Coffee beans/blends help required

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Well im new to this whole coffee thing and i want to try a lot more then i am at the moment.

So what coffee beans or blends do you sugest i should try? :)

Also do you have any tips on making it and any tips on what milk to use Etc. :)

Any help will be great :) .

Thanks :)
 
Anyone?

SiliconSlave i notice you have coffe in your sig so you should know :p
 
Oh dear, that's a tough question... I know plenty of places to get good coffee beans here and in Cyprus but none downunder! You see, in my experience it's not just what coffee you buy which matters but also where you buy it from, because some shops can be less than honest about the proportions of each type of beans in their blends. For instance, Jamaican Blue Mountain is widely regarded as the best coffee in the world (it's certainly the most expensive), but many brands and retailers mix it to a greater or lesser proportion with other Jamaican beans.

Even when they don't mix cheaper beans into the blend, the frequency with which each retailer roasts its beans and the storage conditions they keep them in can make a world of difference to the state the coffee will be in when it gets to you. I can go buy the exact same beans from Whittards that I buy online, but the Whittards ones usually won't be as fresh.

I suppose you could just buy some of the better off-the-shelf brands like Illy or Lavazza, which are mostly a sure bet even though they won't be as fresh and scrumptious as recently-roasted fresh beans, and it seems a waste that you should buy coffee imported from Italy when some Australian coffees go for as much as £40/kg over here!

Your best bet is to hop over to the coffeegeek.com forums and ask for good places to buy coffee from in your area. They have regional forums and I'm sure there's an Australian one, though I can't check atm cause they seem to be down.
 
manveruppd said:
Oh dear, that's a tough question... I know plenty of places to get good coffee beans here and in Cyprus but none downunder! You see, in my experience it's not just what coffee you buy which matters but also where you buy it from, because some shops can be less than honest about the proportions of each type of beans in their blends. For instance, Jamaican Blue Mountain is widely regarded as the best coffee in the world (it's certainly the most expensive), but many brands and retailers mix it to a greater or lesser proportion with other Jamaican beans.

Even when they don't mix cheaper beans into the blend, the frequency with which each retailer roasts its beans and the storage conditions they keep them in can make a world of difference to the state the coffee will be in when it gets to you. I can go buy the exact same beans from Whittards that I buy online, but the Whittards ones usually won't be as fresh.

I suppose you could just buy some of the better off-the-shelf brands like Illy or Lavazza, which are mostly a sure bet even though they won't be as fresh and scrumptious as recently-roasted fresh beans, and it seems a waste that you should buy coffee imported from Italy when some Australian coffees go for as much as £40/kg over here!

Your best bet is to hop over to the coffeegeek.com forums and ask for good places to buy coffee from in your area. They have regional forums and I'm sure there's an Australian one, though I can't check atm cause they seem to be down.
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Thanks :)

I didn t know we grew coffee down here :eek:
 
Coffee beans or ground coffee should be kept in an airtight container and for no longer than 1 month. Basically the fresher the coffee, the better the end product. There was a myth that if you kept the coffee in the freezer it lasted longer, but as the flavours depend on the natural oils in the bean, they still leak out in the freezer. Greasy looking beans are not fresh.

You then need to decide what type of machine you want and how strong you like your coffee and then it's up to you really. There are some good espresso machines out now that look like the old fashioned ones that you put on the stove, but they just sit on the work top and plug in to the wall.

If you want a machine that will froth milk etc. you need to spen a fair bit to get anything decent, otherwise you might as well chuck you hard earned in the bin.

Some people like the pod type machines. Personally I think they're awful, but each to their own.

Oh, forgot to say, there is supposed to be an amzing bean called 'Kona' which I understand comes from Hawaii. If you get a chance to taste it, let me know what it's like as it costs a fortune so I can't afford it.
 
yermum said:
Coffee beans or ground coffee should be kept in an airtight container and for no longer than 1 month. Basically the fresher the coffee, the better the end product. There was a myth that if you kept the coffee in the freezer it lasted longer, but as the flavours depend on the natural oils in the bean, they still leak out in the freezer. Greasy looking beans are not fresh.

