how do you make coffee?

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Panthera, I wonder if it is the amount of coffee in the percolator--I like my coffee quite strong (far stronger than many people from what I've seen) and for me one of the reasons I've never cared for those automatic coffeemakers is the coffee always seems watered down and weak to me. The "Bunn" is the only one that even comes close to making a decent cup of coffee to me, I guess it has something to do with the way it sprays the water down onto the grounds in the basket. They are fast and seem to be of better quality than others of its ilk. I may try a "Chemex" sometime just because they look cool and it's such a Mary Tyler Moore thing to do. Probably wouldn't be for every day due to the non-automatic nature of the beast, but fun nonetheless.

The vast majority of my coffee is made in a Farberware percolator, and I use "Don Francisco's" Northwest Dark coffee from the grocery store, which I drink black (which I find rarer than I thought). I don't remember seeing it before moving to California. It goes to work with me in a stainless Thermos, but if I'm home yes I drink it from the percolator even after it's been plugged in for several hours and don't think a thing of it. I do use wrap around filters in the percolator basket and Brita filtered water. Water does make a palatable difference for me.

I have no interest or patience for grinding coffee, I've tried and abandoned it quickly several times, done with that. Likewise, I have no interest in expensive coffee unless I stop for a cup with a friend at Starbucks or something now and then. Except for coffee being weak, and except for when I tried the store brand, I can't tell the difference, so I don't spend the money. I buy store brand of just about everything, the coffee was one of very few things I just didn't like.

My family always drank percolated preground grocery store coffee, so I don't know if it's upbringing or what I got used to or whatever the case, but it works for me. I'm in it probably more for the caffeine than anything else anyway, LOL.
 
Scott,

I think it's partly the quantity, mainly tho', percolators need to be shiny clean if they are going to make good coffee. When I'm in the 'States, I use an ancient Corning Ware percolator (the kind which have the handle fall off at the worst moment). Since I put all of it in the dishwasher after every use, it always makes wonderful coffee.

Actually, grinding coffee only takes a moment and the taste is so noticeably better, I find it's worth it.

Life without coffee is not worth living. Same for a really good cup of tea.
 
What Ron doesnt point out, is that Most Aussies dont own any kind of coffee machine at all here.

Most people all drink instant, with the occaisional swerve into Plunger Coffee.

I was amazed on my first trip to the US that the hotels all had drip machines with stupid little single serve packets of ground coffee, yet there was no milk, always creamer. In AU, you get a kettle, with instant coffee and Milk in the minifridge.

Some of the instant coffee we get here now is quite good, even compared to freshly brewed.

Coffee machines are a bit of a novelty, and only 2 people I know actually use them on a regular basis. I play with my Percs, but find the cleanup for 2 cups of coffee in the morning quite onerous.

I'm sure you've all just keeled over with shock, but thats how it is here.
 
Most of the time, I use a one cup drip maker that parks on top of the cup. My ex-roommate thought it crazy--more practical to make more than one cup at once. But it makes better coffee than the standard electric drip pots I've encountered. (A top flight maker, though, might be a different story!) Plus I get the freshest coffee if I make it right before I want it, rather than letting a second cup linger fifteen minutes in a coffee pot.

I've also sometimes use a French press.

I've played a bit with percolators. I find that the coffee is not as good as drip, vaccum, or French press. Although, some percolators aren't too bad. I have a Farberware that does surprisingly well--not as good as the best drip, but better than bad drip.
 
Keeling over in shock...

Actually, what was a revelation to me was finding out that evidently in Europe and Australia, the "electric kettle" is considered an absolute fixture and necessity. They're only now becoming common in the USA! We got one recently, and I still feel like it's a "novelty"...I'm just old fashioned enough to still enjoy boiling a kettle of water on the stove! It's a "comfort" thing, I s'pose.
 
