THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: usmcnavgeek on 10 Oct 2010, 19:35
-
So, according to the search, there hasn't been a coffee thread in like, years. I want to talk about coffee so I'm making one.
I like coffee, guys. But, like many people, I'm a sorta-broke-ish college student. This means no $1000 espresso machines in my apartment. It also means no daily $5 coffee drinks from local places. I am by no means a super coffee snob but I will say I haven't drunk any Folgers in, like, 5 years, sooo....
So yeah. I have been using a cheap $20 blade "grinder" and an aeropress (http://aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm) to make my coffee. The aeropress website is pretty hyperbolic but it is pretty inexpensive and makes a darn good cup of coffee, if you ask me. I've got a hand-cranked burr grinder (http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/grinders/manual-grinders/hario-slim-mill.html) on the way to me so I can elevate my coffeenerdness by a little bit.
What kind of coffee am I drinking? I'm so glad you asked! I happen to be blessed with a pretty good local roastery (http://www.csrcoffee.com/) and I usually go with them. Obviously I'm rocking whole-bean and grinding my own. I've also been recommended this stuff (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EO6AWI/) and I have some on the way to me.
ADDITIONS! I usually take a little sugar and nothing else, but I've just started out on the paleo diet (as part of a nutrition challenge my local crossfit gym is doing, which is a whole 'nother thread) so now I'm drinking it just black. I also have a few flavored syrups that I've used to make those sugary sweet Starbucks-style drinks. Ask me about my coffee price spreadsheet showing how much money I save by making my own drinks instead of buying them from coffee shops!
SO. Coffee. What do you like, where do you get it, what are you making it with, what do you put in it? Do you miss sleeping?
-
$5 coffee drinks from local places.
Holy shit! Please tell me that's for some grotesquely enormous American-sized cup because here in Australia $3.50 has really only very recently become an accepted standard price for coffee.
-
yeah I haven't paid more than $3 for a cup of coffee in ever
-
A medium mocha-latte-whatever from the Starbucks in my town is $4. An extra shot is $0.75, and if you go large it gets worse.
So yeah it's for the uber-huge-Amurrica sized ones.
-
I think he means like, fancy expensive Starbucks drinks. Those are pricey. Also huge.
I stopped drinking/caring about coffee when I stopped working as a barista. I can't afford to buy it every day and I can't be bothered making my own. However, I still LOVE the taste and smell of coffee. But: now that I don't drink six shots of espresso every day, I have developed a sort of intolerance to it and can't actually drink coffee without feeling sick. This is no fun, but I do enjoy a sip or two of ambrosia when my boyfriend is drinking it. It makes it that much more special maybe?
Anyway, despite being a pretty good barista at a highly rated Sydney espresso bar, I'm not that much of a coffee snob. I'm just as happy with professional or home stove-top espresso as I am with plunger (French press) or percolator (drip) coffee, although the latter two are quite hard to find in Australia. (My boss, a champion barista, even drank Moccona instant at home.)
I don't like flavoured syrups but I do enjoy milk coffees, lattes or macchiatos being my preference, with a tiny smidgen (half a teaspoon maybe?) of sugar.
-
I never go out for coffee unless it's at a restaurant I'm already eating at, because I'm too cheap and lazy to run to Dunkin', Cumberland Farms, or Timmy's every day. I mix 4 tablespoons Chase and Sanborn with 2 tablespoons Don Francesco's (vanilla hazlenut something-or-other) and let it percolate. (For that extra hint of cheapness, use a paper towel instead of a real coffee filter.)
The supermarket I go to has free coffee, but the little tubs of creamer usually sit out too long and the machine is set slightly cooler than the melting temperature of those styrofoam cups. :(
-
i agree with the former Barista in that i dont drink coffee much anymore since i left that line of work. I will partake in an occasional cup of chai tea every now and again though. As as former Barista and coffee snob i have to admit the best way to brew coffee is by using a coffee press (http://blog.brotherhoodofthebean.com/images/french_press.jpg)
-
Quite right, though filter comes close (use paper filters, which absorb the cholesterol-raising compound cafestol, so leaving you with the healthiest coffee you can have).
I am drinking coffee right now. As I am at work, it is made with a coffee bag (http://www.coffeeperfection.com/coffee-bags.php) (like a tea bag, but with ground coffee in it). I prefer the green box (original blend), but recently my local store has only had the red (high roast) and orange (mild blend) boxes - boo.
-
When I am making coffee at home in the morning I'll grind it fresh in my conical burr grinder then pack it into my moka pot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_%28coffee_pot%29) and then heat up some milk and froth it a little. I'll usually have a cappuccino in the morning, then make a piccolo or a macchiato later in the day on weekends. I need to learn how to steam milk properly though, because at the moment I just use a milkshake maker to froth the already-heated milk slightly, which is ok but not quite as good.
-
What I do is I take a jar of Marks and Spencers instant coffee (The gold one). Then I lovingly remove the lid with a clockwise turning motion of my right hand. Meanwhile, I have set my kettle to boil (remembering to only boil enough for one cup so I can SAVE THE PLANET!). I gently shake a rough amount of coffee powder into a mug, then seal the coffee jar again. Then I carefully drizzle boiling water on it until it turns into actually a real nice cup of coffee. And it only takes minutes! And I can get about a hundred cups for $5.
It's like living in the future.
-
Yes, a terrifying post-apocalyptic wasteland where the surving rabble have to fight tooth and nail for their coffee in whatever grim and meagre form they can find it.
-
What I do is I take a jar of Marks and Spencers instant coffee (The gold one). Then I lovingly remove the lid with a clockwise turning motion of my right hand. Meanwhile, I have set my kettle to boil (remembering to only boil enough for one cup so I can SAVE THE PLANET!). I gently shake a rough amount of coffee powder into a mug, then seal the coffee jar again. Then I carefully drizzle boiling water on it until it turns into actually a real nice cup of coffee. And it only takes minutes! And I can get about a hundred cups for $5.
It's like living in the future.
Marks and Spencer's? It has to be
(http://www.tulumba.com/mmTULUMBA/Images/FB847554YT654_250.jpg)
The process is the same though.
-
No!
M&S!
I will defend my middle England tastes to the death!
On the subject of instant coffee versus everything else, I've tried a variety of things. Indeed somewhere in boxes at my parents house I own a percolator, a stovetop espresso kit (I won it in a pub quiz: I hate espresso) and even a friggin' Senseo machine. Home-made percolator coffee is probably the nicest BUT when you take into account the extra mess and expense what seems to my palette to be only a slight improvement in taste doesn't really warrant it. I don't know of part of this has to do with the fact that I only ever drink coffee black (occasionally once in a blue moon if it is a bad morning and I need a kick up the arse some demerara sugar) and thus don't experience much complexity to the flavour that comea with being mixed? I know I need some sort of balance to the bitterness, because I dislike espresso and by extension americano: I hate getting coffee out because pretty much everywhere does americano now rather than filter coffee, and I can taste the difference, but drinking reasonable instant coffee never seems 'grim and meagre' to me. I don't think I'm really snobbish about any of the traditional snob foods/beverages, except maybe beer.
-
Sadly, coffee and beer are the two things in life I let myself be fairly snobby about. I don't drink Folgers or the other big name roasters. I don't use a drip machine for coffee (French press or Chemex is mostly what I go for) and I really prefer to grind my beans fresh before every cup I make. None of this beans roasted two weeks ago and ground last week business. I buy most of my coffee beans from here: http://www.smallworldcoffee.com/ and here: http://www.rojosroastery.com/. Both are also good for a cup of coffee as well but my favorite place to go for that is here (assuming I'm in the city of course): http://www.kaffe1668.com/. They have amazing coffee, each cup brewed to order, four or five single-origin roasts to choose from everyday. Great stuff! I'm a big espresso fan too but tend to just drink shots, not lattes or cappuccinos most of the time. Also: black coffee almost exclusively. Sometimes a touch of skim. Never sugar.
