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[Haly]

It's strange because I have two bags of these beans, one I bought for myself and one I got as a gift. On the site, its described with fruity flavors but on the little card insert Stumptown puts on all their bags, it's described as:

Creamy buttrescotch, maple syrup and toffee sweeten a cup laced with flavors of amaretto, apricot and honeydew.

And the first few lines are why I bought it in the first place. I forgot what the card said on my second (more recent bag) of these beans but I assumed they were the same.

Also looking at San Isidro beans from some other roasters, they're all described similarly. Could it have been a printing error or misclassification?

 

[Gaffercake]

Smells great, tastes vile. Unless it's drowned in cream, sugar, caramel and a ton of other crap to mask its awful flavour.

 

[Union Carbine]

Smells great, tastes vile. Unless it's drowned in cream, sugar, caramel and a ton of other crap to mask its awful flavour.

What beans are those? The coffee should taste pretty near what the beans smell like. At least, that' sweat I've found when I nail an extraction.

 

[zanos]

I drink enough coffee to kill a small child every day. Love it. I would take baths in it if I could. I once got to work on a coffee project at work, traveled to all the big producing countries and had like 12-15 cups a day...glorious...paradise.

 

[andycapps]

Smells great, tastes vile. Unless it's drowned in cream, sugar, caramel and a ton of other crap to mask its awful flavour.

 

[Gaffercake]

What beans are those? The coffee should taste pretty near what the beans smell like. At least, that' sweat I've found when I nail an extraction.

Just all coffee, from standard household espresso to pricey Costa/Starbucks, it all smells great but tastes like shit unless used in minuscule quantities, or, as I previously mentioned, diluted in creams and syrups.

 

[fireside]

Just all coffee, from standard household espresso to pricey Costa/Starbucks, it all smells great but tastes like shit unless used in minuscule quantities, or, as I previously mentioned, diluted in creams and syrups.

if your coffee experience is standard household espresso and starbucks you're absolutely right that coffee is gross


but all coffee? lol

 

[NewFresh]

My current coffee setup:

That HG-One.....so much hate going your way.

 

[SniperHunter]

has anyone here tried bluetproof coffee? I got some coconut oil, gonna make it tomorrow morning lol

 

[Extollere]

I bought coffee from the store the other day because I needed in a pinch and it was awful. I had to do a double take because it tasted like complete shit. Buying coffee from a small roaster that does it right is the only way to go. This is why people have opinions like "coffee tastes like shit" because the only coffee they've had really does taste like shit.

I brewed this Ethiopian this one time that sent me into another world. Shit tasted like pie just black. You can't understand why coffee is so good until you've had a cup like that.

 

[Silkworm]

That HG-One.....so much hate going your way.

Had no idea it what it was, so I looked it up. So its essentially a ~$1000 precision hand grinder. Must make awesome coffee grounds (hate rising) :-D

Coffee is serious business!

 

[Gaffercake]

if your coffee experience is standard household espresso and starbucks you're absolutely right that coffee is gross


but all coffee? lol

Again, I've tried various coffees in various cafes (not just Costa and Starbucks), because my friends are heavy coffee drinkers and usually drag me along to these places, but I've never liked the taste of it.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

has anyone here tried bluetproof coffee? I got some coconut oil, gonna make it tomorrow morning lol

There is no magic to this and the idea isn't something revolutionary; in-fact putting butter in coffee has been going on for years.

The premise is pretty much this: by adding butter to your coffee it's putting more fat into your morning meals. By adding more fat, you can reduce the amount of food you're eating. Thus you're getting weight loss, etc, etc, etc.

The guy pushing it is nothing more than a snake oil salesmen, especially with his BS coffee mold push. The feelings people experience of "more alertness" is likely coming from the fact they're not consuming as much in the morning or shifting their diets. If you eat a ton of carb/sugar heavy food (cereal, french toast, etc) of course you're going to feel sluggish two hours later. Eliminate it and ta-da you no longer feel like hell when the spike crash normally happens.

 

[User 479360]

I hated the taste of coffee up until the end of last year, when I finally forced myself to start drinking it in order to see if it would help my fatigue. It's helped a bit, but not a lot, though I've started to like it.

At first, I put sugar in it, but now I just go for cream or milk. The taste doesn't bug me anymore, and I don't really care if it's a bit stronger or weaker than the day before. Some restaurants' coffee has also turned out to be pretty good, though I'd still rather get a hot chocolate, especially from Tim Horton's.

 

[SniperHunter]

There is no magic to this and the idea isn't something revolutionary; in-fact putting butter in coffee has been going on for years.

The premise is pretty much this: by adding butter to your coffee it's putting more fat into your morning meals. By adding more fat, you can reduce the amount of food you're eating. Thus you're getting weight loss, etc, etc, etc.

