How do you coffee? :)

[alexander]

I know we had another thread on coffee somewhere, but it clearly got left behind, and i wanted to bring the topic back up again

So today marks the newest welcome addition to my coffee-maker list, i just got an ibrik, which makes it my 5th contraption to make coffee, so now i have 4 choices as to how to prepare my coffee, which is always great.
french press
normal coffee maker
chemex pot
espresso machine
ibrik

So, the list is down by the grind, the most course grind goes to the FP, and the finest goes to the ibrik (if you dont know what an ibrik is, it's a copper or brass pot with a specific shape, wider towards the bottom and then again at the top (look at image attached))
Of the 5, espresso machine is the only one i dont go crazy about, i like coffee, i enjoy espresso, and i rarely have time to make proper espresso, it's an art, and it requires certain tallent, so that aside, let's discuss coffee .

I find that regardless of how you like your coffee, it all boils down to 4 main areas of focus:

water - good watter makes better coffee then bad water, so use a good filter. Water from bottles does not mean that its the best water, use the a good filter

coffee - can't stress enough, regardless of what kind of coffee you like, how strong, or what qualities you look for in your coffee (and i am talking about people who like coffee, not pumpkin spice lattes, or an extra shot of caramel in their Dunkin Donuts cup), you cant make good coffee from brown bean crap most people get at the local supermarkets dirt cheap. Coffee needs to be freshly roasted, it's best after about 2-3 days after roasting, then it gets ok after 4-5 days, worse yet in another week, and then it becomes supermarket-fresh coffee in about 2 weeks, and that's unground, ground coffee stales in hours after grinding, minutes if left in open air... This is actually especially easy to see using a Chemex pot, fresh coffee, when you pour hot water into it, will release these bubbles, that make your coffee almost foam up at the top (sometimes called a boil), the older the bean, the less of that effect you will see, it's quite interesting

temperature - honestly, there are many ways of making coffee, but for most optimal coffee, if not using an ibrik, your water temperature should ideally be around 88-95 degrees Celcius, around 185-190 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature should not exceed 200F, ibrik being the only case where it will. If the water is too hot, it will bring out a lot of bitterness in coffee, but because you are looking for a very strong dark and bitter coffee with the ibrik, it's a part of the brewing process. But for drip, FP, Chemex, 190F is about your ideal

brewing time - the extraction process time frame is around 3 minutes, you would under-extract the coffee in less then that, and over extract the coffee if you go longer. So you don't get all the beautiful flavors if you go shorter, or pick up bad flavors if you go too much over...

anyways, these are my thoughts atm, let's talk about coffee, i cant be the only person here who likes a good cup (and i dont drink a lot of it, usually 1-2 cups a day)

[pamela]

I love coffee
Quite some time ago, I would use a french press, then moved on to a percolator. Although both of these produced a decent cup of coffee, it was not the same an an espresso machine. I have used stove top espresso pots, but like the convenience of a maker. When finances allow, I will buy fresh beans and grind. When not, a can of italian espresso coffee suffices ,although it has to go thru the grinder to make it extremely fine. Purified water brings out the best in coffee as well. No cream, no sugar, just black and maybe with a lemon zest.

[alexander]

I prefer a little bit of sugar, but unnoticeable amount, and a pinch of salt, and that depends on the coffee too, as does my choice of sugar, for example, a more floral coffee, i will use dried date sugar, where as like an ethiopian coffee, where its really more chocolaty, i go more towards a demerara or a dark muscovado sugar, and i use about 1-2 teaspoons per 6-8 cups i usually make, and a pinch of salt, though even that depends on what i am having, for example i like to use grey salt for very heavy coffee, sometimes a tiny bit of smoked salt takes a coffee ways from "wow" to "whoa", and sometimes just sea salt or fleur de sel or flaked salt for lighter coffees. Salt ballances the sweetness, and bitterness of some coffees

[Buffy]

Espresso machine with Peet's Arabian Mocha Sanani "ground on 3." I detest dark/French espresso roasts.

Steamed 1% for a Latte or Cap depending on mood. (really depending on how far I want to run today)

Sugar: ugh! That'll be an extra mile!

Maybe kissing is sort of like nature's coffee,
Buffy

[maikeru]

I use my little Bialetti moka maker given to me by my Italian friend. And I've become fond of two blends called Columbian Supremo and an Italian Perugia that I buy for rather cheap but tastes smooth, round, and creamy. Medium roast. Wonderful with a little sugar or whole milk added.

And I have like a million and one uses for my coffee grounds.

[alexander]

Originally Posted by Buffy

Sugar: ugh! That'll be an extra mile!

I dunno, pretty sure that 65 laps (25m) 3 times a week will take care anything i put in my coffee... not that i like a lot of sugar in it, usually juust a little

That said, i like to try different coffees. I respect a classic cup, but i do enjoy the subtle flavors of different regions of coffee, from the cocoaness of Ethiopian beans, to the fruitiness of Brazilian or Kenyan , to the delicate smoky flavors of Costa-Rican and rich chocolate flavors of Guatemalan, to the wineyness of Haitian, Yemeni or Hawaiian...

[Pyrotex]

I'm still nursing a quart jar of "Taster's Choice" extra dark instant coffee I bought at Sam's Warehouse about 3 or 4 years ago. Most of what's left is kinda stuck to the glass, but I scrape it out with a heavy duty spoon. I use one level teaspoon of it in a coffee mug I inherited from my grandfather. (I never wash the mug because that removes half the flavor.) Then I put in hot water straight from the kitchen faucet. I drink it black with no sugar. Mmmmmmm... good to the last drop.

[Moontanman]

The best coffee i ever tasted was made by a man from Egypt, it was strong enough to eat the spoon up!

I like my coffee like I like my women, thick, black, and hot

No really I like my coffee double strong with a lot of half and half. Good water does indeed make a big difference in coffee but no sugar, sweet coffee, yuk

[GAHD]

I'm not to picky on my coffee, quite frankly I'm in it for the caffeine.

Light roast, made with boiling water to the point it's bitter and thick, add a bit of creme to cool it off.

No sugar though, I'm sweet enough as is.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by GAHD

I'm not to picky on my coffee, quite frankly I'm in it for the caffeine.

Same here.

I'm drinking a cup of "Morning Blend" right now (percolated) and enjoying it very much. I prefer soy milk over cream. It seems to impart a certain flavor that I find complimentary to the coffee.

For sweetening, it's not that important. Sometimes I drink it black, sometimes it has a little sugar (never artificial sweeteners!). I've tried several different sweeteners and I think I prefer natural cane sugar the best.

For my next taste experiment with coffee, I think I'm going to try some Canella (wild cinnamon-different plant than cinnamon). Anyone ever try this?