COFFEE: Who Drinks The REAL Stuff? Gourmet Beans too?

[Larry_Mott]

Y'all haven had real coffee until you tried Swedsih coffee!
It was almost an epiphany to come home from the US and get a cup of good old Swedish coffee that will patina the spoon :D

[JD Spydo]

Y'all haven had real coffee until you tried Swedsih coffee!
It was almost an epiphany to come home from the US and get a cup of good old Swedish coffee that will patina the spoon :D

You have my attention Larry :) What is it about the coffee beans that you guys roast over in Sweden. I'm anxious to learn why your coffee might be better than what we have here in the USA. I do know that you guys/gals from Sweden are truly quality minded people. I love VOLVO and SAAB automobiles that your great nation produces.

So what is it about your coffee? Is it your roasting methods for the coffee beans? Or do you guys grow you own? I would like to try some myself.

[Larry_Mott]

Y'all haven had real coffee until you tried Swedsih coffee!
It was almost an epiphany to come home from the US and get a cup of good old Swedish coffee that will patina the spoon :D

You have my attention Larry :) What is it about the coffee beans that you guys roast over in Sweden. I'm anxious to learn why your coffee might be better than what we have here in the USA. I do know that you guys/gals from Sweden are truly quality minded people. I love VOLVO and SAAB automobiles that your great nation produces.

So what is it about your coffee? Is it your roasting methods for the coffee beans? Or do you guys grow you own? I would like to try some myself.

Where i live, in the southernmost "state" the water is different from the west coast, and stockholm and i have found that Zoegas (our locally produced brand) always taste better down south. Far from an expert on roasting, but we pass the plant when entering the highway north and the smell always makes me want to stop and have a cup right away :) Icould see if i can get a small package and send (the normal ones are 1/2 Kg vacuum packed "bricks") Let me do some research!

[Larry_Mott]

Here they have the black gold :) Recommend Skånerost or Intenzo
https://www.zpostorderusa.com/roasts.ht ... oasts.html

[Ankerson]

I drink it black. The way God intended. Black.

YES!!! and AMEN!!! It's refreshing to know that I'm not the only one that realizes that GOD had it right to begin with. There are just so many great things here on planet earth that were right to begin with until man and Wall Street adulterated it and in some cases destroyed it.

BLACK Coffee from freshly roasted beans needs no improvement IMO.

Same here, if it's made right you don't need to put anything in it. :cool:

I learned a long time ago if you just get a really good quality coffee bean and grind them fresh when you make the brew that's all you need. To me to take an excellent coffee and put all kinds of stuff in it just adulterates it IMO. I think the problem is that many people have just never gotten to taste a premium, fresh ground, fresh brewed high quality bean before. I think if most people ever did then the sales of creamer and all this other junk that people use would go down severely.

Another key to it is to keeping your equipment clean. If you use a drip coffee maker as I do then run white vinegar through it at least once a month. Check the take periodically to make sure you don't have any mildew growth in the water reservoir. If you do find mildew/mold then take a solution of 1 part bleach to 3 parts water which will kill the mildew spores. Then thoroughly rinse it with fresh water. It sounds like a hassle but it's really not that much work at all. But clean equipment makes a huge difference. Most manufacturers of drip coffee machines give detailed instructions on periodic cleaning of certain machines. I have a vinegar and cleaning regimen I always do monthly and it doesn't take long at all and it insures a great brew.

Yes, I clean it once a month. :)

And I only use filtered water too.

[Naperville]

I drink coffee when I can't get to espresso. Espresso is my drink of choice. I like buying gourmet beans and grinding them minutes before I use them. I try to use my beans within a month or so, because they age, but I'm just one guy here drinking coffee most of the time....so sometimes I throw them out rather than use them and then buy new beans again.

I've used everything from Jamaica Blue Mountain, to Pete's, to Starbucks, to 8-OClock...and everything in between. My favorite everyday "gourmet" bean is Pete's. They date the package, and they only use the most fresh beans. They even throw out beans that are a month old if they happen to sit in the shop. In a pinch I use Starbucks beans, and they are fine, but I do not typically support them due to their politics.

[JD Spydo]

Y'all haven had real coffee until you tried Swedsih coffee!
It was almost an epiphany to come home from the US and get a cup of good old Swedish coffee that will patina the spoon :D

You have my attention Larry :) What is it about the coffee beans that you guys roast over in Sweden. I'm anxious to learn why your coffee might be better than what we have here in the USA. I do know that you guys/gals from Sweden are truly quality minded people. I love VOLVO and SAAB automobiles that your great nation produces.

So what is it about your coffee? Is it your roasting methods for the coffee beans? Or do you guys grow you own? I would like to try some myself.

