I drink mine with half & half (in the mornings) or black (if I have coffee later in the day.) Never with sugar. And yes, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that frothy milk and sweetener can hide a lot of imperfections; a so-so cup of espresso turns into a dessert with enough milk and sugar!
I’m of the opinion that a cup of coffee versus a “coffee drink”, that is coffee/espresso with more than a hint of cream or sweetener, are entirely different beasts. I wish they had different names. So many so-called “coffee shops” can’t seem to make a decent cup of coffee anymore. Mocha Vente Soymilk Lattes? Sure, they can mess you up a mean one. Cup o’ black joe? I either get a tepid, weak brew, or something DARK ROAST and so bloody burnt tasting that I can’t drink it.
Even my local coffee roaster, who produces great beans, can’t seem to make a cup of coffee right. It always has a burnt edge to it, even when they make up a fresh pot or brew me a single cup (using a cone). But when I buy the very same beans and make them at home, they’re de-lish. I don’t get it.
Exactly. If your coffee from your press is gritty, then the apparatus is too complex for you and you should stick to the automatic drip maker.
If, on the other hand, you have a good burr grinder and coarse grind you beans, use water just off the boil and steep for 4 minutes, you have HOT, perfect coffee with minimal silt, no grinds, and more crema than you can ever get through a filter in an automatic coffee maker. The total lack of crema from a drip coffee maker alone makes it lesser than French Press. Further, paper filters absorb some of the aromatic oils and you lose that in the final cup. Only high-end, expensive drip makers get the water hot enough and most have a heating plate that immediately begins to burn the coffee in the carafe. Additionally, with a French Press you have absolute control of the amount of time your coffee is brewing and therefore can give it the amount of body you want. You get more control with a French Press than with a drip maker.
I submit that the idea of a French Press is not the stupid part of the equation.
$11 for a pound or more of genuine Blue Mountain coffee beans? It is normally well over $20/lb. Are you sure it’s genuine Jamacian Blue Mountain with the offical seal and everything? The cheapest I’ve found it online is a 5lb bag for $112 of green (unroasted) beans.
If the idea is that by performing some complex set of voodoo rituals I might come up with a cup of coffee that’s comparable to that of a cheap drip coffeemaker, well, maybe it’s true. I’ve never succeeded. Nor have any of the people who’ve ever made me coffee with a French press, including some like you who raved about them. Frankly, I don’t have the time or concentration in the morning to futz about like that; even if I did, again, experience tells me you’re wrong. I have to wonder if people who get used to French press coffee are like people who get used to Starbucks - sure, it’s bad, but you get accustomed to it eventually.
Anyway, who ever said that brewed coffee is supposed to have crema? Crema is for espresso, kid, not brewed coffee.
Last I heard, prices for Blue Mountain were up over $25 a pound; I have to share Homebrew’s question here if it’s pure Blue Mountain. I know that a lot of “Kona blends” are out there that are largely other coffees - I wonder if they’re starting to sell Blue Mountain that way as well.
I have no idea. I didn’t even know the stuff was considered fancy, or even that anyone else had heard of it… it’s what they had at work (the stuff I get, the Costco stuff) and I really, really liked it so I started buying it for myself at home. I only remembered the name at all because I just got some a couple of days ago. I always just remember it as “the stuff in the orange bag with the blue on the front”.
Regardless of any of that, this stuff, the Costco stuff that I buy, is what I was recommending as “the bestust coffee” from my experience. Here are some sorta craptacular pictures I took just now with my phone.
If you prefer the blander drip coffee than the richer, more complex coffee you get from French Press, then that’s fine. But you insistence on telling me I’m wrong is asinine and belies your own lack of knowledge about coffee. The fact is professional tasters at roasting houses use either a French Press or simply steep the grinds in the cup to judge the beans. They certainly don’t use a drip machine. This should give you an idea of which is the best method.
The mind boggles at such an absurd statement. Drip coffee won’t and that one of the reasons it is a lesser coffee than French Press.
Since that bag doesn’t say 100% and doesn’t have the offical JBM seal, then it’s most likely a blend. From what I can find quickly on the internet, it’s probably at 5% Jamaican Blue Mountain. The blend probably is very good; but 100% is even better (or at least is said to be.)
Just about the bestest coffee I ever had was at a tourist trap in Costa Rica. They were giving out free samples of the coffee and one sip was like entering the gates of coffee heaven. They managed to collect $14 from me for two pounds of the coffee. Of course, when I made it at home, it was decent, but nothing close to the way it tasted back there.
In the first place coffee must be drunk black. Cream and sugar alter the flavor. Then you have to have a discussion on the best cream and then the proper sugar. Flavoreed coffee is for people who dont really likecoffee. I kid my wife about adding candy to her coffee. Dunkin Donuts has a nice nutty flavor. How would you know that with cream and sugar in it.
