quote: The French do not know how to do coffee. (Let me take a moment to point out this random thought.) In France, you have this iddy-biddy cup of coffee with no half-and-half in it. If you *want* half-and-half you have to walk to the dairy and settle for milk. What they drink, the cafe au lait, is actually warm milk with dehydrated coffee crystals.
This makes me shudder.
What is your ideal coffee? I start with a good organic French Blend or Espresso Roast. Grind it fresh, ALWAYS. Load into espresso machine, and start it up. Always make coffee with filtered water. While machine does it's work, stir one shot Ephemere sauce into 1/3 cup organic non-fat milk. Steam milk at appropriate time, and add three shots of espresso. Growl at children who try to talk to you until coffee is consumed.
[ September 25, 2004, 09:44 PM: Message edited by: dread pirate romany ]
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
We like ours feshly ground as well but aren't picky about what kind as long as it's not "frou-frou" coffee, AKA flavored. (I actually like a good vanilla coffee but that's my dirty little secret.)
It needs half-and-half, and the kicker is using raw sugar instead of white. It's a bit richer and really good.
The coffee needs to be a dark roast, or at least pretty strong.
[ September 25, 2004, 09:42 PM: Message edited by: PSI Teleport ]
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
<gives romany some Sanka with flavour crystals>
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
<feeds sanka to my flower garden>
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I will eat dehydrated coffee crystals but only in a concoction I invented:
I stir them into Cool Whip. It's AWESOME.
(I've been known to eat them with a spoon too, another dirty secret.)
[ September 25, 2004, 09:43 PM: Message edited by: PSI Teleport ]
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Coffee is an abomination. There's a reason the British Empire fell apart after the Second World War : To wit, all those American servicemen who introduced the habit of drinking coffee to the Isles.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Coffee done right is coffee in ice cream, and that's about it. Other than that, I like only the smell.
(Which is strangely similar in me to popcorn, watermelon, and tea, foods and drinks which I always liked the smell of but never the taste)
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Try the Cool Whip thing.
Posted by digging_holes (Member # 6237) on :
I agree with Rakeesh. Coffee in ice cream is delicious.
Coffee is bad for you, and makes your breath smell bad, and it tastes awful.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Rak, try Cuban coffee sometime. American-style coffee is swill, but Cuban coffee tastes as good as it smells.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
*drools*
Jamaican Blue Mountain....
Oh, and what's that kind I had before? Yaucono? I think it's Puerto Rican. MMMMM.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
When I die, I am going to choose Germany as my heaven. Really, really good coffee. Really, really good beer.
Posted by Alucard... (Member # 4924) on :
*Stumbles into work at 7AM after a bender the night before*
*grabs 32 ounce plastic cup*
*pours fresh coffee brewed with water from the utility sink in a Mr. Coffee that hasn't been cleaned since it came out of the box 6 years ago*
*dumps sugar right from the bowl, chunks and all due to humidity. also adds way too much powdered grocery-store creamer in for anyone sane enough to try and stop me at this point*
*stirs, just a couple times, for show*
*sips. yum. chugs the rest*
This is what I did every day of my college break summer job. I worked for my old high school in maintence. And it was the best job I ever had. The coffee was not bad either.
Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :
Coffee in ice cream is delicious. But green tea ice ream is even better.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
I'm with Icarus - Cuban coffee is to die for. I miss it so much. I also love cafe con leche. Oddly, the best cafe con leche that I ever had was in NYC, not in South Florida. La Rosita - on Broadway btwn 107th and 108th. They also have unbelievable food at super low prices.
I drink Chock Full of Nuts. I hate flavored coffees and I cannot drink dark roasts.
Russian coffee, which is laced with dark chocolate, is delicious. The best Russian coffee I've ever had is also in NYC at the Hungarian Pastry Shop (Amsterdam - across the street from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine).