Where i live, in the southernmost "state" the water is different from the west coast, and stockholm and i have found that Zoegas (our locally produced brand) always taste better down south. Far from an expert on roasting, but we pass the plant when entering the highway north and the smell always makes me want to stop and have a cup right away :) Icould see if i can get a small package and send (the normal ones are 1/2 Kg vacuum packed "bricks") Let me do some research!

I've learned in the past 10 years or so the importance of "water". Not only in making great coffee but also using it in everyday drinking water ( the motor oil of life itself :cool: ). But most people take the water they drink for granted until they get diagnosed with some insidious disease. Water is going to be a very precious commodity in the near future.

It truly amazes me as to how coffee has become such a luxurious commodity in a relatively short time line. It wasn't that long ago the only coffee you could get was either Folger's or Maxwell House or Butternut. The A&P Grocery chain could probably take credit for coffee attaining gourmet status. They were the first grocery chain to offer fresh coffee beans to be freshly ground in the store>> or you could just buy the beans and take them home and grind them to have them even fresher yet. But this gourmet coffee fad really isn't all that old when you think about it. Not sure how long you guys across the pond in Europe have been enjoying fresh coffee beans.

[Larry_Mott]

It truly amazes me as to how coffee has become such a luxurious commodity in a relatively short time line. It wasn't that long ago the only coffee you could get was either Folger's or Maxwell House or Butternut. The A&P Grocery chain could probably take credit for coffee attaining gourmet status. They were the first grocery chain to offer fresh coffee beans to be freshly ground in the store>> or you could just buy the beans and take them home and grind them to have them even fresher yet. But this gourmet coffee fad really isn't all that old when you think about it. Not sure how long you guys across the pond in Europe have been enjoying fresh coffee beans.

The water in Colorado smelled and tasted like it was sourced from the swimming pool.. The water over here isn't chlorinated, at least not to the point where yoiu notice.
I have had my Zoegas since the 60's but i seldom buy freshly ground. The coffee from the 1/2 Kg vacuum "brick packs´is so good it isn't really worth it.
A good brewing machine is handy as well, Melitta's being the top choice since Moses wore short pants :) I see they're selling them in the US as well
https://shoponline.melitta.com/product/ ... ccessories

[bearrowland]

Water is the key. Good water can make mediocre beans taste great.

[JD Spydo]

Water is the key. Good water can make mediocre beans taste great.

The Two gravity water filters I've had great luck with are the "Aquarain" and the "Berkey". The Berkey has a new device that can even filter all the flouride out which in the past has been a problem. A good water filter or distiller is a big help in making great tasting coffee.
Also they used to recommend to freeze your coffee beans but they have recently discovered that kills a lot of the flavor. I rarely have a bag of coffee beans last me longer than 2 months max anyway. And most of the time I grind it on the very day I use it.

Recently a friend of mine gave me a bag of coffee beans from the Costco wholesale house where he works and those beans were great. I was really surprised how good they were. But the new company we have here in my home town of Blue Springs, Missouri USA, Earth known as "Coffee Cats" is some of the best stuff I've had in quite a while that doesn't cost over $25 a pound.

[bearrowland]

That's what I do. I grind mine just before I use them, and keep mine in an air tight container. I used to freeze my beans, but read the same thing. Now, I just buy a little less and get fresh beans more often.

[Tdog]

Good thread, thanks for the reminder to clean my coffeemaker. Hadn't been done in 3 or 4 months. Fortunately little build-up. Just ordered whole bean Caribou coffee from Sam's Club. Anyone tried this?

[JD Spydo]

Good thread, thanks for the reminder to clean my coffeemaker. Hadn't been done in 3 or 4 months. Fortunately little build-up. Just ordered whole bean Caribou coffee from Sam's Club. Anyone tried this?

Hey I'm glad you brought that up "Tdog" because there is definitely more than one way to clean these modern coffee makers. I've used a solution of bleach and tepid water>> I've used a strong solution with vinegar and baking soda and I've also let them soak overnight with vinegar in the reservoir/tank and then running a tank of hot water through to get all the vinegar out.

But I'm all ears if any of you have a better way to clean coffee makers. Most of the manufacturers have their own method but I haven't found any of them to work very good. But most definitely the cleaner the coffee maker is the better coffee it makes.

I've also had those "Caribou Coffee" Beans before>> our local Hy Vee grocery store has a Caribou coffee stand in it and they also sell a full line up of the Caribou beans too.

[ChrisinHove]

I’ve been binge-watching James Hoffman on YT, and encouraged to try a simple drip filter. Wow! Even my cobbled together arrangement made a really nice brew. I feel a Hario v60 and timer / scales in my future....