Just to throw in my .02…
my favorite (when I’m out) is at this little coffee shop on campus near where I live…it’s called the Donkey …and they sell fair trade java…and it is wonderful…
Normally, I buy a bag from them and grind my own beans…just fresh for me…
but lately I’ve been buying some pre-ground beans, from a little place I found at a music festival…
It’s called Native Brew by Lone Wolf Creations. Not to shamelessly promote them, but I’m drinking it now and it’s great (blend of coffee, orange, and cinnamon) and then I added just a little half/half and some slight sugar…and also some whipped cream for good measure…and it is good…mmmmmmmmmmmm…
if anyone would be interested, their email is lonewolfcreations@hotmail.com…
I must say, it’s becoming a quick favorite…
also, I’m using a drip coffee maker that I was given as a gift…it’s not bad at all…
I love the flavor of coffee, but hate black coffee. I like all kinds of flavored coffee as well as just “plain coffee” flavored. For me, it’s better with cream but it MUST have sugar. Aside from plain water there isn’t a single unsweetened beverage that I can even vaguely drink. It’s the primary reason I dislike beer so much. And it took me about 25 years to be able to drink plain water! It has nothing to do with liking or not liking coffee, and I think it’s fairly bizarre (not to mention elitist) to insist that only black coffee is good enough for coffee lovers.
I really like potatoes, too, but I don’t eat them without salt. Does that mean I don’t “really” like potatoes? For me, some things only taste right if they are sweet. Coffee is one of them. Unsweetened ice cream wouldn’t appeal to most people. Do I not love chocolate just because I won’t eat straight cocoa? It’s just silly!
Yes. Sumatra all the way.
I can drink coffee, (espresso, regular brewed, French press, whatever) black, but I do usually like a bit of milk (frothed or not) in it.
But then, my favorite flavor chocolate is bittersweet.
Spouse is complete opposite, he takes milk and sugar in his coffee and prefers milk chocolate.
Some people prefer savory, some people have more of a sweet tooth.
Oh come on, Homebrew. Nobody’s calling you asinine. You prefer French Press; others prefer drip or different methods. Don’t try to make this into a lack of knowledge thing - people who know and love coffee don’t always prefer French Press.
First off, I want a cite here. Second off, the methods used in professional tastings of anything often differ from the way people generally enjoy them; you hint at that when you say “steep the grinds in the cup.” I think we’d all agree that of all the ways to make coffee, steeping grinds in a cup is one method that most coffee drinkers don’t use.
The fact is that there is a small but dedicated group of people who like French Press coffee. There’s a larger group who prefer drip or other methods. There’s a still larger group who will drink any swill presented to them. To make the claim that anyone in the know uses a French Press is flat out wrong. It’s a style of coffee that some people like, and some people don’t like. Get off the high horse.
Well, Peet’s recommends a press pot for brewing. I realize that’s not the same as them saying: Our roasters use this method, but I honestly can’t imagine them recommending a press pot to their customers if their roasters had a Mr. Coffee hooked up in the back room.
As for the rest of your post: Completely agreed. I enjoy a pot of French Press coffee now and again, but for day-to-day coffee drinking, I generally use a drip machine.
Your comments have been reasonable and inoffensive. Excalibre on the other hand opened with an insult and, admittedly, I’ve not reacted well.
He then goes on to spew a bunch of incorrect information and toss more insults.
Cupping is the most common method for professional coffee tasters. It extracts the most flavor and allows for the best evaluation. The difference between cupping and pressing is that the cupped coffee is slurped with a spoon immediately while a French Press strains the grinds and is decanted off for drinking. It’s a matter of volume.
If you say it’s a matter of taste, I can agree. But I can’t let the incorrect statements stand.
Well, I think you French-pressers are missing something, too, but seeing as this isn’t the pit I gotta keep to facts, figures, and those slippery opinion thingies.
What you’ve linked, Homebrew, is a description of a professional tasting; I think it’s incorrect to assume these methods (steeping the grounds in the cup, always a light roast, etc) hold true if you just want to make a cup o’ Joe.
Also, this is the first I’ve heard about crema on a plain cup of coffee. It’s certainly not something I’d look for on a standard cup of coffee (but it is essential for a nice espresso.) I’d like to see a cite that claims that you can even get crema from a french press; my understanding of crema is that it’s an emulsification that occurs as a side effect of the pressurization that espresso goes through. I’d buy that you can get some foam from the oils in the coffee on a cup of french press - heck, you can get foam from any coffee if you shake it up enough. But I’d be surprised if you can get a true crema from the small amount of pressure you get from a french press.
From Wikipedia: “A distinguishing factor of properly brewed espresso is the presence of crema, a reddish-brown foam which floats on the surface of the espresso. It is composed of vegetable oils, proteins and sugars. Crema has elements of both emulsion and foam colloid.”
From Black Wolf Coffee: “Crema is due to colloids and lipids forced out into an emulsion under the pressure of an espresso machine.”
Cook’s did a taste test of Starbuck’s recently. They found that when drunk black that Starbuck’s scored lower than many supermarket brands. :eek: When they added milk, the Starbuck’s brew became the favorite.
I drink coffee black, and don’t see what the deal is with Starbucks.
Not necessarily. I started adding cream and sugar back before the days of Prilosec. Black coffee, as much as I loved it, just turned on hella reflux. It became a habit, and I never went back, although I will still have an espresso after dinner in a restaurant.
