@boonewh maybe it’s like the cilantro thing… Plus, my opinion relies on how the grocery store bins are labeled; it’s possible that I’ve never actually tasted coffee from Sumatra
@Zebra that article points out my favorite thing about Sumatra coffee: low acidity. It’s the one thing that my favorite coffees have in common. Apparently that makes me not a connoisseur, just low-brow picky
Fun fact: it all came from the same place (Ethiopia, probably) and the different flavors are imparted by the agricultural environment. Coffee has a very interesting history that you might enjoy looking up
@Superllama7 - well no not really, coffee came from a space traveler that crash landed in north africa and left some beans behind after teaching the egyptians how to signal his home planet and then being rescued. the egyptians in turn bought a cow from an ethiopian for a few beans and the story is now legend.
I’m not so snobby as to require single origin. I do want the beans to be basically the same size and the roast done correctly. Beyond that, it gets too expensive to be worth it for me.
@narfcake@RiotDemon@ShotgunX
before they started force feeding the stupid stuff, I actually had a cup of the real thing
It had little to no flavor. It was flat. Coffee is usually bright, acidic (in a good way). It was like the civet digestive enzymes had leached the goodness away.
Oh heck, it depends what you are making coffee for! If I was forced to choose, I would put my Guatemalan ahead of the pack because it has nice cocoa notes. Colombian for “just coffee” coffee, Brazilian for espresso. I still need to find a variety that produces lots of natural espuma. Any suggestions?
Also, I do roast with my small-batch Fresh Roast SR700.
I wouldn’t call myself a coffee snob, just I was tired of commodity coffees that tasted like dust.
@OnionSoup
how much cream and sugar do you put in that coffee?
I"m always curious, because most dark roast lovers I have met make it into a coffee flavored sugary milk drink because they want the coffee without the bitter.
Most US light roast is closer to medium. Scandinavian Roasts can be very very light. So light it’s always like tea.
That I don’t like
Make mine fresh each morning. Coarse ground dark roast in my French press. No sugar… No creamer… Just good coffee. Dark roast coffee is actually less bitter than lighter roasts… It also has a little less caffeine than lighter roasts (even though many people assume the opposite). French press is better with dark roasts than drip coffee because you get the oils from the beans in the coffee.
Dark roast not to be confused with how much coffee grounds are used. The reason you see people adding so much sugar and creamer is a lot of dark roast drinkers also drink their coffee much stronger than light roast drinkers.
@OnionSoup
a lot of whether a dark roast is ‘less bitter’ is dependent on the roaster. Many times, especially the really dark northwest blends, are actually roasted to the point they are technically bunt. you can taste the charcoal sometimes even.
I have seen some really good dark roasts. And medium roasts and light roasts.
I had my first (and so far only) god shot several years ago and a place that is defunct (still roasts, but he was crappy on customer service.) It was a light roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe done especially for espresso. I’ve never tasted better coffee before or since.
I have several french presses, a siphon (electric, meh), a hario, a drip machine and have a flask coming (cross between french press and aeropress.)
Sounds like you got a good supplier up wherever you are
So much more than country of origin impacts coffee, but we’ve been there before.
First, if you’re not drinking Arabica, just go sit in the corner. Other species are drinkable, especially the highly caffeinated Robusta, but it’s not what we think of as coffee today.
Second, what varietal of coffee are you drinking? And what cultivar? Anywhere outside of an Ethiopian heirloom (wild grown), there is a difference.
Then what about terrior? What is terrior you say? Do you drink wine? It impacts that too.
An article (Not vetted) on Terrior https://driftaway.coffee/terroir/
My coffee place is Augies in Redlands. Was trying to find an image of the new place, because well, the had to move in May. Instead, I’ll just share the love. (and the new place isn’t nearly as distinctive.
I roasted coffee for a while, it wasn’t hard to get it right. I told people I went to Hawaii and studied under Duke Kahunamocha; really I figured most of it out myself.
None of that matters, I am in no way a coffee snob. But I always preferred a fairly dark roasted Sumatra Mandehling. Close behind was the Kenta AA and Guatemalan Antigua.
Now I drink what ever piss comes out of the K-cup and that’s good enough. I got a French press and told myself I would use it on the weekends. I guess I’ve gotten too lazy for even that. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ the world keeps turning
Use to worry over all this, tho never roasted my own.
