FlyerTalk Forums - great tasting coffee (does this exist)?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by holyren (Post 18676848)

When I first began learning about coffee, I too went for the Clover at Sbx. It was better tasting than their other drip.

How do I see it now? Worthless and absurd.

You can brew higher quality coffee at home using a pour over or aeropress. The Clover still has the weakness of relying on a poorly trained sbx employee to calibrate the grinder. I seriously doubt they are back there calculating TDS and Extraction % with a refractometer.

So a Clover is really no different than putting pond water into a luxury car. The problem is the input, and the price of the machine. Most high end shops in the U.S. (the best ones) do not even bother with Clovers, and would most likely laugh at the idea of buying a Starbucks owned machine that costs $12k.

You'll notice most shops use Hario cones, Aeropresses, Chemexes, etc. Not a big refrigerator sized mammoth that does the same thing! Plus, there's something called a Gold Cup Brewer...

I went back and had a Clover brewed Kenya (I usually love them) and it was the worst I had had in two years. It was stale (old) and roasted way too dark for a Kenya.

Point is, if you think a Clover at Sbx is the peak of coffee you have a whole world of awesomeness awaiting you.

Ummm... whaaa?

... anyways... a great tasting cup of joe completely lies in the taste buds of the beholder. At home, I'm definitely not picky so long as it's reasonably fresh grounds, it's not weak, and has a nice aroma. I'm good to go.

I also understand that others hold coffee in a higher regard and understand its nuances much moreso therefore, can be even more specific in their requirements.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aa213bb (Post 18679316)

Lol, why's that? Us coffee "snobs" far too demanding? ;)

Yup. At least us beer snobs get happy drunk as we sample our beverage of obsession. Y'all just get more hyper :)

I roast my own coffee at home in a Nesco brand roaster. By contrast all "store bought" coffee now tastes stale and oxidized. "sweetmarias.com" has roasters for sale and a good selection of green beans. I also occasionally order beans from KoaCoffee (Hawaii).
Once you start roasting your own, you will never go back.
As a side benefit, the roaster does roasted malt for home brewed beer!

I know this is probably going to make a few heads explode but I really like the lattes out of the self serve machines in most QF lounges.

I travel to Italy a fair amount and the best espresso I have ever had was at Caffe Ambrosiano in Milan (http://www.torrefazioneambrosiano.it/negozi.htm).

Like some others in this thread I home roast (and coffee is prepared in a simple Chemex). I get green beans from Sweet Maria's, roast and use them within a few days (grinding right before brewing).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckendall (Post 18841898)

Roasting coffee produces a bit of smoke, and this will have to be vented if you roast coffee indoors.What is the best vent to remove smoke if you've roasted coffee in bulk quantity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by printingray (Post 18842726)

Roasting coffee produces a bit of smoke, and this will have to be vented if you roast coffee indoors.What is the best vent to remove smoke if you've roasted coffee in bulk quantity.

I only have a small roaster (see here http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmari...e-roaster.html ) that roasts a half pound (250g) at a time and use a low-end oven hood. If you are going to roast a lot of coffee (say a pound plus) I would look into a serious hood but I would imagine most households would rather roast less more frequently and have fresher coffee.