Coffee

[ZenHedonist]

How do you take your coffee? How do you like it made? What is your favorite type of roast? When do you like to drink it?

Give us all the good coffee details!

 

[KayleePond]

For summer, I've been really enjoying iced coffee! I usually make the coffee extra strong for that so I add half again what I would initially when I brew it. I usually put half and half in the bottom of a glass with about 5 drops of liquid sucralose, fill the glass with ice and then fill the rest with coffee, stir with a straw and enjoy. Fucking delicious!

 

[CallMeWilliam]

Large Decaf Double Double... Tims FTW!

 

[LuckySmiles]

iced coffee drinkers! I learned a nifty trick.. make some ice cubes out of coffee! keeps the Iced coffee from getting watered down.

I like dark roasts and I still drink it hot most of the time because the AC is fffreezing in the morning.
either black with honey (i know weird but good) or if i have a flavored creamer. Baileys non alcoholic creamers are my faves.

 

[Fay_Galore]

I'm a big coffee lover, any kind really (as long as it's not too sweet) I currently have a nespresso machine which is the perfect match for a lazy coffee maker (I used to have an espresso machine but sooo much maintenance)

 

[Karli_Killcam]

I like mine vegan, with some sugar and vanilla almond milk!
Usually Caramal Vanilla "cream" in the keurig

 

[krukstyle]

I'm kind of weird with coffee--I've always loved the stuff--but when I was younger I was placed in lots of situations where coffee was available, but not always how I liked to "take it," so I basically systematically trained myself to drink coffee every possible way (hot, cold, warm, old, new, with/without milk, with/without sugar, black, etc.)--so at this point I'm not even exactly sure what I prefer--so I just try to keep things random. I love dark robust roasts--but really enjoy trying strange coffees from different places. Since it's hot where I live currently, I've been drinking iced coffee almost exclusively--and have been using a french press (which is amazing!) :-D

I've often heard about Vietnamese coffee where civets (see pic below) are used to "select" the best beans (i.e. they eat the beans and then poop them out)--as a coffee enthusiast, I was always interested in trying this coffee--even though it sounds kind of gross. Despite the strange process, some coffee fanatics I know claim it is some of the finest coffee in the world. During a recent discussion on MFC, however, I learned that the poor little civets are often treated pretty badly at these coffee farms--so, I'm thinking I'll stick to more normal coffee options for the time being.

iced coffee drinkers! I learned a nifty trick.. make some ice cubes out of coffee! keeps the Iced coffee from getting watered down.

This is one of my favorite coffee tricks--it works really well! You can also mix in some half-and-half, cream, or milk cubes if you enjoy those in your regular coffee--I've had a lot of fun experimenting with custom cubes for ice coffee. Another fun idea is to make a bunch of these cubes and then put them in a blender (maybe with some bonus coffee) to make awesome frozen blended drinks.

 

[Fay_Galore]

I like mine vegan, with some sugar and vanilla almond milk!
Usually Caramal Vanilla "cream" in the keurig

What's not vegan about coffee?

 

[BarbieLuv]

I like mine vegan, with some sugar and vanilla almond milk!
Usually Caramal Vanilla "cream" in the keurig

What's not vegan about coffee?

I think she's referring to using almond milk in place of real milk in the coffee. Almond milk is friggin' awesome and is pretty much a 1/1 substitute for milk in stuff for vegans or people allergic to dairy products.

 

[Nordling]

I used to buy roasted beans and grind them at home and fiddle with it all forever. I guess I got lazy. Now I just buy regular grind Folgers and run it through a Mr. Coffee, pour it in a cup and put in a splash of milk. Oh, I do like to make it quite strong...picked that up from my Swedish inlaws.

 

[Rose]

I usually prefer lattes or a blended frap, but when I'm drinking coffee it's usually about half coffee, half soy milk and some creamer, no sugar.

I come from a long line of avid coffee aficionados so my tastes in coffee drinks are sinful and seriously looked down on. :lol:

 

[KayleePond]

I've often heard about Vietnamese coffee where civets (see pic below) are used to "select" the best beans (i.e. they eat the beans and then poop them out)--as a coffee enthusiast, I was always interested in trying this coffee--even though it sounds kind of gross. Despite the strange process, some coffee fanatics I know claim it is some of the finest coffee in the world. During a recent discussion on MFC, however, I learned that the poor little civets are often treated pretty badly at these coffee farms--so, I'm thinking I'll stick to more normal coffee options for the time being.
.