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
What's really sad is that Columbia is famous for their coffee beans, but when they brew and drink coffee, they make it in the exact same nasty American style.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Now, I think Americans redeem themselves with their frou-frou coffee drinks. Okay, it's not coffee; it's dessert. But they are yummy.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
*looks at jar of instant coffee*
I don't mind instant coffee. Nor do I mind any other version of coffee, unless it's too weak. I like it with milk or cream, sugar or without, whipped cream, chocolate...
The only way I don't drink it is black.
I'm not that picky about food.
Although once I did buy expensive coffee. Vanilla. It was delicious and I made it last ages by rationing it. mmmm.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Hmm. Coffee. A complicated issue.
I like Dunkin Donuts coffee, as it is the only coffee that tastes like it. It is served hot and comes with cream in it. This confuses many people from out of state.
"Whadda ya want in yah medium?" A grouchy server once asked my friend from California.
"Um, coffee?"
Annoyed sigh from grouchy attendant.
"Whadda ya want in yah medium? Cream or sugah?"
Etc. Dunkin Donuts has a coffee all its own, and I am addicted to it.
However, my favorite coffe is made in my little silver metal thing on the stove. it is actually an espresso maker. Oh, the Gat! My favorite, and it is the only way to get it as hot as Dunkins.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
"Cream" is disgusting.
Might as well put "cheez" in your coffee.
Or Miracle Whip.
>_<
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
I really love coffee, but I can't drink it because of what caffiene does to my body. Therefore I hate you all.
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
Here's my recipe for making the perfect cup of coffee:
Take your container of coffee.
Put some water into a kettle and put it on the stove to boil.
Once the water is boiling, take the kettle and pour the water into a cup containing a tea bag. Let it sit for a few minutes.
Then, throw away that disgusting coffee and drink the tea instead.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
quote: What's really sad is that Columbia is famous for their coffee beans, but when they brew and drink coffee, they make it in the exact same nasty American style.
I was told that the coffee in Columbia is no better than our coffee because they export all the good stuff. Not sure how true that is.
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
Favourite shop-bought coffee: Caffe Nero's Hazelnut Latte, by a margin.
I never ever drink instant coffee, I'd always have tea instead.
Favourite home-made coffee: Cafedirect dark roast, made in a cafetiere, good and strong but with lots of milk or a little single cream. I also like it black in small cups with chunks of halwa on the side - this is the East African way to have coffee.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I now need to go make coffee.
With cheese. I mean, cream.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Yeah, well. I figure I'd better balance my tea and coffee intake.
In general for me there are times for tea and times for coffee, and those times a sacred and musn't be disturbed.
You're living in England, right Amira? In that case you've been unsullied by the "double-double" culture of North America.
Posted by Anthro (Member # 6087) on :
Iced Chai tea with a splash of milk.
Coffee? Bleh.
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
"double-double"?
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Brilliant!
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
Oh my gosh, that's Spray Cheez on coffee. You know what's really good? A dollop of Starbucks Mocha Java ice cream. In a latte.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
That picture made me want to hurl! Egads.
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
Coffee is best used as a tiramisu ingredient.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
coffee done right:
Hot & black.
(especially on Monday mornings.....)
FG
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
I always drink my coffee black. If I've mismanaged things to the point that I need a caffeine injection then it's only fair I suffer for it. Timmy's sells coffee with the legal limit of caffeine and my first was like an adrenaline shot to the heart, complete with headache an hour or two later. Nothing beats it.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
quote:dehydrated coffee crystals
For cafe au lait made by the French? No way! At least, we must drink with different French.
Cafe au lait in Montreal and in New Orleans is brewed French-roast coffee with scalded (not steamed) milk. I cannot vouch for France itself, but the immigrants from France seem pretty particular about this, in my experience.
And it has to be served in a bowl so that one may cup it gently in one's hands, thus warming the extremities as well as the belly and the soul. Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
Black, black and black. Why spoil a perfectly good cup of coffee?
