Coffee snobs, your time is here!

As I sit here thinking about the very real prospects of our beloved country entering into another war, my thoughts rise ever higher to those things in my life that I hold dear to my heart.

Things like a hug from one of my nieces, a smile from a random person passing by on the street, a cool breeze on a hot summer day and..... COFFEE!!

What's your favorite coffee, blend, and method of deliviery?

I have several coffee machines. My favorite is a La Pavoni. It's the larger one (32 oz.) that has the pressure gauge on the side. I use Lilly's esspresso coffee already ground out of the can and mix it with 2% milk.

Other than that, my usual mode of drinking is with a French press. A common bean is Cafe Sperl, imported by Gevalia, from Vienna Austria. Cafe Sperl is a famous coffee house in Vienna once visited by the king. I had the pleasure of sipping coffee there myself, a few years back.


Tell us: your favorite coffee, how you make it, what type of deivery (any good tips?) and any nice coffee related stories.

[mithra]

tim hortons............. at the drive thru

[jsmith]

i love jamaican blue mountain - kinda pricey though. dunkin' donut's coffee is actually pretty good...

[dieseldude]

I have a Press on my desk for my morning 'microbrew' For the Press I've found that Trader Joe's (small, quirky, gorcery store on West Coast) Bay Blend to be a terrific value. Nice, dark oily Arabicas about half the cost of local gourmet coffee (Tully's, Peet's, SBC, Staryucks)....

For drip at home I've found an organic Eithiopian from PCC Natural Markets that is my new favorite.

Since I can't afford a LaMarzocco machine for home, I usually only get espresso from a place called Vivace Rosteria on Capitol Hill in Seattle www.espressovivace.com The most fantastic espresso I've ever experienced.

Had a great experience with Matthew Algie coffees as well. While in England (at the White House Restaurant in Oxford), had the richest, most flavourful cup of drip coffee I've ever had - a head of crema I'd only seen on a well-pulled espresso shot!

Regards,
- Rya

Originally posted by dieseldude
I have a Press on my desk for my morning 'microbrew' For the Press I've found that Trader Joe's (small, quirky, gorcery store on West Coast) Bay Blend to be a terrific value. Nice, dark oily Arabicas about half the cost of local gourmet coffee (Tully's, Peet's, SBC, Staryucks)....

Actually, Trader Joe's is out here on the East Coast as well. Great little store!

On Sunday evening I drank something I usually never drink-- decaf! It was a drip from Trader Joe's. Pretty good.

[jsmith]

dieseldude,

thanks for the tip on trader joe's blend. we got them out here too...

[Ken300D]

Best coffee I ever had was a Gevalia import from Kenya. Someone had joined their "coffee club" and received a random coffee every month, or something like that. Anyway the small office I was in chipped in and we shared the Gevalia.

It is so rich it looks like ground black dirt.

Juan Veldez never picked anything like that.

Ken300D

[Potomac Pat]

i love jamaican blue mountain - kinda pricey though.

No doubt bro !! That has got to be the BEST coffee in the world. The majority of the land that it is grown on is owned by the Deutsch Banc.

I believe it is also the coffee that the White House serves. Yeah, nice expenditure of our tax dollars.

What's next $500.00 hammers?

Oh wait, they alreay bought a truck full of those

Originally posted by Ken300D
It is so rich it looks like ground black dirt.

Likewise, nothing like drinking some French press coffee and seeing the "mud" slowly slide down the bottom of the cup on the last sip...

My father experimented with different blends for years. One of his favorites was half Ethopian Sidamo and Sumatra. Great blend!!

[dieseldude]

Cool guys! Glad to here Trader Joe's is out your way! DOn't know why I thought they weren't back East.

I've not been dissapointed with any of their coffee's except the Kenyan - that light, fruity-taste doesn't do well by my tastebuds - not that the quality is lacking.

Funny how you can have great coffee in the most unlikely of places, they a crappy cup where you'd expect excellence...

Regards,
- Ryan

[Kuan]

My favourite is Cafe du Monde made in one of these Add some hot half 'n half with a good shot of caramel made with muscavado sugar!

[MTI]

DRINK AMERICAN COFFEE!

Of course, that would only mean 100% Kona Coffee, grown on the volcanic slopes on the Big Island of Hawai'i! Also, there are beans grown on Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai.

Finally, Hawaii is the only state that grows cacao beans (chocolate) so American Mocha is right here baby!

Coffee Tips:

Always store beans in air tight container at room temp. Don't re-use the store bag and don't put the beans in the fridge!

Darker the roast, the closer you are to buying beans that are more briquets than food. Unless you like the carbon flavor, try a City Roast instead. Also, the darker the roast, the less caffiene in the product.

Don't use boiling water on the grounds. By the same token, most Mr. Coffee type makers don't get the water hot enough. A french press is great, but you could probably make a superior cup of joe with a cone filter and carafe style thermos if you just take your time. Remember, it's cooking.

[jsmith]

kuan,

what do you call that contraption? years ago i had coffee that was brewed in one of those things and i remember it was quite good!

[MTI]

It's a vaccum coffe maker. They range in price from $40 for stovetop models to over $150 for the setup that Kuan is showing, which uses an alchohol wick flame. It's a pretty old technology and upscale restaurants use it to put on a show for guests that order coffee. Last time I saw it was at "Victoria & Alberts" in Disneyworld.