What your secret for a really good cup of coffee?

[panthera]

Seems simple enough to me

1) Fresh cold water. We don't have iron in our water in Munich (no place for it with all the calcium) but that is the one single mineral which actually does affect the taste of coffee dramatically and so is worth filtering.
2) Clean everything well. Coffee residues leave a rancid taste. Rinse, too.
3) Store bought ground coffee, stored properly tastes fine. We have had long discussions here in the past about proper storage with the conclusion being that the Dutch and the Germans freeze their coffee in air-tight containers and the Americans keep theirs in air-tight containers everywhere but the freezer. Do what you like, but keep it air-tight.
4) If you can grind you own, matching the grind to the brewing method actually does matter. I can't taste a difference between blade and mill, but it's true that a blade heats the coffee a bit more than a mill.
5) Use whichever method you like, the only universal rule is that boiling water makes for rotten coffee. The optimal temperature is between 88 and 94 degrees centigrade, which means the bubbles have just stopped bubbling when you take the water from the heat source.

I think McDonald's coffee taste so good because, first, they use a good bean, second their machines are set up to work properly and kept clean and, most important, their turnover is so high the product is always fresh. We've fought about this one here too (somebody is always happy to disagree about virtually anything) but it remains a fact: Twenty minutes after brewing, coffee has gone rancid.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I make a delicious pot of coffee every time. I use an old Sunbeam AP-20 electric percolator and Chock Full of Nuts original. The tap water is nasty here so I use cheap bottled water.

The main trick seems to be that the percolator must be very clean and extremely well rinsed. Don't use much soap, just a tiny bit, then rinse the heck out of it.

Ken D.

 

[rayjay]

It's all a Matter of Taste

Coffee is a matter of taste by individual. But, a clean coffeemaker, the right coffee and brewing temperature make a big difference.

Now....according to Coffee Experts............. Percolating is the WORST way to brew coffee. It boils the water and the coffee while brewing. But...I think it all depends on the Percolator. I do like perked coffee if it is made in a large pot 50-100 cups at a function or gathering.

The experts claim, the best methods are the French Press, Drip either manual or electric or Vacumn brewed.

I am saving up for the MoccaMaster by Technivorm and plan on getting it when my Cuisinart goes, which it is on its way out now. The brew stop is not working. You hear that Louis???? lol

I do like strong coffee. Like extra dark beans or espresso, dark roast. Cafe Pajero from Trader Joe's is really nice.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

A properly designed percolator does NOT boil the coffee!

Man, I'm getting tired of reading that!

Ken D.

 

[rayjay]

Hi Ken. What is a good brand of Percolator that does not do this? My Farberware broke and I am interested in getting a new one.

Thanks so much

Ray

 

[aeoliandave]

Coffee is a matter of taste by individual.

No truthier truth than that and the taste I want - and get - is the memory of the coffee served at the Woolworth's Lunch counter in London when I was a lad and the Woolworths right here in Stratford in the 70s before it was all torn down for a parking garage. Also, at Truck Stops across the Nation. Never have liked the boiler coil 'Mr Coffee' type as the science and engineering behind them is all wrong imho. For this reason I used Bunns for decades but have since changed over to vintage Coffee Percolators. I have quite a few and use them in rotation. I've yet to use the Sunbeam CoffeeMaster vacuum pot (soon) but can see they are quite fussy to manhandle compared to the fill, brew, pour and drink simplicity of a properly regulated electric percolator.
This week's daily driver is the Universal Coffeematic. It was Pete who put me on to not using pre-ground canned coffee in electric percs. I coarse-grind 8 O'Clock beans in that big butch red Grinder in the local Grocer aisle. 1/4 tablespoon of brown sugar and a smooth half inch of 5% cream per cup and I'm a happy camper first thing in the morning fresh from the shower sitting down to read all the forum threads & posts.

Starbucks? Nothing more than over-roasted weeds, twigs and dirt; I will never ever have another one of those. Yuck, had to spit it out. MacDonalds has improved greatly and I find I'm preferring it on the road over Tim Horton's these days.

Dave

 

[revvinkevin]

but it remains a fact: Twenty minutes after brewing, coffee

Hi Keven, by "going rancid" do you mean coffee after it's brewed just sitting on the heating element "cooking away"?

I would think if you were to brew into a "Thermos" type vacuum bottle to store the heat, the longer term result would be much better.... am I correct?

 

[bobbyderegis]

Kona!

Has anyone tried real Kona beans? It is to DIE for, but very, very expensive and pretty hard to come by. I was lucky once!
Bobby in Boston

 

[kenwashesmonday]

rayjay wrote:
"Hi Ken. What is a good brand of Percolator that does not do this? My Farberware broke and I am interested in getting a new one."

********************

I've tried quite a few new percolators a few years ago, Delonghi, Presto, Farberware (which used to be excellent), and they all crapped-out in a month or two. It would seem that the Chinese cannot make a decent bi-metal thermostat.

