MaevesChild
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Re: How do you make the perfect cuppa joe?
I'm not too picky, but I do insist on whole beans. I keep em in the freezer so they stay good longer and they grind better I've noticed.
I'm probably a bad coffee person, since I like the flavored types. I almost exclusively drink "Highland Grogg" from the infused beans.
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12/3/2008, 9:22 am
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TexasMadness
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Re: How do you make the perfect cuppa joe?
I'm not a regular coffee drinker. If it's there, I have some. At a restaurant for breakfast/brunch I always have some. And there's the occasional desperate attempt to perk myself up in the morning at work. But I do consider myself a bit of a coffee snob. How can people drink Folgers? Ick. I can't even stand the smell now - I worked across the street from the Folgers plant in New Orleans. Stinky!
I too prefer whole beans. I didn't even know you could get ground coffee until I was older. Thought it was the weirdest thing not to grind your own. My dad is an even bigger coffee snob than me.
I exclusively buy Ruta Maya coffee - organic, shade grown Guatemalan arabica beans roasted locally so they are really fresh. It's a toss up between the dark and medium roast for me.
But my parent's next door neighbor is a Kona coffee heiress (no joke) so we get a good supply from her.
And my in-laws send us pinon infused coffee beans that are delicious.
Now, as far as making the stuff, I just use a drip maker because that's what they have a work. I like coffee presses but mine broke long ago. My brother and SIL insist on percolated. Maybe we should have a taste test one of these days...
Have you ever had Ethiopian coffee? WOW. They bring the burning (not roasting, they are seriously burnt) to the table so you can smell. Mmm, carbon...then they make it and serve it in the teeniest little cups. Thick and sludge and strong as you can imagine. Wowzers. I suggest only one cup or you might not sleep for a week.
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12/3/2008, 11:53 am
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de Corbin
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Re: How do you make the perfect cuppa joe?
I like the flavored coffee - sometimes. To taste good, they really seem to need some sugar added in, and something I like about coffee is it's bitterness. But, sometimes...
Whole beans are definitely the way to go though. Have you ever had the chocolate covered espresso beans? I know, they sound dreadful - who'd actually want to eat a coffee bean... but they are actually very good. In fact, they are excellent! The chocolate is just the right touch to set off the bitter bean flavor, and the darkly roasted beans have a dry crunchy mouth feel that goes well with the chocolate.
Yeah, TexasM, the freeze dried stuff is barely coffee. It's a sad sign of the times that people are (were - it's less common now, with drip coffee makers) willing to drink that stuff.
The Ethiopian coffee sounds like Greek coffee (which I first had in Greektown in Detroit), except that they don't burn it.
The Greek coffee is made by finely - very finely - grinding the beans, then they are put into a little pot with a handle on it. The pot of ground beans and water is heated until it just boils. It makes a foam on top. Then it's poured into tiny cups.
Now that is excellent! But you don't want to swallow the mud on the bottom of the cup!
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12/5/2008, 7:50 pm
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Saijen SilverWolf
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Re: How do you make the perfect cuppa joe?
When DH and I go camping, we use a percolator for our coffee. At home, we use a drip coffee maker.
Folger's isn't all that bad if you get the actual coffee, not the freeze dried stuff. I HATE instant coffee. My dad loves the freeze dried stuff. UGH.
We just bought a percolator for camping that we want to try in the house. Got it at Walmart for $17, and trust me....that's inexpensive. Most of the ones we looked at for 9 cups run between $30 and $55 dollars. If you get a 12 cup one, you're looking at more than $60.
I prefer perked coffee over the drip kind, but it's not as convenient.
something you may want to try...you all have talked about the beans and such, but no one has mentioned the water used. Try using distilled water rather than tap water. You may be surprised at the difference in taste. You won't have all the chlorine and garbage that is put into your tap water. If you're on a well, like we are, you have to watch the mineral build up that can cause a drip coffee maker to really go slow. I have to run vinegar through my coffee maker at least once a month if I'm using our tap water, even though we have a filter. The water, actually, is as important as the beans.
When I do whole beans, I use my antique coffee grinder to grind the beans. I only grind what I need for that one pot. That way I don't have to worry about the coffee getting stale, even if kept in the fridge or freezer. Whole beans freeze better than ground coffee does. It holds the taste better.
If you're into the flavored coffee, an idea to try:
Put your coffee into the filter as usual, and sprinkle ground cinnamon on top. Use as much or as little as you think you'd like. It makes a really nice flavored coffee, and is a lot cheaper than some of the ones you buy. You can also do this with ground allspice.
Just some ideas 
Last edited by Saijen SilverWolf, 1/15/2009, 7:22 pm
--- Blessed Be,
~*~ Saijen ~*~
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1/15/2009, 7:21 pm
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Saijen SilverWolf
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Re: How do you make the perfect cuppa joe?
Have fun experimenting. Let us know what you come up with, will ya? 
--- Blessed Be,
~*~ Saijen ~*~
~~*~~ .~~*~~ |
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1/16/2009, 8:03 pm
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