Electric kettles in the US

They do seem like rare novelties. Until you've had one for a while. I got mine several years ago, and it's become one of the most important gadgets in my kitchen. Right now, I don't have a microwave. I'm keeping an eye out for a microwave, but if I had could have either a microwave, or keep the water kettle, my choice would be the water kettle.

Of course, in my case, I'm using a drip maker that requires me to pour in boiling water. And I drink a lot of tea. If I didn't drink tea, and I were like most Americans who get by with Mr. Coffee, that kettle probably wouldn't be so important.
 
Coffee Drinkers....

Hi All
I have to admit in general I have found Americian coffee shockingly bad. Weak, not very hot & no milk ONLY powdered creamer!!! WRONG! And tea.... dont get me started!!!

Sydney people are coffee brand faithfuls will walk past 5-6 other cafes/ coffee shops to get to their coffee shop that sells their fav brnd of coffee DeLorenzo, LavAzza, Campos, segafredo etc etc
I live in inner western Sydney & am so spoilt for choice... 5 decent cafes all with good coffee within 5 mins walk from home. Also have a couple of good coffee roasters/ wholesalers who will supply me (Ya gotta know someone to be "in the club" & they will share blends only available to cafes)

Anyhow.. I have got into stove top espresso makers in a big way using a stailess steel beast.. it takes no longer than boiling a kettle & when i have finished with it, rinse & bung it in the dishdrawer to wash... SIMPLE

I have beenusing Aldi Dark Roast at work with an Saeco Espresso maker & it is perfectly fine!!!!

View attachment intuitive++10-8-2009-17-47-1.jpg
 
mmmmmm

I'd say that all depends where you live or were brought up Nathan.

As a group of people, my friends, family and work colleagues all tend to have at least one coffee maker (electric) and often more...

Off the top of my head, the majority of my friends (and us) have a small espresso machine (Krups or similar) as well as plungers...

We have 3 plungers, a Krups Novo 2000 and a filter coffee maker....

I can thank my parents for my enjoyment of reasonable coffee...they have 2 squat Westinhouse perculators, a senseo and a filter coffee maker.....

ronhic++10-8-2009-17-56-59.jpg
 
Spoiled I Am...

That day 26 years ago that I walked into Anderson's and bought that first pound of fresh-roasted beans, I was spoiled. Completely. I can't even stand the thought of "canned" or pre-packaged coffee of any sort. This place has beans from all over the world. They roast on Mondays and Thursdays. We get two pounds a week.

Used to love the blend he called "Alfred's Blend" which was mostly Central American beans, but the siren call of the Indonesian beans finally got me. "Drug of Choice" is a bean called "Java Pantjur"...although Dark Sumatra comes in a close second. Their "Jakarta Blend" is a mix of the best Indonesian beans.

Oh yeah...they will UPS you two pounds of beans anywhere in the US. ;-)

 
8 O'Clock Coffee

I now have to order it on line but 8 O'Clock Coffee Is my favorite coffee of all time.I buy the whole beans and use my Couisenart coffee mill set on fine/drip 12 cups.I have the Hamilton Beach drip coffee maker that has the spout you push your cup against Great coffee!! really wakes me up!I add evaporated milk and 2 tsp sugar.by 1PM,the entire twelve cups are gone.I hated Yuban,Chock Full of Nuts,Maxwell House and Sanka but loved the old comercials

"Chock Full of Nuts is that heavenly coffee,heavenly coffee,heavenly coffee. Chock Full of Nuts is that heavenly coffee. Heaveliness a millionaire's money can't buy."

Maxwell House. Good to the last drop
 
Keurig (really!)

[ ducking the thrown shoes ]

Throw in a K-cup of either Newman's Own Fair-Trade Organic or Dark Magic and it produces a good, compact and very hot cup that is ~extremely~ consistent every single time. Not as good as fresh ground and cone-filter-brewed coffee but I would say it is into the 90% percentile in terms of taste and it is dead stupid easy to use, convenient and reliable. I have one here at home and one at the office too.
 