You then need to decide what type of machine you want and how strong you like your coffee and then it's up to you really. There are some good espresso machines out now that look like the old fashioned ones that you put on the stove, but they just sit on the work top and plug in to the wall.

If you want a machine that will froth milk etc. you need to spen a fair bit to get anything decent, otherwise you might as well chuck you hard earned in the bin.

Some people like the pod type machines. Personally I think they're awful, but each to their own.

Oh, forgot to say, there is supposed to be an amzing bean called 'Kona' which I understand comes from Hawaii. If you get a chance to taste it, let me know what it's like as it costs a fortune so I can't afford it.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that :)

I found Kona at this site aswell as the Jamaican blue mountain bean

http://www.bluemountaincoffee.com/
 
yermum said:
Oh, forgot to say, there is supposed to be an amzing bean called 'Kona' which I understand comes from Hawaii. If you get a chance to taste it, let me know what it's like as it costs a fortune so I can't afford it.
Click to expand...
For my money it's the best coffee you can buy. Went around a few plantations when I last visited the Hawaiian islands and brought back as much as I could carry.

Peaberry is the best of the best.
 
glitch said:
For my money it's the best coffee you can buy. Went around a few plantations when I last visited the Hawaiian islands and brought back as much as I could carry.

Peaberry is the best of the best.
Click to expand...

Is that Peaberry Kona or anything you can get in Pea berry form? :confused:
 
Zip said:
Is that Peaberry Kona or anything you can get in Pea berry form? :confused:
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Technically both but mainly Kona Coffee. Peaberry's make up about 3-5% of the normal bean yield and have a more intense flavour when roasted, making an extremely fine and tasty coffee even better.
 
whats that type of coffee called where the coffee beans are eaten by animals or something, and the acids from the digestive system alters the coffee beans or something which gives them a great flavour?

ive heared it talked about on QI and CSI, but i cant remember the name of the type of coffee.
 
Dist said:
whats that type of coffee called where the coffee beans are eaten by animals or something, and the acids from the digestive system alters the coffee beans or something which gives them a great flavour?

ive heared it talked about on QI and CSI, but i cant remember the name of the type of coffee.
Click to expand...

My Girlfriend has told me about these aswell. I want to know what they are, she said it costs and arm and a leg though :D
 
glitch said:
Vietnamese Weasel Coffee?

Sumatran Civet Coffee?
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It might be the Sumatran one but im not sure. :confused:

Has anyone got any links to these coffees :D

BTW if one was to put away a few dollars a week to save up for an uber coffee machien what brand should one look at?
A Gaggia? :confused:
 
Zip said:
It might be the Sumatran one but im not sure. :confused:

Has anyone got any links to these coffees :D

BTW if one was to put away a few dollars a week to save up for an uber coffee machien what brand should one look at?
A Gaggia? :confused:
Click to expand...

Gaggia are probably the best known, get a budget in mind first as its possible to spend as much money as you have available, also dont forget a decent grinder is also an important part of the package.

I found invaluable advice here when i bought mine

http://www.toomuchcoffee.com/

And another vote for Hasbean for buying coffee, Steve really knows his stuff and i've had no complaints

zaffiro_mainpic.jpg
 
Cookie-Monster said:
Gaggia are probably the best known, get a budget in mind first as its possible to spend as much money as you have available, also dont forget a decent grinder is also an important part of the package.

I found invaluable advice here when i bought mine

http://www.toomuchcoffee.com/

And another vote for Hasbean for buying coffee, Steve really knows his stuff and i've had no complaints

zaffiro_mainpic.jpg
Click to expand...


Thanks :)

We have a smallcompact cheap Espresso Machine at the moment that does me by at the moment but when i move out me and the gf are going to invest on one :)
One of the Gaggia ones i looked at had an Inbuilt Grinder, Even though it has one of those would it be better just to by a Grinder on its own and not use the in built one if we choose to get one of them?
 
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