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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.
Why is it that the biggest brand of coffee (no names, no pack drill...), that has also tied up many, many cafes, also makes the worst coffee in Aus? It takes real skill to make coffee as bad as this.

A different company, Starbucks, tried to set up in Australia. They only lasted a year or so and had to close up because nobody wanted their coffee.
Quite some years ago, McDonalds started making Espresso coffee. It was so bad that after two weeks they totally re-did how they make their coffee, and now it is, while not the best, quite a drinkable coffee. I was one of the unfortunates that tried their new coffee in the first week. It was truly horrible, worse than that mentioned in the first paragraph. It is an interesting example of how a company can turn around and produce a good product if they listen to their customers. If only Starbucks had taken a leaf out of McDonalds' book...
 
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DaveFromCampbelltown said:
Why is it that the biggest brand of coffee (no names, no pack drill...), that has also tied up many, many cafes, also makes the worst coffee in Aus? It takes real skill to make coffee as bad as this.

A different company, Starbucks, tried to set up in Australia. They only lasted a year or so and had to close up because nobody wanted their coffee.
Quite some years ago, McDonalds started making Espresso coffee. It was so bad that after two weeks they totally re-did how they make their coffee, and now it is, while not the best, quite a drinkable coffee. I was one of the unfortunates that tried their new coffee in the first week. It was truly horrible, worse than that mentioned in the first paragraph. It is an interesting example of how a company can turn around and produce a good product if they listen to their customers. If only Starbucks had taken a leaf out of McDonalds' book...
Click to expand...
An interesting and instructive tale.

I have never liked Starbucks coffee: To my mind, their coffee is thin, stale, bitter, over-extracted......now, I do like (or, have liked) the ambience to be found in some of their cafés, although I detest their business model, and far prefer local, independent cafés.

And, this evening, have just noticed that I am running perilously low on coffee......time to replenish my supply, and order some coffee.
 
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It's raining again this morning.....and the forecast says it'll get worse before it's over.

As a result, I'm having a second mug of coffee this morning (Ethiopian coffee from the Yirgacheffe district)
 
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3 kg Espresso beans arrived 😁

I also picked up 1 kg pure Arabica beans at the store here locally today. Was surprised of how much beans they had. Had been ordering online for quite som time.
Anyway, I start to get tired of the mix of Robusta/Arabica beans I’ve had recently. It have started to feel too murky.

A little Robusta is good, how much that is might varying with times. So I will even blend out the recent bought bags. Because this morning I just felt a longing for much cleaner Arabica espresso, for a bit. Felt really tired of the mix of the Mexican beans I have left too.
Innovation 🌟🔥
Test and try, mix and explore. What was good yesterday, may not be so good today or tomorrow. 😉
 
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Solomani said:
So you drank coffee by the kegs? 😆
Click to expand...

it's been a long time so my memory is a bit hazy, I vaguely recall that at one of my first jobs the employer provided IV drips for the staff and the office boy was charged with making sure nobody ran dry while they worked
 
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Macky-Mac said:
it's been a long time so my memory is a bit hazy, I vaguely recall that but at one of my first jobs the employer provided IV drips for the staff and the office boy was charged with making sure nobody ran dry while they worked
Click to expand...

I literally worked in the same sort of situation for a while.

I was working for the National Computer Centre in Port Moresby.

We had a little man whose job was was to keep the coffee machine full.

Now, this wasn't just your basic coffee filter machine or percolator. This was a 5 gallon coffee percolator urn, based on the Country Women's Association tea urns, with a large basket in the top for the coffee. Our man would fill the urn with water, then scoop a kilogram or so of ground coffee from a 50 kg. hessian sack, then set it running. This wasn't just ordinary coffee. This was freshly roasted and ground coffee from the PNG Highlands. The urn would start percolating away and fill the surrounding area with coffee aroma.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but my desk was 3 metres away from the bench with the giant coffee urn.

Regularly (perhaps too regularly), I would go over to the urn, fill up my cup, and enjoy coffee.

One day I was running late, and had to finish an urgent job. I didn't get my first coffee till 10:30. During that time a headache was building up. I took my first sip (gulp, really) of coffee and the headache started to go away.
"Ooohh" I said to myself, as light dawned.
And started a strict regime of weaning myself off some of the best, freshest coffee in the world, till I was down to about 2 cups a day.
 
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Much more satisfied with my XXXL Espresso today

Can only nod to the gentlemen above here - yep, espresso quantity depends on work load. Regardless if we work on a workplace, or if we work from home.

Sharpening our mind with caffeine is not a bad thing, until we have pushed it beyond some limit that varies, and the wanted revigerating and stimulating result and effects doesn't come because the addiction had changed how we are affected.

Oh, I've been there, more then once, but caffeine addiction is not difficult to get rid of. It was worse when I stopped smoking I can recall. I never go back there.

Caffeine is an amazing and harmless drug.
 
