BS: Please help me make decent coffee!

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 06:54 PM

I've heard that as well, Dave -- it might be fun for a treat, but can't see it for every day, with both of us working there just isn't time for too many extras. But there's a shop here that sells unroasted beans, and I'll see if I can get some.

Laurel, the water here is great, and I filter anyway, but will check your site to see if I'm missing something.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: open mike
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 06:30 PM

if you want more info on ways to filter the water,
I sell filters, "Solid Carbon Block" which are
guaranteed to remove impurities, chemicals, bactieria,
chlorine, and more. I use water direct from a stream
and there have been cases of giardia in the area, but
since I filter H20, I have avoided such infestations/
infections.
water filter info here:
http://www.multipure.com/
but if you want one contact me
instead of the web site! Laurel

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 05:23 PM

Another thought: A friend of mine buys UNROASTED coffee beans, keeps them in the freezer, and roast them himself in middling small batches, which he keeps in the freezer until grinding time just before brewing. He swears that the freshly roasted coffee is much superior. I dunno, myself.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 02:22 PM

LH: kindly list your bad habits -- there is lots of space below!

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 01:26 PM

I think dying of a strong coffee enema would be sufficient to qualify the victim for a Darwin Award, don't you? That's why I advised a weak coffee solution!

Here's another great use for weak coffee: if you build wooden ship models and want to outfit them with really realistic looking cloth sails, you first make the sails, then dip them in your weak coffee solution and let them dry. The resulting stain antiques the sails, giving them a most realistic off-white, slightly dirty color (kind of like what happens to your teeth when you habitually drink tea and coffee). Lovely effect. Make sure not to use too much coffee in the mix, though, or you'll overdo it and get brown sails which would look horrible.

Keep in mind that the effect is not reversible, and go lightly!

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Metchosin
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 01:09 PM

well...for a little backwater filled with harmless cranks, its quite pleasant.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,p[dc
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 01:01 PM

Ha! I knew there couldn't be more than one Metchosin. How are things in the boonies?

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Metchosin
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 12:46 PM

pdc!!!! You're drinking coffee????....Behind the Tweed Curtain???

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 12:26 PM

Metchosin as "guest" had some excellent advice....can't go wrong starting just like that.

I have always been a mixer & blender, even as a kid when I tried to do ALL the possible combinations of Kool-Aid! So I do try variations in coffee & tea...but I try never to lose sight of the basics and the ability to enjoy a simple, freshly ground cup of Colombian or Ethiopian Harrar..etc.
If you boil water separately, do NOT let it boil for any length of time, as you lose oxygen and make the coffee taste 'flat'...that 190° is fine, and pouring it slowly, though it takes a minute, does allow an 'even' saturation of the grounds (and doesn't clog the filter)

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 12:19 PM

Well, I tried Bill D's suggestion of adding French Roast this morning. It did improve the taste a bit, but I think I need to add more. But not till tomorrow, or I'll be too wired to post.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Metchosin, are you from "our" Metchosin? You must be, since you mentioned Thrifty's. I'm from (an admission here) Oak Bay.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 12:18 PM

I almost forgot, filtering, such as with a chemex cone, makes a fine cuppa.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 12:16 PM

Although I rarely drink coffee, being a tea person, generally, I subscribe to the whole beans, kept fresh until ground just prior to use approach.

The simplest way to deal with chlorinated water is to put it into an uncovered pitcher for a few hours to allow the chlorine to gas off. The water is then excellent for drinking, making coffee or tea, etc. If you cover the pitcher, the chlorine cannot escape.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: s&r
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 03:22 AM

Heat the pot, one spoon per person, use boiling water, leave to infuse, put milk in the cup first.

Oops, sorry, that's tea.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 11:55 PM

Dirty....dirty.....

NEVER...clean the pot or the cups.....

The built-up scum,oil,crud....allows a few transverse moliculus of what some may consider...pervursus retinculitus...to transmulate through the the filters and create an the original brew which Starbucks has tried to emulate ...(but failed) because of archaic health-code laws within the USA....

SO....

Go to Turkey....Iraq, MADrid you want a REAL cup of coffe.

Soma-cerly,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 09:57 PM

People have died of strong coffee enemas You learn something new at the Mudcat every day. Now that would be a death certifucate to frame.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 09:30 PM

I don't drink much coffee, but when I want a cup I want something good. So I keep GOOD coffee in airtight containers, whole roasted bean, in the freezer. I have a grinder -- one of the electric ones that can burn the beans if you don't pulse it -- and make just enough for immediate needs.

Right now I have pure Kona and some true cowboy coffee -- Arbuckle's. Both are excellent.