-
I actually got one of those Senseo machines for free from an internet deal, years back. It made pretty OK coffee but my model was really really loud, to the point of annoyance, and also the whole cost per cup thing, what with the pods, discouraged me. Plus it took up valuable counter space!
Thoughts on the Starbucks instant stuff? I thought it was pretty good by instant standards, but if I'm in a place where I have access to good hot water I probably will be able to make a real cup of coffee. On that note their cold brew instant was yuck, but maybe I'm weird.
-
Anything mentioned here, even M+S instant coffee, is better than the coffee that comes out of office vending machines.
Coffee should never taste like badger.
-
Folgers coffee? I love driving by their plant. The entire street smells of coffee. Too bad they're closing it down in a few years.
-
Well, im not that snobby about coffee, but lets just say that i love my stepdad for getting a new coffeemaker, and donating the "old" machine to me. Freshly ground beans, espresso, cappucino, its awesome!
The one big massive downside to it all, is that that first cup of coffee on monday at work is just horrid.
-
Coffee, milk, two sugars please :D
As for my opinion, see my siggie.
-
i agree with the former Barista in that i dont drink coffee much anymore since i left that line of work. I will partake in an occasional cup of chai tea every now and again though. As as former Barista and coffee snob i have to admit the best way to brew coffee is by using a coffee press (http://blog.brotherhoodofthebean.com/images/french_press.jpg)
I quit drinking coffee when I left Starbucks. I was just burned out on it. Haven't had a cup since the beginning of the year. Tea though..I drink a metric shittonne of tea.
Thoughts on the Starbucks instant stuff?
We all thought it sucked compared to the normal stuff.
-
I don't know of part of this has to do with the fact that I only ever drink coffee black (occasionally once in a blue moon if it is a bad morning and I need a kick up the arse some demerara sugar) and thus don't experience much complexity to the flavour that comea with being mixed?
Normally I'm disgustingly snobbish about putting sugar in coffee and tea, but if you're drinking a shot of espresso it's traditional to put just a little bit of sugar in to cut the bitterness and bring out the flavour of the coffee. Go to Italy if you don't believe me!
Also in Italy they like to put a shot of grappa in their shot of espresso if they're drinking it at night. They call it a caffe corretto: a "corrected" coffee. Of course, in Italy they've got cheap and easy access to grappa that you'd actually want to drink.
-
I've always wanted to try grappa. Rumor has it my great-grandfather made it back in the day. Too bad he died a few months before I was born.
-
i have a grinder and a cheap little one person drip coffeemaker, but i've been considering upgrading to a percolator or press now that i've gotten into the habit of drinking my coffee black and have been noticing and enjoying the taste a lot more. it seems a worthy investment since i drink a cup of coffee literally every single morning. i get all my coffee from salt spring coffee (http://www.saltspringcoffee.com/) in downtown vancouver and it's a really long journey considering i have a grocery store just up the street from me but i do it anyway, it's worth it because of ethics (and also because their coffee is really god dang good).
-
I have coffee beans from Cuba. It's not necessarily better than other coffee, but it is more awesome because it is from Cuba.
Hi Tommy!
-
I only ever buy normal filter coffee these days, in a metal cup that gets me twice as much in a cup for the same price. This is at uni. Black coffee has always been the thing, but black, a bit old coffee tasting of metal is more of a ritual than anything that tastes good.
Also, I can't get down black coffee with any milk in it, and I dislike latte pretty heavily. I used to drink mocha a lot when I was a wee boy, but now I just buy hot chocolate if I want something sweet.
-
I have coffee beans from Cuba. It's not necessarily better than other coffee, but it is more awesome because it is from Cuba.
Hi Tommy!
Socialist coffee tastes better?
-
You're at UiO?
UiB, I think? We get those metal cups at NTNU as well (don't think they're bigger, but using your metal cup instead of paper ones gets you a discount on the coffee), but I'm not a fan of coffee.
I'm really not a fan of warm beverages in general, which people give me weird looks for. I'll drink some hot chocolate or latte once in a while, and can drink coffee if I "have to", but I greatly prefer not to. I wish liking coffee wouldn't be associated with being an adult. I enjoy iced coffee, though, even when it was basically cold coffee with something sweet added like at one place in Japan.
-
I work at a cafe! We use Toby's Estate (http://www.tobysestate.com.au/) coffee, which apparently is pretty good? I find it a bit bitter compared to some other, sweeter coffees that I have had at other places. At work is probably the only time I drink coffee, and rarely at that, so I am pretty clueless when it comes down to it. Normally I get mochas (because I like the chocolate/coffee combination), but lately I have been just making lattes and chucking two sugars in it because it is easier.
On that note, I have been trying to relearn how to make coffees in an attempt to makes them well this time around. They are all looking very nice, and the shots are a good colour with lots of crema and all that jazz, but everyone who I have wrangled into being one of my guinea pigs says that the coffee has been a bit bitter (compared to the coffees that the other baristas make, I guess) and I can't work out how to make it less bitter! I have been experimenting with tamping at the moment, seeing if that helps, but I really haven't been able to notice any difference. The other baristas have been self-taught, so they can't really help me either. Any suggestions as to fix this? I would like to be able to make nice coffees, even if I don't drink it very often.
-
It can be a thing with tamping. If you tamp too hard the water has to stay in the group for longer as it forces its way through, hence bitter coffee. You want to tamp it hard enough that it stays in the group handle when you turn it upside down, but not so hard that when you dump the grounds, it needs more than one moderate tap to free them. Usually I would do two flicks of coffee, tamp lightly, do one more flick, tamp lightly again. I only ever used handles that were two-shot capacity but maybe you have one that is a one-shot capacity, so just one flick, tamp, one flick, tamp would be good then I guess?
Also a good rule for pouring is the 30 second rule. If you press the go button on the espresso machine you want the coffee to be all out and beautiful in under 30 seconds I think? Again I've always used one with a manual switch but if you have one with set shots that turns itself off when it's done, that would be easier, but maybe use the manual override to stop the pour if you think it might be too long.
If you like I can see if I can drag out my old coffee textbook from TAFE. I have to find all my books anyway since Max has started a job at a function centre.
-
As far as pure coffee goes, nothing will ever beat a carafe with a gold mesh filter. I will admit, I really love this Keurig brewer somebody bought me a few years ago simply because of the Green Mountain Coffee brand that makes k-Cups for it. I'd kill to figure out an equivalent roast of the "Double Black Diamond" blend they have.
-
Yeah, I remember learning the 30 second rule, and I know the technical aspect to the whole thing, I just can't seem to get it right! I guess more practice and experimentation is the way to go.
-
I actually prefer Filter Coffee, but if I can't get that I'll go for a Flat White, or use Instant at home simply because it's quicker to make
-
I like to act like I'm a coffee snob but I'll drink practically anything, as evidenced by the gallons of service station coffee I've poured down my gullet since being in the States. I also don't see anything wrong with Folgers via Mr Coffee. I'm actually pretty keen on getting a drip filter machine once I settle down somewhere, as the idea of gigantic boiling pots of coffee waiting for me when I wake up every morning makes me quite happy, indeed. I'd probably grind my own beans and such, however, so as to maintain at least a little cred.
I do sadly lament the fact that I can't get a flat white over here though. Especially seeing as I AM enough of a snob to not drink cappuccinos after breakfast.
And Starbucks does have decently priced plain-old black coffee but it's almost inconceivably mediocre, even to this uncouth lout. Objectively, Tim Horton's isn't any better, but for some reason their mediocrity seems charming so I love them nonetheless. Seriously, fucking <3 Timmys
-
okay somebody explain to me why cappuccinos are not a post-breakfast thing. i mean, i find that i enjoy cappuccinos best on like, dark cold afternoons, not breakfast. have i been doing it wrong this entire time?
