Coffee: Good or Evil?

[Kitsune]

Okay, I did some cellar searching but I couldn't find anything and I know someone has posted some links before -- can anyone recommend a good place to order whole beans? Besides continuing on my downhill slide into coffee-snobism, I think keeping whole beans permits for longer storage time and makes my habit cheaper. Last night, I got a burr grinder that doesn't make a mess (the previous one created so much dust on the counter that I stopped using it) as well as a very simple stove-top espresso brewer. I made some this morning and I don't think I'll ever go back to Starbucks, again!

For that matter, is mail-ordering worth it or should I just continue going to the local store?




Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee....!

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Okay, I did some cellar searching but I couldn't find anything and I know someone has posted some links before -- can anyone recommend a good place to order whole beans? Besides continuing on my downhill slide into coffee-snobism, I think keeping whole beans permits for longer storage time and makes my habit cheaper. Last night, I got a burr grinder that doesn't make a mess (the previous one created so much dust on the counter that I stopped using it) as well as a very simple stove-top espresso brewer. I made some this morning and I don't think I'll ever go back to Starbucks, again!

For that matter, is mail-ordering worth it or should I just continue going to the local store?




Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee....!

http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/

The only way to fly.

[Kitsune]

I've resurrected the coffee thread because I have a horrible secret to divulge: Lately, I've been percolating.

I got it as a gift for my camping supplies. Shiney, wooden handle, and a glass bulb. Nine cups. Water on the bottom, coffee goes on top. Putting it on the burner causes it to come to life. No, it doesn't make the Maxwell House sound, but I hear the tune in my head when I see it happen, anyways.

Percolaters are shunned by nearly every coffee drinker for their evils. For anyone who has never seen one, after the hot water drains through the grounds it ends up in the bottom, again, and is heated once more. Many say the reheating of the coffee makes it taste bad. "It destroys the magic."

But I like it. I thought, maybe, that it was just the visual entertainment factor until I got to the bottom of my first cup and found my prize at the bottom of the cup: silt. You don't get coffee ground dust with a drip machine. In that way, its similar to coffee from a french press but with a slightly different taste. Oh, and the cup you pour is hot -- no thermos mug needed.

You should try it, sometime. Get back to your roots. Coffee was brewed this way since long before you were born, long before people got lazy. Not bad at all, really.

[Carbonated_Brains]

can anyone recommend a good place to order whole beans?

http://www.peets.com


And I don't know how percolating can be any easier than making perfect coffee. Bar none, the best method is just a plastic drip cone with the right coffee proportions.

Grind your beans for 15 seconds, and use two tablespoons of ground coffee per six ounces of boiled water.

Use either a new batch of Brita water, or cheap bottled water. The single biggest contributor to your coffee tasting like shit, is your tap water. Ours here is terrible for making coffee.

What's so hard? No silt, no mess, nothing.

Also, never put coffee in the freezer. Just put it in an airtight container in the dark...or if you haven't got one, throw the beans in a ziplock bag.

Oh, and let your kettle stand for 10-15 seconds after boiling, to let the water temperature go down a bit, otherwise your coffee will taste burnt and bitter.