Official coffee stop

The title says it all!
Java gets are day going, at least for most of us.
I'm primarily a in the morning drinker of the nectar of the gods.
I've been a pressurized kind of guy for some time.

For nearly 20 years I used espresso type machines, making cappuccino or espresso shots. Starting I used steam Braun machines, cheap but durable little pressure pots.
Eventually buying a entry level pump Italian made Saeco made for Starbucks machine which I still have, and works, but needs a tuneup, and new seals. Around 10 years, and still rocks.
I tried about all brands of bean, and eventually bought a grinder to take it to next level.
Taste greatly improved.
Again a few years ago I bought a west bend poppery, which is a 1500 coffee roaster, that if was advertised as a roaster they would be liable for more than a few burned down houses. There a little on the dangerous side, especially when you see chaff and sparks flying out the chimney. Which I have a metal soup can added to popper, for heat retention, making a chimney.

I hunt the world over now for the best coffee on the planet. Tasting what's out there.
I roast a mostly Black and Tan or mixed medium, and almost dark. Really it depends on the coffee, as each has a unique need for maximum flavor.
I've graduated to a Brasilia espresso machine, the portofino model, a no frills commercial single group that lets you make enough steam to run a freight train. You can steam and make espresso at the same time. Serving a dozen if needed.
Grinding is all done by a La San Marco commercial I think sm-90 with a doser.

I'm interested in hearing of any great coffee experiences? Maybe not in the genetallia area.

You're really into coffee, Sando. I really enjoy a good cup, but have slacked on my search and methods. My father used to work for P@G as an engineer in their Millstone brand. He worked primarily in roasting, but knew absolutely everything there is to know about coffee. He believed that freshness was the one variable that could make or break coffee. The time from harvest to roast to grind to cup. Obviously, you are at the mercy of the mfgr. for most of this, unless you have a roaster. I don't want to go down that route, because as you said, they are death traps.
What I do is purchase whole beans from a local shop, usually 100% Colombian. I think they're pretty fresh since they sell a ton of coffee. I store these at room temperature in a vacuum sealed container. If anyone tells you to freeze or refrigerate, they are full of shit. On the weekends, I'll grind and roast. During the week, I really just grind 5 days worth. Lazy, but cleaning out the grinder is a PITA.

I used to buy my coffee beans from Costco and I would grind them each morning to make coffee. The problem with that is the time and mess. Recently, we've switched to a Keurig and love it. I was surprised by the taste of the coffee. I prefer the Newman's brand by far. My favorite coffee place of all time is Vivaci Espresso Roasteria in the Capital Hill area of Seattle. My second is Peet's Coffee & Tea and then Starbucks. I worked for Starbucks for about 2 years and was required to become a coffee master. That means you do all kinds of tastings and discuss the various regions where coffee is grown. Kind of silly if you think about it. They gave us a tour of the roasting plant in Kent, WA. Pretty amazing.

HB is right, most of the quality comes from keeping the beans away from air once they are roasted. After buying a bag of unground beans they are virtually spoiled after one week.

Cafe Bustelo. About three dollars US at the local grocery stores. Dark roasted arabica beans from Central America imported by some dudes in Miami. Brew it in the cheapest twelve-cup drip machine I could find at Walmart ten years ago. Maybe fourteen dollars including tax. One heaping tablespoon per cup. One reviewer on Amazon.com refers to it as "Liquid Crack". Amen brother.

The Westt bend original poppery is a great coffee roaster, as 1500 watts is sufficient for small batches. Built like a tank in the 70s or early 80s in Hong cong.
The sparks don't usually fly more than a foot or two, and die down. In 10-15 minutes or about I can roast enough coffee for 2-4 days.
The room I roast in is brick and mortar with indoor outdoor carpeting being the most flammable object, and 21,000 thousand gallons of water a few feet away.
I store green coffee in an antique coffee storage container, airtight cool dark. Aluminum. 30s-40s circa.

I have a Breville machine I bought 6 months ago I may setup at my shop, or sell, and a Starbucks burr grinder. Both very nice.