The guy pushing it is nothing more than a snake oil salesmen, especially with his BS coffee mold push. The feelings people experience of "more alertness" is likely coming from the fact they're not consuming as much in the morning or shifting their diets. If you eat a ton of carb/sugar heavy food (cereal, french toast, etc) of course you're going to feel sluggish two hours later. Eliminate it and ta-da you no longer feel like hell when the spike crash normally happens.

ah very interesting thanks for elaborating

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

ah very interesting thanks for elaborating

If you want to try it then go for it, but don't think it's some magical cure all for attention and weight loss.

 

[SniperHunter]

If you want to try it then go for it, but don't think it's some magical cure all for attention and weight loss.

my weight is under control. I just need something cheap to boost my energy in the morning because I am unemployed atm and can't afford to buy food lol

but thanks anyway

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

my weight is under control. I just need something cheap to boost my energy in the morning because I am unemployed atm and can't afford to buy food lol

but thanks anyway

Eh, I'm not sold on the "energy" boost premise. Just try moving to better carb options like steel cut oats. They're cheap and not as heavy as say a bowl of cereal or pancakes.

 

[andycapps]

There is no magic to this and the idea isn't something revolutionary; in-fact putting butter in coffee has been going on for years.

The premise is pretty much this: by adding butter to your coffee it's putting more fat into your morning meals. By adding more fat, you can reduce the amount of food you're eating. Thus you're getting weight loss, etc, etc, etc.

The guy pushing it is nothing more than a snake oil salesmen, especially with his BS coffee mold push. The feelings people experience of "more alertness" is likely coming from the fact they're not consuming as much in the morning or shifting their diets. If you eat a ton of carb/sugar heavy food (cereal, french toast, etc) of course you're going to feel sluggish two hours later. Eliminate it and ta-da you no longer feel like hell when the spike crash normally happens.

Good summary, this jives with what I've heard as well.

Tried a flat white at Starbucks today because someone gave me a gift card. Not horrible, I'd like to have it at a good coffee shop to see how it's supposed to taste. Just tasted like some espresso with milk in it. I will say the espresso didn't taste as burnt.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Good summary, this jives with what I've heard as well.

Tried a flat white at Starbucks today because someone gave me a gift card. Not horrible, I'd like to have it at a good coffee shop to see how it's supposed to taste. Just tasted like some espresso with milk in it. I will say the espresso didn't taste as burnt.

Is the flat white supposed to sit between a macchiato and a cappuccino?

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Eh, I'm not sold on the "energy" boost premise. Just try moving to better carb options like steel cut oats. They're cheap and not as heavy as say a bowl of cereal or pancakes.

It's bs. Even from a no carb perspective heavy whipping cream + coffee gives you better calories if your lifting.

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

The guy pushing it is nothing more than a snake oil salesmen, especially with his BS coffee mold push.

Yup. My partner is a big fan though .

I shit you not, I have a bottle of his "XCT oil" on my kitchen counter right now. The bottle proclaims it to be enhanced MCT oil.

my weight is under control. I just need something cheap to boost my energy in the morning because I am unemployed atm and can't afford to buy food

Was a huge boost to my partner's quality of life because she didn't eat breakfast. Somehow this stuck when making an egg didn't.

 

[zanos]

Try this stuff, it's delicious and it actually makes wakes me up unlike most.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Is the flat white supposed to sit between a macchiato and a cappuccino?

It's basically a latte, but two shots of espresso instead of one. I think drink volume, total, is around 5.5-6oz.

 

[andycapps]

Is the flat white supposed to sit between a macchiato and a cappuccino?

I think so. I guess it was similar to a macchiato, but I'd prefer a macchiato unless what I had today wasn't a great representation of the flat white. Which is entirely possible since it's Starbucks and I'm not sure how good the employee was that made mine.

 

[Mr.Swag]

Gonna hit up whole foods for the first time today.
Coffee recommendations?

 

[Union Carbine]

Is the flat white supposed to sit between a macchiato and a cappuccino?

It's really about the same as a third-wave capp-- about the same ratio of coffee to milk but with microfoam and milk-integration ala a latte instead of the big airy foam of a traditional capp. At least that's my take away from the couple of flat white origin stories I've read. I think, at least what I've seen in NYC, is a positioning of the flat white between macchiatos and capps, as others have said.

Opened up a bag of Gorilla Coffee's Espresso-a-Go-Go yesterday. It was very tasty in the two shots I pulled as capps/flat whites-- a nice balance between chocolate and citrus flavors.

 

[Easystride]

http://i1.cdnds.net/13/12/618x594/odd_strongest_coffee4.jpg

Try this stuff, it's delicious and it actually makes wakes me up unlike most.