-
News to me. Drink them when you fancy, like I do.
-
Tradition.
Which is a fancy way of saying "because".
-
Coffee tastes like shit.
-
Coffee tastes like shit.
Oh yeah, well...well....YOU taste like shit!
-
okay somebody explain to me why cappuccinos are not a post-breakfast thing. i mean, i find that i enjoy cappuccinos best on like, dark cold afternoons, not breakfast. have i been doing it wrong this entire time?
SNOBBERY
(also I have to show my Italian heritage in some way, aside from refusing to eat spaghetti that was not made by my mother)
-
What I do is I take a jar of Marks and Spencers instant coffee (The gold one). Then I lovingly remove the lid with a clockwise turning motion of my right hand. Meanwhile, I have set my kettle to boil (remembering to only boil enough for one cup so I can SAVE THE PLANET!). I gently shake a rough amount of coffee powder into a mug, then seal the coffee jar again. Then I carefully drizzle boiling water on it until it turns into actually a real nice cup of coffee. And it only takes minutes! And I can get about a hundred cups for $5.
It's like living in the future.
This reads in Jeremy Clarkson's voice really well.
-
Everything does, Jordan.
Everything.
-
The most tasty coffee.... in the wooorrrllllddd
-
What I do is I take a jar of Marks and Spencers instant coffee (The gold one). Then I lovingly remove the lid with a clockwise turning motion of my right hand. Meanwhile, I have set my kettle to boil (remembering to only boil enough for one cup so I can SAVE THE PLANET!). I gently shake a rough amount of coffee powder into a mug, then seal the coffee jar again. Then I carefully drizzle boiling water on it until it turns into actually a real nice cup of coffee. And it only takes minutes! And I can get about a hundred cups for $5.
It's like living in the future.
This reads in Jeremy Clarkson's voice really well.
I'm pretty sure that's a good enough reason for Khar to murder you.
-
And on that bombshell - goodnight.
-
Sometimes I forget that you aren't a native English speaker, Jens. Your English really is great. But then you mix up "horrible" and "hilarious" and I get confused until I remember why.
I prefer caffeinated soft drinks to coffee, but if there is coffee already and I need to wake up, I'll put a little coffee in my cup of sugar. I also like mochas and the gas station cappuccinos, i tend to prefer the sweeter stuff. I have found some good-tasting drip coffee, but never good tasting enough that I can stand drinking it without sugar.
-
Coffee thread, you've made me realize that stovetop espresso machines and handheld milk-frothing devices are relatively inexpensive. I was sure that espresso at home was beyond my limited means!
You will pay for this! :x
(I mean I. I will pay for this. And then hopefully enjoy delicious espresso at home for significantly less per cup than espresso bars charge.)
-
Coffee tastes like shit.
Expect the lynch mob shortly
-
The fact that Jeremy Clarkson is occasionally amusing isn't an argument against the fact that he's a bastard. You will quickly realise this if you round out your view of Jeremy Clarkson by reading his newspaper columns, as well as just watching Top Gear and QI. There's a fine line that divides being controversial from simply tasteless, and a fine line that divides being interesting from being a boorish, tendentious arsehole, and Clarkson is more often on the bad sides of these lines than the good sides. Most of it comes down to his monstrous tory arrogance and the way he carries it off. I think it's fair enough to guess that Ozy made the Clarkson comparison as a snide way of decrying my fairly undemanding taste in coffee as priggish, boorish, unreconstructed, reactionary, middle class, witless, ugly and distasteful to civilized man. Which would indicate that socioculturally, drinking coffee which takes longer to prepare and is more expensive is judged as a sign of sophistication, which casts us back to a rather baroque view of taste, don't you think?
-
If I hated people because I disagreed with them politically on some points, I wouldn't have time to do anything else.
And I find it funny you mention the line between controversial and tasteless, after making a joke about punching nuns before going to vote for Hitler. And being a fan of Anal Cunt.
-
Have you ever heard about context?
Also, Clarkson's problems have little to do with his politics, although his attitude to things like women and the environment are pretty distasteful to most people with a conscience.
-
Wait, what do you hate, if not his politics? I have read some of his columns, and that was all that I could see as rubbing someone the wrong way.
-
I just got back in my chair - I'm still giggling insanely from this thread.
I have to admit that THE VERY FIRST THING I THOUGHT when reading that bit about
What I do is I take a jar of Marks and Spencers instant coffee (The gold one). Then I lovingly remove the lid with a clockwise turning motion of my right hand. Meanwhile, I have set my kettle to boil (remembering to only boil enough for one cup so I can SAVE THE PLANET!).
was "This could actually be a Clarkson quote!"
The second thing I thought was "Blergh, that's not my definition of a really good cup of coffee, but hey, he's probably English, and to each his own".
And then I find that you hate Jez Clarkson's guts, with a vengeance.
One has to admit that this IS quite funny, this.
-
To be fair, I probably wouldn't have fallen asleep during Dillinger Escape Plan's set that time I saw them if Jeremy Clarkson had been there.
The adjective I'm having trouble here with is 'terrible'. Like, fair enough you can indeed taste a difference between different sorts of coffee. I can do that myself! But I don't understand why a fairly high quality, arabica bean instant coffee should be figuratively likened to drinking a cup of hot cat vomit spiked with arsenic and that bitter tasting liquid people spread on their nails to try and train themselves to stop biting them. The difference simply isn't that great. I refuse to believe that anyone who likes coffee, as opposed to say some syrup-infused mofrapocachino grandeverticale massimo patheticfallacio could find drinking slightly less complexly flavoured, slightly thinner coffee to be a physically unpleasant experience.
Plus I don't think it's ridiculous to suggest there are class/sttus things bound up in how you take coffee.
-
I'd say it's more ridiculous to suggest that the shit that people on this forum wank on about isn't incredibly middle-class. Basically the two biggest offenders are coffee and single malt whiskeys.
For reference I don't like coffee because I find it to be very bitter (don't worry, it's a thing with my taste buds that I'm very sensitive to bitter tasting things and not so much to sweet tasting things so I have a mad sweet tooth). I prefer milkshakes.
-
I prefer milkshakes.
Well that is a non-sequitur. I mean, it may be true but milkshakes and coffee have basically nothing to do with each other. Unless you mean you drink milkshakes before going to work in the morning.
-
I would if I could (by which I mean, if I could be bothered).
-
I refuse to believe that anyone who likes coffee, as opposed to say some syrup-infused mofrapocachino grandeverticale massimo patheticfallacio could find drinking slightly less complexly flavoured, slightly thinner coffee to be a physically unpleasant experience.
I drink a fair amount of coffee and I always have it black. I find instant coffee pretty much undrinkable (in the sense that when I drink it I go 'eurghh' and never finish a cup).
So, there you go.
-
I have wondered if instant coffee was the inspiration behind Douglas Adams when he made Arthur Dent describe the drink from the vending machine as "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea".
-
I drink a fair amount of coffee and I always have it black. I find instant coffee pretty much undrinkable (in the sense that when I drink it I go 'eurghh' and never finish a cup).
So, there you go.
I'm not a coffee drinker myself so I don't know firsthand, but I would liken the situation to microwave foods or sugar-free snacks. For example, I love fresh seafood but Gorton's frozen fish sticks literally make me gag. It would be an exaggeration to say they're worse than something that is literally poisonous, but it is not an exaggeration at all to say they are barely edible and I would rather eat paper. Any food that I would literally prefer paper to I feel merits the adjective "terrible."
-
I have never found coffee to have any kind of waking-me-up effect, except for when I drank an entire mug of espresso.
