Best Coffee To Be Had Anywhere?

[Delancey]

What's cruising destination has the best coffee? Whether for provisioning or just drinking in a cafe? I have found a favorite in the Dominican Republic but am always on the lookout. Anyone else?

[Sea Dreaming]

Ha ha ha! I thought *I* was bad!

Making your cruising plan over where to get good coffee is the mark of the truly addicted coffee snob!
Do you choose restaurants or friends based on the quality of their coffee?
It's ok! I'll keep your secret!

I've wsated so much time and energy over coffee that I've noticed that the quality of the rest of my life might be slipping, even as my coffee quality goes up. I'm talking about the emotional energy! I've had near melt downs in "coffee void" areas!

The best thing to do is to learn to love instant with the same passion. Learn to love truck stop brown water, embrace you inner coffee slum. or switch to tea. I did that a few years ago and ended up a tea snob. I'm not sure, but tea snobbery might be worse!

I'm only half joking! I go through about 2 lbs of beans a week all by myself! I've got many methods for making coffee on board, electric drip, manual drip cone, moka pot, aeropress, french press, perculator! (are we on the sailors confessional board?) Not to mention cold brewed...

I'm seriously trying to at least tolerate instant. Because, if I can't find "good" coffee, instant is everywhere!

I'll be watching this thread!

[captmikem]

Nespresso, IMHO the best there is.

easy to use, easy to carry onboard, and Always a great cup of coffee.

M

[travellerw]

If you are heading south into the Carribean, then the best coffee is anything you are willing to pay for. Coffee after DR is eyewatering expensive.

We went from roasting our own bean coffee snobs to drinking instant as we just couldn't justify $80EC for a 1lb of coffee!

[TeddyDiver]

Cuban espresso coffee served "leche leche" ie with condensed sweet milk

[zeehag]

nicarauguan beans are awesome, as are veracruzano beans -- chiapas mexico also grows good beans. my favorite bean is either nicarauguan roasted espresso dark or a mix of veracruz and chiapas--veracruz beans are smooooth chiapoas are harsh-- mix for awesomeness.
nicarauguan beans are just awesome good.
it is nice to be in a locale wherein coffee and cacao beans are grown.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by travellerw

If you are heading south into the Carribean, then the best coffee is anything you are willing to pay for. Coffee after DR is eyewatering expensive.

We went from roasting our own bean coffee snobs to drinking instant as we just couldn't justify $80EC for a 1lb of coffee!

Sorry... Let me update this to be the Eastern Carribean (Leewards and Windwards)... Even Puerto Rico is expensive. So much so that the Alcohol is left on the shelf, while the coffee is behind locked glass!

[Saleen411]

Kopi Luwak.....or civet schitt coffee.

Just kidding actually...not worth the money IMHO and the quality varies A LOT.

However, normal Vietnamese coffee can be quite good. They are the world's second largest producer of coffee.

MHO from spending the better part of 8 years there.....FWIW

[onavegador]

As sailing was my goal when cruising I spent not much time on cooking or preparing coffee and tea.
My favorite instant coffee was a strong Brazilian made available in Trinidad.
In the US I bought the instant Nescafé from Mexico (may bee its worth to shop for provisions before the price is going up when the new import tax ...) found under Ethnic foods at Walmart.

[Trwl36]

Last year I was fortunate to crew on a 50 ft sailboat from Huatulco, Mexico to Panama City. Along the way we stopped in Costa Rica and it was there in a small local resort town that I had the best coffee of my life.

So good it was that the first day I tasted it I drank five cups!

[robert sailor]

Hard to beat Colombia, by far the best coffee I've ever tasted.

[oldsalt_1942]

I live in Chiriqui province, Panama, and some of the best coffee in the world is grown on a few miles from my front door. Don't believe it? In 2016 Chiriqui Geisha brought in the highest auction prices in the WORLD!!! But I drink a local product called Flor de Chiriqui that's just under $6 for 3/4 lb.

Chiriqui is right on the other side of the mountains from Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean side of the isthmus.

[tatomaceda]

Best coffee is like asking what's the best wine. I was so into this once, I was going to establish a coffee shop named Handcrafted Coffee - Coffee Your Way.


There is no right/wrong but definitely a lot of preferences pointing in similar directions.
1. Most flavorful beans, regardless of where they are grown, are of the Arabica variety. My personal preference are beans from Africa - Kenya, Ethiopia.
2. Freshly roasted and freshly ground make a big difference. This is not hard to do. Check out FRESH ROAST SR500 to roast and the myriad of hand grinders.
3. Assuming the beans are roasted to your liking -- I prefer cooling the beans about a minute into the second crack (you'll understand this when you start roasting your own), then you control the grind, the temperature and the pressure. Grind it really fine for espresso and coarser the longer you will have the water in contact with the ground. For a portable espresso machine, try STARESSO.


Have Fun.

[LeeV]

I've found almost every coffee to be excellent after trial and error to find the right combination in these: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...quEaAj-38P8HAQ

We spent 5 weeks aboard trying them out, and I'll never sail overnight again without them!

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by Delancey

What's cruising destination has the best coffee? Whether for provisioning or just drinking in a cafe? I have found a favorite in the Dominican Republic but am always on the lookout. Anyone else?

I will cast my vote again for Jamaican high Blue Mountain coffee. The stuff on the higher reaches of the mountain is definitely much better than most of what is sold as Blue Mountain coffee which is grown on the lower regions of the mountain, though it is good also.

Al, S/V Finlandia