I've actually tried this coffee! It was a gift to a friend and we decided to all have it, even though we were quite aware that it's pretty much a scam. (Hey, it was a gift!) I wasn't really concerned about the gross factor, but was curious because it IS mega crazy expensive and they do indeed say it's some of the best coffee in the world.

Seriously though, it was fine but not special and after sitting around drinking it and doing more research (thankfully we were not very invested in it) pretty much confirmed that it's just total bullshit as far as it being anything beyond normal coffee. Civets are not prophets of coffee quality. :lol:

So maybe you can rest easy knowing you aren't missing much? OR maybe it's just enough to enjoy some coffee and get to say you tried it! I'm glad I had some randomly available to me because it's kind of cool to have tried it.

Also that milk/cream ice cube thing is GENIUS! I knew about the coffee ice cubes but never thought of cream, thank you for sharing!

 

[Jesse0328]

I really like using my Aeropress with any halfway decent bean ground with a Hario mini mill. You'll find a billion ways that people use the Aeropress on the internet, but I've had pretty good results with the base instructions.

I've inherited the gene from my grandmother that allows me to stomach most kinds of swill called coffee, so I'm totally cool with even the freeze dried stuff.

I just drink my coffee black. No sugar or other additives.

 

[missmeowmixx]

Coconut milk and maple syrup!!!

For those of you using almond milk and soy milk in your coffee, prepare to be revolutionized. Coconut milk works 1928319283719827391827391827391823918723918723 times better. Seriously. It has a thick flavour to it so i guess you have to dig the creamy, but still. Almond milk is a pathetic, sad shadow of how good coconut milk is. It actually makes your coffee whiter and not watered down and wimpy.

For some reason (maybe its guar gum or something) i've found organic coconut milk doesn't seem to work very well though. AROY-D is the best in my findings. and none of that "light" bullshit either. you want fat here people. And this fat is good for you so don't go all Jenny Craig on me now. :snooty: :snooty:

Also, maple syrup just wins because glycemic index. It's the only sweetener i was able to use when on candida and low-sugar diets. Except for fake sugar WHICH IS TERRIBLY BAD FOR YOU so stop using it (plus it tastes like shit, lets be real. you only like it cuz you've forced yourself to like it.)

anyway. I go for the #3 cuz it tastes like molassesy, dusky chocolate maple, loads of coconut (except now that i'm back on the dairy i usually do half and half coconut milk with fat-kid creamer or whipping cream) and as for the roast, i mix a deadly dark (nice and shiny and oily, gotta smell like a motherfuck as well) with a medium-light roast about 2/3 to 1/3. :thumbleft: :thumbleft: hits the caffeine spot, but still nice and hearty rich taste. Grind that shit up fresh two minutes before the brew, squish a bitch in my bodum (that i broke, so now i've been dripping it, not quite the same but it'll do) with just a little too many beans in there.

Now my dream is to get a real nice hand grinder, or something less barbaric than my current piece of shit. But, it does the trick nicer than pregrinding, so whatever.

In all reality i'm also off the coffee lately, but when i drink it that's how i do it. And lemme tell ya, just like popcorn i don't fuck around. MM! Damn i love me some fat kid coffee. Now i have to go buy coffee beans. damn you ACF.

 

[LuckySmiles]

Coconut milk and maple syrup!!!

For those of you using almond milk and soy milk in your coffee, prepare to be revolutionized. Coconut milk works 1928319283719827391827391827391823918723918723 times better. Seriously. It has a thick flavour to it so i guess you have to dig the creamy, but still. Almond milk is a pathetic, sad shadow of how good coconut milk is. It actually makes your coffee whiter and not watered down and wimpy.

For some reason (maybe its guar gum or something) i've found organic coconut milk doesn't seem to work very well though. AROY-D is the best in my findings. and none of that "light" bullshit either. you want fat here people. And this fat is good for you so don't go all Jenny Craig on me now. :snooty: :snooty:

I've never tried that kind but can agree that the coconut milk in the carton doesn't work. I've expected good things and then nothing. It doesn't lighten it at all. Which defeats the purpose IMO that's like skim milk in coffee I don't get that... what is the point! why bother! I avoid dairy too but if I have it I get the strong stuff! I prefer it black otherwise.