I use filtered water, of course. The water here is full of minerals; in fact, if you don't dry off right after bathing (not showering) you'll develop a crust and, in time, your entire body will become encrusted with minerals. Bullets bounce off. Eventually, they put you up on a plinth in the town square.

Starbucks -- well, it's coffee. It's overpriced and overrated, but it's coffee. As for the flavored blends, I won't stop you, but if I wanted to drink soda pop I'd drink soda pop.

I try to get a good fair traded coffee when I can, but it can be difficult.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: mack/misophist
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 08:37 PM

A little warning for a Little Hawk. People have died of strong coffee enemas. It was once quite the rage. The cafein (sp?) goes into the blood very fast.

A health note for all coffee drinkers. The number one lung medication in the world, atrovent, is a close relative of cafein. So don't just drink it, sniff it. It's good for you. (Information courtesy of a lung therapist)

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Metchosin
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 08:32 PM

A bodum works well too, with a more robust mouthfeel. More fine particulate matter in suspension, less efficient use of coffee though, due to the much coarser grind required.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Metchosin
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 08:26 PM

Guest 8:22 was me sans cookie. We're coffee nazis in this household.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 08:23 PM

"What I want is a proper butt of coffee"...

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 08:22 PM

Get your beans at Murchie's and don't use bloody chlorinated tap water or one of those Mr. Coffee makers. If it isn't fabulous water to drink, you can't make good coffee with it. Alternately, Thrifty's carries the Kicking Horse brand in various roasts in bean form.

The preferred French technique is a "café filtre", just cone type filter with unbleached paper filter, very fine ground coffee (freshly ground just before making) Water should be a 190 degrees or just off the boil and should be poured in small lifts so as not to flood the grounds and should take two and one half minutes total to pass through the filtre and generate 4 measured cups of coffee (6 ounces each typical).

A good jumping off point for a blend is one third medium roast Columbian, one third medium roast Guatamalan and one third dark French or dark Vienna roast. Try a half pound of this to start off with, then vary the amount of dark roast until you hit your satori.

Drink immediately, do not let coffee stand around, only make as much as you want right then. Besides you loose the benefits of the antioxidants if it is older than a few minutes.

Good luck, it is the world's most worthwhile pursuit. All else in life will disappoint us.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 07:48 PM

Heh! Heh! Just the reaction I was hoping for, GUEST. I haven't lost my touch, I guess... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 07:34 PM

Little Hawk, that was absolutely horrible!! I'm laughing and choking and gagging all at the same time - I hope you are happy, you monster.

Bill D, I take coffee black, no cream or sugar, so it has to be good. Someone else I was talking with today also suggested a bit of chicory, so I'll try that as well. One thing that does concern me is that all the coffee I've had in Europe and England has been in restaurants, so perhaps they have equipment that is not available to the home kitchen.

Anyway, this is fun -- and I'll let you know tomorrow how the suggestions I'm trying work out.

Again, thanks! As soon as I get it right, you're all invited over for coffee. Just get together the airfare to the west coast of Canada.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 07:26 PM

Ain't no such thing as decent coffee. It tastes bloody awful and is addictive and bad for your health.

However, it does have a lovely smell...and it's also rather good for doing colonics. You prepared a mild solution of coffee, diluted in warm water, and introduce it into the colon in the usual manner. The body is horrified by the unwarranted toxic invasion and throws the stuff out along with all the other undesirable accumulations from the last ten years of eating hamburger, pizza, and stuff like that. I recommend this technique highly.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 05:14 PM

I like a variety of coffees, just as I like various teas, beers, and whiskeys....but it is developing that my choice for everyday coffee is Guatamala Antigua. I do NOT buy Starbucks, as I simply cannot taste the purported difference between theirs and beans for $3 per pound less that I can buy at one grocery store. Fortunately, I live in a large metorpolitan area where there is competition, and thus, a choice available.

I use beans I grind myself, fresh, filtered water, and a small (4 cup) brewer that uses a Melitta-type cone filter most days, but have a large non-electric drip cone for company. I know that I don't go to all the trouble some do, but I am willing to bet that 'most' could not pick their pet brew from a row of 10 in a blind sampling (assuming same brand & strength).

I often add a bit (5% maybe) of chickory and sometimes a little 'flavored' beans (vanilla or hazlenut)to my grind, just because I feel like it, but certainly appreciate just plain good coffee.

One thing...I simply do NOT like milk or cream in it, but do add some sugar. All this is just personal preferences, and I will make coffee for others to suit THEIR preferences.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: mack/misophist
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 04:13 PM

Two things: a lot of people don't know that the water can be too hot. Coffee has both sweet and bitter oils. The bitter are released in very hot water. Bring the water to a boil and let settle before pouring it through. I think the correct temperature is around 180°. If you can't get the coffee you need where you are, there are other places. This one has a good catalog for browsing.

