How do you make a great cup of coffee?

[Romania Express]

I hope that this question gives a chance to you officianados of the beverage to give vent to your passion for coffee. For years I`ve enjoyed coffee but rarely considered the variations for brewing it. I now have the time. I drink Caftiere and Esspresso coffee mostly the former. I grind my own beans and have a Gaggia Classic Esspresso maker. To date I have used mostly Colombian Arabica beans for the caftiere but find that taste never matches up with the great smell. What beans, grind, and etc. etc. would you suggest I employ to achieve a great smelling and tasting French press brew?

 

[Over Caffienated]

While I'm no expert on French press I can tell you what I think makes a great cup. The most important single factor in making great coffee is the beans. This doesn't mean there aren't 100 other ways it can go wrong-I've had some awful drinks made from great beans. My personal favorite single origin bean is Sumatran Aribica, and I prefer the rich array of flavors that a dark roast brings out of the bean.
The beans are at their prime until about two and a half weeks after roasting, so I always buy directly from roasters, and any beans I plan to keep longer than two weeks are sealed into an airtight container and frozen. Airtightness is crucial in preservation as coffee beans tend to absorb flavors from their environment, and I for one do not care to taste frozen potroast in my coffee. Airflow also oxidizes the fragile oils in the bean and so despite best preservation efforts, unsealed beans at any temperature will go bad!
Grinding should always be done moments before brewing as it creates a greater surface area thus speeding up oxidation. My experience is that french press requires a coarser grind than conventional brewing, as I once created a pot of muddy mess by finely grinding the beans.
I think thats about all I really have to say, just remember, some of this is science, and some is my own art and opinions. And if anyone happens to learn anything here---COOL BEANS!
Clair

 

[Romania Express]

Thanks for the tips Clair. I am enjoying a cup of Kenyan AA coffee as I write you. I have, for the last couple of weeks, experimented roasting green beans in a hot air corn popper with great sucsess. Colombian Arabica beans roasted for 5 minutes, left for 4 to 24 hours to let the taste and aroma mature then ground as required. Delicious! All that coupled with the fact that green beans tend to be half the price of those roasted and keep for about two years or longer if kept in constant low humidity and temp.

 

[Quink]

That was one of the first ways I roasted my own coffee as well. I'd put money on it that the coffee you roasted was one of the best cups you had ever had. Dont think that I've bought roasted beans since. Good to have another home roaster on board here . Oh and since your in Wales where do you buy your greens from?

 

[Guest]

very cool! I've been interested in home roasting for a while, seems to fit that I'd be a freshness freak, right? I've heard that popcorn machines work well for coffee roasting. What's a good machine to invest in and what kind of tips can you give me to help me get started?
Clair

 

[Quink]

One of the best places to look if your in America has to be

http://www.sweetmarias.com

They should have everything you need to know, anything else you need just post in here and one of us should know what your after.

 

[Romania Express]

Comet have hot air corn poppers on sale at £11. They also show up at charity shops for about a fiver. Put the same amount of green beans in the popper as recommended for corn.Keep stirring the beans and try 4 minutes to start.Watch out for the chaff that is blown out of the machine. Cool the beans quickly don`t allow them to remain together and stay hot.I swirl them around in a sieve. Remember for some hours the beans are giving of CO2 so don`t seal them.The taste improves over the next 4 to 24 hours so keep away as long as poss`.Let me know how you get on.

 

[Romania Express]

Oh I buy my beans from www.bostoncoffee.co.uk Good beans and good service. The guy(Nick) sent me samples of a few types when I bought some roasted beans which I thought was generous of him.

 

[Over Caffienated]

Thanks guys!

 

[notmuffy]

Comet have hot air corn poppers on sale at £11. They also show up at charity shops for about a fiver. Put the same amount of green beans in the popper as recommended for corn.Keep stirring the beans and try 4 minutes to start.Watch out for the chaff that is blown out of the machine. Cool the beans quickly don`t allow them to remain together and stay hot.I swirl them around in a sieve. Remember for some hours the beans are giving of CO2 so don`t seal them.The taste improves over the next 4 to 24 hours so keep away as long as poss`.Let me know how you get on.

Wow, that is a great tip! I don't know if I will venture that far, but it is nice to know it is as simple as that.

 

[Quink]

I kid you not, its worth the money. The first time I tried this was with my oven set as high as it would go which is 230 degrees celcius. Its also fan assisted so there arn't too many hot or cold spots in the oven. Whittard sell green beans in some stores and over the net. Left them for ten minutes and had a nice medium roast when I came back. One of the best coffees I've EVER had.

 

[Guest]

I`ve even used a frying pan and a wok with good results.I roasted some Yemeni Mocha this afternoon and can`t wait `till breakfast. By the way can anyone recomend a good flavoured decaf` ready roasted bean?

 

[Romania Express]

The above is me, I forgot to log in.

 

[CJ Paul]

How long do green beans last before they go bad? I.e. if you buy green beans, and only want to roast enough for a weeks worth, what do you do? Just buy a small amount or somehow store the rest?

 

[timeggers]

One of the best places to look if your in America has to be

http://www.sweetmarias.com

They should have everything you need to know, anything else you need just post in here and one of us should know what your after.

AMEN!