Slightly off topic, I went out for breakfast with someone who does not like coffee or tea or hot chocolate, so she ordered a mug of hot water. Weird.
-
a boorish, tendentious arsehole
Hol' up. That's why I find Jezza hilarious.
-
a mug of hot water. Weird.
This, apparently, is quite common! My stepdad's mom is partial to hot water with a slice of lemon. And it must be a slice, mind, not a wedge.
-
The adjective I'm having trouble here with is 'terrible'. Like, fair enough you can indeed taste a difference between different sorts of coffee. I can do that myself! But I don't understand why a fairly high quality, arabica bean instant coffee should be figuratively likened to drinking a cup of hot cat vomit spiked with arsenic and that bitter tasting liquid people spread on their nails to try and train themselves to stop biting them. The difference simply isn't that great. I refuse to believe that anyone who likes coffee, as opposed to say some syrup-infused mofrapocachino grandeverticale massimo patheticfallacio could find drinking slightly less complexly flavoured, slightly thinner coffee to be a physically unpleasant experience.
As I said, to each his own.
Which implicates that, regardless whether or not you have trouble with it, it is actually ok for me to say that, at work, if I have the choice between instant coffee and nothing, I prefer nothing butthankyouverymuchforoffering.
I“m not so sure if that would also hold true for the first cuppa after waking up, but it“s been decades since I tried.
Plus I don't think it's ridiculous to suggest there are class/sttus things bound up in how you take coffee.
In my case, that would be ridiculous. In the morning I am not capable of performing any classy stunts or elitist rituals.
If When I want my espresso in the morning, I have to be capable of completing a fairly straightforward ritual, one that anyone who is only partly awake can complete with some preparation and practice.
Here's how it works:
1. Wake up, stumble downstairs without breaking anything vital.
2. On my way to the loo, REMEMBER to switch The Machine on, so that it can warm up while I take a leak.
3. Once my bladder is relaxed, take a cup, put it in the designated spot on The Machine, press a button.
4. There is some noise of beans being ground, and water being pressed through ground beans at 15 bar. This will last about 15 seconds.
5. Sit down, close eyes, drink Nectar Of The Gods resulting from steps 4 and 5.
There is nothing elitist or esoteric about that, is there?
The only thing I need to do to make this work is to make sure that, before I hit the sack on the preceding evening, there“s coffee beans and water in The Machine, and the receptable for processed coffee ground has been emptied.
I cannot handle very much just after waking up, but I can handle that.
Mind you, this coffee is any bit as good as whatever I could get in a good CoD-type operation.
I will immediately agree that, perceptively, Your Mileage Might Vary, but trust me on this: based on objectifiable criteria, this beverage is several magnitudes tastier than any instant coffee I have ever come across. And yes, I am familiar with M&S, Sainsbury and Tesco.
It also doesn“t have anything to do with class or status.
Granted, one has to be able to afford some version of The Machine. What with me being fairly well-off (sorry), I can afford buying one. New. Which is what I did NOT do. I got my current Machine secondhand a year ago. For a price any student can afford by simply refraining to go out on a drinking binge for a month. Mine was less than 70 quid. If it lasts another two years, I“m happy.
What with The Machine only wanting beans and water, it is also the cheapest solution when it comes to running costs. If you don“t care about the beverage quality, you“ll find that ANY coffee bean variety commercially available will still give you better quality coffee than you could possibly get from instant coffee. Spending a little bit more than that on beans (but not twice as much) will give you something that anyone, being half-awake in the morning, would perceive as The Nectar Of The Gods.
And actually spending twice as much on beans will give you something that will equal The Nectar Of The Gods for your after-dinner-coffee as well.
-
When I want to listen to music, I don't want to listen to any available music. I would rather listen to no music than listen to, say, The Pixies, which I find excruciatingly boring. Mutatis mutandis: instant coffee doesn't taste good just because it's coffee.
What you seem to be suggesting here is that coffee offers a range of experiences comparable to the range of experiences one is capable of having with music, which just seems ludicrous!
-
When I want to listen to music, I don't want to listen to any available music. I would rather listen to no music than listen to, say, The Pixies, which I find excruciatingly boring. Mutatis mutandis: instant coffee doesn't taste good just because it's coffee.
What you seem to be suggesting here is that coffee offers a range of experiences comparable to the range of experiences one is capable of having with music, which just seems ludicrous!
It is not the same range... that would indeed be laughable.
But if we take the sheer emotional saturation of music out of the equation, it would simply become a matter of scale, and in that way, it is usefully comparable. I can see where Jeans's statement is coming from, and I would concur.
-
Clearly you have never experienced the sheer agony that arises both from listening to a particularly appalling piece of music, and burning your tongue.
Edit: injuring through the application of great heat, rather than attaching a small hook-covered seed pod.
-
and buring your tongue.
Buring? Pray explain, sweet Barmymoo.
-
Instant coffee was all they had at my old job, and seeing as I spent an awful lot of time at that job spectacularly tired, I managed to reason myself into thinking that some coffee (even instant) would be preferable to no coffee at all. I am a very experienced caffeine drinker, but for some reason every time I drank instant coffee I ended up with a throbbing headache and my stomach turning knots on itself. This happened several times so it was no isolated incident. Instant coffee does weird things to my body.
Also, I totally agree with schimmy when he says that if you take yr coffee black with no sugar, there really is an instantly perceivable margin of difference between instant and otherwise. I can't comment on how the addition of milk and sugar affects this.
-
As I said, I know theres's a difference but to me it seems very minor, and good instant coffee to me is preferable to Americano.
-
I like the Moldy Peaches.
-
I'm pretty sure I wrote about liking shitty coffee a little while ago.
I drink whatever I can get at the bulk barn or where I happen to be shopping when I'm out, brewed in a moka pot. Nice and strong. The moka pot is also incredibly handy for when you want to add coffee to a baking recipe but not off-set the liquid so much (or use instant crystals). Having stove-top espresso type drink is good enough that I don't mind mediocre beans. Would consider getting an aeropress if my moka broke.
I used to have to get coffee from Tim Horton's rather than the organic fair-trade stuff we sold where I worked, because ours irritated my digestive tract. Happened with a handful of other people I've known. Something about certain kinds of coffee and certain kinds of people.
-
I drink loads of coffee. Far too much coffee than is probably good for me. On a good (or is it bad?) day I will drink 2 cafetieres of coffee. Before lunch. Taylor's Lazy Sunday is my current favourite. It is divine. Black, with one sugar. Hot sweet heaven in a mug.
-
Lazy Sunday isn't my routine coffee, but I get it from time to time to relish its rich smoothness.
-
Khar, to me most instant coffee tastes like it's got metho or mineral turps or something in it, so I wouldn't call "terrible" a bad word to use about it at all. That's not coffee-snobbery, it's just what my taste-buds tell me. There are maybe two brands of instant coffee that I can stomach, and even then only certain blends. I have no idea why, because I used to drink it a hell of a lot from my teens through to about five or so years ago. If I could drink it then it'd be great, because I'd be able to just flip the kettle on and do as you do, which is way simpler than the rigmarole I've got to go through for a cup. But I like the end product of my rigmarole, so I guess it's what I'm stuck with.
Also, I was reminded the other week about the difference between a good cup of cafe coffee and a fucking great one. We went to a new cafe up the road (Shenkin, in Erskineville) to try it out and the baristas there really know their shit. One of the best coffees in this area, and this area is saturated with cafes. The Toby's Estate store up the road is pretty good, the Campos place is good but over-rated, and this place is better than both of them. I've tried going for a walk at lunch during the week to experiment with some of the cafes around my work, but none of them are any good. They all serve the coffee way too hot (sometimes too hot to touch), which means it fucks the milk up and makes it too bitter. I'm toying with the idea of asking for it "not too hot" or something, but I don't really know if that'll help things overly much if they can't realise for themselves that it's too hot.