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Lioness~ said:
3 kg Espresso beans arrived 😁

I also picked up 1 kg pure Arabica beans at the store here locally today. Was surprised of how much beans they had. Had been ordering online for quite som time.
Anyway, I start to get tired of the mix of Robusta/Arabica beans I’ve had recently. It have started to feel too murky.

A little Robusta is good, how much that is might varying with times. So I will even blend out the recent bought bags. Because this morning I just felt a longing for much cleaner Arabica espresso, for a bit. Felt really tired of the mix of the Mexican beans I have left too.
Innovation 🌟🔥
Test and try, mix and explore. What was good yesterday, may not be so good today or tomorrow. 😉
Click to expand...
I share your distaste for "murky" (an excellent description of that sensation) coffee; around a decade ago, I realised that I vastly preferred coffee with the clean, bright notes you find in many Ethiopian coffee.

Actually, I have never much cared for any of the Mexican coffees I have tried, and far preferred (from that region) coffees from El Salvador, or Costa Rica.

Or, even, Colombia.

Nothing - in my experience, - beats good Arabica beans.

DaveFromCampbelltown said:
I literally worked in the same sort of situation for a while.

I was working for the National Computer Centre in Port Moresby.

We had a little man whose job was was to keep the coffee machine full.

Now, this wasn't just your basic coffee filter machine or percolator. This was a 5 gallon coffee percolator urn, based on the Country Women's Association tea urns, with a large basket in the top for the coffee. Our man would fill the urn with water, then scoop a kilogram or so of ground coffee from a 50 kg. hessian sack, then set it running. This wasn't just ordinary coffee. This was freshly roasted and ground coffee from the PNG Highlands. The urn would start percolating away and fill the surrounding area with coffee aroma.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but my desk was 3 metres away from the bench with the giant coffee urn.

Regularly (perhaps too regularly), I would go over to the urn, fill up my cup, and enjoy coffee.

One day I was running late, and had to finish an urgent job. I didn't get my first coffee till 10:30. During that time a headache was building up. I took my first sip (gulp, really) of coffee and the headache started to go away.
"Ooohh" I said to myself, as light dawned.
And started a strict regime of weaning myself off some of the best, freshest coffee in the world, till I was down to about 2 cups a day.
Click to expand...

Lioness~ said:
Much more satisfied with my XXXL Espresso today

Can only nod to the gentlemen above here - yep, espresso quantity depends on work load. Regardless if we work on a workplace, or if we work from home.

Sharpening our mind with caffeine is not a bad thing, until we have pushed it beyond some limit that varies, and the wanted revigerating and stimulating result and effects doesn't come because the addiction had changed how we are affected.

Oh, I've been there, more then once, but caffeine addiction is not difficult to get rid of. It was worse when I stopped smoking I can recall. I never go back there.

Caffeine is an amazing and harmless drug.
Click to expand...
Yes; that reminds me of my life in university - a mindset that continued long after my student days, and into my time as a university teacher.

In fact, if I had classes (as a teacher) that ran for two consecutive sessions, I was that teacher who always, but always, had a mug of coffee to hand.

These days, whenever I have to give a talk, you will see a bottle - or, a glass - of mineral water within easy reach.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
I share your distaste for "murky" (an excellent description of that sensation) coffee; around a decade ago, I realised that I vastly preferred coffee with the clean, bright notes you find in many Ethiopian coffee.

Actually, I have never much cared for any of the Mexican coffees I have tried, and far preferred (from that region) coffees from El Salvador, or Costa Rica.

Or, even, Colombia.

Nothing - in my experience, - beats good Arabica beans.




Yes; that reminds me of my life in university - a mindset that continued long after my student days, and into my time as a university teacher.

In fact, if I had classes (as a teacher) that ran for two consecutive sessions, I was that teacher who always, but always, had a mug of coffee to hand.

These days, whenever I have to give a talk, you will see a bottle - or, a glass - of mineral water within easy reach.
Click to expand...
I think the 'murkiness' can come from a variations of reason, and it may not be the same reason as last time we got that taste 😉
Today with higher mix and percentage of Arabica beans, the Mexican espresso tasted superb.

I am not much for Ethiopian beans today, guess I over drank it after brother married an Ethiopian woman, and we suddenly got an overflow of those beans sent from her family.

Some places have naturally lighter coffee and other places something entirely else. Sometimes we change the origin of the beans, sometimes the type of beans, sometimes the degree of roasting, or even the way we make it on the machine and utilities we use. So many variables to play with to squeeze the best out the little beloved beans ♥️

I totally loved the Mexican espresso when I travelled around there. When we got into the jungles there were many magical places to explore, where I also found excellent espressos and coffees all along the way.

Soon time to get into the ice-espressos again. Spring and warmer days are coming.
I woke up one day, and had the feel for it, un til I looked outside and saw the snow 😲
But I had to prepare a few portions to have in the freezer for consuming soon.
 
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Lioness~ said:
I think the 'murkiness' can come from a variations of reason, and it may not be the same reason as last time we got that taste 😉
Today with higher mix and percentage of Arabica beans, the Mexican espresso tasted superb.

