diner-style” coffee, which is considered an unutterable heresy among my coffee-loving/barista friends. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/52 "2017-01-27T18:00:13Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I assure you, industrial-grade instant coffee is really, _really_ bad. And this is coming from someone who will contentedly drink Nescafe Blend 43 (it’s pretty much standard issue in most staffrooms, it seems :p) > > I’m quite fond of American “Diner-style” coffee, which is considered an unutterable heresy among my coffee-loving/barista friends. I thought you meant industrial-grade ground then brewed coffee, not industrial grade instant. As I’ll take a cup of tea over a cup of any instant coffee, industrial grade instant is something I’ve never encountered. Generally diner \> deli \> street cart coffee, though that definitely is not written in stone, as the differences in each can vary greatly. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/53 "2017-01-27T23:38:49Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I thought you meant industrial-grade ground then brewed coffee, not industrial grade instant. As I’ll take a cup of tea over a cup of any instant coffee, industrial grade instant is something I’ve never encountered. > > Generally diner \> deli \> street cart coffee, though that definitely is not written in stone, as the differences in each can vary greatly. Australia loves its coffee - even roadhouses and cafes waaaay out in the middle of nowhere have decent coffee - but pretty much every staffroom in places I’ve worked - be they small retail stores or large corporations - only has instant coffee provided. I don’t actually mind instant coffee, but even I draw the line at the industrial-grade stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/54 "2017-01-29T03:19:36Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Simplify your life. It will continue to pay cumulative dividends for the rest of your life. > > Learn to like coffee without cream and sugar. Then, you can always enjoy the simple pleasure of a cuppa, without fretting about the ready availability of cream, sugar, refrigerators, clean silver spoons of the requisite size and shape, and the myriad other worrisome complications that are going to contribute incrementally and unfavorably to timing of your death. > > All those people you think are happy to have “a good cup of coffee” will spend a great deal more of their lives whining miserably about a bad one. > > When a cup of coffee presents itself, just say “It’s good enough” and get on with your happy and contented life. > > Moi? I make coffee for Sunday morning breakfast, when my usual daily is unavailable. On Saturday night, I bring a saucepan of water to the boil, throw in a scoop of Colombian, turn off the heat, cover it, and go to bed. In the morning, I carefully pour it off the settled grounds, reheat and drink, as is. I’ve never had a better cup of coffee. I never found adding cream and sugar to my coffee as “worrisome complications”. (I like chocolate milk in my coffee) :dubious: Who the fuck freaks out over their creamer going bad? And using a coffee maker is easy-peasy. It sits in a corner on my counter. You must have a pretty small counter if it takes up a serious amount of space. Yeesh. If that’s your idea of stress, you have it pretty damned good. (And I believe a “cuppa” refers to tea, not coffee) ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137/55 "2017-02-02T17:55:21Z")
The only thing powdered creamer should be used for is starting fires or party tricks. > [@jtur88](#): > > Cite? > > Or, at lest, some kind of insight to explain the possible downside of washing vegetables while showering. Can’t do anything else while washing the veggies, and the amount of water used would be much more than what one would use in the sink. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-preparing-coffee/778137.md?page=2)