-
My girlfriend does that. If anything it seems to just piss off the baristas and they make her coffee more hot than usual.
-
*I don't know if buying Fairtrade is an empty gesture or if it actually does anything, but I assume the farmers are paid before the coffee is sold to me, so they won't suffer because of the price cut, at least.
Fair trade, along with a few other umbrella terms like "organic", are almost completely meaningless, and it's almost a rule of thumb that the more of these kinds of titles are attached to your coffee, the crappier it's gonna taste. Fair trade, specifically, is a pretty dumb system anyway: although, yes, it means the growers get more dollar, it works in effect like a welfare system for coffee-growing nations, and attracts growers who aren't as interested (or, aren't as capable) in quality coffee.
Normally I'm disgustingly snobbish about putting sugar in coffee and tea, but if you're drinking a shot of espresso it's traditional to put just a little bit of sugar in to cut the bitterness and bring out the flavour of the coffee. Go to Italy if you don't believe me!
Dude, there's a reason high-end espresso bars and cafes these days aren't traditional Italian ones: just because it's classic doesn't mean it's right! Traditional Italian espressos are, by today's standards, fairly diluted, using only about 6-8g of ground bean to a 1oz espresso, which makes a bitter, watery shot. In that situation, you might need a little sugar, yes. Does that mean you should do it in your neighborhood cafe (or, heaven forbid, your local specialty coffee bar)?
Hell no! Anyone with a modern espresso bar is dosing at LEAST 18g of dry ground bean to 1-1.5oz espresso (the cafe I work at, which just won the Krups Kup of Excellence Canadian independent cafe competition (http://www.krupskupofexcellence.com/), doses between 22 and 24g for a "shot"). Higher dosing promotes a few things, not chief among them a velvety mouthfeel that you utterly destroy with any kind of hard sugar. Additionally, adding sugar to an espresso with proper crema is just going to make the drink over-sweet -- espresso is supposed to have that brightness at the beginning of your drink, and if you need to add sugar to get it you're at the wrong cafe.
[/rant]
On the subject of coffee-at-home, I can't really do it anymore. Although I still appreciate press-pot coffee, I've become completely addicted to the Clover (which is, in essence, a very expensive automated french-press/siphon-filter machine). If you can find one in your city, it's worth a trip to check out the smoothest "drip" coffee you'll ever have. Too bad Starbucks bought them out and halted production completely, or they might be a little more popular.
-
it works in effect like a welfare system for coffee-growing nations, and attracts growers who aren't as interested (or, aren't as capable) in quality coffee.
So you're saying suffering and injustice produce good coffees?
What is the 'mouthfeel' of oppression?
-
Dude, there's a reason high-end espresso bars and cafes these days aren't traditional Italian ones: just because it's classic doesn't mean it's right! Traditional Italian espressos are, by today's standards, fairly diluted, using only about 6-8g of ground bean to a 1oz espresso, which makes a bitter, watery shot. [/rant]
I assume that you're talking about "traditional Italian" coffee shops in Canada, not about the country Italy... right?
-
Arr-dee-arr Billy! I be likin' me coffee with a shot-o-Captain's don'tcha know. :-D
-
I think it's fair enough to guess that Ozy made the Clarkson comparison as a snide way of decrying my fairly undemanding taste in coffee as priggish, boorish, unreconstructed, reactionary, middle class, witless, ugly and distasteful to civilized man. Which would indicate that socioculturally, drinking coffee which takes longer to prepare and is more expensive is judged as a sign of sophistication, which casts us back to a rather baroque view of taste, don't you think?
Nah, I don't give two shits about coffee. The comment was just very aggressively sarcastic and snide towards overly elitist trappings in a very Clarkson way.
-
Dude, there's a reason high-end espresso bars and cafes these days aren't traditional Italian ones: just because it's classic doesn't mean it's right! Traditional Italian espressos are, by today's standards, fairly diluted, using only about 6-8g of ground bean to a 1oz espresso, which makes a bitter, watery shot. [/rant]
I assume that you're talking about "traditional Italian" coffee shops in Canada, not about the country Italy... right?
You assume completely incorrectly! I can appreciate what Italy did for coffee and also think that massive improvements have been made since then, and that traditionalists are just stubborn.
-
Nonetheless, I'm afraid you lose the argument for being the first person to use the word "mouthfeel".
-
Gevalia, whatever box happens to be open, from a French press. Every morning in a big blue cup.
-
Dude, there's a reason high-end espresso bars and cafes these days aren't traditional Italian ones: just because it's classic doesn't mean it's right! Traditional Italian espressos are, by today's standards, fairly diluted, using only about 6-8g of ground bean to a 1oz espresso, which makes a bitter, watery shot. [/rant]
I assume that you're talking about "traditional Italian" coffee shops in Canada, not about the country Italy... right?
You assume completely incorrectly! I can appreciate what Italy did for coffee and also think that massive improvements have been made since then, and that traditionalists are just stubborn.
I remain under the assumption that you are still referring to a different country than I am. I've been to Italy a couple times, and on each occasion, the espresso I was served did not fit your description by a large margin.
Also, my espresso machine uses considerably more coffee than 6-8 grams of ground.
-
Any home espresso machine and most commercial ones dose between 16 and 22 grams for an ounce of espresso -- traditionally, the Italians used much less during the initial popularity of espresso drinks.
Also you fuckin' punks used the word "coffee snob" about a dozen times in the first page and you get uppity when I drop a "mouthfeel" or two? We're gonna fight!!
-
Coffee Snob is two words.
What is the mouthfeel of not being able to comprehend the english language?
-
But Jens.
What is the mouthfeel of a bitch?
-
Mouthfeel is just silly because the word texture exist.
-
Yeah mouthfeel takes into account not only texture but also consistency.
-
the initial popularity of espresso
I think that period precedes us both by a considerable margin. Unless espresso is a recent development in Canada, that is. It was around here before I was born, anyway, and it was served in Italy as well. Not that I had the opportunity of tasting it then, because, duh, I didn't exist.
Also you fuckin' punks
Seems as if you should, er, cut down on the cafeine a bit. Should you address people like that in an Amsterdam coffee shop, you could expect anything between a stern advice to evacuate the premises and a swift punch in the face. Unless you want to create the impression that you're a 17 yr old Internet Tough Guy high on crack, this is not an appropriate way to address your peers.
Anyway, I have to say that, when I first read the word "mouthfeel", my initial thought was "why doesn't he just say structure?"
For your information: during the period of initial popularity of espresso (which was the beginning of the 20th century), the sugar was not added to fight the bitter taste from using not enough coffee ground, but the bitter taste that resulted from pressing STEAM (100 degrees Celcius) through the ground. This was too hot, the ground burnt, causing the bitter taste. This was not cured until somebody (I forgot who) had the clever idea of using a piston to push the water (below cooking) through the ground. This was a lot more recent, but still before WWII.
-
You need to sniff out the lay of the land around here more, shithead.
-
Ah... "shithead". Yes, of course. Another example of shining Interweb verbal proficiency. I stand in awe.
You know, I may have already been "sniffing out the lay of the land" on the Intarwubs when it was still called the Internet, there was no such thing as http://, and you were busy having your diapers changed. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
In these days, there were more effective ways to verbally counter your conversation partners's banter, without having to resort to mindless profanities. I really do not see why we should limit ourselves to mindless (and unfunny) profanities when there are much more effective (and funny) ways available to provide a voice to our discontent.
Can you tell I'm really enjoying this? Because I am. :D
-
I changed my mind about this thread. It's great.
-
Guys just CALM DOWN. It is just coffee. I mean, sure some people really like coffee but it is still just a hot beverage with a variety of possible formulations.