I am going to try this stuff after I finish my current bag of beans. Is it a dark roast? I don't see the roast on Amazon.

 

[CrudeDiatribe]

Is it a dark roast? I don't see the roast on Amazon.

Sure looks dark given the colour and shininess of the beans.

 

[Macam]

I am going to try this stuff after I finish my current bag of beans. Is it a dark roast? I don't see the roast on Amazon.

Yeah, that's at least a full city roast, or maybe even a vienna.

IIRC, Death Wish is of the robusta variety, which contains more caffeine than the more common arabica varieties, although at a big expense in flavor -- hence the substantially darker roast, which allows to provide more consistency in flavor and mask some of the less desirable traits. Phillip Broughton over at Funranium labs uses it to make his cold brewed Black Blood of the Earth, so if you want try it in that form, that's also a possibility. I believe he discusses it at some length in an episode of TWIT's Triangulation, which can be found here.

...which I always meant to try, so thanks for this little rabbit hole. I'd also love to grab one of his lab quality steins, which sounds awesome for coffee/tea/beer.

 

[super-famicom]

My Fino gooseneck kettle arrived last night! The pour over method is so much easier now.

 

[Union Carbine]

Yeah, that's at least a full city roast, or maybe even a vienna.

IIRC, Death Wish is of the robusta variety, which contains more caffeine than the more common arabica varieties, although at a big expense in flavor -- hence the substantially darker roast, which allows to provide more consistency in flavor and mask some of the less desirable traits...

Doesn't interest me at all but I'll be curious to read impressions!

My Fino gooseneck kettle arrived last night! The pour over method is so much easier now.

Gooseneck kettles are awesome. They're almost must have for pour-overs.

 

[kmax]

Coffee people are my people.

 

[Sanjuro]

This thread just made me make some coffee.

Fuck you. I'm drinking my coffee.

 

[Union Carbine]

That HG-One.....so much hate going your way.

Had no idea it what it was, so I looked it up. So its essentially a ~$1000 precision hand grinder. Must make awesome coffee grounds (hate rising) :-D

That's it. I've got the 83mm burrs in mine. I pre-ordered-- mine's one of the first production batch. I didn't pay quite $1000 at the time. It looks like the price has gone up. I think they also updated the present version a bit from what I've got. Seeing as a Mazzer Robur with the same burrs costs $2.5k, it's not a bad deal at all.

It does make awesome coffee. I liked my Baratza Vario but it has nothing on the HG-One and I don't mind operating it by hand. Just the smell of the beans as it grinds is wonderful.

(By the way, I just went through my old emails and my grinder shipped out to me two years ago today! Happy Birthday, HG-One, Daddy loves you!)

 

[Kabuto]

Try this stuff, it's delicious and it actually makes wakes me up unlike most.

bought this a couple weeks ago and I love it. Best tasting coffee I've made at home

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Going to be going from working at home to being in an office again. In an effort curb daily spending I'll be bringing my Aeropress into the office with a Mini Mill. So far I've been ok with the results. The brew is coming out a bit more brown than when I use my chemex or V60, but it's been so long since I used my Aeropress I forget if that's normal.

Only bummer is there aren't a huge amount of coffee options near the new office, whereas my old one had so many within 10 minutes of walking. At least a Bluestone isn't too far away or I can stop at Culture 36 before heading in.

 

[Union Carbine]

Only bummer is there aren't a huge amount of coffee options near the new office, whereas my old one had so many within 10 minutes of walking. At least a Bluestone isn't too far away or I can stop at Culture 36 before heading in.

if I may ask, where are you?

My office moved just before a Bluestone would have opened on the block. I was curious to how they were but never got a chance to try.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

if I may ask, where are you?

My office moved just before a Bluestone would have opened on the block. I was curious to how they were but never got a chance to try.

Currently near Cooper Square which allows me to go to Box Kite, Gasoline Alley, Third Rail, Abraco, Joe, Think, La Colombe, Everyman, Bluebird, Gimmie and Stumptown. The later two require more timing and planning, but doable.

Moving to an office around the corner from the Grumpy on 20th. I've never been fond of Grumpy the few times I've had them. There's a Bluestone on 13th/14th and there's Pushcart on 25th, both of which would require a few extra minutes to make possible.

The only Bluestone I've been to is the one all the way down near Wall St. I was mixed on my experience, but it may have been that particular location.

 

[Union Carbine]

Currently near Cooper Square which allows me to go to Box Kite, Gasoline Alley, Third Rail, Abraco, Joe, Think, La Colombe, Everyman, Bluebird, Gimmie and Stumptown. The later two require more timing and planning, but doable.

