coffee-fi - Page 10

If you want to spend the time (not so much money, depending on how you go about it), try roasting your own coffee. I've been buying coffee from Sweet Maria's for about five years. You get to try a lot of different types, and for control freaks, you'll get exactly the roast you want.

They're also really nice people. I like going down to the warehouse to pick up my order when I can.

That's rather weird. I know, for example. that anything that says "Vermont Maple Syrup" has to be 100% pure organic maple syrup from the state of Vermont. That's why you should always buy the Vermont stuff, kids. If it's got the state logo you know it's the good stuff.

 

How does arabic yellow vary from the more typical dark coffees? Other than preparation, of course. One issue I've had with coffee is it tends to be a bit more bitter than I'd like. I'm getting more used to it and acquiring a taste, but if there were some varieties that weren't so bitter I'd prefer that, I think.

Kona is great if as has been said you can find 100% genuine (not blended), fresh-roasted whole beans. Not cheap that way though, it ranges from $20 to just under $50 per pound. Fortunately, Kona isn't the only game in the islands. Kauai for example has been busy replacing the sugar cane that used to grow in their abundant farming fields with coffee plants since the 1980's.

 

Here is the website of Kauai Coffee, by far the island's biggest producer:

http://www.kauaicoffee.com/index.php?page=faqs

 

As good as Kona is, for island coffee I still prefer Jamaican Blue Mountain.

Edited by grokit - 7/28/11 at 10:42pm

 

I have to say that this yellow Arabic was packaged in the Middle East and placed in a suitcase. I think it is hard to get in most places in the World but the Middle East. They use a lot of cardamen in what I have tried so far, so it is a heavy different taste. The coffee when you look at it is green leaves(cardamen) and yellow bean halfs. You have these pieces in your cup as one way to make it. Everything settles like Turkish and you drink whats on top. When typical coffee is roasted the sugar is what turns brown in the bean. These beans don't look roasted to me but I'm no expert here. I am interested in seeing weather the Arabic coffee is roasted at all? The taste is strange to get used to at first. I would also like to find some with out the cardamen added.

 

It is clear almost like yellow tea. They told me to be careful as it is really powerful. All I can say it is a pure coffee buzz. Almost not like coffee. It is a fantastic high. I will be in Kuwait for ten days soon so I'll be buying a bunch.

 

Not to get off subject but the tea from Kuwait is amazing too. I have been into tea most of my life and would consider myself an experienced tea person. The Ahmad Tea Brand Black Tea and the Cardamon Tea is by far the best tea I have ever had. Ever. You can get Ahmad tea in the US but I think this is a little different. There is also a lot of Turkish coffee from Kuwait which is really good. The Turkish is heavy in Camdamen or Cardamon but really different from what you can buy in the States.

Edited by Redcarmoose - 7/29/11 at 6:20am

 

Agreed, there are many other good coffees grown in Hawaii besides Kona that aren't price as high. Waialua Estate Coffee (the same producers of Waialua Single Origin Chocolate) is grown on the North Shore side of Oahu on former pineapple fields;

 

http://www.waialuaestate.com/our-chocolate.html
 

Coffees grown on the island of Molokai and Maui are also great;

 

http://www.coffeesofhawaii.com/plantations/molokai

 

http://www.mauigrowncoffee.com/StoreFront.bok

 

 

Not a fan of fruity coffees ala the Yemense blends. I LOVE south american coffees with their nice bitter notes and full chocolatey/smokey bodies. I like to add a bit of cream to round out the edges and smoothen out the drink. Unfortunately south american blends are really easy to brew poorly, too many places make it too watery or too bitter :/

...thats why i brew it myself :D...

Vietnamese iced coffee (cafe sua da) FTW

Usually a Tim Horton's every day but start the day with Taster's Choice instant.  (I need something quick...I even nuke the water for this to save time!)

agreed, in the morning i need something quick as i always seem to be running late.  i hated setting up the my brewer the night before and finally invested in a nespresso citiz with frother as a christmas present to myself.  now i can have a nice strong cup with a push of a button.

I screwed up and posted a coffee-fi topic thing in the Coffee Gadgets section

 

Here it is:

 

 

 

I just picked up a lb of a special edition coffee beans for hi-fi lovers! Now that deserves some support as far as I can see.

 

 

The regular Black Cat Espresso is crazily good enough, but this. Awesome logo too.

 A vacuum tube.

 The guy said they advertise it's qualities as Perfectly Calibrated hahah

 

It's a single origin bean, really cool as they also have the actual names of the farmers, name and location of the farm, the altitude range grown at, and of course its beyond fair trade I think. Yep Direct trade.

Can't wait to give this a shot.

Anyone else tried it?

 

 

Edited by nick n - 2/25/12 at 8:00pm

Intelligentsia puts out top notch stuff

Recently, I'm in love with west coast roasters right now

 

Ritual

Heart

Four Barrel

Well, my university has these "dining points" that allows me to go to Starbucks to grab coffee. Well, we all know how much Starbucks coffee tastes, too bitter / too watered down, never perfect. Thus, I always just go there to buy their coffee beans. Sumatra and Komodo Dragon blend are my favorites. 

 

Anything made with the Aeropress is simply amazing. 

For me and my family it's "Darboven Café Intención" what could be bought in serveral supermarkets.

It is organic and traded fair so it leaves good karma

 

On the run we brew our coffee with a Saeco Odea Go but on weekends or when there is plenty of time we are using Bialetti moka makers:

 

For Latte:

Mukka Express

 

Or "café solo"

Cuor Di Moka

 

Bumping this, so as not to muck up the coffee-GADGET-fi thread with discussion of the bean itself. Anyone have any suggestions for a cheap, but tastey espresso blend for a college kid? So far, my opinions go as follows: Lavazza > Cafe Bustelo > Wegmans blend > Starbucks > Dirt.  I really like the Lavazza, it has a nice citrus-y note to it, although I've had some (including my family) say it was too acidic for their taste. The Cafe Bustelo is good for mixed coffee drinks, but is a bit bitter and flat for straight espresso (I'm a cappuccino in the morning, American macchiato at 5, espresso at night kind of guy). Basically, the Lavazza is 4x the price of the cafe bustelo, and I want to find something in between the two, affordable yet enjoyable on its own

You may wish to rethink the fridge idea.  Probably the worst place to store coffee.