I love my Sunbeam AP-20 so much that I got a spare. Wait for one to show up on ebay that has a picture of the inside to be sure that the finish has not been scrubbed off the bottom. I grabbed this picture online so you can see what the Sunbeam AP-20 looks like.

Ken D.

 

[rayjay]

Hey Ken. Thanks so much. I am wondering how the Cuisinart ones are.

I see that you live in NJ too. I have realatives in the Totowa, Wayne area and I am up there often.

If you wanted to meet let me know.

Ray

 

[58limited]

I have a Sunbeam AP-20 and it definitely makes good coffee. The modern percolators that I have tried make poor coffee (admittedly the only new ones I've tried are cheap ones, a better quality one might do better).

 

[rayjay]

Kona Beans

HI Bobby, I do get the Kona Beans from Gevalia. And yes they are expensive. But a nice smooth cup of coffee. When you drink the amount of coffee that we drink, you want quality.

I find myself wanting stronger coffee as I get older. lol

Love the French Roast, Espresso and Dark Roast to brew in my auto drip.

I also have a Gaggia, (that Rich and Chuck got for me a few years ago). Great machine. It is always on my counter. Love espresso with a twist of lemmon, a little Demerara sugar or Sambuca.

 

[58limited]

I find myself wanting stronger coffee as I get older.

I wish my family was that way. I like strong dark roast coffee, but my family seems to like weaker and weaker coffee every year. My stepmom's coffee looks like iced tea, I can read newsprint through the other side of the glass mug.

 

[polkanut]

In regards to my earlier post (#404092), I need to make a correction. My wife uses the Norelco Dial-A-Brew, and fresh ground beans from Victor Allen's of Little Chute, WI. The flavor of the month is currently Cinnamon Hazelnut. I use a vintage 12 cup Farberware perc with 3/4 Maxwell House regular grind, and 1/4 Cafe' du Monde coffee and chicory blend.

 

[panthera]

Hi Kevin,

Yeah, I just didn't express it very well.

 

[danemodsandy]

David:

"my family seems to like weaker and weaker coffee every year"

Yeah, what's up with that? My family is the same way. They use instant, and put less in each cup every time I see them. At least if you spill it on your lap, there's no appreciable stain to deal with...

Me, I like real coffee, fairly strong but not too. I still relish a joke from Broadcast News, where one character's addiction to the strongest possible coffee is getting on another's nerves:

SHE: My God! Why don't you just drink battery acid?

HE: Not enough caffeine.

 

[mrb627]

Flavored Coffee?

I just can't wake up to flavored coffee. I guess I am a purest!

Malcolm

 

[petek]

Flavored coffee's and flavored creamers,, YUK. I wouldn't run those thru my coffeemaker. I remember at work somebody bringing in some of those flavored coffees and it took days to get the stench and after-taste out of the coffee maker.

Davey drinking McD's coffee,, that is a switch.

 

[danemodsandy]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Flavoured coffee - ewwww!

When I was in the biz, I absolutely dreaded the holidays, because every third customer through the door wanted the stuff. Since we sold bulk beans, that meant shovelling each order into a bag. The odour became nothing short of sickening after a while. You'd go home and try to eat dinner and you'd push the plate away, uneaten, because every bite tasted like amaretto. Not too good when something like salmon or veal Parmigiana was on tap.

To this day, twenty years on, I cannot handle the smell of flavoured coffees; I will pass by a display of them very quickly to get past it, and if I'm in a small shop that reeks of the stuff, I have to leave. And still, amaretto is the worst; I would outlaw it if I could.

 

[bajaespuma]

LOVE coffee. love the smell, love the taste, love the experi

Although I love vintage Pyrex glass percolators, my Grandmother Esther was the only person I ever knew who could produce delicious coffee using a percolator. My other Grandmother, Shnorhig("Grace" in Armenian, yes, I know, hard to believe, was the family expert in making "Soorge" or Turkish coffee. Her coffee had lots of "Keff" or the foam that's supposed to float on top of Turkish joe)

I use coffee from a local roaster here in Southern Connecticut called "Willoughby's", so the beans are extremely fresh and freshly roasted (by a buddy of mine who is a painter when not making money as a coffee roaster). I tend to like Brazilian beans, but I am always trying different beans from different places. I generally like to blend 25% dark roast with 75% normal roast and I grind the beans at home every night before the next day as a coffee expert I once knew told me that it's better to use beans that were ground several hours before brewing. I use a Melita-style drip filter pot, although a friend of mine is convincing me to go with the Chemex system. He makes awesome coffee with another Connecticut company's beans "Omar's Coffee".

My next experiment will be to try the "Filtron" cold brewing system, where you make a coffee concentrate out of cold water and then dose that with boiling water to produce a cuppa.

For any of you who like to read science fiction there's a wonderful old book called, "The Mote in God's Eye" that has a cute section in it on aliens who become expert coffee makers.