I have about nine coffee makers

One huge (stainless) 60 cup perc (makes GREAT coffee, BTW), a 4 cup Mr. Coffee, a 12 cup Mr. Coffee, 1st-2nd-3rd gen Grind 'n Brews, Mr. Coffee pump espresso, Krups pump espresso, and a Melita "Two to Go" drip machine.

Most of these are in storage, save for the Melitta (which I use occasionally to make tea) and one of the Grind 'n Brews. Oh, and also have a manual Melita cone and glass carafe setup that is my Mom's, which cleaned up very nicely in the dishwasher, but I've yet to take the time to brew a small pot with it.

If I want strong coffee, I'll make espresso. But usually I would use the espresso to make a low foam layered latte - my own special technique for which one must heat/foam the milk first, with sugar if desired. Then layer on the espresso and the more dense coffee sinks to the bottom, looking very fetching in a glass mug. The trick was finding an espresso machine that was tall enough to allow the glass mug to receive the espresso directly.

Currently not drinking ANY coffee. But with the 3rd gen Grind 'n Brew, I'll proabably start up again. Although one of those pod affairs would probably be most appropriate for my level of consumption. I just like the gadgetry in various types of coffee makers. I also have about three different burr grinders...

I agree that fresh water from the cold tap is a must. Perhaps one can't tell as readily with coffee, but for tea any water that has been kept heated for a while gives the tea a very flat, "cooked" taste. It's lost its air and isn't far from hot tap water. One reason why I've avoided the Bunn and its clones. The other reason is the energy required to keep that water at brewing temp 7x24.

I happen to like the lighter roasts as well, at least for drip coffee. One of my favorites used to be Guatemalan, but haven't found any in the past few years that was as good as the stuff I used to get in the 70's. A darker roast is good for espresso. But I'm not too fond of the very dark roast that Peet's and Starbucks use. Too bitter.
 
I like coffee in general, but don't drink it very often. I find that I take coffee in different ways depending on what beans and how dark they are roasted, how they are brewed etc. Sometimes you need cream or milk, sometimes it will ruin the coffee.

Recently I've been making my coffee using the AeroPress: it's quick, easy and the coffee is nice and smooth. Almost everyone that visited and tried the coffee from it loved it. One person complained that the coffee "sucked" because it wasn't boiling hot. Given that I'm not like her (if the coffee *is* boiling hot I need to wait several minutes until I can drink it without getting burned), I keep using the device anyway... ;-)

en.wikipedia.org

AeroPress - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Growing up in Atlanta we always used "Bailey's Supreme". They had a little factory down near the Capitol building and it always had the best aroma. My father used to say that if it hadn't been for the Bailey's factory NOTHING would have ever gotten done at the State Capitol!

Of course, there is always "Community" brand, also an old southern staple, and that is what I use now.
I love the flavor of coffee, but can't have the caffiene. So most of the time I use the ground Decaf. I also tend to make coffee strong. I like a robust cup of it!

I used just about every method there is to make it and always fall back on my drip-coffeemaker.
Interesting to hear how varied others opinions are on something so simple as a cup of coffee.
 
Here's my daily driver: A Technivorm Moccamaster, with Caribou beans ground in a La Pavoni grinder.

I used to be a cream-and-sugar guy, but the Technivorm's coffee is free of bitterness and produces a full, rounded flavor, so I drink it black more often.

Frigilux++10-9-2009-06-59-31.jpg
 
Hey Eugene. That Technivorm is really fine looking. That will be my next coffeemaker very soon. We now use a Cusinart auto drip. Makes pretty good coffee. And I have to say this coffeemaker is that that we have had the longest out of all the brands we bought in the past 30 years.

I convinced my sister in law to get a technivorm.

I love the DeLonghi espresso. I have a Gaggia which RIch (perc-o-prince got for me a few years ago at a thrift store. Works great.

So how do you like the DeLonghi? I was looking at these and also the Breville. I can get these at a pretty good price at Direct Buy
 

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