Used to try this and that, and experiment with brewing, and talk long with the coffee people at Zabar’s and Dean & Deluca.
Jamaican Blue Mountain from Zabar’s Mmmmmm
/image coffee
But now… I buy bottled concentrated cold brew at the store. Beans are grown “somewhere” and processed/roasted “somehow”.
I dilute it with milk or water or ice, depending on mood, into one of those expensive big-name steel vacuum mugs that will survive Armageddon.
(Rtic from Buc-ee’s in this instance).
I like different varieties, as long as they are real origin coffees. Many years ago I had a store nearby that sold a single origin organic Mocha Java that was heavenly, but I can’t find it now. I really hate the big coffee companies that advertise “origin” coffees like Java, Kona or Jamaican, but the fine print reveals that the “origin” coffee is only a small part of a blend that is mostly cheap filler from Wherever, with just enough of the Real Stuff to meet the legal minimum. Ugh. If I wanted to be grossly overcharged for bad coffee, I would just go to Starbucks.
@compunaut
country of origin for coffee. some coffees are blends from more than one location. Mocha Java for example is traditionally coffee from Java with something else added.
Most commercial coffee, but in the grocery store is Brazilian unless indicated otherwise, next is Columbian
I picked Ethiopian in the poll, but many other factors are more important than country of origin: freshness of roast (ideally less than a week or two), freshness of grind (no more than 10-15 minutes before brewing), uniformity of grind (never a chopper; only a decent burr grinder), size of grind for a given extraction method (I mostly use a french press and burr grinder at home, and occasionally other methods), extraction time and temperature, etc.
While I mostly drink whatever whole bean stuff is freshest at BJ’s (ie. decent but cheap stuff), when I want something special I’ll stop by Empire Coffee and Tea, or ask daughter unit 1 to get me something (she lives a few blocks from their Hoboken store). Their beans are usually less than a week old (since roasting), they have an excellent selection of coffees and teas and their prices are not exorbitantly high.
Caroline’s Coffee in Grass Valley.
https://carolinescoffee.com
@SSteve What I think of when someone says “Grass Valley” -
Reads like the start of a “…walk into a bar” joke.
@nogoodwithnames So an Ethiopian, a Colombian, a Burundi and a Guatemalan walk into a coffee bar…
… and the guy said, “This coffee is really something else!”
Sumatra or bust, baby
@Superllama7
My go to pick is a Samatra. But like wine, women and music, one man’s favorite may be another man’s poison…[Sumatra]
[1]: https://www.coffeeb.net/sumatra-coffee/
@Superllama7 Sumatra tastes too ashy or dirty to me. My least favorite, but I seem to be in the minority as you find it on most shelves.
@boonewh maybe it’s like the cilantro thing… Plus, my opinion relies on how the grocery store bins are labeled; it’s possible that I’ve never actually tasted coffee from Sumatra
@Zebra that article points out my favorite thing about Sumatra coffee: low acidity. It’s the one thing that my favorite coffees have in common. Apparently that makes me not a connoisseur, just low-brow picky
7-11
@wmbarr Me, too!
I shit you not, whatever coffee pods are on sale at Menards.
@melonscoop - hey this one is really funny because i know a lot of people that say the same thing only about different products… “Menards…”
@bayportbob milk, eggs, take-and-bake bread loaves.
Kona estate peaberry.
@mike808
Yeah that also.
A Costa Rican
Fun fact: it all came from the same place (Ethiopia, probably) and the different flavors are imparted by the agricultural environment. Coffee has a very interesting history that you might enjoy looking up
@Superllama7 - well no not really, coffee came from a space traveler that crash landed in north africa and left some beans behind after teaching the egyptians how to signal his home planet and then being rescued. the egyptians in turn bought a cow from an ethiopian for a few beans and the story is now legend.
@bayportbob I rate that myth plausible
Celebes (Sulawesi)
Indonesia
@f00l
Best coffee in Indonesia
I’m not so snobby as to require single origin. I do want the beans to be basically the same size and the roast done correctly. Beyond that, it gets too expensive to be worth it for me.
Yuck, coffee. I hereby abstain from the vote.
Uhm, oolong?
