Coffee

LOL. Yep, that's fine for you and most people who drink coffee. If you enjoy your cup of Mr. Coffee, then that is the cup you should drink and continue to enjoy. I am talking about those Coffee Affectionados (or Coffee Snobs) who slurp a cup of coffee and taste peach, strawberry, lemonade, rose, and juniper notes. Here is one excellent cup that offers the complex flavors I just listed. The problem is, the cup is going to cost you $400. Yep, that's at 15g of coffee beans to 270ml of hot water dose or 1:18 ratio according to the SCA's latest guidelines to achieve the Golden Cup standard during brewing.



Like it or not, if anyone cares to compare the taste of liquid N2 frozen coffee beans, then he/she must be getting to be one of those coffee snobs. Admittedly I must be becoming one of them... I don't buy very expensive coffee beans, but I roast my own green beans I source from reputable coffee importers and commercial roasters. Currently, I have ~25 different single-origin green coffee beans from different terroir around the world stocked in our cellar.

I purchase on average ~30 lb of green coffee beans a year and spend an average of $7.35/lb for those unroasted beans. This becomes to be $8.75/lb of roasted coffee beans. That's only $0.26/cup at 1:18 ratio in a 240ml(8oz) cup. Yeah, it is not a $400/cup of coffee bean, but I am perfectly satisfied with my own craft roasted beans. No, I don't even remember what the coffee sold in-store or in the cafe (roasted beans or cups) tastes like anymore. The last time I had a coffee not roasted myself is probably over 10 years ago. And I am still drinking 4-5 cups daily

Here is a pic of my recent roast of washed Sumatra Raja Batak peaberry. Full body, earthy, sweet, chocolaty... what's more, do I want from a cup of joe.

 

Thanks!
You as well!

FWIW....there IS a time and a place to enjoy a cup of artisan coffee...AND a time for that first cup of duty coffee in the morning.

Cup of...Joe.

From one Josephus Daniels.
SECNAV under Wilson.
US Ambassador to Mexico under FDR.
Duke/UNC alumni.
PROUD White Supremacist and Eugenicist.......and I'll leave it at that.

NOT somebody I would willingly drink a cup of ANYTHING with.

He prohibited all alky on USN ships, and thereafter it was said (without a shred of affection) that a cup of "joe" would be the strongest beverage allowed on any USN ship at any time and for 'nearly' any reason, excepting for medical reasons (depth charge and aviation rations.)

 

If it won't bloom
it is doomed

thatisallfornow

 

During college, I use to dring Chock Full o'Nuts purchased in a huge tin can pre-ground and brew it on a cheap auto-drip coffee maker, probably a Mr. Coffee, but I can't remember. My daily consumption was probably more than now back then. A whole pot or more in a single day easily. That's more than 10 cups (114ml/cup for coffee measuring on most coffee carafes). I even took that pre-ground coffee with me to a camp and brew coffee in a percolator over an open fire. It brings back good memories, but would I drink today the same coffee (Chock Full o'Nuts) brewed the same way (in Mr. Coffee or in a percolator)? Don't think so. I am now way past the first wave of coffee... cheap commodity coffee. I am also way passed the second wave of coffee, dark roast from Charbucks. I am riding the third wave of coffee, a lighter roast of specialty-grade coffee beans with clear provenance. And I enjoy my cup that way.

Here is my favorite brewer setup. A bit of work to set it up, brew, and clean it. But with a reusable cloth filter, the spent coffee simply ends up in the compost heap. Nothing else to waste. Oh, but the butane burner... emits CO2. I have been wanting to upgrade it to a halogen heater like this one... http://www.amazon.com/Halogen-Heater-Burner-Infrared-Syphon/dp/B07RLNH6M8 but a bit too pricy. LOL

 

They have to over roast their beans because there's only one dollop of the stuff mixed in with all of the dairy and sugar in whatever they now call their large cup. Starbucks is coffee for people who would normally hate coffee, just like all of the Gucci craft beers are for people who would normally not be beer drinkers.

Not a hater.
I spent a year in Seattle in the 80s, and what sailor doesn't love their logo?
I just don't have the time to wait for an order and I have better things to spend the $5 on......

ACTUAL mileage WILL vary.

 

Although I have not had coffee at Starbucks for years, I have had their coffee in the past. It was the only cafe within a walking distance away from my previous work. It was either drink a cup from community coffee maker in our lounge space or get a cup from a vending machine. Neither were palatable cups. I did not like Starbucks' regular coffee of the day black, so I opted for a cappuccino or latte.

I do have to give Starbucks a credit for popularizing espresso drinks in the US. Although I do not like the huge amount of sweeteners they put in the cup, I have recreated a copycat recipe of their popular espresso drinks with my own customization. Here is my re-creation of the Starbucks Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato, with a shot from my manual espresso machine at home. Talking about home espresso, that is another rabbit hole entirely different from home coffee roasting, that one should not fall into. LOL

 

... especially the logo back then, before modern updates.

... especially at the original store.

 

I remember a conversation with folks at church about that very thing.
They made the mistake of asking me why I didn't really like Starbucks all that much.
I told them that I wasn't bothered by their politics, their price point, or their tendency to over roast their beans but rather I was a little uncomfortable as a father and a husband wagging around a mug with their logo.
Not being prudish.
I'm a proud Navy vet and I've been to to many MANY places MUCH raunchier than the place on Pike Street.....just trying not to set a bad personal example.


"What's wrong with their logo? It's a lady holding up two fish, right?"
"Ummmm....No...that's not a lady, and NO...those aren't fish.....the "lady" in the logo is a siren"
"Huh?"
"A siren is a sort of mythical two-tailed mermaid that lured sailors onto the rocks"
"She offered them fish? I thought that they lured sailors onto the rocks by singing to them...."
"Um....No. That's a sort-of the PG-rated Walt Disney version.....and those aren't fish! "
"What is she holding then?"
"Um....Her Ankles...."


Haven't seen a Starbucks travel mug at our church since then!

 

The original logo...

 

I've never had a cup of coffee. In addition to the fact that coffee smells like dirty diapers to me, a regular cup of non-decaffeinated tea made me feel just about as bad as I've ever felt in my life, with full body shakes for 12 hours. I'm guessing a cup of coffee would put me in the ICU.

I wonder how much money I've saved in my life by not drinking pop, tea, coffee or alcohol. I don't know what people spend on that stuff but I'm guessing I'm well into 6 figures by now.

 

For the longest time, I liked the flavor of coffee, in anything except coffee.

 

I think coffee-flavored ice cream is a crime against humanity and against the greater universe.

 

What, if anything, do you drink besides H2O?

 

Fruit juices, occasionally.

 

I'll occasionally enjoy a cold latte or one of the frozen variety. I'm guessing those aren't counted as coffee.

I enjoy the smell of ground coffee more than the taste of it.

 

As a child, I drank a lot of Pepsi cola so I am now basically immune to caffeine. The only time I have sensed a reaction is drinking tea at a Chinese restaurant along with the MSG in the Chinese food.

I start out every morning with a 4-shot latte.

JeffD

 

If you look up "parosmia", you'll find why I think coffee smells so bad. It's a common condition with COVID, but those people usually recover quickly. I've had it all my life but didn't know there was a name for it until COViD-19 hit and started causing it in infected persons.

 

Just a tidbit of information, Excelsa coffee from Vietnam, Buon Me Thuot, contains half of the caffeine of regular Arabica coffee... and no aromatic of regular coffee. It does not smell like coffee at all. But its complex flavor is very pleasant, so it is often used in a specialty-grade Vietnamese blend coffee. I have been playing with the Excelsa green coffee beans for my own blend. Makes the cup very unique.

 

I can't smell some noxious scents; stink bugs and spoiled product making coworkers gag. Then some just don't bother me; skunks. On the other hand, I can't smell or taste certain foods. A South African fruit in the liquor my liked, I can't sense at all. I suspect I'm not tasting macadamia nuts, but do enjoy their texture.