Good coffee

Wossi

Wossi

Wossi

Soldato
Joined
27 Oct 2003
Posts
4,996
Location
East Mids.
After spending 4 days in Italy drinking some of the best coffee I've ever had, the instant coffee I have at home isn't cutting it anymore. I have a coffee machine and the last lot I had for that was alright but I'm looking for something nice to drink.

Anyone got any recommendations for me? Preferably already ground as I don't have a grinder, although open to perhaps buying a grinder and beans if it's worth it.
 
I would assume that you're better off buying your own grinder. They can't be that expensive. And I've been told the type of coffee machine you have can make the world of difference. You could be looking at over £1k for a really good one (sounds ridiculous to me, that's just what I've been told).
 
I think the cooking sub-forum takes away from GD. I seem to miss loads of threads because I'm not that interested in food to browse a forum of it, but I will read the threads that catch my eye. For example, I liked browsing the coffee thread whenever it came up. Meep.

Just adding some conversation, the coffee I had at boston tea party the other day was the best 'drink out' coffee I have had on the high street for a long time. Grab the 'continental roast' if you get the chance :)
 
hasbean.com is generally thought of as the best place to buy coffee online. That's what they use in Third Floor Espresso where I had easily the best coffee of my life.

As for people saying they miss some of the threads now they are in one area, come in and have a look more regularly. You might enjoy reading it!
 
I see you're in the East Midlands, get yourself over to Northern Tea Merchants in Chesterfield - they have a fine selection of coffee beans - recently featured on The Boat That Guy Built.

Also, if you're in London, Whole Food Markets have a great selection - and they roast their own, hmm, very nice
 
manic_man said:
making very good coffee easily is an expensive business.

As a starting point, personally, i'd recommend trying a Moka Pot (sometimes referred to as a Stove Top coffee maker)
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it doesn't have to be 'very' expensive - your need:
~£7 for a bag of good coffee (hasbean or squaremile),
~ £40 for a hand grinder

and then £15 for a stove top (moca pot) OR £20 for a decent french press OR £25 for an Aeropress

if you want proper espresso you'll need an espresso machine however, a cheap but usable one will set you back around £200 (Gaggia Classic) although the handpresso is only £100 and supposed to be very good...
 
Siliconslave said:
it doesn't have to be 'very' expensive - your need:
~£7 for a bag of good coffee (hasbean or squaremile),
~ £40 for a hand grinder

and then £15 for a stove top (moca pot) OR £20 for a decent french press OR £25 for an Aeropress

if you want proper espresso you'll need an espresso machine however, a cheap but usable one will set you back around £200 (Gaggia Classic) although the handpresso is only £100 and supposed to be very good...
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Sorry, by easily I really meant a bean to cup type affair.

Personally, I have used a French press mainly over the years, but have just got a Moka pot, and find the coffee and general process to be far superior, which is why I specifically suggested that. Obv a grinder is the ideal, but I don;t think its unfair to say that some decent pre-ground will still make a good cup of coffee in a Moka pot, as long as you don't let it get too stale.

It's all about effort with coffee, and I can fully understand not loving it enough to go to the lengths some do, but a Moka pot plus some ground is a great starting point and very easy to do!
 
a (semi decent) grinder makes such a difference to the coffee you get though, beans are generally good for about a week (longer if you store them in a vacuum / freezer) but ground coffee starts to lose its flavour in an hour.

As you say the effort put in pays back directly, but grinding into a mocha pot, or French press isn't really too hard and can pay off with a little bit of faffing.

(if your not already try putting boiling water into the bottom section of the mocha pot, stops it over extracting & overheating the coffee so it doesn't go too bitter)
 
No it's true. It really all depends on the effort. Grinding isn't too much of a faff, mainly the problem with it is then cleaning out the grinder. It's all down to the person.

Either way, the OP is coming form instant having experienced proper coffee, so anything is going to be a massive step up. I love instant coffee, it's basically the equivalent of that space ice cream kids buy in science museums, no one would ever claim that was worth buying over normal ice cream, and yet somehow, with coffee we have taken it to heart as a nation.

Personally we have a Delonghi 4200 bean to cup machine at work, it's the epitome of coffee convenience, it's just fantastic. I just can't justify spending over £300 on one for home...

Other good thing about a Moka pot is they look cool displayed in your kitchen :p
 
Sundance said:
Illy
Lavazza
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Nice coffee but tends to come in expresso. I think from what the insured is saying he has a normal machine for filter coffee.

There's a lot of good ones out there. For a milky coffee (if you can do steamed or foam milk) I always prefer southern american blends. If you want something everyday to go with cold milk something straightforward like vienesse, new york or continental blend will do. If you like it neat, I would look at a mexican blend.

If you are lucky enough to have a whittards of chelsea local to you pop in there and take a look at their blends; guatemala elephant is a favourite of mine. They also do a fantastic all day and breakfast blend.

Otherwise just pop to the supermarket and look out for the following brands:

Percol, Starbucks house blend, Taylors (my personal favourite). If in sainsburys, look out for their own brand, their new york, italian, and vienesse blends are all work a look, try the all day blend if you don't like strong coffee. Some of their TTD coffees are really good, in particular Nicaraguan, sumatra, costa rican and mexican blends.

CrimsonAvenger said:
Which is the coffee in Twin Peaks.

Apparently that is Damn Fine Coffee :D
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And Dale Cooper only drinks his coffee black!
 
Make sure whatever you buy is metal or glass, plastic tends to make the coffee taste bad imho. Vacuum coffee makers are one of the best although a little pricey, otherwise just get a stove pot, Stella make some really nice ones:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PEBO-Vacuum...r_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1305026068&sr=8-1

As for coffee, that's where the fun begins. Buy your lavazza and illy's for general use but also try all the different ones from supermarkets and specialists. I find coffee takes such a long time to get through I keep buying too much of it!
 
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