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Espresso Enthusiasts

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
SandboxGeneral said:
I finished my first cup of coffee in the new double-wall glass mug and it was great! No metal or plastic taste tainted the coffee and the silicon top made no adverse affect on it either.

Now to be sure I don't break it!
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I'm glad to hear the travel mug is working for you.

Just the fact that it is still in one piece puts you miles ahead of me if it were my mug.

I can only wish you the best of luck in the continued maintenance of the cup in one piece. I know you're really careful with stuff, and are not an uncoordinated clod like me...so I have great hopes for you.:D
 
Shrink said:
I'm glad to hear the travel mug is working for you.

Just the fact that it is still in one piece puts you miles ahead of me if it were my mug.

I can only wish you the best of luck in the continued maintenance of the cup in one piece. I know you're really careful with stuff, and are not an uncoordinated clod like me...so I have great hopes for you.:D
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Well I hope so too. Despite my carefulness, I have been known to break things at least once or twice in my lifetime. :p
 
I have to admit that I really love the smell of Tim Horton's coffee grounds as I scoop them out of the Friis container and pour them into the coffee machine. It has such a bittersweet smell to it. Of all the coffee's I've tried, theirs smells the best to me.
 
SandboxGeneral said:
I have to admit that I really love the smell of Tim Horton's coffee grounds as I scoop them out of the Friis container and pour them into the coffee machine. It has such a bittersweet smell to it. Of all the coffee's I've tried, theirs smells the best to me.
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Considering that something like 90% of "taste" is actually attributed to smell...the wonderful smell of the coffee contributes enormously to the enjoyment of the taste.

I thinl it's great that you have found a coffee that you really like...enjoy, Mate!:D
 
Shrink said:
Considering that something like 90% of "taste" is actually attributed to smell...the wonderful smell of the coffee contributes enormously to the enjoyment of the taste.

I thinl it's great that you have found a coffee that you really like...enjoy, Mate!:D
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I tried McDonald's coffee on the way into work this morning for a change and it wasn't very good. I put it on par with Starbucks, which I also don't like.
 
Shrink said:
Considering that something like 90% of "taste" is actually attributed to smell...the wonderful smell of the coffee contributes enormously to the enjoyment of the taste.

I thinl it's great that you have found a coffee that you really like...enjoy, Mate!:D
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Ahh, this explains why Rachel thinks all coffee I make is great, whereas I can tell the difference between beans.....She has no sense of smell to speak of. She has actually started using decaf ground:eek::eek: I won't touch it with a barge pole, but have been experimenting with some rather nice Colombian beans...Arabica, but full of aroma and flavour....highly recommended!
 
Mc Donald's coffee isn't actually too bad in the UK. They don't incinerate their beans so less of a burnt taste than Starbucks. Starbucks is much better at milk texturing however.

Maybe this says more about how dodgy coffee is in most places over here than how good Mc Donald's is tho!
 
Macman45 said:
Ahh, this explains why Rachel thinks all coffee I make is great, whereas I can tell the difference between beans.....She has no sense of smell to speak of. She has actually started using decaf ground:eek::eek: I won't touch it with a barge pole, but have been experimenting with some rather nice Colombian beans...Arabica, but full of aroma and flavour....highly recommended!
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Having a poor sense of smell really takes the enjoyment out of food...it's a shame. There are some who believe that anosmia (the inability to taste at all) may be more a loss of olfactory (smell) ability, as much as the loss of gustatory (taste) sensation.

As far as decaf goes...there are actually some excellent decafs available at gourmet shops and specialty stores. At Sweet Maria's, where I buy my green beans, the have some green bean decafs that have excellent cupping reviews. Even some pre-roasted decafs, again specialty store level coffees, are quite good. Many years ago I was served a coffee that was excellent, and until I was told it was decaf, I had no idea.

It's all in how good the beans are to begin with, and the decaffeination method use.
 
Shrink said:
Having a poor sense of smell really takes the enjoyment out of food...it's a shame. There are some who believe that anosmia (the inability to taste at all) may be more a loss of olfactory (smell) ability, as much as the loss of gustatory (taste) sensation.

