Originally Posted by badwhale
I wouldn't base any opinions I espouse as any kind of credible knowledge of coffee. I am blessed with a wife who loves good coffee as well, and so a passion has developed.
As I've stated before, I do not care for central American coffee - the coffees listed above are primarily my coffees of choice. That doesn't mean that I won't try different coffees, but central American coffees usually have this sweet/savory flavor that I can't quite put my finger on, but I know I dislike. Starbucks has this flavor as well, that's why I usually order some kind of espresso drink from them.
I primarily enjoy dark roasted coffees. This type of roast, of course, is how well they roast the coffee beans. There is also mild roast, and medium roast. I enjoy some medium roasted coffees as well, but the milds are just not to my liking. Usually, the darker roasted coffees have less caffeine than the milder roasted coffees. Also, just like cigars, I do not care for flavored coffees of any kind. I do enjoy the Cafe du Monde coffee mentioned above with chicory, although I see the chicory as more of an accessory to the coffee than a flavored deterrent.
As you may have already guessed, the type of coffee you want determines how you grind your beans. Should I have the time and inclination, I will usually opt for making coffee using a French press. While probably not the best, the French presses made by Bodum work very well, are very well made, and do the job well. Basically what is happening is, you put the grinds in, then boil some water, and let the ground coffee soak in the boiling water. After 3.5 minutes, you then push the coffee grinds down, and you're coffee is ready to go. As you can imagine, French press coffee requires a coarse grind. Not so course so that you still have whole beans, but not as fine as coffee that is bought ground in the store. My daily coffee is made with an Italian espresso stovetop pot. This is made by finely grinding your coffee beans (more than the ground coffee bought in the store, but not as much as Turkish coffee, mentioned below). Water is put in the bottom of the coffee pot, and it percolates up as the water is heated. If I'm making drip coffee, I usually know how strong the coffee is before I put the grinds in. For example, the Cafe du Monde coffee mentioned above is very strong. I would put almost half as much of that coffee in as I would, say, the Trader Joe's Bay Blend. Also, I always use filtered water, and when I'm making either French press or espresso, I always make sure the water is chilled. I don't know why. It may not be important.
I used to drink 2 pots of strong black coffee a day. My stomach couldn't handle the acidity, and so I've had to not only cut back in quantity, but also in style. Non-dairy creamer or powder creamer was never an option. Milk doesn't do coffee justice in my mind. After a while, even half n half seems too watered down. Now, I drink my coffee with heavy whipping cream. Not only are there no carbohydrates in heavy whipping cream, it also has lots of protein in it. Plus, it adds a creaminess that can't be beat with a nice cigar in the mornings.
Yeah, it would be worth it to me to get a good Turkish coffee grinder. They can be quite expensive. One day. My wife also wants a new espresso machine, but considering the good ones start at $600, I don't think we'll be doing either any time soon. Can she recommend a good Turkish coffee to try? When I was over there, I bought some coffee the locals enjoyed, but when I brought it back, I couldn't drink it, it was barely roasted at all, and very sour.
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Cigars and coffee....what more could a guy want?!!
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