SWR - Coffee

[Ratcatcher]

I always read Ric's attempts to get a decent coffee on his Tour Diaries with a chuckle.

Made me wonder if all wine buffs are as fussy with coffee as they are with wine.

So, what are your coffee habits?

Do you finish off a great dinner and a bottle of first growth with a cup of International Roast? Or have you got a $1200 coffee machine and have freshly ground coffee home delivered every morning?

Even if you use your best coffee and $1200 machine the night before do you boil the jug for a quick Nescafe the morning after?

[Red Bigot]

Our 12 year-old Saeco Magic has had 2 boilers and and a new circuit board, it's getting a fair workout recently doing coffees for builders, painters, tilers etc.

Espresso/ristretto is my style of choice (not those long-blacks in an espresso cup that Ric drinks), I'd rather drink tea-bag tea than instant coffee. Our current beans are Cosmorex Blue Blend, we also sometimes get East Timor Organic by mail-order.

[Daryl Douglas]

I only drink instant coffee when in dire need of a caffeine hit and there's no real coffee to be had. I use a plunger at work and a Vev Vigano stainless steel stove-top espresso pot at home. Couldn't be bothered messing around with a coffee machine. Don't experiment much with various coffees, mostly just use Vittoria Espresso, sometimes Vittoria Italian Blend, Lavazza D'oro or Lavazza Espresso - all pre-ground and kept in the fridge with a peg to seal the package. I also don't often drink coffee after mid-ish afternoon. Evenings are for wine, sometimes beer, sometimes beer then wine, and occasionally a scotch for a nightcap.

daz

[Ratcatcher]

Lavazza is one of our favourites too.

Has anyone tried Oomph coffee - roasted in Hobart?

I'm not sure if they market outside Tas.

ps: I have no association - ie: I'm not plugging it.

I have to admit to drinking instant most of the time.

[Daryl Douglas]

I have to admit to drinking instant most of the time.

That's sad. But at least you're not a teabag! Before I started drinking instant coffee I even used to drink instant tea!:lol:

There are a number of regional coffee producers around. I was given an insulated plunger mug by a nephew and his wife who live in Mareeba on the Atherton Tableland a few years ago - I ended up breaking the plunger bit . They got it from a place called The Coffee Factory that sources it's beans from producers on the Tableland. Maybe the beans or at least some of them come from their own plantation. A place worth visiting just for the aromas but their coffee's quite expensive and you have to pay for the tour of the industrial shed. Anyway, a sample of the espresso coffee came with the mug and it was GOOD. Apparently there's another producer on the Tableland that has a tourist operation in conjuction with it's plantation that may be worth a visit. And there's also Jacques coffee from there that hasn't impressed me in the past.

There was also a producer from Chilli Lane, Bowen but I don't know if they're still operating. It wasn't bad coffee and was available in Bowen but I've not been to the local supermarket there for years. Surprise, surprise, it was/is named Chilli Lane coffee.

Funnily enough, the nephew and his wife who are in their mid+ 30s only came to enjoy coffee themselves a couple of years after they gave me the mug. Had to demonstrate to them that the Vev pot identical to mine that I gave his parents is superior to the plunger they were using. They probably have an espresso pot now.

Never seen Oomph coffee here - hope it's a dark roast!

[Ian S]

We have at last count, about 4 different sizes of stove top espresso pots. It was 6 but I think the other 2 have now been thrown out.
Coffee is very important to "the brains of the operation" and we've been known to take a pot over to Italy on holiday (hangs head in shame).

If you want an honest appraisal of coffee standards in Australia, I'd recommend a trip over to NZ (Wellington especially). The standard of coffee over there was (without exception ) excellent. If an Aussie brew can match that then it's well worth your time.

The general standard in Perth / MR was dire (one very good cup in Kalamunda, from a place that roasts their own). Elsewhere good at best and distinctly poor too often. Luckily "the brains of the operation" had prepared, by gifting an espresso coffee pot to her dad two years previous and buying a bag of the Kalamunda coffee. Forward planning rocks!

Melbourne was surprisingly only a slight improvement, as I'd always thought of Melbourne having a vibrant cafe scene. We gave up on cappuccino and stuck with machiato or espresso.