As far as decaf goes...there are actually some excellent decafs available at gourmet shops and specialty stores. At Sweet Maria's, where I buy my green beans, the have some green bean decafs that have excellent cupping reviews. Even some pre-roasted decafs, again specialty store level coffees, are quite good. Many years ago I was served a coffee that was excellent, and until I was told it was decaf, I had no idea.

It's all in how good the beans are to begin with, and the decaffeination method use.
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Since I had a pot on the go for her, I just tried a cup....it's not actually bad at all....good body and flavour...no kick, but since she is supposed to be caffeine free, it's a win win....me? I'm sticking with the full experience as long as I'm allowed...:)
 
I tried the coffee from Burger King this morning and found it to be better than Starbucks and McDonalds, but still not close to that of Tim Hortons, IMO of course. ;)
 
SandboxGeneral said:
I tried the coffee from Burger King this morning and found it to be better than Starbucks and McDonalds, but still not close to that of Tim Hortons, IMO of course. ;)
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I think it's safe to say that, in general, anything you make at home using decent beans is going to be superior to the stuff they make in those outlets.

Better beans at home and no sitting around in the pot for 1/2 hour or more before you get it.
 
Shrink said:
I think it's safe to say that, in general, anything you make at home using decent beans is going to be superior to the stuff they make in those outlets.

Better beans at home and no sitting around in the pot for 1/2 hour or more before you get it.
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Are you referring to freshness? :D
 
I found this article, which I thought might be of some interest...especially to beginners. I don't totally agree with the section on "beans". While it is true that there are no specifically "Espresso beans", there are beans and blends that work better in making espresso than others. The article is a bit oversimplified, but a decent start for those interested in doing a bit of reading about espresso. More in depth artcles will take one further in their understanding of espresso..but this is an OK start.
 
Yesterday afternoons coffee in the making.

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Back from holiday to this thread. Had excellent coffee away (was in Belgrade, both espresso and "Turkish" style) . Also went well with excellent desserts, Austrian-style tortes as well as Turkish sweets (baklava etc.)

So I ask the fanatics on this thread, what do you like to accompany your espresso with it anything?

I do like sweets on occasion-blame my Mediterranean heritage though plain espresso is fine too. Almost always take a glass of water with it though.
 
AhmedFaisal said:
I like my espresso straight or with a piece of chocolate.

As an aside, I am currently experiencing yet again how important water quality is. Just having moved to Singapore I currently only have a Britta filter to process my tab water and it severely deteriorates the taste of the finished product. Can't wait to finally get around to installing my reverse osmosis system.
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I prefer my espresso without any accompaniment. My espresso is so good (brag...brag...:p) that I don't want to interfere with the taste of the espresso alone. But I can certainly understand enjoying a bit of chocolate, or a biscotti, or the like.

My tap water, filtered through a Culligan spigot mounted filter, is pretty good. The tap water is not bad unfiltered, but I'm sure it's not as pure as your water processed by reverse osmosis. And although my water is very soft (almost zero ppm calcium carbonate), and my espresso machine has a water softener capsule in the water intake from the water tank.
 
Shrink said:
I prefer my espresso without any accompaniment. My espresso is so good (brag...brag...:p) that I don't want to interfere with the taste of the espresso alone. But I can certainly understand enjoying a bit of chocolate, or a biscotti, or the like.
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A ristretto with a side of 4oz of sparkling water really hits the spot for me...
 
Kissaragi said:
Theres an interesting idea, a sparkling espresso!
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mobilehaathi said:
Don't mix! Sip one, then the other: repeat. Quite nice, IMO.
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I've read that if you freshly roast coffee beans, and then don't let them rest long enough, you will get a slight "tingle" when you drink the coffee, because the beans are still actively off gassing CO2.

I've never tried it...but maybe it's the best of both worlds...:p
 
Shrink said:
I've read that if you freshly roast coffee beans, and then don't let them rest long enough, you will get a slight "tingle" when you drink the coffee, because the beans are still actively off gassing CO2.

I've never tried it...but maybe it's the best of both worlds...:p
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What a curious cup that would be...

Well, I nominate you to try it out!;)
 
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