[beerguy0]

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Jamaican Blue Mountain~!!!!!!!

 
I've had JBM, back in the 80's when you could still get it. Good coffee, but very delicate. Not a lot of flavor, IMO.
 
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I like the fruity coffees, especially Yemen origins.
Also, the crisp, clean taste of Costa Rica coffee is nice.

JBM is overrated and overpriced. I have had Colombian coffee that rivals it in taste etc.

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To clarify JBM has a nice taste, but for the price the marginal taste difference in some good Colombian coffees I see the marginal cost to be too high.

 
^This. Overrated, overpriced. Lots of better coffees for nowhere near the price of JBM.
 
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I buy green beans from Sweet Maria's and roast them at home. I've been using their Monkey Blend for espresso, and I keep a large selection of other coffees for normal drinking. I am quite partial to Yemeni coffees (mattari!).

 
I'm partial to Ethiopian coffees, especially the dry processed ones. I also buy from Sweet Marias and home roast. My current favorites are the DP Worka Sakaro, followed by the Saris Abaya. I have some Yemeni coffees, but prefer Ethiopian.

 

[beerguy0]

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You can save a pot of nasty, bitter hot coffee with a teaspoon of salt. I think it acts as a kind of emulsifier, I don't recall, but I did see a thing on it on Japanese TV. I did try it with coffee that had gone cold and bitter and it did work.

Salt masks bitterness in foods. This is one reason that processed foods (canned soups, for instance) are so high in sodium - the packaging process tends to make food bitter, and the salt hides the bitterness.

 

[hodgjy]

I did not know this.  Very interesting.  I always assumed it had to do with preservation.  But, it makes perfect sense.
 
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Salt masks bitterness in foods. This is one reason that processed foods (canned soups, for instance) are so high in sodium - the packaging process tends to make food bitter, and the salt hides the bitterness.

 

[CaffeinatedX42]

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I did not know this.  Very interesting.  I always assumed it had to do with preservation.  But, it makes perfect sense.
 

 
It's why salt on bitter pineapple will make it sweeter.

 

[CaffeinatedX42]

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I've had JBM, back in the 80's when you could still get it. Good coffee, but very delicate. Not a lot of flavor, IMO.
 
 
^This. Overrated, overpriced. Lots of better coffees for nowhere near the price of JBM.
 

 
Word.  Though some of the reason for this is that 90% of JBM is extremely sub-par compared to the very best of it, which rare and hard to find.  Even at it's highest potential it's still little more than an interesting, though enjoyable, curiosity for me. I've never bought a full pound of it and not been bored by the end.

 

[CaffeinatedX42]

This week's choice; an old favorite I enjoy via siphon pot, clevercoffeedripper, and press pot.
 
 

 

[grokit]

The best single-origin coffee I ever had was Kenya AAA peaberry freshly roasted in downtown Nairobi. But I tend to prefer blends.

 

[beerguy0]

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Word.  Though some of the reason for this is that 90% of JBM is extremely sub-par compared to the very best of it, which rare and hard to find.  Even at it's highest potential it's still little more than an interesting, though enjoyable, curiosity for me. I've never bought a full pound of it and not been bored by the end.

 
That's one thing most people don't get. There are good producers and bad producers of anything. Saying a coffee is JBM is like saying a wine comes from the Napa Valley, without specifying the vintner. Could be good wine, could be swill. The best of the JBM goes to Japan, because they're willing to pay top dollar for it.
 
(This is one reason I like buying from Sweet Maria's - when you buy beans from them, you are getting coffee from a specific producer, be it a farm, a co-op, or whatever. Most places sell coffee in the generic sense, like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, without specifying the producer. There are dozens of producers in any region, some better than others.)

 

[CaffeinatedX42]

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That's one thing most people don't get. There are good producers and bad producers of anything. Saying a coffee is JBM is like saying a wine comes from the Napa Valley, without specifying the vintner. Could be good wine, could be swill. The best of the JBM goes to Japan, because they're willing to pay top dollar for it.
 
(This is one reason I like buying from Sweet Maria's - when you buy beans from them, you are getting coffee from a specific producer, be it a farm, a co-op, or whatever. Most places sell coffee in the generic sense, like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, without specifying the producer. There are dozens of producers in any region, some better than others.)

 Very well put.

 

[warubozu]

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That's one thing most people don't get. There are good producers and bad producers of anything. Saying a coffee is JBM is like saying a wine comes from the Napa Valley, without specifying the vintner. Could be good wine, could be swill. The best of the JBM goes to Japan, because they're willing to pay top dollar for it.
 
(This is one reason I like buying from Sweet Maria's - when you buy beans from them, you are getting coffee from a specific producer, be it a farm, a co-op, or whatever. Most places sell coffee in the generic sense, like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, without specifying the producer. There are dozens of producers in any region, some better than others.)

Agreed, you could have the best beans in world but it would make a poor cup of coffee if it's from a poor producer or a retailer who doesn't properly store them.

 

[Kiont]

That's one thing most people don't get. There are good producers and bad producers of anything. Saying a coffee is JBM is like saying a wine comes from the Napa Valley, without specifying the vintner. Could be good wine, could be swill. The best of the JBM goes to Japan, because they're willing to pay top dollar for it.

(This is one reason I like buying from Sweet Maria's - when you buy beans from them, you are getting coffee from a specific producer, be it a farm, a co-op, or whatever. Most places sell coffee in the generic sense, like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, without specifying the producer. There are dozens of producers in any region, some better than others.)

Indeed, unfortunately most of it goes into canned or instant coffee :mad:

 

[beerguy0]

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The best single-origin coffee I ever had was Kenya AAA peaberry freshly roasted in downtown Nairobi. But I tend to prefer blends.

 
Coffee designations are interesting. The AAA, AA, and AB designations of Kenyan coffees refer to bean size, and has nothing to do with the quality of the bean. The same holds true for Colombian Supremo - Supremo is just the largest bean size.
 
Ethiopian coffees are often designated a Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3. These designations actually do refer to the quality of the coffee, but coffees are often downgraded one grade to save on taxes. Dry Process Ethiopian coffees are rarely Grade 1, although they do exist and are excellent. I've had Grade 3 DP coffees that are amazing - heavily fruited, with plenty of funk. (The Belgian Ales of the coffee world.) They tend to roast unevenly, but that's what you get with hand-processed coffees.

 

[meyner]

btw where is the best place to get cheap black coffee that is readily available? I personally prefer a strong taste compared to a light taste. I also have a coffee machine is a good black coffee recommendation for that would be welcome as well as long as its readily avilable.

 

[CaffeinatedX42]

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btw where is the best place to get cheap black coffee that is readily available? I personally prefer a strong taste compared to a light taste. I also have a coffee machine is a good black coffee recommendation for that would be welcome as well as long as its readily avilable.

Where do you live?

 

[grokit]

That was a cryptic inquiry, I can't even tell if meyner is after roasted beans or a prepared cup.