For the record, I really like mocha. Does that count as coffee? It has coffee in it anyway.
-
Guys just CALM DOWN.
Hahaha... Barmymoo, I am completely calm. I'm just enjoying a mild Friday afternoon flame war. Trust me, I *am* having fun with this! :D (I'm too old to get me knickers in a twist over this anyway, really)
For the record, I really like mocha. Does that count as coffee? It has coffee in it anyway.
Faye tells us that mocha is "espresso with training wheels on", so yes. Remember the comic where Faye served Angus a coffee with milk in it that wasn't soy milk, which triggered Angus' lactose intolerance, and had him on the toilet shouting "for the love of God, Montresor!"?
That was mocha.
-
Coffee is serious business, May.
Hence, mocha, being not proper coffee, is a joke.
Oh shut up, you dolt. Anything that introduces the aspiring caffeine-addict to Real Coffee is good enough.
Peter: I don't think Sean was actually trying to offend anyone! We call each other fuckin' punks around here occasionally, we aren't actually mad or trying to be dicks. (Well, Khar was just now, but he's trolling right now.)
In all fairness, I didn't think he was. I was doing a bit of (very mellow) trolling myself too. I like a nice verbal spar when it is offered to me (and I consider calling us "fucking punks" offering a verbal spar), and I was trying to figure out if Melodic would pick up the gauntlet. And then Khar chimed in and I thought, hey, that's just as good.
-
It is just coffee.
No, it's coffee on the Internet.
Now I'm going to make some, and ignore the next few responses.
-
Hey, coffee thread.
I'M DRINKING TEA!!!!
-
It is just coffee.
No, it's coffee on the Internet.
You may have just nailed it there, you know? ;)
Yes, you do know. Since you are bound to ignore this anyway, I am free to say so.
-
VEEP! FIGHT YOU!
-
BRING IT ON, JIMJAM.
Really. Come up here and bring it on. I miss you.
-
In these days, there were more effective ways to verbally counter your conversation partners's banter, without having to resort to mindless profanities. I really do not see why we should limit ourselves to mindless (and unfunny) profanities when there are much more effective (and funny) ways available to provide a voice to our discontent.
See now, I don't think they are mindless (or unfunny) profanities. I think they are just part of people's vernaculars and vocabularies. Personally I like swear words; some of them are really well suited to be rude words. You might get offended if people on the forums (or the internet in general, I guess) are being called punks (fucking punks, if you want to be specific), but everyone else who he was referring to didn't care.
Yeah sure, you might be old and been on the internet for ages or whatever, we don't care. No one here cares about how old you are. Paul is cool because he doesn't constantly bring up the fact that he is older than most of us, and when he does it's to prove his point, not to wag his dick around. You are a veteran to the internet, but you are still a newbie here, on a forum that hasn't had any newbies for about a year. Take your time to see how this place works before getting preachy about telling us what to do.
-
Shane, but the kettle on. I've got three teapots and enough tea to make everyone in here a nice soothing cuppa and then we can all just relax.
-
i like where this thread is going
(currently drinking earl grey fuck yeah!)
-
In these days, there were more effective ways to verbally counter your conversation partners's banter, without having to resort to mindless profanities. I really do not see why we should limit ourselves to mindless (and unfunny) profanities when there are much more effective (and funny) ways available to provide a voice to our discontent.
See now, I don't think they are mindless (or unfunny) profanities. I think they are just part of people's vernaculars and vocabularies. Personally I like swear words; some of them are really well suited to be rude words. You might get offended if people on the forums (or the internet in general, I guess) are being called punks (fucking punks, if you want to be specific), but everyone else who he was referring to didn't care.
Yeah sure, you might be old and been on the internet for ages or whatever, we don't care. No one here cares about how old you are. Paul is cool because he doesn't constantly bring up the fact that he is older than most of us, and when he does it's to prove his point, not to wag his dick around. You are a veteran to the internet, but you are still a newbie here, on a forum that hasn't had any newbies for about a year. Take your time to see how this place works before getting preachy about telling us what to do.
See now. I see how you don't care. I am sitting here, thinking I don't care that you don't care. That makes us even. If we both don't care, that's pretty relaxing. Let's work from there.
I also don't care that this forum hasn't had any newbies for around a year. The very fact that this is the case makes your forum more of a shut-in than me.
And don't make the mistake of thinking that I was offended. Personally, I do not dislike swear words, I just tend to think that it's a waste of testosterone if they are used in a context that does not serve any purpose.
I mean, I could just call you a mindless fuck, but that wouldn't serve any purpose if I wouldn't come up with a useful context to do so. And even if I could, calling you a dolt, rather than a fucking punk, is just as useful.
And trust me: I have seen how "this place" works, for about a year or so. There is no single way in which it works any differently than the rest of the Internet works.
And if you think I am preachy about telling you what to do, you may want to learn to read. Start reading your own post, in which you are telling ME what to do.
I rest my case.
-
you really don't get it, do you?
-
i like where this thread is going
(currently drinking earl grey fuck yeah!)
Earl Grey bros! o/
-
London Tea Company Vanilla Chai.
-
um... Albert Heyn english blend. That probably doesn't make much sense at all ;)
-
And trust me: I have seen how "this place" works, for about a year or so. There is no single way in which it works any differently than the rest of the Internet works.
I'd like to step in and let you know that this forum actually does work quite differently than a lot of other forums on the internet. This is because most of us are pretty close, personal friends! It is a place pretty dear to many of its users and the fact we haven't had a lot of newbies stick around is because they go and act like this is the rest of the internet and they can, uh, "wag their dicks" like they own the place, which ultimately gains them nothing. In real life would you walk up to a group of people, obviously friends who are comfortable with one another, and announce what you don't like about them?
-
The coffee thread just had a relatively peaceful coup by us tea folk.
Huzzah! Tea for all!
-
shane \o
-
And remember, Jens, you were a bit hard on me at first, too (remember the tiff over my signing my name to posts?).
-
In real life would you walk up to a group of people, obviously friends who are comfortable with one another, and announce what you don't like about them?
Depends.
How would YOU react if someone in this group of people would step up and address the rest of the audience (not including you) as "fucking cunts"?
I have never walked up to "a group of friends" to "announce what I didn't like about them", until one of them started to call the others "fucking cunts". I am very sorry if I am wrong in thinking you don't tell your friend that he is a fucking cunt.
-
Ahhh, a lesson in how not to handle things in a new environment.
Watch carefully children, this is important.
-
Peter: even if you have visited a million houses in your lifetime, it's a good idea to be nice and amiable every time you step into a new household, no?
Sure. But if that includes being nice and amiable to anyone who decides it's ok to call any and all "fucking cunts", I might have my reservations. Y'know... sometimes, newbie or not, something happens that falls in the category of "I don't mind... but I don't mind saying it either." Fuck, it wasn't even aimed at me, but it was aimed at others here whom I held in high regard.
I feel that a base level of respect is what everone deserves.
And if anyone is not ready to offer that base line of respect, they should be ready and willing to accept some respectful sparring from me.
You think this is too much to ask? Again, where was I as disrespectul as the person who called you "fucking cunts"?
I have no doubts our forum shares characteristics with a lot of other forums, but the fact that you're trying to argue with us that you're behaving appropriately... Well, it kind of demonstrates that you aren't. And you can't have lurked here for that long, seeing as registration just opened for newbies and this subforum is off-limits to unregistered viewers. This subforum is almost completely separate from the dudes that discuss the comic - we practically never talk about the comic in this subforum. A lot of people here don't even read it.
That explains a lot.
I think I might just cease to hang out here.
In fact, I guess I will. I'm more interested in QC anyway.
Cheers, folks, have a good time!
-
Stephen, shut up you fucking cunt.
-
The first PM i got on this forum was from tommy and it read:
HEY MANG FUCK YOU DUDE!
