Posted on 05/24/2015 2:26:58 AM PDT by rickmichaels
Even when loaded with a mound of sugar substitute, all coffees are not created Equal. The world's second most popular commodity varies in quality, and, when you're staring at a shelf, it can be hard to detect the cream of the (unfairly traded) crop.
So to help identify a legit bag of beans, we consulted our buddies at Austin, TX's Cuvée Coffee to share with us some red flags to look out for. These aren't all deal-breakers, but if you see several in combination, be wary.
(Excerpt) Read more at thrillist.com ...
It’s in a Starbucks cup? ;)
“After 20+ years of drinking Army coffee....”
Best tasting coffee in the world was a canteen cup of joe in the field on a cold morning, ladled out in the mess tent.
I do similar (2 beans).
Most don’t realize flavor is about the grind as well.
My morning cup from my Capresso EC100 espresso maker is best with 2 different grinds. @ 2 cups/day, 1 lb lasts about 2 weeks and tastes far superior to crappy, gun-hating brand-names at 1000% markup.
Cafe Caribe espresso at $2.00 per 10 oz. brick.
Mister Coffee latte machine.
750ml of latte in my thermos.
Happy.
Chemex for the win. Or one of the old discontinued Starbucks Barista espresso makers
. We like a good espresso pull in the morning. Less acid and big flavor. And always always always grind your beans fresh. Burr grinder works best.
Number 12: A dead giveaway.
Bad coffee is made palatable by over-roasted it, which helps burn off poor quality notes and oils. Of course, this also burns off what little good notes and oils it might have had, but the result can be a net-pleasing effect if desperate for a coffee flavor. Look up the history on “French Roast” to see how this was arrived at in history.
“French roast” and “dark roast” take advantage of poor quality beans. “Light roast” and “medium roast” are the roasts capable of leaving all or most of the flavor notes in the coffee, but this can also mean bad notes from any lower quality beans are noticeable.
You should want good tasting, “light” or “medium” roasted coffee. Definitely don't pay extra for the other roasts, which would kill the life out of good coffees (as over-roasting gets rid of their flavor characteristics, wastefully so).
How do I know this? Aside from having read about this, I now have family who maintain large coffee plantations.
Yeah, Folgers, Maxwell House, and if money’s tight and no one’s looking Always Save. It’s amazing how many people compliment cheap coffee when they watch you scoop it from an expensive band container.
Can we get your opinion on “blonde” roasting?
Oh and, if it happens, please ignore any response to this post by Lazamataz.
SVT, stress, nerves.....oh man how bad I want a simple cup of coffee right now.
My coffee maker is a 14 cup kitchen aid. My grinder is a capresso. I set the grinder between very fine and fine and put the highest time setting (10 whatever that unit means) that fills the little plastic bin with the right amount of ground coffee for the 14 cup maker.
Never know when Costco will end a particular coffee type. I liked the Guatemalan coffee by itself. But they stopped selling it.
After 20+ years of drinking Army coffee I just buy Maxwell House.
I got my dad some starbucks a few years ago. He took a sip and asked if I had any Folgers. :-)
I like Starbucks, but much, much prefer Peet's Coffee & Tea. They opened one right near my home, but then Starbucks opened up right next to them and ran them out of business. :-(
Did you say "blonde" roasting?
I ‘splurged’ last year and bought a bag of Starbucks french roast beans.
Opened the bag and it smelled like it had mackerel heads in it.! Yow!
Normally drink Costco French Roast fine ground.
After reading this thread I might try a lighter roast though.
Eight-o-Clock French Roast was my favorite for years. Then A&P disappeared and I lost interest in it.
Huh?
If I like it, I'm not going to worry about all that.
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