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Finally got my hands on some Kenyan AA beans after all the talk of it on here and I have to say it's gorgeous! Made it in my French press. Freshly ground beans, just off the boil water, let it brew for 3 1\2 minutes and had with some full fat organic milk. It seems a little "softer" or "smoother" in taste than Ethiopian, which I feel has a distinctive taste. Only my first cup but I'd already say I prefer it to Ethiopian.

I had it with a freshly made scone with butter and some blueberry jam. mmm...
 
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Finally got my hands on some Kenyan AA beans after all the talk of it on here and I have to say it's gorgeous! Made it in my French press. Freshly ground beans, just off the boil water, let it brew for 3 1\2 minutes and had with some full fat organic milk. It seems a little "softer" or "smoother" in taste than Ethiopian, which I feel has a distinctive taste. Only my first cup but I'd already say I prefer it to Ethiopian.

I had it with a freshly made scone with butter and some blueberry jam. mmm...

I'm delighted you enjoyed the Kenyan AA; it is one of my favourites, as you know, and to my mind - one of the best coffees in the world.

Fascinating that you prefer it to Ethiopian. I love Ethiopian, but also adore a good, smooth (dare one say sweet) Kenyan AA. It goes well with warm milk and brown sugar, too, as @JamesMike will surely attest.
 
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I used to use Le Creuset mugs because they’re colorful, big and heavy with a wide base and large handle. I think I have just about every color available. They’re okay and inexpensive but I now use a University of Illinois mug that’s all of those things but a nicer handle and taller.

1BF0C997-327A-4242-82D4-F321D6D95DA1.jpeg
 
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Just received an email from Intelligentsia Coffee (a US based outfit from whom I have ordered coffee in the past) that the superb Los Inmortales (from El Salvador) is now available; in recent years, I have ordered little from them, simply because the cost of postage & transport of the coffee from the US across to Europe (plus inevitable customs duties) usually far exceeds the actual cost of the coffee itself.

However, this is one of the loveliest coffees I have ever tasted, and is probably the nicest non-African coffee I know.

Notwithstanding the cost, and my fidelity to - and preference for - African coffees, I am sorely tempted to order some.

For those from the American continents, this is a coffee I strongly recommend as it is delicious.
 
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I used to use Le Creuset mugs because they’re colorful, big and heavy with a wide base and large handle. I think I have just about every color available. They’re okay and inexpensive but I now use a University of Illinois mug that’s all of those things but a nicer handle and taller.

View attachment 766795
Good call, nice to see what people drink their coffee usually in :)

Take mine usually in either of these, the good thing is that I can put on that lid and keep it warm longer.
The 3rd one is for days I just want a little, or for a 2nd shot.
Love Klean Kanteens stuff for durability, they don't break, and they keep heat.
Little costly but I like quality ;)

Gotta go and make myself a Cappuccino now before I'll need to get occupied.
KK_Black_16oz.jpgKK_stainless_16oz.jpgKK_Black_8oz.jpg
 
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Wow, I found some old green coffe-beans when doing some re-organizing in my kitchen.
As they are not roasted they should still be ok. Actually found a best before late 2018 on it.
What a coincidence :)

Will have to take use of them. Some nice variety of: Brazillian Santos beans, Indonesian Sulawesi Kalossi beans, Robusta from India and Ethiopian Mocha.
Wonder if I should mix them all when roasting them? ;)
Or maybe 2 of each into 2 different batches?
Between 500-750 gram left in each bags.

What do you think ?
 
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Wow, I found some old green coffe-beans when doing some re-organizing in my kitchen.
As they are not roasted they should still be ok. Actually found a best before late 2018 on it.
What a coincidence :)

Will have to take use of them. Some nice variety of: Brazillian Santos beans, Indonesian Sulawesi Kalossi beans, Robusta from India and Ethiopian Mocha.
Wonder if I should mix them all when roasting them? ;)
Or maybe 2 of each into 2 different batches?
Between 500-750 gram left in each bags.

What do you think ?
Hmm, I typically roast each separately, then you could play with blending the roasted beans.
 
I like Klean Canteen. Their stainless steel cups work well with a stick blender for a quick smoothie.

Currently having some Tarrazu.
 
Just now, I am looking into buying a decent grinder (yes, a burr grinder, preferably even a ceramic burr grinder) and would welcome thoughts and suggestions from fellow coffee and espresso enthusiasts.