He was joking.
...i hope.
-
Stephen, shut up you fucking cunt.
You are the Queen of the Cunts.
-
Linguistic communities, yo. "Fucking cunt" might refer to best of pals, direst enemy, or really any degree of relationship. You can look at it like it fell on a scale of "proper to improper," but that scale (and the general account of language it's part of) is a fiction created to establish authority.
Anyway, about coffee. It's alright, but what really gets me going are coffee mugs. Specifically, handcrafted ceramic mugs. It's this particular intersection of practicality and aesthetic appeal that draws me like a moth to a flame. A good mug just feels really, really good.
-
You are so right about mugs. Guys, make friends with ceramicists. You won't regret it.
-
I very nearly picked up a nice handmade mug at a street fair a few weeks ago..
but the record store next door had a big ol' dollar bin. *shrug*
-
My favourite Hornsea Pottery mug:
(http://cassland.org/images/BunnyMug.JPG)
What are those bunnies doing to each other?
-
can this thread be about tea now too? my relationship with caffeine is such that without it i would literally be the most useless member of society possible and almost completely unemployable in every way so i am always looking for new ways to introduce caffeine into my body.
i am currently having a bit of a love affair with earl grey tea and have been swapping between two flavored blends (this one (http://www.steepstea.com/catalog/lady-grey-p-1317.html) and this one (http://www.steepstea.com/catalog/earl-grey-cream-p-41.html)) from the shop downtown that i go to. the second one is so delicious i sometimes fall asleep at night all excited about making tea in the morning. that probably says more about my life than it does about tea, though.
-
Tania, we took it over. It IS about tea.
-
And mugs. Mugs of tea.
I drink Yorkshire Tea these days; good wholesome tea, nothing fancy. At uni I drank nothing but Lyons Orange label (no longer sold), which was pure Ceylon; people came to my room purely to have some of my tea.
-
And mugs. Mugs of tea.
I drink Yorkshire Tea these days; good wholesome tea, nothing fancy. At uni I drank nothing but Lyons Orange label (no longer sold), which was pure Ceylon; people came to my room purely to have some of my tea.
I'm trying to picture you as a shady college tea dealer working out of his dorm, Paul. It's pretty funny.
Jens, dude..maybe tea just gets you riled up? Have a cup and relax!
-
I just want you to know you guys aren't just any fuckin' punks.
You're my fuckin' punks.
-
So what if I like punk rock?
-
Linguistic communities, yo. "Fucking cunt" might refer to best of pals, direst enemy, or really any degree of relationship. You can look at it like it fell on a scale of "proper to improper," but that scale (and the general account of language it's part of) is a fiction created to establish authority.
Anyway, about coffee. It's alright, but what really gets me going are coffee mugs. Specifically, handcrafted ceramic mugs. It's this particular intersection of practicality and aesthetic appeal that draws me like a moth to a flame. A good mug just feels really, really good.
Oh man, oh man, my friends make some bitchin' mugs and I have some, I'll have to take pictures when I get a camera 'cause a cell phone is NOT gonna cut this shit.
Tea/coffee/fuckin' punks, best thread.
-
Dude tea is my shit. My dad made fun of me for years for drinking it and then I finally got him some of the more caffeinated stuff and he gave up coffee altogether. Honestly there really is nothing better than a steaming hot mug of tea and maybe like half a tablespoon of honey.
-
If you've got cheap bagged green tea, there's nothing better than that and a little honey, lemon juice, and bourbon for a great cozy evening drink. Or maybe just a splash of brandy, which gives it a nice floral taste. Just don't brew the tea for more than a minute.
-
guys you are my favorite fucking punks. also jens way to call fraser sean, that really confused the fuck outta me.
also guys if were gonna talk about tea now, is anybody into pu-erh? if not, you should be because pu-erh is the goddamn raddest tea, hands down.
-
Just a reminder of my little tea story from a couple of years ago:
Some fifteen years ago I brought a packet of tea back from China. It wasn't the nicest I have had; but that was of little consequence in comparison to the message I found on a piece of paper inside the box. I suppose these days I should scan it, but I haven't; here is a guaranteed accurate transcription:
ANXI FAMOUS TEA "TIEGUAN YIN"
Anxi Tiegusnyin tea grew up in the high mountain and pretty water, it got the natural seasonable wind and sweet dew, Suck up essence of the Sun and the moon, if gether refined made of special tradition process technological, and it's a resplendent brignt pearl, in our tea-leaves treasure-house, the King of in Oolong tea, well-knewn at home and abroad, the tea of great reputation, fame by " the natural fruit Smelling of best end induce others " " Like champagne of in the tea. "After you drunk, the guns keep fragrant end tasty, it's both can be hostile smoking and dispel the effects of alcohol, help digest, remove the worriment and greasy and can be refresh yourself and slake thirst. Elegant and pleasant, returned the taste is infinite. If you have a taste drink of the famous Tieguanyin tea, it's true a exquisite enjoy. In recent years, according to a lot of amateur by sino-foreign, they drunk for long-time, finally to prove can be prevent and cure cordiovascular diseases and nervous system and so forth Various chronic diseases. Special to lower hyperlipemia prevent fat, pravent cancer, resist cancer and soforth magical unique remarkable efficacy. Deeply appreciate by the sino-foreign Personality. This products choose to used by China 8 friendly Sight-Seeing Yera in 1992. And Won exterio design of State Patent Office Imfringement have to find out who is to blame.
Who could not enjoy tea so described?
-
Tea...honey...lemon...green...what...
FUCKING FOREIGNERS
UGH.
I remember reading somewhere that supposedly you can define someone's social class in the UK based on details of how they take tea, down to like the colour and such. I'm not sure how much sense there is in that because I am like a middle class artfag but I drink builders tea.
-
Oh man I have deja vu from the last time that there was a rather silly argument and it was diffused by mugs! And I think I bought Tania a mug as a direct result of that conversation!
-
mugs are the great equalizer
in the shiny bottoms of our empty mugs we see ourselves, and we realize...that we are all the same. Even if we're different.
or maybe they just hold our drinks, I don't fucking know. I drink out of cans most of the time anyway because it's more wasteful that way and in America, if you aren't wasting, you aren't living
yeehaw
-
Just finished drinking a home-made coffee, about to go grab another at a local cafe with a mate.
Glad things in this thread sorted themselves out. Maybe I'll have to put up a sign on this part of the forum: "TRESPASSERS WILL BE HARANGUED"
-
The most recent coffee I drank was a bottle of Hitachino Nest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiuchi_Brewery) Espresso Stout.
Holy shit.
Ho
ly
Shi
t.
Breweries always promise so much with their stout and so often fail to deliver, but this was the first beer I've ever had where I wanted to guzzle it but could only handle sipping it in tiny amounts because it was just so rich and overwhelmingly flavoursome.
-
I had a Burleigh Breweries Black Giraffe (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16316/60866/?ba=triple5) a week back. It was at a tasting so I only had a couple of small glasses but it was rather nice.
-
So, this thread reminded me that for a while nobody could register for this forum. What caused that, and what fixed that, and when? I missed out on the big news of it being fixed, or maybe it wasn't big news. If we are worried about cluttering up this thread, could some fucking punk message me with what happened?
This thread also made me wonder how humbling it would be for all of us to read some of the first posts we made in this forum, I know I sure wouldn't want to.
At least I'm pretty sure I managed to avoid offending people until they were more willing to tolerate me.
And this thread is really making me want some coffee, which isn't good because it is 3 AM and I need to go to sleep.
-
I occasionally go back and read my first posts, if only to remind myself of how much of a better person I am now.
-
http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,23758.0.html
-
Coffee? Tea? BAH!