I'm roasting the last of a batch of Guatemalan from a company called Kopi luwak, I purchased some Brazilian from them as some of the best I've had this year is from Brazil.

I finally am pretty happy with a machine. A Giottto, Italian made perfection.
Makes the best espresso or cappuccino I've had.

Some salad, veggies to go with a achiote chicken and roasted garlic sauce on the grille, with rigatoni pasta.

12pierogi wrote:I finally am pretty happy with a machine. A Giottto, Italian made perfection.
Makes the best espresso or cappuccino I've had.

Some salad, veggies to go with a achiote chicken and roasted garlic sauce on the grille, with rigatoni pasta.

Wow. You went all out. That machine should last you a long time. HB is correct about the freshness factor. Coffee, no matter how good you store it, is only good for about a week. Oxygen is coffee's worst enemy so you need to take the beans out of the bag and then scrunch it so there's little to no air in the container. Grinding is best but time consuming and messy. I love the Keurig machine I have. I thought I wouldn't like it but for me it's far superior to grinding, brewing, etc.

I love my morning coffee. Can't drink it in the afternoon, though.

Mongrel wrote:Cafe Bustelo. About three dollars US at the local grocery stores. Dark roasted arabica beans from Central America imported by some dudes in Miami. Brew it in the cheapest twelve-cup drip machine I could find at Walmart ten years ago. Maybe fourteen dollars including tax. One heaping tablespoon per cup. One reviewer on Amazon.com refers to it as "Liquid Crack". Amen brother.

Cafe Bustelo is good, but IMO Cafe Du Monde is better, its flavor is much better.

This guy knows how to make French/Vietnamese coffee... but use Cafe Du Monde instead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVNdwx3elys

On a different subject, play at Pilgrims'Oak this yr yet? My Bro is coming in July so we will play on July 5th there. BTW, the Cally Diablo Edge Tour 9.5* stiff OEM shaft has served me extremely well, played 3 rounds in Michigan and hit long and almost every fairways,,, very very happy with it

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FamousDavis wrote:

12pierogi wrote:I finally am pretty happy with a machine. A Giottto, Italian made perfection.
Makes the best espresso or cappuccino I've had.

Some salad, veggies to go with a achiote chicken and roasted garlic sauce on the grille, with rigatoni pasta.

Wow. You went all out. That machine should last you a long time. HB is correct about the freshness factor. Coffee, no matter how good you store it, is only good for about a week. Oxygen is coffee's worst enemy so you need to take the beans out of the bag and then scrunch it so there's little to no air in the container. Grinding is best but time consuming and messy. I love the Keurig machine I have. I thought I wouldn't like it but for me it's far superior to grinding, brewing, etc.

I love my morning coffee. Can't drink it in the afternoon, though.

I can tell a difference in the freshness of the coffee beans I roast after three days of being in the hopper.
A week would be unbearable.
I grind only what I use that day.

That machine was a Craigslist find. I really didn't want to spend 2,000 on this machine, I didn't mind 300 half what the asking price was.
After a thorough cleaning, and descaling it was good to go.

This thing can make you a little nervous, the first time.
It's a process of warming up for a recommended 30-45 minutes, but because its race it takes 10-12 I should take a picture of it making steam. It's ridiculous with a 1.8 liter nickel coated brass boiler, e61 brew head and all. It has the internals to run a Starbucks.

Pky6471 wrote:

Mongrel wrote:Cafe Bustelo. About three dollars US at the local grocery stores. Dark roasted arabica beans from Central America imported by some dudes in Miami. Brew it in the cheapest twelve-cup drip machine I could find at Walmart ten years ago. Maybe fourteen dollars including tax. One heaping tablespoon per cup. One reviewer on Amazon.com refers to it as "Liquid Crack". Amen brother.

Cafe Bustelo is good, but IMO Cafe Du Monde is better, its flavor is much better.

