Coffee

Black and bitter.
I can always get it the way I like it.

Sometimes Blonde and sweet, but that's usually a winter thing when I have a little extra time to relax and drink coffee for pleasure rather than as a life sustaining essential.

At work I drink pods (Walmart Brand) from my venerable 10 year old Keurig.
At home, the same stuff from a newer pod-soaker.

I probably average 4-6 cups a day, so I have neither the time nor the inclination to roast and grind my own beans.

SO has my low regard for "peer-reviewed" $cience.

Even Years: Coffee good for you.
Bad Years: Coffee is bad for you.

 

Read this: The Best Home Coffee Roaster Machines of 2022 (For Small Batches)
There are many other home coffee roasters on the market, but for low-budget options, the FreshRoast is probably the most versatile and well-reviewed unit out there. Of course, you can always roast green coffee in a popcorn popper or on a skillet or other DIY rigs. It's fun, but don't expect to get a consistent roasting profile every time your roast a batch. There are a lot of websites that can help you with home roasting endeavors, such as the Seet Maria website.

Otherwise, you will be spending $1K or more easily with a more sophisticated microprocessor-controlled home/sample roaster such as Hotpoint or Ikawa. But they do not roast a large amount. If you need to roast more, then Behmor is probably the best option out there. The unit can roast up to 1 lb. If you need to roast more than a pound at a time, then expect to spend a couple grand $$$ minimum.

 

I remember in the late 90s a study showed that freshly brewed coffee has antioxidants, BUT.... only if you drink it within 30 seconds of brewing. Needless to say I burned myself for health.

 

So, does anyone here like dark/french roasts?

 

Not for me. City+ to Full City is as far as I roast the specialty coffee beans. Anything darker roasting will hide the nuances of the origin-specific flavors. That is one of the main reasons I stopped buying coffee (either drinks or roasted beans) at Starbucks. They roast their beans way too dark. I even use lighter roasted beans for all of my espresso shots.

 

I am not aware of coffee/health studies examining very similar populations and coming to contradictory conclusions.

Observational studies of human populations address different aspects of health. There is generally a lack of experimental controls, and uncertainty whether sub populations in 'treatment' groups are otherwise equivalent. "it comes with the territory" is a trite phrase of long standing with application here.

It is perfectly understandable that people seek simple answers to complicated questions. "You can't always get what you want" comes to mind as well.

Using media-spun versions of scientific results, that generate clicks when they can be made to appear contradictory, is not a good way to make use of science and data. Maybe call that 'offsides', a minor infraction. Using it as a cudgel to attack science more generally seems less forgivable.

==
When Mayo or Chan or such groups seek to interpret for the masses, it comes up repeatedly that early coffee studies conflated cigarette smoking. Unevenly distributed across 'treatment' groups.

 

Had a Dominican Peaberry recently, nice peppy citrus nodes, gentle caffeine rather than "full lead"

 

Just finished a Great Value House Blend, 100% Arabica.
It had subtle notes of the proceeding cup of Aldi Doughnut Store brand.

Dark Brown.
Hot.
Wet.
Caffeinated.

The only way to improve upon those blends would be a delicate introduction of part of a cake doughnut, at just the right depth, and for a precisely timed duration....
HOWEVER (comma!) since I don't want to test positive for lardbuttitus, I have to settle for black and bitter.

 

Coffee prices rally on high demand as tea record marginal decline

On this news, I just ordered 25 lbs of green coffee beans. I should be set until next summer.

 

That’s a coffee Jones…

 

Oh nice. I’ve thought about roasting small batches on my own, just to experience the aroma of a slow roast and medium. With 25 pounds you’ll have plenty to practice with to get it just right.

 

Been home roasting green coffee beans for ~15 years. The average consumption has been ~25 lb of green coffee a year over this period, which yields ~18.75 lb of roasted coffee. Average 34 cups of coffee from 1 lb of ground coffee. So, that's only 637 cups. Not even 2 cups/day. The good thing about home roasting is that it cost about half of the roasted coffee from a store, and I never have to drink stale coffee. The bean is always freshly roasted.

I can't remember when was the last time I bought roasted coffee from a store...

 

I found this interesting, I wish I had my own supply of liquid nitrogen to do this:

 

LOL... Watched the video from the start to the finish. I must say, any coffee geeks out there will agree on coffee beans chopped in a food processor and brewed in a Mr. Coffee automatic drip coffee maker will produce an unpalatable cup of joe. Liquid nitrogen or not...

 

This just in... too much caffeine

 

Unpalatable?
Do not concur.

I just bought a 12-cup Mr. C to complement my Bodum pour-over. (*)
First drip coffee maker I've had in years and I have to admit that I'm fairly impressed.
The "experts" may think that it's the 'boxed wine' solution of coffee, but after the third cup it's all about the same unless you're one of those "cookie in a cup" people for which actual coffee isn't even a primary ingredient.

I use McCafe filter grind in a very old-school Stanley thermos bottle and a Yeti travel mug, and I have to admit that it's 90-percent as good as anything I've had to date at a fraction of the cost - even pre Bidenomics.
Laugh at my 30+ year old Stanley if you will but It keeps coffee HOT for a lot longer than any of the other stuff I've found out there.

I was on pods, but even a person making union wages is capable of noticing how much more expensive those puppies are getting.
The Budum paid for itself in a few months......
The Mr C will too.

(*)
Yes.
I know.
Pour-overs are effectively human powered 'drip' coffee makers but I find that I can control the temp, the grind, the bloom rate, etc...with the Bodum.
Unfortunately, if you're not in the 'work-from-home' set, and you have to 'load and go' then pour-overs are a little cumbersome to manage.

MY mileage.
YOURS will obviously vary.

 

A Keurig pod and a drip "Mr. Coffee" (I have and use both as well as a Krups expresso machine) make the same brew, just in different quantity. If you want to improve the taste of you coffee, try a dash of salt per pot.

JeffD

 

Venerable Melitta carafe an’ cone here, no moving parts, lasts forever, or until the carafe gets tapped. Get in-house roasted whole beans from nearby Creekside Coffee (), grind them with a Krup electric.

 

... and doesn't send nearly as much packaging waste to the landfills as those k-pods.

(Can't drink coffee myself, so I don't have much of a dog in this fight.)