Current favourite is the (unofficially named) "markers blend" from the market in Cambridge. It transpired from a college lecturer asking what would keep him going the longest in exam marking season.

regards

Ian

[Daryl Douglas]

We have at last count, about 4 different sizes of stove top espresso pots. It was 6 but I think the other 2 have now been thrown out.
Coffee is very important to "the brains of the operation" and we've been known to take a pot over to Italy on holiday (hangs head in shame).

If you want an honest appraisal of coffee standards in Australia, I'd recommend a trip over to NZ (Wellington especially). The standard of coffee over there was (without exception ) excellent. If an Aussie brew can match that then it's well worth your time.

The general standard in Perth / MR was dire (one very good cup in Kalamunda, from a place that roasts their own). Elsewhere good at best and distinctly poor too often. Luckily "the brains of the operation" had prepared, by gifting an espresso coffee pot to her dad two years previous and buying a bag of the Kalamunda coffee. Forward planning rocks!

Melbourne was surprisingly only a slight improvement, as I'd always thought of Melbourne having a vibrant cafe scene. We gave up on cappuccino and stuck with machiato or espresso.

Current favourite is the (unofficially named) "markers blend" from the market in Cambridge. It transpired from a college lecturer asking what would keep him going the longest in exam marking season.

regards

Ian

Yeah, they never make it strong enough!

[Sharkey]

I am very fussy about coffee. I only ever have proper coffe (made from espresso) never instant or even plunger.

At work I buy it from one of several of the decent cafes nearby.

At home we have a Rancilio Silvia machine and a Rancilio Rocky grinder. The secret to really good coffee is fresh beans, freshly ground. We buy beans from a local roaster and sometimes they are so freshly roasted they are still warm. We only buy enough to last a couple of weeks and then still have it packed into two bags with welded seals.

[Daryl Douglas]

I am very fussy about coffee. I only ever have proper coffe (made from espresso) never instant or even plunger.

At work I buy it from one of several of the decent cafes nearby.

At home we have a Rancilio Silvia machine and a Rancilio Rocky grinder. The secret to really good coffee is fresh beans, freshly ground. We buy beans from a local roaster and sometimes they are so freshly roasted they are still warm. We only buy enough to last a couple of weeks and then still have it packed into two bags with welded seals.

NICE!!! Lurrvvv to have a cafe @ your place!

[Tristram Shandy]

I'm with Sharkey on this one. Can't see how one can drink fine wine and not be sensitive to decent coffee, as well. Studied for a year in Italy many years ago and it changed my coffee habits forever. Can't drink instant (I doubt if it's really coffee at all!) and plunger coffee is also off the menu. Used to have a manual Gaggia espresso machine that I brought back from Italy over a decade ago but it broke down earlier this year. Have caved in to convenience and bought a Gaggia Synchrony (on eBay for under $500!). Satisfactory espresso.

If I want a really decent cup I go out to Cibo here in Adelaide. Easily the best coffee in town. And they get their coffee (a special blend, I understand) from Rio coffee here in Adelaide, who also sell the best coffee.

Good beans, good coffee machine, good wine. Life's necessities.

If you appreciate coffee you should look at: www.coffeegeek.com

Tristram

[Daryl Douglas]

If I want a really decent cup I go out to Cibo here in Adelaide. Easily the best coffee in town. And they get their coffee (a special blend, I understand) from Rio coffee here in Adelaide, who also sell the best coffee.

Good beans, good coffee machine, good wine. Life's necessities.

If you appreciate coffee you should look at: www.coffeegeek.com

Tristram

Does that mean you can't make a really decent cup of coffee yourself? Or is it that your machine isn't good enough? Or the beans you use? Maybe your grinder doesn't grind the beans finely enough. Do you keep your coffee beans in a freezer? Do you use dark-roasted beans at home? Are you a caffeine addict? That lovely machine, before it died, did you take it to work with you? What's your opinion of Turkish coffee?

Oh yeah, the coffeegeek sitelink doesn't work.

[Davo]

We have a Sunbeam Espresso maker, manual not auto, but it rarely gets a run as we usually use the stainless steel stove top jobby.

