For the World's Best Cup of Coffee Go To...

S\Reuters ^ | June 19 2002 | Clare Black

[pt17]

Be careful. One more cup and you'll start re-arranging flowers. Just two more and you'll begin to study interior design

LOL. Please DO NOT even think about telling me what happens on the third cup. :-)

[2Trievers]

Since my remote area of the "world" has no specialty coffee places, Dunkin' Donuts isn't bad in a pinch ... but the BEST is homemade ... J Blue Mountain or Kona ... from a REAL good coffeemaker. &;-)

[MotleyGirl70]

Ditto that my friend!

[KC Burke]

Most coffee in convienience stores is made from fairly good beans, but still only Robusto beans. Truely good coofee has to be made with freshly ground Arabica beans that come from a different variety of coffee plant. The really good resturant coffee you sometimes find is generally arabica. As Oregon Coffee Roasters Inc says:

Arabica is a different plant species than the more common robusta coffee. Arabica is from the "coffea arabica" seed and needs extensive nurturing to grow; taking years before the first harvest. By comparison, robusta plants, "coffea laurentii", are hardy, large plants that grow at lower elevations, producing a softer bean with less flavor than the arabica.

Arabica coffees are grown on small farms at high altitudes producing a distinctive flavor in each varietal (type of coffee from a region or country). High-grown coffees take longer to mature, with a resulting bean that is large, dense and more flavorful. Also adding subtle flavor to the coffee are the shade trees such as banana, rubber and orange which grow around the coffee fields.

Arabica coffees are of such high quality they require careful hand picking every day during the season. Only the red cherries are picked each time. Robusta coffees are grown on the flatter land in rows and are machine picked, stripping the trees of every bean – green, ripe red, overripe, rotten, etc. One bad bean used in a pot of coffee will affect the taste of the whole pot.

Pure Kona is great, but possibly too low acid for some...for my everyday coffee, served black, I grind Sumatra Mandheling variety from Indonesia which is also low acid but not anymore expensive than Central American Arabica varieties. A burr mill for consistancy of grind size, a good coffee maker that makes the coffee under 195 degrees is also mandatory. Those that have coffee at chez Burke say it is some to the best they have ever had and never fail to ask for some pointers.

I do make espressp (made with steam instead of water) and french press coffee (heavy grind in a french press pot and served hot).

You can keep the Frappacinnos etc, but don't knock good Arabica premium coffee till you have had it.

[KC Burke]

A LINK to everything you wanted to know about different types of coffee trees and their beans.

[KC Burke]

Since I'm on a roll, I might as well point out that strongly blended Arabica is about the same caffine as weak-kneed Robusta bean coffee as purchased in the store. The Arabica bean has often half the caffine of the Robusta bean. The bitterness of Robusta is, instead, more an acidict flavor in Arabica. Arabica is an entirely different bean with twice the chromosones of Robusta.

I have a friend, raised in Mexico, who has an allergic reaction to the non-caking additives in American store-bought robusto bean coffee like our standard brands of cheap Robusta. We are the only country in the world to use the percentage of robusta we do in our blended coffees.

[Scuttlebutt]

Amen and pass the pot.... Community is without a doubt the best

The Community Medium Roast is an excellent coffee but it doesn't compare to the Community 'Nawlins Blend (coffee and chicory). It will definitely keep you awake during the midwatch.

[Just another Joe]

Coffee, black, with sugar, cream, or both.
The nectar of the gods.
Hey SCGOP, haven't heard from, or about, you in a trees age.

[DETAILER]

Yeah, I drink both, but a lot of non-Louisana type people don't like the
chicory, so I mostly stick to medium. I do go to a little deli nearby though
that does have "Nawlins" when I want it. Read my profile, I've been in LA all my life, and both sides of my family as well.

[StoneColdGOP]

Actually, the nectar of the gods is Old #7... Jack Daniel's. Speaking of which, it's noon here and I'm only on my third bottle...

(By the way, trees can get very, very old)

[StoneColdGOP]

Ever hear Denis Leary's take on coffee?

[StoneColdGOP]

"What is it with this French stuff?"

How many times has THAT been uttered throughout history?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I'm with you.

Nothing sissy about it either!

[MinuteGal]

Can you purchase Community coffee at any of the major chain supermarkets, or only at remote specialty shops or through the internet?

You guys have whetted my appetite.

Leni

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the info!

[Cogadh na Sith]

On a spectrum, caffeine's effects are more mild than amphetamines, cocaine and heroin, but it is manipulating the same channels and that is one of the things that gives caffeine its addictive qualities. If you feel like you cannot function without it and must consume it every day, then you are addicted to caffeine. I'm completely hooked. If I don't get a good dose of caffeine, preferably in a good cup of coffee, by 11 AM, I get a splitting headache and feel terrible. These symptoms go away immediately upon drinking the first cup....

Don't pity me, I just love coffee, espresso....

[mhking]

Depends on your part of the country - it's pretty widely available in the southern reaches in the supermarkets. I usually have to take my dad some when I go home though... (which reminds me -- I've got to pick some up; I'm headed up in mid-July)

[Bella_Bru]

Ha! When asked several weeks ago if you wanted a mint mocha or a carmel machiatto, you picked one!

I am breaking him down, 2trievers. Slowly, but it's happening. :-P

[StoneColdGOP]

I was drunk!

And scared... There were men with berets and women with beards in that joint.

[windchime]

Great coffee information.

Anyone see the O'Reilly show last night dealing with Schultz of Starbucks making supportive comments to a Jewish group and a Muslim representative on the show threatening a boycott of Starbucks by Muslims? Just might make "fancy-dancy" coffee more palatible to you. I will choose Starbucks in support!