(http://www.presseportal.ch/fr/showbin.htx?id=100008533&type=preview.w425)
-
I've started drinking my coffee and my tea black with 2 spoons of sugar, mainly because I don't buy milk, partly because they taste good without.
I recommend everyone try some Matte Lećo, or another Brazilian tea, because it's completely delicious. It has a very different mouthfeel?
-
Coffee? Tea? BAH!
(http://www.presseportal.ch/fr/showbin.htx?id=100008533&type=preview.w425)
Like the fact that Subarus were invented to make sure only real men drove Holdens, that stuff was invented for the same reason.
-
I've started drinking my coffee and my tea black with 2 spoons of sugar, mainly because I don't buy milk, partly because they taste good without.
I recommend everyone try some Matte Lećo, or another Brazilian tea, because it's completely delicious. It has a very different mouthfeel?
Where have you been, Dan? I haven't seen you here in forever.
Holdens for real men? Then explain why Holden doesn't have a WRC team, and hasn't had one within recent history?
-
Uhh big Aussie v8s fighting each other shoulder to shoulder are far more manly than some prissy two litre one-at-a-time through the gardens nonsense.
(guys this argument is pretty dumb)
-
Where have you been, Dan? I haven't seen you here in forever.
Dead, but I got bored.
-
Holdens for real men? Then explain why Holden doesn't have a WRC team, and hasn't had one within recent history?
Been too busy having real races http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPNakzHBs5A
-
Pffft. What's the matter, you ladies can't race without your precious, precious tarmac? Get back to me when they go over a cattle guard on a 2-track sideways at 90mph.
-
Unfortunately nobody really drives like that in rally any more, at least not at the top level. Ever since Sebastian Loeb came along and turned out to be incredibly fast and incredibly clean at the same time the sport's sort of lost the traditional devil-may-care sideways-through-the-corner style that marked the era of Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz, et al, and which made it the only motor sport I could ever take an interest in.
-
I've recently made the switch from synthetic sugary energy drinks to black coffee. The first few days were pretty painful but now I find the coffee a whole lot more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, the reason for the switch was money so I've replaced crappy energy drinks with crappy work vending machine coffee. Thankfully the machine is free but the coffee is less than great. Frankly, it's probably worse than instant (which we also have at work) but I find instant doesn't wake me up at all.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to get to is that I'd really like to try a whole variety of different coffees and coffee making techniques but it can be a bit difficult when you're saving and so on.
Equipment: at home I use one of these when I have coffee; http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Coffe_percolator_moka.jpg
It provides pretty damn nice coffee. I tend to buy Atomic, a locally ground brand. Seems good. I don't know really.
-
I'm not prejudiced against tea but I'm totally not a tea snob. All I drink is Lipton regular tea run through my iced tea maker. It's basically the tea equivalent of Folgers in a Mr. Coffee machine...and yet I really enjoy good coffee. Weird.
-
I love tea but I'm not a tea snob either. I like Tetley tea bags with milk and sugar.
Unfortunately I'm stuck drinking decaf black tea for the forseeable future. Boo!
-
Hey kids.
Can anyone else why the last cup of coffee always has really gross grains in it. I think I know the answer, in fact I do I just wanted to complain about it because I usually drink coffee fast cause I'm on the run and when I gulp this shit down I usually vomit.
-
Gravity is a bitch.
-
time for a new coffee maker
-
No filter is 100% perfect, and you're always going to end up with the shit that managed to squeeze through/around it at the bottom of your cup. This problem is way more prevalent with press pots than other kinds of coffee, but it's a universal problem with pretty much all kinds of brewing methods. Just don't drink the last itty bit of your cup and you'll avoid the problem entirely.
-
a few months ago i got a job at a coffee shop that's a block away from my college's campus
based on the amount of free coffee i drink (and the fact that i'm there nearly every day, even when i don't work) i've realized that the shop is basically sponsoring education
my favorite cafe study session method is to drink the first cup quickly, the second at a moderate pace, and then when i'm already well and caffienated chill on a cappuccino till the dinner crowd comes in and i need to leave to avoid distraction. the coffee: dark roast. the capp: dry.
-
This problem is way more prevalent with press pots than other kinds of coffee,
Too many people force the press down too soon, and the grounds get pushed up round the edges. You should wait until the grounds sink naturally when you tap the glass - then you can push the plunger down easily, and the grounds don't get past it.
-
So that's what my friend always does wrong. He's got one of those one-cup push-presses, and there are always a lot of grains coming out of it, as well as making a mess on the counter. I figured it was just a terrible coffee maker.
My dad has one that has a bucket reservoir rather than a pot, which is really nice. It is tall enough that you can get even big travel cups underneath it, and you don't have to worry about losing any coffee by pouring while it is still dripping like you do with a pot.
-
I don't know if it's too late for this but
Coffee. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_O-8cXt3wI)
-
This problem is way more prevalent with press pots than other kinds of coffee,
Too many people force the press down too soon, and the grounds get pushed up round the edges. You should wait until the grounds sink naturally when you tap the glass - then you can push the plunger down easily, and the grounds don't get past it.
The most common mistake I see in press pot brewing is an uneven press, not a premature one. It's important to press down firmly, with even pressure and as close to vertical as you can get. Although timing does have something to do with it, I'd rather see someone time a french press for the bean, rather than timing it to make pressing easier.
-
Out of respect for everyone I have not posted teh Aesop Rock/John Darnielle track named Coffee but I think we are headed the way to Youtube-land fairly fast here
psshhh wahhaa??
I consider it disrespectful to NOT share that amazing track with the world, and anyone who hasn't heard it. Especially when it is so relevent to the thread at hand.
coffee (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsj653088E)
-
I have an on/off caffine addiction, I quit smoking but I can't seem to kick my coffee habbit.
it plays havok with my digestion though, I went to a cafe nero (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffe_Nero) with a book and had two drinks. their coffees are like, a strong coffe with a double espresso thrown in, and I literally shit myself
as far as tea goes I like it stewed, I don't take the teabag out until i've finished drinking it
-
the best coffee (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWuyrlXI7nA&feature=related)
-
So to memecombine a bit here, is it faux pas, or acceptable, or even completely normal to brew loose leaf tea in a French press/coffee plunger?
-
I was served loose-leaf tea in a French press at a sushi restaurant last week! It was the first time I'd ever seen it done, but honestly now I can't understand why not... it made tasty, even-flavored tea that didn't have bits of leaves in it.
I would imagine two potential problems:
1. Most French presses are glass and tall, which means they probably drop in temperature much more quickly than a big ceramic teapot in a cozy. IIRC, proper British tea requires keeping the water at as-close-to-boiling-as-possible for a few minutes.
2. It's not really possible to take the leaves out until you finish the pot. Leaving the leaves in could make bitter tea, I think. At least if you're brewing particular types of tea.
But I liked it. So there.
-
1) and 2) are both excellent points, Elizzybeth! For what it's worth, I was using a small plunger that only made one cup at a time so there was no problem with over-brewing the tea remaining in the plunger, and I usually warmed the plunger with hot water before brewing the tea so that the water stayed closer to boiling for longer than if it was hitting cold glass. Not a perfect solution but it worked alright.
-
Most french presses are made of Pyrex, not glass, which keeps heat much better than a glass container -- if you're still worried about heat dispersion, pre-heat the press pot with hot water (205F) for a minute before you add the tea.
With regards to over-brewing tea, that's what the plunger is for. Just time your tea (3-5 minutes for green, 5-7 for black) with the plunger resting loosely on top of the tea, then plunge and serve. Your tea will keep piping hot and won't over-brew.
To answer the original question, it is not only totally acceptable but also an awesome way to drink tea! We serve all our tea in press pots along with a timer and a cup 'n saucer, and although we tend to get some funny looks it also makes for a really nice tea experience.
-
The timer is a fantastic touch