Oh, and agree with the coffee from the guys in Kalamunda. Ex patients of mine and very passionate about their beans.

[TORB]

Its 3.46 am and as I can't sleep, I am sitting here drinking a cup of espresso.

At home I have a Saeco Magic that about 3 years old. Most of the time I drink what could be described as a "mejium" black; its in a long black cup but only about 1/2 full.

At the shop, I have the top of the line double boiler version of the Saeco so the staff can froth the moo juice.

I normally drink one cup when I get up, another around 8, a third about 10 and a sometimes one after lunch or at around 3-4 pm.

I hate instant and never drink the stuff; the last cup of tea I drank was in 1977 and that was to keep a client happy when I was getting a contract signed; I think the company name was Bushells. The cup before that was sometime in the 1960's!

I get my beans (Continental Blend) from http://www.thebeanery.com.au/ in Melbourne; keep the excess in the freezer, and the machine grinds the beans as it makes the coffee.
Obsessive Me Neava

[Ian S]

Its 3.46 am and as I can't sleep

I see, let's see if we can work out the problem

I am sitting here drinking a cup of espresso.

Well not the best of starts I guess, but maybe if you're already awake, it's best to get up anyway. Perhaps consider a herbal tea or chocolate drink next time

At home I normally drink one cup when I get up

No problem, many people start the day with anice strong cup coffee

, another around 8,

That's probably not helping your condition, but perhaps a little light exercise and a glass of water or a cup of Lapsong Souchong might provide some balance

a third about 10

Oh dear, this is really not very good for your sleep patterns. Consider scraping yourself off the ceiling, toning down the manic expression and having a pro-biotic yak's milk yoghurt, with a couple of heavy duty sedatives.

and a sometimes one after lunch or at around 3-4 pm.

By now you've probably achieved a personal state of perpetual motion and are scaring the animals in the shop (the customers will have been long since freaked out). To achieve sleep now I'd recommend a significant cache of marijuana and those tranquilisor shots they use on bull elephants

I can see only one solution. I'm sending over a DVD of Englands matches in the world cup - enjoy zzzzzzzzzzz......

[Gavin Trott]

The general standard in Perth / MR was dire (one very good cup in Kalamunda, from a place that roasts their own). Elsewhere good at best and distinctly poor too often. Luckily "the brains of the operation" had prepared, by gifting an espresso coffee pot to her dad two years previous and buying a bag of the Kalamunda coffee. Forward planning rocks!

Have you been to the US lately?

Now the coffee there is dire!!

Huge paper mugs of the undrinkable stuff.

Occasionally you can order a cappuccino, but don't bother.

Made bad Adelaide coffee look world class.

[kirragc]

Hey dont knock the plunger. Super extracttion isn everything.

I got some afrrican beans a few years back that bsolutely blew me away.
They were huge sweaty Robustas and the caffiene content had me in heart palpitations.

....BTW if my typing is pour its because of coffee ..... I spilled it on the keyboard.

[Tristram Shandy]

Daryl Douglas wrote:

Does that mean you can't make a really decent cup of coffee yourself? Or is it that your machine isn't good enough? Or the beans you use? Maybe your grinder doesn't grind the beans finely enough. Do you keep your coffee beans in a freezer? Do you use dark-roasted beans at home? Are you a caffeine addict? That lovely machine, before it died, did you take it to work with you? What's your opinion of Turkish coffee?

Well, Daryl, that's a lot of questions. I may need a coffee to fortify me for all this! Decent? Sure, I can do that. But my domestic machine is not really up to competing with the full armoury of the commercial machines. I use the best beans that I've come across, although my hunt could hardly be described as being exhaustive. From my readings on the subject, putting beans in the freezer is a no-no. The beans are generally double roast, although I have mixed in some single roast on occasion. I'm not an addict - generally just one cup per day and occasionally two - very rarely will I have three. When I was still at the University I did drag my machine along once for a special occasion, but generally I didn't drink enough to warrant this. In any case, I work in the city where I can always find a decent coffee - and sometimes a really good one!

And Turkish coffee? It doesn't do it for me, I'm afraid.

And Gavin is right, most coffee in the US is diabolical, although this is changing.

For the record, my personal favourite is a good macchiato.

