Exploring Coffee

By Daniel Miessler on March 1st, 2009: Tagged as Coffee | Geek

coffee

I’m learning more about coffee. The main reasons for this are that I enjoy knowing a lot about things–especially when they are as rich and nuanced as coffee, and also because I’m trying to be more healthy, which means drinking coffee black.

One thing I’ve picked up through my limited research is the fact that most coffee consumed by the masses is not high enough quality to be consumed black. A recent Consumer Reports review of the major coffees contains language like this:

…milk and sugar may help.

This is actually the language they use to separate their categories of coffee, which I found quite interesting. Their top coffees they rated as:

Good choices, even when black.

That says a lot, and it relieves much of the stress I’ve been feeling due to not enjoying most coffee black. The problem seems to be that I’ve not been drinking good coffee.

So here are some that I’ll be trying soon, as they scored the top three slots in Consumer Reports’ latest coffee evaluation.:

  1. Eight O’Clock Coffee
  2. Caribou Coffe
  3. Kickapoo Coffee

In addition, I’m going to be making my coffee at home in the morning and bringing it to work, and I’ll be investing in a French Press soon so I can get whole bean coffee, grind it myself, and make smaller quantities of a higher quality.

Anyway, if any of you are coffee geeks/snobs and you have some guidance for me…I’d love to hear it. ::

Links

[ Coffee | Wikipedia.org ]

  • CarlM

    I'm not a coffee snob, but a guy I knew in grad school has become one. Here's what I learned from him when he visited and stayed for a couple weeks some years back.

    (1) Unless it's fresh ground, you're not getting the full quality.
    … this I've heard from MOST real coffee drinkers I know. A grinder is a tiny investment. Some say that you should be careful to grind the beans using short bursts of the grinder. You don't want to heat it.

    (2) You should not leave the coffee pot sitting on the hot plate after it is done brewing.
    (this one if from the guy who became a coffee snob) He would ALWAYS pour it into a thermos immediately after it was done.

    As for the particular coffee, there are local roasters with VERY good reputations. For example, there's one in Americus that supplies their roast to coffee shops in other cities. Keep in mind that when a national source like Consumer Reports reviews things, they're reviewing things that have a wide distribution. They're not looking at the local roasters. From what I understand, there's nothing quite like FRESH roasted coffee. A local roaster will also be able to answer your questions about coffee (the guys at the place in Americus LOVE to talk about the craft) and can probably guide you to a good choice for your taste.

  • Maxo

    This is close to my experience trying to better understand tea. I don't like the taste of beer, wine is okay sometimes, and coffee is between wine and beer. I've always love sweet tea, and wanted to find out what else was out there, but the herbal stuff they sell out grocery markets, as well as the green, black and otherwise teas are horrid and I was never able to get into them.
    During a visit to San Francisco I found a Teavana shop in the mall (my sister-in-laws idea of fun is shopping :() and I bought some Monkey Picked Oolong. I've been buying high-end quality since then and I've been loving it. Tea has all the complexities of alchohol and coffee, but it isn't bad for you and it has some minimal health benefits.
    From what I've read, Teavana is sort of a newbies entrance into good tea. I'm still figuring out the taste of the different teas and hope to one day graduate from the cozy net of Teavana and into a better understanding of tea.
    I would encourage you to give tea a try too.

  • CarlM

    For the record .. the place in Americus deals exclusively with Fair Trade coffee beans.

  • Adrian Bool

    Why is having milk in your coffee unhealthy…?

  • http://dmiessler.com/ Daniel Miessler

    Not so much the milk, but most who add milk also add sugar.

  • http://dmiessler.com/ Daniel Miessler

    Yes, I also drink tea and I add very little to it as well (usually just some honey).

    I agree it's very similar to coffee in the sense that it's enjoyable to learn about, and try, the many varieties out there.

    I also get my stuff from Teavana, but I'm looking to branch out from there next time I purchase.

  • http://dmiessler.com/ Daniel Miessler

    Great comments. Exactly what I've heard as well.

  • http://www.garyfisk.com Gary Fisk

    I'm not a coffee expert, but I do like good coffee. I definitely recommend Cafe Campesino, the one in Americus. Fair trade is a bit more expensive, but I think it is worth it.

    http://www.cafecampesino.com

  • Bren

    Daniel, have you seen the latest issue of Make magazine (vol. 17) ? They've got an article on brewing coffee with a “Florence Siphon”. Check it out at: http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol17/?pg=66

  • Bren

    Daniel, have you seen the latest issue of Make magazine (vol. 17) ? They've got an article on brewing coffee with a “Florence Siphon”. Check it out at: http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol17/?pg=66

  • http://www.koffietmolentje.be Laurent

    Keep exploring coffee, it really is a fascinating product!


Top

Popular

Information Security / Technology

Politics

Philosophy & Religion

Technology & Science

Culture & Society

Miscellaneous

Arguments

Projects

Collections

Twitter

What I'm Reading

Favorite Books and Essays

Top Blog Categories

Inputs