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 01:39 PM

Again, thanks. I already use filtered water, even though our water here is good, as it makes better coffee (and tea as well). I have a gold coffee filter (somewhere) and will try it, if it fits my coffee maker.

Rapaire's suggestion regarding the Scandinavian press coffee makers is good for our after-dinner coffee, but because my husband gets up at 5:30 a.m., I have a Braun automatic coffeemaker that is set for 5:20 a.m. (If you think for one minute that I'm getting up at 5:15, grinding beans, boiling water, and putting the whole thing in a press, then ... (sputter)... you're wrong!)

Maybe different brands of coffee will help -- I buy the fair trade coffee now, and don't want to go into the Starbuck ripoff thing, but will see what else I can find.

Off shopping -- will try a bit of French roast as my first change.

You're all so nice: thanks very much!

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 01:36 PM

In England? Well it can be found. But most of the time it's not what you'll get. Possibly as rare as a decent cup of tea in mainland Europe (where, in my experience, you generally can rely on getting a fair cup of coiffee.)

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 01:22 PM

Cleanliness!

Also, use good coffees.

You might try one of the Scandinavian press-to-settle-the-grounds type of coffee makers, too. Read the instructions though, 'cause it ain't your Mr. Coffee.

I understand that a gold coffee filter works best of all, but I can't afford it (and don't drink enough coffee to make it worth while).

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Amergin
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 12:41 PM

I was going to suggest bottled water just to see if that makes any difference...

we got lousy water here and tried it with bottled water...and it made a helluva difference....

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: NicoleC
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 12:34 PM

I'd add that the water is as important as the coffee. If your local water is lousy, your coffee won't be worth a hill of beans. I can recommend a fine Texas company that makes and sells great home water filtration products. I just hook 'em up to the faucet under the sink and forget about it until a get a postcard telling me its time for my annual filter change.

On a related note, I just got an expresso machine. (Just a home steam version -- I KNOW -- but my needs are few.) I haven't played with it yet, as I haven't picked up any good expresso beans yet. Can anyone point me to a good web site for learning how to make good mochas and so forth?

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 12:32 PM

Thanks, all. I was already doing everything Dr. O suggested except looking for a really dark roast. Vienna, perhaps? I'll try it and see what happens.

The funny part of this whole thing is that in my search for European-style coffee, I've developed a reputation among my friends for making really great coffee -- it's just not European enough for me.

I'll start with the addition of the French roast, as suggested by Amos, and if that isn't enough, will switch to a really dark roast.

This experiment should keep me up all night!

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Amos
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 12:11 PM

Add one tablespoon of French Roast grind to your Mister Coffee's usual filter.

Clean cold water.

4 scoops of regular caffeinated coffee to the pot. Then add the tablespooon of French roast.

Well, I like it~!

A

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Mark Clark
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 12:10 PM

Dr. O. is right on the money. You might also try a Google search (making-good-coffee) that will get you a ton of information.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 11:55 AM

I can't give specific directions for "European" coffee, but there are several basic things that should be remembered for making "good" coffee to any standard.

First and foremost, the equipment must be CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! Just casually rinsing the equipment doesn't get rid of the buildup of oils; you need to be sure that the oil residues are removed, because they can taint later pots-worth.

Now, the coffee to be used to make the brew: It's best to get it in the bean, keep it in the freezer if possible, and grind one batch-worth just before brewing.

There are two basic strains or types of coffee raised and sold commercially, Arabica and Robusta. The generally-considered "best" coffees are from the Arabica strains. Robusta coffees have a rougher, rawer flavor. The "best" coffees, such as Blue Mountain, Kona, Columbian are all Arabicas. If you buy commercial blends, look for as high a percentage of Arabicas as possible.

Roast: This is a matter of preference. I expect you would find that the European coffee you want to emulate will be dark roasts, which makes for a more robust (as distinguished from "Robusta") flavor.
General commercial American coffee is much more lightly roasted.

Proportions: I believe in making coffee with less water than the recipe might call for (or conversely, more ground coffee), and adding water after brewing to make the desired volume.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: BS: Please help me make decent coffee!
From: GUEST,pdc
Date: 10 Oct 03 - 11:39 AM

I'm so glad I discovered this forum, as you all might be able to help me with an old, though minor, problem.

My husband and I travel a lot -- and the best coffee in the world is found in Europe and England. I've never been able to match it -- can anyone tell me how to make European coffee in Canada?

(I realize that this will be a bit like asking Texans how to make chili: I'll probably get 650 replies.)


Thanks in advance.