Things Worth Knowing About Coffee

The most important thing I know about coffee: most of what you buy in stores is <i>stale</i>. Even vacuum-sealed roasted whole beans are a compromise, expiration date notwithstanding. Buy roasted whole beans at a place that roasts every week, and posts the roast date on the bin. Never mind stuff being from Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Kona, &#38;c. It's most important to get the degree of roast you like, as recently as possible.<p>I go to the Allegro Roasters counter at Whole Foods each week and buy a medium roast from that day, or the day before. I have a cheap grinder at home, and I just use cheap #2 cone filters in a cheap single-cup cone brewer. I emphasize that those last 3 items are <i>cheap</i>. You don't need a fancy-schmancy grinder. You get a <i>huge</i> bang for the buck just by using beans roasted in the past 2 weeks. The other thing: make sure your water is the right temperature. (190 to 195 degrees seems to work for me.) Just borrow a candy thermometer, always use the same amount of water, the same pot, and figure out how long to wait to let the water cool to the right temp.<p>I have wowed friends with my coffee. Not rocket science. It's just brewed at the right temp, and it's fresh!<p>Cheap cone brewer: <a href="http://amzn.com/B001S353EQ" rel="nofollow">http://amzn.com/B001S353EQ</a><p>Cone filters (hate the eco-guilt marketing, though): <a href="http://amzn.com/B000U5ACLW" rel="nofollow">http://amzn.com/B000U5ACLW</a><p>My cheap grinder. Has nice design features. Still a mediocre grinder. Doesn't matter so much. <a href="http://amzn.com/B00006IUX5" rel="nofollow">http://amzn.com/B00006IUX5</a><p>Aeropress for cheap DIY "Espresso" <a href="http://amzn.com/B000GXZ2GS" rel="nofollow">http://amzn.com/B000GXZ2GS</a> (Don't have one, but people seem to like it.)<p>EDIT: I grind for 20-25 seconds with my blade grinder. Again, this works for me. YMMV.

The roasting section actually has a few hidden gems. The first "pop" (called the first crack in roasting lingo) occurs slightly after the green bean begins to brown from carmelization and the moisture trapped inside rapidly expands via evaporation cracking the bean. After the first crack is known as a City Roast and is lighter, more woody and fruity tasting than the darker roasts.<p>The second crack occurs shortly after the first one at the end of the City Roast range as the cellulose matrices that form the coffee bean themselves begin to break down from the heat damage. At exactly the start of the second crack the beans are called Vienna roasted and begin to have darker, richer flavors. These coffees are where you hear about honey and chocolate flavors.<p>As you keep going the beans will continue to crack as they begin to literally degrade to ash. Further carbonization begins to take over the flavor alongside the aromatic oils which seep out of the now lipid-hostile inner bean environment. These form the oily-looking French roasts which are known for strong flavors, intense bodies, and bitterness.<p>If you do start to buy fresh coffee, play with the roasts. A single bean from a single place in the world has a <i>wide</i> spectrum of flavors depending on how long it's been roasted.<p>Notes: <a href="http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.php</a>

I've had some of the best homemade coffee by using (1) fresh beans (2) a French press.<p>My secret to a good roast is <a href="http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/</a> - you can't go wrong with a good roast there. Not only that, but you can order the specific coarseness you'd like the coffee ground at, and they roast it and grind it after you order and send it to you with priority mail. It's nearly as fresh as it gets, anywhere in the US.

I have a friend who meticulously puts a small pinch of salt in her coffee before brewing. She says the salt slightly cuts down the acidity, and the flavor comes out a bit more. I'm not sure of the science behind it, but, she makes a damn good cup of coffee.

Another fun fact: a shot of espresso generally has slightly less caffeine than a regular cup of coffee.<p>Not sure why, but I'd always assumed a shot of espresso was like a concentrated giant cup of regular roast. However, a regular sized cup of espresso is a different story...

"Coffee was originally eaten". When I worked in the Alaskan fish canneries during summer break from college, one of the things we used to do to help stay awake and alert during peak times was eat chocolate covered coffee beans.

You guys should also know there's a coffee called Kopi Luwak, where the beans are ingested, shit out, and then people make coffee out of that.

Does anyone know of a brand of coffee thats 100% robusta?

Jared Diamond explains in "Guns, Germs &#38; Steel" that coffee beans were first domesticated in what's currently Ethiopia, yes, and from there it spreaded through Eurasia via de Fertile Crescent.<p>Does that fact have anything to do with the battle between Starbucks and Ethiopian local coffee producers around the right of using the names of the different local coffee beans?