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
Good coffee has just a bit of milk. I do like flavored coffees, but usually hazlenut or vanilla and definitely not the sickenly sweet kind. I am very fond of the frou frou coffee drinks, especially mochas. There is nothing like coffee and dark chocolate and I like them both ways (i.e. chocolate with espresso).
Never understood instant coffee. I got my dad a coffee maker for Christmas and he still insists on making Taster's Choice every morning! *shakes head* Its unreal.
I'm all about the chai and tea. I used to have boxes of Stash tea samplers, but I went through a tea hating period during pregnancy that I'm only beginning to recover from. I love a good indian masala tea, too (with the buttery cream and pepper) Its a different experience, but yummy. I am, however, usually a tea purist. I drink my tea black, but just softly dipped. No steeping for more than a minute for me.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I like my coffee like I like my women.
Covered in whip cream and Marshmallows.
Oh, wait.
That's how I like my Hot Chocolate.
I don't like Coffee.
Um
Nevermind.
Honey, where's the marshmallows?
Posted by Altįriėl of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
Columbian or Mexican. Medium roast. Enough milk to turn it tanish. 3ts or sugar.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I always heat the coffee pot before brewing with ultra-ho water, and then I pour that water into my mug, so it is hot as well. I also heat the cream. This drives people a little bit nuts, as it is a lot like my "eat one thing at a time" hang-up.
OK, I might get creamed for this(so to speak), but lately I prefer Cremora, the powdered kind, to cream. It keeps the coffee hotter, and has a rich, smooth taste. Sacrilege, I know.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Jes likes his coffee like he likes his women, too. Hot, sweet, and in his lap. : )
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
quote: ultra-ho water
*giggles*
I need coffee every morning. I need milk or cream in it or I get very grumpy before the day even starts.
My poor little step-son made me realize how much I grumbled about the kids using the last bit of milk when he told his dad that he couldn't drink the last of Miss Tammy's coffee milk.
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
I can't think anything good about either coffee or the companies that sell it since I saw the living and working conditions of the people who grow and harvest the stuff in Central America. Problem is, if it weren't for those awful jobs, they probably wouldn't have any jobs at all.
Posted by AmkaProblemka (Member # 6495) on :
Hubby drank coffee in Russia, apparently freshly ground and roasted. He described it as so black it was almost like a coffee syrup. Apparently he drank around 16 cups of this a day at college.
When asked why it wasn't hard for him to give it up when he converted to LDS, he said he had already given it up because in America the coffee was awful.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"I can't think anything good about either coffee or the companies that sell it since I saw the living and working conditions of the people who grow and harvest the stuff in Central America. Problem is, if it weren't for those awful jobs, they probably wouldn't have any jobs at all."
There is a company called Dean's Beans in our area which only purchases fair trade coffee.
Tammy, I am leaving my typo in just for you. Just noticed it. Felt a bit embarrassed, then laughed.
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
Oh I loved it. It made me laugh.
I'm the typo queen. I'll remove my laugh if you want me to. Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
No, it is fine.
Who does coffee right? An ultra-ho, of course.
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
You are the Queen of Puns!
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
No, Tammy, I think I just have a very sick mind.
And now, once again, I have to go make coffee, after reading this thread.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
quote:I can't think anything good about either coffee or the companies that sell it since I saw the living and working conditions of the people who grow and harvest the stuff in Central America. Problem is, if it weren't for those awful jobs, they probably wouldn't have any jobs at all.
UULG, lots of great fair trade coffeeshops these days. In our neck of the woods, it's Ancora.
But just as bad as non-fair-trade coffee is non-fair-trade chocolate. Fight the good fight & find your local fair trade chocolate.. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm ... Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
That fair-trade coffee stuff is interesting, but both sites talk about the prices paid to independent farmers (read: landowners).
I met exactly one "farmer" when I was in Central America. He owned his own plantation (probably more than one, in fact). He drove a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser, which really sticks out in rural Guatemala, I can tell you.