This guy knows how to make French/Vietnamese coffee... but use Cafe Du Monde instead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVNdwx3elys

On a different subject, play at Pilgrims'Oak this yr yet? My Bro is coming in July so we will play on July 5th there. BTW, the Cally Diablo Edge Tour 9.5* stiff OEM shaft has served me extremely well, played 3 rounds in Michigan and hit long and almost every fairways,,, very very happy with it

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If you step your morning coffee routine up a notch or two, you could probably handle this in the morning.
I just got my wife in this position, moments ago. It took 3 cups of cappuccino I made her.
Of course that wonderful supper last night I made helped.

On a different subject, play at Pilgrims'Oak this yr yet? My Bro is coming in July so we will play on July 5th there. BTW, the Cally Diablo Edge Tour 9.5* stiff OEM shaft has served me extremely well, played 3 rounds in Michigan and hit long and almost every fairways,,, very very happy with it

[img][/img][/quote]

Our club played its champions tournament for all those who won an event in 2012. I finished fifth. Could have done a bit better but the event was intended to be a Stableford Format round where anything over a double bogey counted +2 so I went for broke on several holes including that cocks*cking par 3 #12 where I managed an 8. At the end of the round, the club leader announced that the computer system could not work for Stableford scoring and so he switched it up to a net stroke event. I would have been a little more conservative if I knew that was the case before teeing off. Anyway, the setup was diabolical with the pin positions and speed of the greens. That was the third time I played the course and was 8 shots better than the first time.

I don't drink coffee. I don't remember ever drinking more than a sip at a time.

I do however have a supply of caffeinated chocolate bars, which are really good. They taste just like a regular Milk Chocolate bar and Caramilk Bars.

Comes in handy when I get stuck at work over night or for 12+ hour shifts. Same amount of caffeine as one cup of coffee.

Pretty cool stuff 12. I'm getting motivated to take it to the next level. Right now I get decent whole beans and use a combination grinder brewer. HB and I have had this conversation before as he had one or two break on him after little use. Mine's worked flawlessly for over 5 years.

I have one of those vacuum sealers that encases leftovers in plastic devoid of air. It seems to keep my beans fresh for an extended period. I portion out a week's worth but you're right about being able to taste the effects of short term aging. As Pky knows, the chemical composition of strongly aromatic things like coffee or cinnamon is benzene rings. This organic compound structure is fragile. Once broken it's flavor characteristics are all but gone.

The absolute best recent coffee I've had was at the Stein Erickson lodge at Deer Valley. Turns out they have some grower somewhere in Madagascar grow beans to their spec. I can't seem to come close to matching it so I'll head over their for a cup from time to time. I think of the Stein as my personal Starbucks, only good.

I went to 7-11 for my coffee this morning only because I was getting gas. They actually have quite the coffee bar set up. I got the dark roast and it was just OK. Nothing to get excited about. I told the lady working there that it tasted like hot water with a brown crayon dipped in it. She tasted it herself and said to me "you're right, I'll use more than one crayon next time".

Is it just the 7-11 coffee that impedes farts?

12pierogi wrote:I finally am pretty happy with a machine. A Giottto, Italian made perfection.
Makes the best espresso or cappuccino I've had.

Some salad, veggies to go with a achiote chicken and roasted garlic sauce on the grille, with rigatoni pasta.

What is that green and orange stuff in front of the coffee machine? It seems I vaguely remember what it use to be called whenever I was a small boy growing up at home, but I have long forgotten now . . . . . .

Lorenzzo wrote:Pretty cool stuff 12. I'm getting motivated to take it to the next level. Right now I get decent whole beans and use a combination grinder brewer. HB and I have had this conversation before as he had one or two break on him after little use. Mine's worked flawlessly for over 5 years.

I have one of those vacuum sealers that encases leftovers in plastic devoid of air. It seems to keep my beans fresh for an extended period. I portion out a week's worth but you're right about being able to taste the effects of short term aging. As Pky knows, the chemical composition of strongly aromatic things like coffee or cinnamon is benzene rings. This organic compound structure is fragile. Once broken it's flavor characteristics are all but gone.

The absolute best recent coffee I've had was at the Stein Erickson lodge at Deer Valley. Turns out they have some grower somewhere in Madagascar grow beans to their spec. I can't seem to come close to matching it so I'll head over their for a cup from time to time. I think of the Stein as my personal Starbucks, only good.