I am not much for Ethiopian beans today, guess I over drank it after brother married an Ethiopian woman, and we suddenly got an overflow of those beans sent from her family.

Some places have naturally lighter coffee and other places something entirely else. Sometimes we change the origin of the beans, sometimes the type of beans, sometimes the degree of roasting, or even the way we make it on the machine and utilities we use. So many variables to play with to squeeze the best out the little beloved beans ♥️

I totally loved the Mexican espresso when I travelled around there. When we got into the jungles there were many magical places to explore, where I also found excellent espressos and coffees all along the way.

Soon time to get into the ice-espressos again. Spring and warmer days are coming.
I woke up one day, and had the feel for it, un til I looked outside and saw the snow 😲
But I had to prepare a few portions to have in the freezer for consuming soon.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes.

I can well imagine that Mexican espresso in Mexico tastes entirely different to - and is far better than - anything we can source in our corner of Europe. That sounds delicious. The fact that I have never had a good Mexican coffee doesn't mean that coffees from Mexicao cannot be of an excellent quality. Do enjoy.

In the small, local coffee shop (that sources coffee from small, independent, local producers and roasters, ethical, ecological, etc) today, (I treated myself to a coffee and a mineral water while there, what is life without small pleasures?) I spotted a coffee from Peru, a coffee and a country both unfamiliar to me. Has anyone ever tried a coffee fom Peru?
 
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Lioness~ said:
Much more satisfied with my XXXL Espresso today

Can only nod to the gentlemen above here - yep, espresso quantity depends on work load. Regardless if we work on a workplace, or if we work from home.

Sharpening our mind with caffeine is not a bad thing, until we have pushed it beyond some limit that varies, and the wanted revigerating and stimulating result and effects doesn't come because the addiction had changed how we are affected.

Oh, I've been there, more then once, but caffeine addiction is not difficult to get rid of. It was worse when I stopped smoking I can recall. I never go back there.

Caffeine is an amazing and harmless drug.
Click to expand...

Caffeine is beneficial for some sports, like fencing, and detrimental for others, like smallbore target shooting.
For those who aren't aware, the 10-ring, what you are aiming at, is a 1 centimetre (~ 1/2 inch) ring, 50 metres away. You need to hit it 19 ~ 20 times out of 20, to be in the top 5 in a match.

I was preparing for an international shooting competition and did some tests (me being a trained statistician and all that...). I found that one 600 ml bottle of Coke or Pepsi on a Thursday, would cost me 5 points in a shooting match on a Sunday. That was enough to take me from 1st to 15th.

I had to go off Coke and coffee for three months.
 
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DaveFromCampbelltown said:
....One day I was running late, and had to finish an urgent job. I didn't get my first coffee till 10:30. During that time a headache was building up. I took my first sip (gulp, really) of coffee and the headache started to go away.
"Ooohh" I said to myself, as light dawned.
And started a strict regime of weaning myself off some of the best, freshest coffee in the world, till I was down to about 2 cups a day.
Click to expand...

As luck would have it, I never had, or was never aware, of any of the negative aspects of caffeine withdrawal.

At some point in the past I acquired the first of a series of espresso machines and segued from bad brewed coffee (the office boy made lousy coffee) to espressos at home and lattes when out and around town. Perhaps during that long phase I reduced my caffeine intake to a more pleasurable level that allowed me to focus more on the quality of what I was drinking
 
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Macky-Mac said:
As luck would have it, I never had, or was never aware, of any of the negative aspects of caffeine withdrawal.

At some point in the past I acquired the first of a series of espresso machines and segued from bad brewed coffee (the office boy made lousy coffee) to espressos at home and lattes when out and around town. Perhaps during that long phase I reduced my caffeine intake to a more pleasurable level that allowed me to focus more on the quality of what I was drinking
Click to expand...

I do so understand this post.

And I agree with it.

DaveFromCampbelltown said:
........

One day I was running late, and had to finish an urgent job. I didn't get my first coffee till 10:30. During that time a headache was building up. I took my first sip (gulp, really) of coffee and the headache started to go away.
"Ooohh" I said to myself, as light dawned.
And started a strict regime of weaning myself off some of the best, freshest coffee in the world, till I was down to about 2 cups a day.
Click to expand...
Headache withdrawal (yes, I do recall that from the time when I dwelt in the groves of academe...I used to get them, too).

However, I am not (and never was, not even as a child), a morning person (with the sole possible striking exception of a very few weeks at the very height of summer, and then, and only then, if the sun does what it is supposed to do, which is rise early, and shine brightly, from early in the morning until late, very, very late, at night), and am not really fully functional at that time until I have had at least one - and preferably two - mugs of really good coffee.
 
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I enjoyed an exceptionally pleasant mug (Le Creuset) of coffee (naturally processed) from El Salvador, the very last of it, served with organic hot milk and a dash of organic double cream.
 
Open source espresso machine is one delicious rabbit hole inside another

arduino_espresso1-800x1067.jpeg


perhaps a step or two too far?...
 
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