BUT I did come across a special coconut milk coffee creamer before that was really good! They only have it at the super market once in awhile by me.. I think it's a SoDelicious one. It's a little carton like you'd see for heavy cream except its coconut milk creamer. I like them too because they're usually sweetened and then I don't have to add sugar. And there's different flavors.

 

[RubyDimples]

I happen to be into adding double shots of espressos in my frozen coffee drinks.

 

[AuroraKnight]

Coffee is my favorite hot drink ever, the only time I have it cold is if I'm at Starbucks, but I don't think fraps really count as coffee, especially with the amount of whipped cream I have them put in it lol

When I'm at home though I use Maxwell House Original Roast, with 2 teaspoons of hot chocolate mix (with marshmallows) 2 teaspoons of sugar (I like my coffee sweet, I use 3 spoonfulls if I don't have chocolate in it) and either some milk or half and half if we have it.

I probably wouldn't suggest drinking it with chocolate in the morning, but I rarely drink coffee in the mornings as it's heavy and doesn't sit well with my tummy unless I've eaten.

 

[Emmalie]

I like my coffee stale, luke warm and black. I think it's from waitressing for so many years. I would pour a cup that was too hot to drink, get busy and not be able to get to it for an hour or so. By the time I got back I wasn't about to pour another cup only for the same thing to happen.

So now I drink Folgers country roast with two ice cubes. I used to use ID creamer, but it made me sluggish. I also lost a bunch of weight when I omitted it from my diet.

So that is my gross coffee preference. But seriously, I can drink it all day. I love coffee. I call it "The Nectar of the Gods".

 

[TacoBelle]

Maxwell House breakfast blend (it's very mild), served black, with frozen Edwards pie (either Turtle or Cookies 'n Cream). It's like sex in your mouth.

 

[bakersman]

I'm an actual bonafide card-carrying coffee geek, that is, I roast my own in the backyard. (I use a gas grill with a spinning drum and a rotisserie attachment these days but I got my start using one of those $15 hot-air popcorn poppers, roasting a 1/3 cup at a time.)

You can buy green, unroasted beans on the internet and get stellar quality for ~$6-7/lb shipped. It takes about 30 minutes for me to roast up 2lbs, which lasts me several weeks.

Oh, and I'll second the recommendation of the Aeropress. A great way to make coffee, and the result is always smooth and tasty.

 

[missmeowmixx]

I'm an actual bonafide card-carrying coffee geek, that is, I roast my own in the backyard. (I use a gas grill with a spinning drum and a rotisserie attachment these days but I got my start using one of those $15 hot-air popcorn poppers, roasting a 1/3 cup at a time.)

You can buy green, unroasted beans on the internet and get stellar quality for ~$6-7/lb shipped. It takes about 30 minutes for me to roast up 2lbs, which lasts me several weeks.

Oh, and I'll second the recommendation of the Aeropress. A great way to make coffee, and the result is always smooth and tasty.

I'm lucky enough to have a cafe in the city that roasts daily, but if i didn't i think i would go as far as you have. i salute you sir! i can't believe you can roast coffee in a popcorn popper.. Mind blown

 

[bakersman]

I moved a number of years ago from a city with excellent coffee to one with none, so I started roasting at first for quality reasons (though it turned out to be cheaper!) then because it was fun and allowed me to try different roast types and coffee varieties I could get no other way.

But once you're tasted freshly roasted coffee it becomes pretty hard to go back, lol, so it's kind of a self-reinforcing hobby. There is a noticeable falloff in quality after it's about 2 weeks old, so just about anything you buy except for the most assiduous coffee shops will be inferior. (Though over the past 5 years or so it's become much more common to be able to get the good stuff--even my shitty town has some good coffee these days.)

Here's a nice primer on roasting using a popcorn popper:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php

(they also sell top-quality beans, though I get mine these days from one of a few co-ops that have sprung up online, so a more limited selection but fabulous prices.)

Oh, you have to do it outdoors, really--the smell is actually not great and it will mess up your relationship if you try (don't ask me how I know this :-D )

p.s. My name here is 'bakersman' because my old city, in addition to being good for coffee, was good for bread, and the new was pathetic, so in addition to coffee roasting I had to turn to breadbaking as well, lol. What we do for our addictions *sigh*.

 

[Protocosmo]

I like my coffee strong, dark roasted with nothing added. Two cups in the morning gets me awake and pooping. I usually have another after lunch. Usually a dark French roast with the office's Keurig. Also, it's the only ice cream flavor I like. Specifically, Trader Joe's Coffee Bean Blast.