Oh yeah, the coffeegeek sitelink doesn't work.

Try http://www.coffeegeek.com/

Tristram

[GRB]

Krup's semi automatic that is about 8 years old now, needs all the seals replacing in it about every 2-3 years and had to resolder the dry joints on one of the pcb's a while back but I think I would die without my baby. The grinder is only a cheapish breville but it has been re-engineered to grind the coffee finer. Apart from knowing the basics of using your own machine, fresh correctly ground coffee is the secret to a good cup IMHO.

Oh and instant isn't coffee, it is just a hot brown drink.

Glen

[pstarr]

I get my coffee by mail order from Alan at www.coffeeco.com.au They have been e-tailing since 1996 and the quality is top-notch.

What keeps me there is the attention to detail. Alan does quite a bit of sourcing direct from individual plantations and is obsessive about quality and freshness.

This obsessiveness extends to coffee machines and grinders. Alan conducts his own technical evaluations of mass-market and specialty machines, and makes the results publicly available. Kind of like a one-man Choice magazine...

I have a Krups espresso machine at home and a plunger at work. Alan's Nicaraguan maragogype ground for a plunger covers me at work. At home I alternate between different beans depending on whether I'm drinking something with milk (Espresso LAC blend), or short blacks during the day or after dinner. Sometimes an italian-style espresso blend, or good fair trade/organic Timor, or real mocha from the Harar Mountain District in Ethiopia.

If I have enough time at home to go through the ritual (and the cleanup), I'll use the coffee syphon (vacuum system) for really clean and clear flavours from good beans. Especially good with really aromatic coffees.

I try and stick to four cups a day, but sometimes go over the limit...

[Red Bigot]

Coffee, the alcoholics friend...

http://www.glug.com.au/index_use.php?cmi=116017

[michaelw]

I get my coffee by mail order from Alan at www.coffeeco.com.au They have been e-tailing since 1996 and the quality is top-notch.

I concur P. I've been getting my coffee from Alan for several years now and the quality and freshness are unsurpassed in my experience.

[bacchaebabe]

Well, here's a topic dear to my heart that I must have missed in earlier perusals.

Refuse to drink instant coffee under any circumstances. I am never that desperate.

I love a good cuppa and don't have a problem with tea bags as long as they are strong. Nothing beats a good pot, made properly though.

Latte is my coffee of choice. As I work as a contractor, I move around the city a lot and have to change baristas every six months or so. Thakfully, this isn't too much of a problem as there are plenty of good places in Sydney city to get a decent coffee.

I just started a new job last monday and my new local (The Kick coffee cart cnr King and George) managed to memorise my order on the third day. That's quite impressive service. It takes most places about two weeks and some even longer.

Best latte I've EVER had was a sublime expample by a barista in Nth Sydney in Greenwood plaza. It's one of the few great coffees I remember perfectly but I remember ALL the bad ones! I'm a firm believer in the power being in the hands of the barista. When I worked down near circular quay, I was reduced to getting my coffee at the local Shakespears Pie shop. Everyone there used the same machine, the same beans, the same water, the same milk yet the standard varied VERY dramatically with the barista.

There's many beans out there and I like Grinders, Illy and even Vittoria but I find the beans make less difference than the person making it.

Having just come back from a holiday in Europe, the UK and the Pacific Northwest of the USA, I have the following comments. When, and more importantly HOW, did Starbucks get so big. I understand they are a multinational but in london there is literally a store on every corner. Worse than that, the coffee is absolutely godawful. And I'm not just saying that because it's cool to bag starbucks.

When we arrived in London we had to wait around Angel tube for our friends to get home to let us in to their apartment and of course there was three nearby Startbucks to chose from to spend a lazy hour or so with all out luggage, somewhere warmish. It's usually against my religion to go to such places but it was cold and we were tired and clearly not thinking straight. I got us both a latte. I actually had to take mine back (and I'm a bit english in terms of actually ever complaining about anything) to literally ask if they forgot to put the shot of coffee in the cup. The girl even thought it looked a bit too white. I literally couldn't taste any coffee and I have a reasonably well trained palate. They put another shot in and it didn't change the taste! Were they reusing the grounds 50 times or something? I've never experienced anything like it or such a bad coffee. And all this for only two pounds eighty five pence! OVER $6 for watery milk!