Moving to an office around the corner from the Grumpy on 20th. I've never been fond of Grumpy the few times I've had them. There's a Bluestone on 13th/14th and there's Pushcart on 25th, both of which would require a few extra minutes to make possible.

The only Bluestone I've been to is the one all the way down near Wall St. I was mixed on my experience, but it may have been that particular location.

Ah, fellow NYC'er! I used to be across from Bryant Park but now I'm at 28th and Park. There's Birch Coffee nearby and a Stumptown not too far but that's about it. Man, you had a lot of great options at Cooper Square.

My experience with Grumpy is from one of their shops in Brooklyn-- had good luck with their drinks and their beans. I don't think I've been to their outpost on 20th.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

NJer, but working NY

I kid you not a decision during the job change was me weighing giving up all those coffee spots. Especially Box Kite (occasionally serves Tim Wendleboe) and Third Rail. I'll have a bike so if I want I can just go in early and bike around for some coffee.

I think you're pretty close (relative to what NYers considers close) to Pushcart's east side location

 

[Mr.Swag]

Try this stuff, it's delicious and it actually makes wakes me up unlike most.

Would this kill me if I have ocassional high blood pressure?

 

[Union Carbine]

I think you're pretty close (relative to what NYers considers close) to Pushcart's east side location

Hmm... Will have to look it up and see where they're at.

 

[Union Carbine]

Why This Coffee Sourcer Risked His Life to Travel to Yemen

 

[Jinaar]

Today I stopped drinking coffee. My head is pounding like it has drunk gnomes in it all armed to the teeth with sledgehammers. And they're swinging, I tells ya, they're swinging!

 

[dokish]

GAF, what's your opinion on homemade cold brew coffee?

I always use the regular coffee machina to drink coffee at home (with freshly grinded beans) and this new method seems appealing. Can't seem to find anywhere how to make the portions ratio, though. The only ratio of beans and water that I found is 250g:1Liter - Is this recommended?

Also, should I get a Keurig? My budget is 100$-150$ and I would really like an espresso machine. Can Keurig make huge, strong cups of coffe though? I usually drink a full cup and the stronger the better, I don't like the small size espresso cups.

 

[Darth Pinche]

Enjoying my cup of coffee from a new batch roasted by my cousin's husband. He is a professional chef who has a coffee roasting business in Whistler, BC. Amazing stuff, unfortunately(for me) only available in Whistler.

It reminds me what great coffee tastes like. Made in my Aeropress, Malcom X style ("too black, too strong")

 

[bennywhatever]

Just got this little guy:

Bodom 3-cup French Press
Holds only 12oz, and it's perfect for me.

Now, CoffeeGAF - I need recommendations for some Decaf coffee. I've found that regular coffee does some crazy shit to my heartrate, but decaf is fine. Any recommendations? I'm doing Folgers Hazelnut Decaf right now and it's not bad.

 

[Union Carbine]

GAF, what's your opinion on homemade cold brew coffee?

I always use the regular coffee machina to drink coffee at home (with freshly grinded beans) and this new method seems appealing. Can't seem to find anywhere how to make the portions ratio, though. The only ratio of beans and water that I found is 250g:1Liter - Is this recommended?

Also, should I get a Keurig? My budget is 100$ and I would really like an espresso machine. Can Keurig make huge, strong cups of coffe though? I usually drink a full cup and the stronger the better, I don't like the small size espresso cups.

A Keurig is really going backwards from your current setup. That said, there's nothing out there to make good real espresso for $100. As for strength of coffee, that's a very subjective thing-- are you talking about strength as in roast and/or bitterness? Maybe? I'm sure there's no lacking of K-cups to fit that bill. Keep in mind though that K-cups only hold something like 5g of actual coffee in them. Make of it what you will.

I haven't tried cold-brewing at home yet but I read about a ton of people doing it, I'm sure there's a plethora of walkthroughs and recipes online.

 

[sharkmuncher]

GAF, what's your opinion on homemade cold brew coffee?

I always use the regular coffee machina to drink coffee at home (with freshly grinded beans) and this new method seems appealing. Can't seem to find anywhere how to make the portions ratio, though. The only ratio of beans and water that I found is 250g:1Liter - Is this recommended?

Also, should I get a Keurig? My budget is 100$-150$ and I would really like an espresso machine. Can Keurig make huge, strong cups of coffe though? I usually drink a full cup and the stronger the better, I don't like the small size espresso cups.

I don't remember the exact ratio, but i remember its something like 1 - 1.5 cups ground coffee in a french press, filling the rest with water. Stir and let sit on the counter at least overnight, up to 24 hours, especially if in the fridge, then press and enjoy. Makes a very concentrated, not very bitter coffee that works especially well poured over ice and diluted with milk.