[JD Spydo]

I’ve been binge-watching James Hoffman on YT, and encouraged to try a simple drip filter. Wow! Even my cobbled together arrangement made a really nice brew. I feel a Hario v60 and timer / scales in my future....

I just noticed last week that our local Target Store has a manual device in which you put a #4 filter in a slot and then just pour hot/boiling water in it after you load it with ground coffee and that way you brew one cup at a time. It's made by Melitta who also makes quality coffee filters and very nice coffee makers too. I'm tempted to get one of those and try it out. It would probably pay for itself with the waste it would save within a month or less. The Melitta unit costs about $16 USD and if you go to Starbucks just two visits there would eat that up.

[RustyIron]

So who else here is a fan of gourmet coffee beans? What kind of bean grinder do you like? I'm always looking for better equipment>> especially better coffee makers and bean grinders. Let's talk REAL COFFEE shall we :cool:

Let's talk coffee. For the longest time I was on a Kona kick. My goto beans were Mountain Thunder Peaberry, Vienna Roast. It's the best Kona I've tasted. I'd sometimes switch to a medium roast Hilo from my friend's plantation, but it wasn't my favorite. Eventually I got bored with the Hawaiians, and ended up with a blend from Black Rifle Coffee Company. They do a half light roast, half dark roast that I really like, and it's a fraction of the cost of boutique Kona.

Preparation is almost always in a French Press. With it, every aspect of the brew can be controlled to perfection. Once in a great while I'll use a little copper pot to brew my coffee Turkish style. I don't really know how to do it correctly, but the coffee comes out good.

My coffee always comes in whole beans, and I grind it in a Mr. Coffee BURR MILL grinder. A burr mill grinds your beans more uniformly to the coarseness you're looking for.

Don't EVER think of serving me that over-roasted crap that the urban wannabe hipsters are accepting from the big chain coffee houses.

[ChrisinHove]

I’ve been binge-watching James Hoffman on YT, and encouraged to try a simple drip filter. Wow! Even my cobbled together arrangement made a really nice brew. I feel a Hario v60 and timer / scales in my future....

I just noticed last week that our local Target Store has a manual device in which you put a #4 filter in a slot and then just pour hot/boiling water in it after you load it with ground coffee and that way you brew one cup at a time. It's made by Melitta who also makes quality coffee filters and very nice coffee makers too. I'm tempted to get one of those and try it out. It would probably pay for itself with the waste it would save within a month or less. The Melitta unit costs about $16 USD and if you go to Starbucks just two visits there would eat that up.

I’m using a Melitta that I have previously been using to make cold brew.

This website is quite informative, although perhaps just another rabbit hole to jump down.

https://www.homegrounds.co/best-pour-ov ... ee-makers/

Having sad that, some of these aren’t very expensive compared to espresso machines, Moka pots, cafetière’s etc.

[JD Spydo]

I’ve been binge-watching James Hoffman on YT, and encouraged to try a simple drip filter. Wow! Even my cobbled together arrangement made a really nice brew. I feel a Hario v60 and timer / scales in my future....

I just noticed last week that our local Target Store has a manual device in which you put a #4 filter in a slot and then just pour hot/boiling water in it after you load it with ground coffee and that way you brew one cup at a time. It's made by Melitta who also makes quality coffee filters and very nice coffee makers too. I'm tempted to get one of those and try it out. It would probably pay for itself with the waste it would save within a month or less. The Melitta unit costs about $16 USD and if you go to Starbucks just two visits there would eat that up.

I’m using a Melitta that I have previously been using to make cold brew.

This website is quite informative, although perhaps just another rabbit hole to jump down.

https://www.homegrounds.co/best-pour-ov ... ee-makers/

Having sad that, some of these aren’t very expensive compared to espresso machines, Moka pots, cafetière’s etc.

Extremely interesting website "Chris">> I never suspected my coffee grinder as doing too good of a job. It literally grinds it to a very fine powder. I never thought that might make the coffee to bitter with too much acidity but I now believe it might be in the grinder. We had one of the "burr/mill grinders where I was working at a couple of years ago. I did notice a different consistency in how the beans were ground. Also the website had the MELITTA pour over unit I was talking about. I was encouraged to know that it's available in ceramic. The lexan/plastic unit I seen at TARGET made me hesitate buying it because I've never been sold on much of anything made of plastic. I'm going to see if I can find where to get one in ceramic.

The burr grinder we had where I was working was a very high dollar unit ( $200+). But it was Swiss made and super high quality. It's unbelievable how many tricks of the trade there are in making an excellent cup of good coffee. I did bookmark that website and I'm going to explore it further this week.