I have been eyeing the Baratza 986, but am open to reading what anyone else might have to say, or wish to recommend, or what experience they have had with particular grinders.
 
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Just now, I am looking into buying a decent grinder (yes, a burr grinder, preferably even a ceramic burr grinder) and would welcome thoughts and suggestions from fellow coffee and espresso enthusiasts.

I have been eyeing the Baratza 986, but am open to reading what anyone else might have to say, or wish to recommend, or what experience they have had with particular grinders.
I’ve had great experience with Baratza grinders, but I haven’t used that one before. I don’t think you could go wrong with it though.
 
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A colleague is in New York this weekend and has asked if I would like some beans bringing back.

Anything recommended from there?
 
A colleague is in New York this weekend and has asked if I would like some beans bringing back.

Anything recommended from there?

What do you like?

These days, my preferences - with a few exceptions - tend to lie with the African coffees.

However, a few posts back, I recommended the Los Inmortales from Intelligentsia; it is seasonal (well, an annual - it appears in late June or July each year for a few weeks) - a stunning coffee from El Salvador that has just become available.
 
What do you like?

These days, my preferences - with a few exceptions - tend to lie with the African coffees.

However, a few posts back, I recommended the Los Inmortales from Intelligentsia; it is seasonal (well, an annual - it appears in late June or July each year for a few weeks) - a stunning coffee from El Salvador that has just become available.

Well, I too like African coffee. I just thought there’d be something “from over there” worth looking out for. I’ll ask her to look out for the Los Inmortales.
 
Well, I too like African coffee. I just thought there’d be something “from over there” worth looking out for. I’ll ask her to look out for the Los Inmortales.

I'm not an expert on coffees available in the US, but I would have thought that it is a good place to search for the really special coffees from the central and southern parts of the American continent, as a greater variety of good coffees from those regions would be accessible, known about and available when in the US.

Anyway, I'd recommend looking out for Los Inmortales; it is my favourite non-African coffee, I thought it outstanding and am sorely tempted to order some now that it has made its annual appearance.
 
When friends of mine go to far flung places and they speak the local language (and mine!) I try to describe as best as I can what type of coffee I like, and list some that I typically buy. Then they can pass that on to the local coffee shop and simply buy what they recommend.

But as a counter example, just typing here for the story, when I was in Vietnam I really wanted the lower quality coffee that's roasted in fish oil (!) and other spices to give that slightly chocolatey burning sensation in their coffees - the street "caphe sua da" that I got hooked on. It was pretty much a fight as they couldn't understand why a westerner would want that coffee when even the new middle class locals wouldn't touch it and wanted the purer stuff. I had to get a Vietnamese friend go to back to the coffee shop and get it in the end. Dirt cheap. Lovely. Different, and does usually need the condensed milk, but lovely nonetheless.
 
When friends of mine go to far flung places and they speak the local language (and mine!) I try to describe as best as I can what type of coffee I like, and list some that I typically buy. Then they can pass that on to the local coffee shop and simply buy what they recommend.

But as a counter example, just typing here for the story, when I was in Vietnam I really wanted the lower quality coffee that's roasted in fish oil (!) and other spices to give that slightly chocolatey burning sensation in their coffees - the street "caphe sua da" that I got hooked on. It was pretty much a fight as they couldn't understand why a westerner would want that coffee when even the new middle class locals wouldn't touch it and wanted the purer stuff. I had to get a Vietnamese friend go to back to the coffee shop and get it in the end. Dirt cheap. Lovely. Different, and does usually need the condensed milk, but lovely nonetheless.

That is a great story.

In Kenya, some of the locals drink "chai" (a form of locally served tea where the milk is boiled with the tea before it is served) a preference which arrived with indentured Indian servants - and other Indians from the sub-continent who had travelled to Kenya - in the 19th century.

They couldn't understand that I genuinely liked it, some restaurants telling me that I was the only westerner they had met who actually ordered it and liked it.

And I am sipping some Ethiopian coffee as I write this, served with organic milk and organic brown sugar.
 
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@Scepticalscribe
So while coffee isn't my big thing, I did think this might be a worthwhile post.
Yesterday in London to see the Rodin exhibition at the British Museum. And then did a perambulation of Holburn with my Pevsner guide in hand…

Before hand though I stopped and had a coffee at my usual haunt in the area: The London Review of Books Coffee Shop. Good coffee. (I do fail at this though, cannot remember what origin!)

Most enjoyable.

A pretty standard dull grey skied London otherwise.

Coffee - 1.jpg
 
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