Do any of you remember when my beloved Margaret Hamilton hawked "Yuban" coffee on TV? I got emotional recently over Mrs. Meserve; coincidentally Miss Hamilton, as she was known, spent her last years in the same "assisted living" facility called "Noble Horizons" in Northern Connecticut, where my own Mother lives. Her son, Hamilton Meserve lived nearby and must have overseen her care. Not surprisingly, she was very well liked by the staff and other residents as I've found many memorials and pictures dedicated to her. When I was visiting the Chapel there I noticed her name listed in an obituarium. I had forgotten that she had passed as long ago as in 1985. She was a great lady whose work will never be forgotten and whose kindness and spirit were also legendary. When I was taken, finally, to see "Wicked" on Broadway last year I couldn't help but be impressed that this humble character actress' portrayal has taken on a life beyond what anyone could have expected from "7 weeks worth of work" and 11 minutes ( 11 minutes!!!!!) screen time.

How the hell did I get here from talking about coffee??!?!?

 

[petek]

Cold brewed coffee

The first time I'd ever heard/seen/tasted one of those cold brew coffees harkens back to my salad days circa 1980. I was holidaying in San Francisco and made the aquaintance of a fine looking lad by the name of Tim Wilson (even now I still remember his name he was that fine) It was the morning after a night out or was it in and out that when he asked me if I wanted a coffee he had one of those contraptions in the fridge. As I recall it wasn't too bad.

 

[petek]

off topic sorry

Speaking of Margaret Hamilton. In the casino there's a fairly new Wizard of Oz series of slot machines and one of them is based mainly on the Wicked Witch (Margaret Hamilton) theme. The graphics/animation and sound (Bose) is really good and I've spent hours sitting there in front of it. Worst thing is the next day you keep hearing all the phrases and music in your head LOL

 

[danemodsandy]

Before There Was The Wicked Witch:

Considering what Margaret Hamilton became famous for, it's interesting to contemplate her first career, before she went into acting:

Kindergarten teacher.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!

 

[mrb627]

Cold brew

I cold brew coffee as well. Makes for a quick expresso-like shot in the morning without having to fire up the regular routine.

It is the smoothest yet strongest cup of coffee I have ever tasted.

Malcolm

 

[mysteryclock]

Cleaning!

One suggestion I have for cleaning -- Squeak-N-Clean! It does an absolutely terrific job of cleaning all coffee-exposed parts of a machine (even though it stinks a bit when it is neutralizing the oils), rinses quickly and thoroughly and leaves no smell or taste behind at all. I had a friend that ran a Coffee Beanery in a local mall in the halcyon pre-Starbucks days here and he showed me his two-year-old airpots that he cleaned daily with it. They were shiny as mirrors on the inside and the dispensing tubes looked as good as new... and that was with about a 15-second swish with that and some hot water once or twice a day.

Simply amazing stuff. I bought a case of their stronger "Espresso and Equipment" cleaner a while back and I'm finally on my last bottle.

http://www.squeaknclean.com/

 

[mrb627]

Squeak n Clean

Thanks for the tip. I have thrown out coffee makers that I found were difficult to clean. I had one that had mildew in the water reservior. If it weren't made of white plastic, I would not have been able to see it.

Malcolm

 

[~sudsshane]

Eight O'Clock coffee ~

I always use Eight O' Clock, Original, (Red Bag), or Bokar. I grind up the whole beans (daily). I also only use filtered water. Make sure your pot is thoroughly clean. (Coffee oil residue can spoil the taste of coffee).
I alternate between my various choices of vintage percs, and vacuum pots. I never drink drip coffee-- never!

 

[sudsmaster]

Salt

Salt does tend to mask bitter flavors. It's one reason why it's a popular addition to many foods. But it can also dull the more subtle flavors of fresh ingredients, which contain mildly bitter but distinctive flavors. Probably not an issue with coffee, which already is highly processed.

 

[volsboy1]

I use a old Farberware percolator it was my papaw's and that thing has been working great for 30 plus years and works great for me,now my mother is a coffee connoisseur and she uses a coffee maker from the Netherlands called The Technivorm. She uses only burr grinder because the others heat the beans up(this is what she says to me),The coffee maker she said makes sure the water is perfect temp for the beans.I sometimes wonder if it's a placebo effect because the coffee maker is 260 bucks and was listed number one is some magazine of hers while that cost is alot better than their espresso machine that gets used once a month,I don't see how a few degrees can be so much better.I do like the way it looks and it does work good but I still wonder if it's in the head.

 

[volsboy1]

(Sorry hit the post button and wasnt done)The most important thing is a clean coffee maker and clean water,the oils will make the coffee bitter and don't store your coffee beans in the fridge or freezer makes .My Mom loves Jamaican Blue Mountain but told me there are so many knock offs.She has been warned that you might be paying for a fake coffee(that to my Mom is like somebody thinking they bought a Prada bag but was a real good fake) and they throw the word Jamaican mountain on the bag and charge a ton but that is a fake,it has to come from the east of the island at a certain everything it seems.I don't really care for it myself I prefer columbian coffee over any other and I switch what I get from Barnies every other week or what is on sale,while I am not that picky over a coffee makers and coffee grinders I do love it and drink at least 10 cups a day.