Other places in London were better but it seems London has been americanised with it's coffee. Last time I was there in 2001 I was quite surprised (pleasantly) to be able to buy a decent latte on more than one occasion (Of course, you can always get a damn fine cup of tea there!). Now it's all jumbo sized and either too weak or too strong and generally plain awful. What happened in four short years?

The pacific northwest is another story though. You can get an OK cup of coffee in Vancouver. Not brilliant but not bad. No doubt there are some good places. Seattle, I was slightly dreading because of its reputation as the spawning site of numerous coffee chains. The reality was a very vibrant city with many great cafes all making very good coffee (but still in abnormally large sizes). Just avoid the chains. Very few other cities in the US have any clues unfortunately although I've heard there's a few aussies in New York that are doing a thriving business running cafes and selling mainly to aussie ex-pats and a couple of enlightened locals over there.

In terms of coffee at home, I'd love to buy a Saeco incanto (twin boilers, small footpint, built in grinder and tamper) but I live in Newtown and I'm 20 metres from a cafe and have a choice of about ten other cafes within a three minute walk. It hardly seems worth the effort to keep the beans fresh.

Long rant but it's a topic dear to my heart.

[Ian S]

Yep
Starbucks are ubiquitous around London and much of UK. They had a review of the various coffee corporates in the Grauniad a while back and Starbucks came out appallingly low (the others were hardly showered with praise, but the gap was significant). The main criticism, was the single weak shot, with a 2nd shot costing extra (and I recall not making too much difference). Their pricing is also steep and I sense they're a triumph of marketing over substance.

Of the corporates, Caffe Nero is my favourite, but an independant delicatessen/cafe "Espresso" is hard to beat locally.

[lantana]

I like espresso, as in long black or a short black if in a rush. Has anyone else experienced ordering a long black (actually I always ask for a strong long black) only to receive the regular shot of coffee served in a bucket (extra large cup) right to the top with water, making for a boiling cup of muddy water, that you can hardly walk out of the cafe without receiving 1st degree burns to the hand, let alone place in the cup holder in the car without spilling everywhere! There should be a law that prevents people who don't drink coffee from making coffee, just like there should be a law that prevents people who don't drink wine from selling it!

lantana

[Josie]

i think the other thing about starbucks is that it's coffee for people who don't actually like coffee.

[Daryl Douglas]

Never tried Starbucks coffee but from the comments here it's about as bad as I've had at the Rio Don Roadhouse near Bowen - weak as, and I think International Roast or Bushell's powdered instant.

Surprisingly, I've found Macca's flat whites to be acceptable when freshly brewed, just, but still better than many that've been served up to me. Mind you, I've not tried their coffee for some years, before the introduction of McCafe, so don't know what their coffee's like now.

[D.I]

I prefer black coffee (Turkish style) it is needed to be strong and biter (no sugar).
I love espresso coffee and again its need to be strong and double.
Coffee is not going in harmony with wine – it's killing the after taste.

[marsalla]

I have just returned to Oz after a few years in southern italy, and I have not had a coffee since returning. I know there is no point. A couple of points,

There is a coffee gradient, southern italian coffee is better than northern italian. Outside Italy there is no coffee equal, some are just less worse than others. Dont start me on French coffee.I have taken up tea.

Illy is my pick when in italy, I suspect it is not the same as the stuff here though.

Why here do they need to make the espressos so big, the cup does not need to be full, its a shot, not a sipping drink.

enough ranting...

[michel]

At home we have a Rancilio Silvia machine and a Rancilio Rocky grinder.
.

snap.

I clean my machine weekly.

Use Merlo (Brisbane) http://www.merlo.com.au/
Private Blend or Organic PNG.

Only one cup of coffee per day with organic milk.

Best part of my day

[Red Bigot]

Why here do they need to make the espressos so big, the cup does not need to be full, its a shot, not a sipping drink.

enough ranting...

TORB, please take note! Next time we get coffee together I'll ask for an espresso for me and a long black in a short cup for you.

Marsalla, just ask for a ristretto instead, if they don't understand that then say "Good Bye".