The key question is, Who actually works on the "farm"? Who picks the beans? What are their working/living conditions, and what are they paid? After the beans are picked, who works in the plants where they are sorted/packaged/otherwise processed? What are their working/living conditions, and what are they paid?
The point is, I really don't think it is the farmers who tend to get the short end of the stick in the coffee business.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
UULG, the regulations for "Fair-Trade Certified" are quite strict. This is not a gimmicky benefit-the-landowner but exploit-the-worker kind of thing. Some reading might be helpful. E.g., from Global Exchange: Fair Trade Q&A [emphasis added]:
quote: Q. What is Fair Trade? A. Fair trade means that farmers, workers, and artisans: 1) receive a sufficient price under direct long-term contracts, 2) are small-scale producers in democratic co-ops (coffee, cocoa, bananas, fruits, crafts) or workers on larger farms who receive a living wage and can bargain collectively (tea, bananas, fruits), 3) don't use abusive child labor or forced labor, and 4) use ecologically sustainable methods. Fair Trade products bear the "Fair Trade Certified" label and the "Fair Trade Federation" logo. TransFair USA is the third-party certification agency that places the "Fair Trade Certified" label on coffee, chocolate, cocoa, tea, bananas, and other fruits; and is the USA's affiliate of the Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International. The Fair Trade Federation is an association of businesses that follow Fair Trade principles exclusively. The presence of the Fair Trade Certified label or Fair Trade Federation logo on a product is the only guarantee that every step from the producer to you has followed international fair trade criteria. For the specific guidelines, see the Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International and the Fair Trade Federation ...
Q. Why is Fair Trade important? A. Free trade isn't fair for farmers and artisans, their families, communities, or the environment. Fair Trade is. For example, a drastic fall in world coffee prices has pushed millions of coffee farmers and workers into malnutrition and starvation; and losing their jobs and even their farms. Some have even turned to drug cultivation t survive. Most cocoa farmers are so poor they have been using child labor, sometimes even child slaves. Most farmers get only about half of the world price because they thus are forced to sell their next crop in advance to exploitative middlemen who pay far below the value. Some farmers have also cut down the rainforest to sell the trees for extra money, or to make room for more profitable crops. Artisans face poverty and the loss of culture as the find the need to work in sweatshops. Fair Trade ensures better lives by helping afford health care and keep their kids in school; and by supporting sustainable production. Fair Trade producers also set aside funds for community projects like schools and clinics; and for training in quality improvement and sustainable production. ...
And you also are as concerned about the source of your chocolate now, yes? You will be as serious about chocolate as about coffee? Great!
[ September 27, 2004, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
I'm extremely serious about coffee and chocolate.
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
The difference is that I have no first-hand experience with oppressed chocolate workers. Unlike coffee, I actually DID meet small, independent chocolate growers and processors, and even bought chocolate from them.
Chocolate is grown in Central America, but it is not big business, like coffee is. I don't know why not.
Posted by dread pirate romany (Member # 6869) on :
I buy Equal Exchange coffee...I used to buy it from my health food store but now my church has started selling it, as an outreach of Lutheran World Relief. I also look for fair trade chocolates, like Dagoba. My hubby, however, likes Ghirardelli best, and it's not fair trade.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
Mmm, coffee.
Coffee done right is using the espresso machine my wonderful friends bought me for my 21st.
First, steam the milk in a pre-chilled milk jug. Steam until the bottom of the jug is too hot to touch. The milk should be textured throughout and foamy on the top.
Place milk aside, let machine release steam until it cools to hot water. This is important otherwise the coffee will burn. Place coffee thingy (it clicks it - not sure what it's called) onto nozzle, switch button and out comes the shot. It should be black to start with and finish with a good crema on top.
Combine espresso shot and steamed milk. *yum* Worth the effort.
I also like tea (as in, am madly in love with it) but have an aversion towards tea-bags. If it's not in leaf form in a tea-pot, I don't drink it. I'm a tea snob.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Well, it goes without saying that the only correct brewing style is espresso. I thought we all understood that.
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