The single origin bean is I think the way to go, like the coffee shop you found probably is.
I've been trying, when I find a great cup, to purchase immediately another batch of coffee beans.

By the way green coffee keeps fresh for a much longer period of time. But even they over a month lose something.

George Howell is trying to revolutionize the way green coffee is shipped, as he feels it should be sealed during shipping.
He claims its like transporting a fine wine, and leaving the bottle open, the way green coffee is shipped in burlap bags.

He is also working on a freezing process for storage of green coffee, that keeps it fresh for a very long time, so when it's shipped it's super fresh.

I once waited over 30 days for a certain wonderful coffee, from a certain farm in Salvador. It was worth the wait.

SoonerBS wrote:

12pierogi wrote:I finally am pretty happy with a machine. A Giottto, Italian made perfection.
Makes the best espresso or cappuccino I've had.

Some salad, veggies to go with a achiote chicken and roasted garlic sauce on the grille, with rigatoni pasta.

What is that green and orange stuff in front of the coffee machine? It seems I vaguely remember what it use to be called whenever I was a small boy growing up at home, but I have long forgotten now . . . . . .

As I get older meats don't seem as appealing as they used to be.
I catch myself seasoning vegetable based meals more with a smaller portion of meat, as opposed to the huge portions of meat I used to consume.

Even a great steak, just doesn't turn my crank anymore. My only weakness is still a great southern style hickory smoked BBQ pork plate, or sandwich with some killer coleslaw, and a Carolina style sauce made with habaneros.

12pierogi wrote:

SoonerBS wrote:

12pierogi wrote:I finally am pretty happy with a machine. A Giottto, Italian made perfection.
Makes the best espresso or cappuccino I've had.

Some salad, veggies to go with a achiote chicken and roasted garlic sauce on the grille, with rigatoni pasta.

What is that green and orange stuff in front of the coffee machine? It seems I vaguely remember what it use to be called whenever I was a small boy growing up at home, but I have long forgotten now . . . . . .

As I get older meats don't seem as appealing as they used to be.
I catch myself seasoning vegetable based meals more with a smaller portion of meat, as opposed to the huge portions of meat I used to consume.

Even a great steak, just doesn't turn my crank anymore. My only weakness is still a great southern style hickory smoked BBQ pork plate, or sandwich with some killer coleslaw, and a Carolina style sauce made with habaneros.

As we age, regularity starts jumping up the list of things we value. It isn't just the colonscopy and what it reveals. It's how wonderful you feel when things are flowing and how crappy you feel with a back up. So veggies aren't just great when prepared well, they keep the pipes flowing. Veggies also provide a slow release of carbs/sugars for us active, older persons.

Grilled with olive oil and spice is probably my favorite but sauteed and roasted are good too. Some minced garlic, fresh thyme, ground pepper and onions and it you have something that is satisfying and will show results on your next colonoscopy.

12 you are truly a connisseur of the finer things in life. Great golf clubs, great coffee and great food. :Thumbsup:

I have a great coffee machine and can't start the day without a freshly brewed latte. However I'm afraid I am a heathen who just buys the espresso grind coffee from the supermarket. Suits me down to the ground. Fresh, easy and convenient. Steaming the milk is the most important thing to making a great latte. You want a nice creamy head, but not too frothy. I've never considered roasting my own beans. Had a grinder and tried grinding my own beans but couldn't really see the benefit for the mess and extra hassle. Certain brands are definitely better tasting though and now I've found my favourites the coffee I make at home is much better than any coffee I can get at my local cafes. Prior to getting his coffee maker I used to love going out for a nice coffee but now I much prefer a home made brew.

But man you take things to the next level.

When making a great latte, some machines I've had in the past struggled in this area, the texture of the milk should look like wet paint.

I understand the messiness of grinding, and roasting coffee. It's not for everyone.
I have a little more time than some people, as I moved my business in my backyard, and walk to work now. Which gives me more time with family, friends, and the finer things I enjoy.
The grinder for good coffee was much more important then I realized at first. I bought this monster awhile back.