Haven’t been there since I moved a few years ago, but this place is awesome for fresh bread and coffee.
http://www.mazzarosmarket.com/tour/section/coffee
Ben and Jerry’s
Kona from the Big Island, if there is any left after Kilauea.
Single origin? Anal, I guess. I only drink coffee made from the poop of those cat-looking things, sorry.
@ShotgunX
/image civet cats
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak
(Alas, the production is ripe with abuse.
)
@narfcake figures… something that used to be picked from the wild is now causing harm to the animals. All so we can have another version of coffee.
I wonder if this is how the future will be. Once they make lab grown beef the norm, that people will pay crazy amounts of money for “naturally” grown.
@narfcake @RiotDemon @ShotgunX
before they started force feeding the stupid stuff, I actually had a cup of the real thing
It had little to no flavor. It was flat. Coffee is usually bright, acidic (in a good way). It was like the civet digestive enzymes had leached the goodness away.
So I can say I tried it.
Can I change my vote? My single-origin drug dealer just informed me he is Colombian, not Guatemalan.
Jamaica, mon. It’s more expensive because its limited quantity, but when I can find Jamaican coffee, I love it. More common though? Guatemalan.
Tanzanian peaberry, medium roast. Strong, but not bitter. Heavenly.
Peru
A Dunkin, medium regulah.
colectivo coffee or valentine coffee are my favorite coffee shops,
in this order
Oh heck, it depends what you are making coffee for! If I was forced to choose, I would put my Guatemalan ahead of the pack because it has nice cocoa notes. Colombian for “just coffee” coffee, Brazilian for espresso. I still need to find a variety that produces lots of natural espuma. Any suggestions?
Also, I do roast with my small-batch Fresh Roast SR700.
I wouldn’t call myself a coffee snob, just I was tired of commodity coffees that tasted like dust.
I checked my Folgers can but it didn’t say what the country of origin was…
/giphy cheap coffee
@tnhillbillygal My office uses Folgers. Every time i have some, i think “who put dirt in the coffee?”
I don’t care origin just give me a nice dark roast. Double crack. Most places in the US I been serve their coffee with much too light a roast for me.
@OnionSoup
how much cream and sugar do you put in that coffee?
I"m always curious, because most dark roast lovers I have met make it into a coffee flavored sugary milk drink because they want the coffee without the bitter.
Most US light roast is closer to medium. Scandinavian Roasts can be very very light. So light it’s always like tea.
That I don’t like
@Cerridwyn I drink my coffee black without sugar.
Make mine fresh each morning. Coarse ground dark roast in my French press. No sugar… No creamer… Just good coffee. Dark roast coffee is actually less bitter than lighter roasts… It also has a little less caffeine than lighter roasts (even though many people assume the opposite). French press is better with dark roasts than drip coffee because you get the oils from the beans in the coffee.
Dark roast not to be confused with how much coffee grounds are used. The reason you see people adding so much sugar and creamer is a lot of dark roast drinkers also drink their coffee much stronger than light roast drinkers.
I drink mine strong but not overpowering.
@OnionSoup
a lot of whether a dark roast is ‘less bitter’ is dependent on the roaster. Many times, especially the really dark northwest blends, are actually roasted to the point they are technically bunt. you can taste the charcoal sometimes even.
I have seen some really good dark roasts. And medium roasts and light roasts.
I had my first (and so far only) god shot several years ago and a place that is defunct (still roasts, but he was crappy on customer service.) It was a light roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe done especially for espresso. I’ve never tasted better coffee before or since.
I have several french presses, a siphon (electric, meh), a hario, a drip machine and have a flask coming (cross between french press and aeropress.)
Sounds like you got a good supplier up wherever you are
@Cerridwyn @OnionSoup
And what is that?
@f00l @OnionSoup
https://www.talkaboutcoffee.com/the-ultimate-espresso-defining-the-god-shot.html
but short and sweet. the absolutely perfect cup of espresso
Kona FTW
So much more than country of origin impacts coffee, but we’ve been there before.
First, if you’re not drinking Arabica, just go sit in the corner. Other species are drinkable, especially the highly caffeinated Robusta, but it’s not what we think of as coffee today.
Second, what varietal of coffee are you drinking? And what cultivar? Anywhere outside of an Ethiopian heirloom (wild grown), there is a difference.
