Every set of instructions I have ever seen for brewing coffee advises to start with cold water. My question is WHY cold water?

In the past water heaters collected a lot of debris and were not the best source of water. However, modern water heaters are all "glass lined" and so should provide clean water. The point is that when I am rushed for time--most every morning---the time to boil water for the french press is significantly less is I start with hot tap water.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Look up coffee making instructions on a coffee lovers forum. I bet you that question is as bad as our oil discussions.

Cold water is fresher, I imagine.

That said, I would not hesitate to use hot if it saved me time and I was in a hurry.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Seems to me many years ago coffee makers did not work right if you started out with hot water. Something about the large temperature shift.

Use cold water, in an electric tea pot. Boils in less than 3 minutes...

Hot water tends to loosen debris, not only in the water heater, but in the pipes as well.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

yeah, I remember hearing thaat hot water is better at leaching lead from the joints.

I've wondered about that too. I'm not a coffee snob by any means but I don't see or taste any difference.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

I think the quality of the coffee we buy is way down from what we were getting a few years ago. It seems like it was about the time that all of the fast food chains upgraded their coffee.

Starbucks isn't selling their organic, shade grown, fair trade stuff I bought for a while. It really didn't taste enough different to justify the price but at least it had some social value. Now I am just as happy with whatever is on sale at the grocery store. Chock full of nuts and voles, whatever.

Coffee cups got huge. Our old coffee cups hold about a third of what a new cup holds. I got a couple cups from Starbucks in recycled grounds for the compost. They are ridiculously huge, grande and venti. We don't even use them for coffee.

Coffee is still my current drug of choice. I could live off of coffee and baked goods, for a while anyway. A short and unhealthy while.

I am hearing that you can blame global warming for the increases in coffee prices or poor quality. The trees are dying at lower elevations. Maybe it's just BS.

I also start my french press at work with hot water from a water heater then give it a kick to boiling in a microwave. It may not help the flavor but it's all I can do within the "no personal coffee pot" rule imposed by big brother.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

I heard that you can blame global warming for Al Gore's net worth.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Just because someone is profiteering off the idea doesn't make the idea itself wrong. It's sad that so many motherf**king idiots, especially in Duh-merica are too uneducated to accept scientific truth.

Guys, lets not confusing early morning pot of colored water with a proper espresso.
If you would like a real "pick me up" in the morning there is not other alternative other than a shoot of real espresso.
For the best results you need a espresso machine with steel boilers such as La Marzocco FB 80, anything else is just a poor copy

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Vivere senza rimpianti



Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?

I love espresso, and it sure moves my guts faster in the morning than pot coffee does. Having said that, I think the espresso jolt that most people talk about is largely a flavor punch. Dark roasted coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts by volume, and a proper cup of espresso has about the same caffeine as a 6 ounce cup of regular drip coffee.
I use one of those ancient Italian stove top espresso pots. Works fine long as you don't forget it on the stove.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

How so? I thought espresso has less caffeine than regular coffee? IIRC, it has more per unit volume but you don't get as much volume since you drink a large mug of coffee but not a large mug of espresso?

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Yeah, that's another way of saying it. Most people don't drink as much espresso as a regular coffee drinker does, so they're getting less caffeine. 2 or 3 espressos vs. 2 or 3 standard cups of medium roast regular coffee: espresso loses the jolt contest.

__________________
You're a daisy if you do.
__________________________________
84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting