How to Make Perfect Coffee?

[weavis]

I guess i rediscovered the reason that I dont get into discussions regarding making coffee...

I can tell you what is the professional way, how to extract, how to use refractometers and such like...I can tell you what espresso machines work well and I can show you how to get the best out of them..... I can roast freestyle or use profiles and follow along on 1 kilo sample roasters or full blown Roasters... I can show you how to make filtered coffee using all available methods and I can show you how to get different flavours at different water temperatures but ............

I cant tell anyone what they will like..

In the end, I just love coffee. In my house here in Spain, i have a €300 Technivorm machine, a Dulce Gusto pod machine which I use self fill pods and test various coffees and blends, and I have a professional Espresso setup.

Currently my favourite coffee is Turkish. I use the traditional method, made rich thick and sweet. Go figure..

Like what you like.... I do..

[FionaJC]

Waving the Union Flag here, you probably know it as the union jack I would like to point out that us brits are laughed at for our obsession with tea brewing, tea drinking, tea time etc. Reading these comments I realise when it comes to beverages we must be mere amatuers, and to think that you started your beverage drinking years after us you have certainly caught up in perusing, discussing and the theology of the beverage making process with a special dedication to the roasted bean. Thank you guys for the education and entertainment. I will now go get my pre-ground, "dont care what" roasted bean out of the pack I have used for a month and pour boiling water on to it from the tap. Now if I was going to have tea then that would be a different matter!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by weavis

I guess i rediscovered the reason that I dont get into discussions regarding making coffee...

I can tell you what is the professional way, how to extract, how to use refractometers and such like...I can tell you what espresso machines work well and I can show you how to get the best out of them..... I can roast freestyle or use profiles and follow along on test machines or full blown Roasters... I can show you how to make filtered coffee using all available methods and I can show you how to get different flavours at different water temperatures but ............

I cant tell anyone what they will like..

In the end, I just love coffee. In my house here in Spain, i have a €300 Technivorm machine, a Dulce Gusto pod machine which I use self fill pods and test various coffees and blends, and I have a professional Espresso setup.

Currently my favourite coffee is Turkish. I use the traditional method, made rich thick and sweet. Go figure..

Like what you like.... I do..

I don't think anyone is asking you to tell us what we should like

We are asking you to share ideas, which may help inspire us when we're thinking about what to try next.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by FionaJC

Waving the Union Flag here, you probably know it as the union jack I would like to point out that us brits are laughed at for our obsession with tea brewing, tea drinking, tea time etc. Reading these comments I realise when it comes to beverages we must be mere amatuers, and to think that you started your beverage drinking years after us you have certainly caught up in perusing, discussing and the theology of the beverage making process with a special dedication to the roasted bean. Thank you guys for the education and entertainment. I will now go get my pre-ground, "dont care what" roasted bean out of the pack I have used for a month and pour boiling water on to it from the tap. Now if I was going to have tea then that would be a different matter!

er... Im a Brit and dont like Tea much..

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I don't think anyone is asking you to tell us what we should like

We are asking you to share ideas, which may help inspire us when we're thinking about what to try next.

Lets narrow it down.

Espresso or filter?

We can start from there..

[Sandero]

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

We do filtered coffee using stainless steel filters... no more paper ones! We use fine ground coffee and drip hot water... Fabulous, quick, ground go in the trash or down the drain.

Taste and strength depend on the beans and the transit time in the filter... grind grain size...

We do this on a gimballed stove top and it's easy peasy and tastes fine.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by FionaJC

I will now go get my pre-ground, "dont care what" roasted bean out of the pack I have used for a month and pour boiling water on to it from the tap. Now if I was going to have tea then that would be a different matter!

You're brave posting that on here

We use Azera instant, but if that isn't available then Nescafe Gold Blend in a mug with water from the boats tanks boiled and poured on. Splash of semi skinned and back to the helm to see were we are going next.

I see Nescafe do a sachet with all the ingredients mixed in together, now that is even easier.

Pete

[moepitman]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the Toddy. You steep a whole 12 to 16 ounces of ground coffee at once in about 3 quarts of cold water, for 12 hours. Naturally good, freshly ground coffee and spring water give the best results.

Because it's steeped cold, it's less acidic than brewed coffee. This makes a concentrate you can keep in the fridge. Mix 1 part concentrate to 3 or 4 parts hot water, to taste. All you need is a kettle and a cup.

The Toddy is basically a bucket with a reusable filter and a plug in the bottom, and a carafe to decant into. You can buy 'em on Amazon. I've also been known to fake it with a pot, a bowl, and a colander with paper towels for a filter. I think if I brewed on board, I would use a gallon water jug with a screw cap for steeping.

[Hobie_ind]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

And speaking of unfiltered coffee, how about just stirring up the ground coffee in the cup and drinking it au naturel? I'm drinking a cup made like that now, and it's delicious. I like straining the grounds in my teeth when you get to the bottom. Does anyone else drink coffee like this?

.

We just stayed at a small homestay in Bali a few weeks ago where the owner served coffee up this way with local coffee beans that he roasted and ground. I wasn't sure at first, but actually found it quite nice.

Sometimes, simple is hard to beat.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by weavis

Lets narrow it down.

Espresso or filter?

We can start from there..

Well, I wrote something about that -- we're not starting the conversation from zero.

I'm not thinking about espresso right now -- that's a different drink -- and wasn't discussing it in this thread. I like espresso, and like with non-espresso coffee (won't call it "filter" because it's not all filtered), I am somewhat frustrated with not being able to get the elusive lovely cup of it consistently. I used to use a massive Saeco bean to cup machine at home which gave the best results, and these days and on the boat, I use Nespresso, which gives good but not great results (but incredibly easily so it's a good compromise). I'm guessing that I may be having the same problem both here and there -- beans not roasted fresh enough.

I had a breakthrough with non-espresso coffee when I bought some that-day locally roasted Ethiopian beans, grinding them by hand seconds before brewing. Made in French press and not too strong, it was wonderful.

I have an Aeropress and don't find it to be any better than French press.

Today I've been drinking inferior more industrial beans (Lavazza) but hand ground seconds before brewing. Brewed right in the cup and drunk with the grounds, and I was surprised how tasty it is. So maybe the freshness of the roast is not everything. But I still want to experiment with roasting my own.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by weavis

I can tell you what is the professional way,...

I cant tell anyone what they will like..

+1

If we all had the same tastes, it would be a boring old world!

[StuM]

Originally Posted by weavis

Lets narrow it down.

Espresso or filter?

We can start from there..

Depends on what you mean by "filter". Drip or press?

Personally, I like my grounds steeped in hot water and then pressed.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Pete7

You're brave posting that on here

We use Azera instant, but if that isn't available then Nescafe Gold Blend in a mug with water from the boats tanks boiled and poured on. Splash of semi skinned and back to the helm to see were we are going next.

I see Nescafe do a sachet with all the ingredients mixed in together, now that is even easier.

Pete

That's yet another drink --

Carp coffee or even instant, made very strong, and drunk with milk

Standard fare on my boat underway and often in port too, and the very nectar of the gods on a cold night watch. I used to buy something at Tescos called "Crash 'N Burn" or no, "Hot Lava Java" which was perfect for that kind of coffee.



"Need your fire starting? This is extra dark and super strong, a rich, fierce, smoky blend that grabs your brain and hits the ignition."

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

And speaking of unfiltered coffee, how about just stirring up the ground coffee in the cup and drinking it au naturel? I'm drinking a cup made like that now, and it's delicious. I like straining the grounds in my teeth when you get to the bottom. Does anyone else drink coffee like this?

That's almost the way I drink my coffee all the time. The only difference is that I press the grounds to the bottom of the mug so that I don't have to strain with my teeth at the end.

I've got several of these and always carry one and a plastic container of ground coffee when I am traveling:

https://www.amazon.com/ZYLISS-Travel.../dp/B00F9ZTL6U

[boatman61]

I go through around 200gms of Instant and 1 kilo of sugar a week.. I'm an addict..
However I do like to have a cup of the real thing twice a day.. once after breakfast and again after lunch.
I flash the beans by tossing in a small pan over a flame.. just enough to raise the smell and get them to start gently perspiring, toss in the grinder then transfer to a pot popular in Spain, Portugal and Italian kitchens to brew it.. comes out just great..
Would drink more but it gets my stomach to acidy.. hence don't/can't drink the 'real thing' at sea..