List found at wikipedia because well, it’s long:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coffee_varieties
Then what about terrior? What is terrior you say? Do you drink wine? It impacts that too.
An article (Not vetted) on Terrior
https://driftaway.coffee/terroir/
My coffee place is Augies in Redlands. Was trying to find an image of the new place, because well, the had to move in May. Instead, I’ll just share the love. (and the new place isn’t nearly as distinctive.
I roasted coffee for a while, it wasn’t hard to get it right. I told people I went to Hawaii and studied under Duke Kahunamocha; really I figured most of it out myself.
None of that matters, I am in no way a coffee snob. But I always preferred a fairly dark roasted Sumatra Mandehling. Close behind was the Kenta AA and Guatemalan Antigua.
Now I drink what ever piss comes out of the K-cup and that’s good enough. I got a French press and told myself I would use it on the weekends. I guess I’ve gotten too lazy for even that. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ the world keeps turning
Use to worry over all this, tho never roasted my own.
Used to try this and that, and experiment with brewing, and talk long with the coffee people at Zabar’s and Dean & Deluca.
Jamaican Blue Mountain from Zabar’s
Mmmmmm
/image coffee
But now… I buy bottled concentrated cold brew at the store. Beans are grown “somewhere” and processed/roasted “somehow”.
I dilute it with milk or water or ice, depending on mood, into one of those expensive big-name steel vacuum mugs that will survive Armageddon.
(Rtic from Buc-ee’s in this instance).
And sip all-day.
It’s good, by my lights. It will do.
I prefer my coffee to be loose leaf tea. Chai, English Breakfast, or Mint are my fave.
Guatemalan, but it kind of depends on other factors (season, weather etc.)
any of you coffee heads want to check out some SUPER fresh (pretty much roasted to order!) coffee, give Nate a look: West Coast Roasting .
Brazilian is my favorite underrated single origin. It has a fantastic low acidity flavor with sweet nutty and dark chocolate notes.
I like different varieties, as long as they are real origin coffees. Many years ago I had a store nearby that sold a single origin organic Mocha Java that was heavenly, but I can’t find it now. I really hate the big coffee companies that advertise “origin” coffees like Java, Kona or Jamaican, but the fine print reveals that the “origin” coffee is only a small part of a blend that is mostly cheap filler from Wherever, with just enough of the Real Stuff to meet the legal minimum. Ugh. If I wanted to be grossly overcharged for bad coffee, I would just go to Starbucks.
I’m the hipster who makes Turkish coffee in an ibrik every morning.
Kona. All day.
Earl Grey, Hot.
Sulawesi Kalossi specifically, Indonesian in general. Glad to see so many folks in this thread standing up for Indonesia.
Shouts to San Francisco Coffee Roasting Company in Atlanta (medium special friend, please) and Portside Java in Hendersonville TN.
@whogots
I hear Tex, the barista, is from Brooklyn.
@therealjrn I’ve heard that most of the customers are Hispanics from Minnesota, so it evens out.
@therealjrn SFCRC rises above its dumb name, I promise.
“Portside” sounds ridiculous for Tennessee, but – well, here:
@whogots Considering my town, Tulsa is a port city, I suppose Hendersonville can have a port too!
I don’t even know what this means
@compunaut
country of origin for coffee. some coffees are blends from more than one location. Mocha Java for example is traditionally coffee from Java with something else added.
Most commercial coffee, but in the grocery store is Brazilian unless indicated otherwise, next is Columbian
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe light roast for pourover/drip.
I picked Ethiopian in the poll, but many other factors are more important than country of origin: freshness of roast (ideally less than a week or two), freshness of grind (no more than 10-15 minutes before brewing), uniformity of grind (never a chopper; only a decent burr grinder), size of grind for a given extraction method (I mostly use a french press and burr grinder at home, and occasionally other methods), extraction time and temperature, etc.
While I mostly drink whatever whole bean stuff is freshest at BJ’s (ie. decent but cheap stuff), when I want something special I’ll stop by Empire Coffee and Tea, or ask daughter unit 1 to get me something (she lives a few blocks from their Hoboken store). Their beans are usually less than a week old (since roasting), they have an excellent selection of coffees and teas and their prices are not exorbitantly high.
Community Coffee Pecan Praline - mixes great w/ my chocolate protein shake
Aisle 8 at Kroger.