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Coffee connoisseurs

TexomaHeat

TexomaHeat

Any other big coffee lovers here? I'm talking beyond the normal enjoyment: I'm looking for the types who can identify a growing region while blindfolded. I didn't get into it really until I had a job in college at Starbucks for a year.

What are some of your favorites? I'm a big fan of Middle Eastern and East African coffees myself. Can't stand any super-dark roasts or Southeast Asian coffees-- the former tastes like I'm drinking brewed ashes from my grill, while the latter tastes like dirt.
 
Wouldn't quite consider myself a connosieur but I do refuse to drink shit coffee. My two favorite coffees are Kenya grand cru and Tanzania peaberry. I just love the depth of flavor in the African coffees. And I swear that Kenyan one is laced with speed that shit will wake you up in a hurry.
 
I wouldn't call myself a connoisseur either but I have a proper grinder and buy my coffee in small bags and grind just before brewing a pot to preserve freshness. Only use my press or my vacuum pot when making coffee. Well occassionally I break out my moka pot for some fake espresso/americano.
 
Ugh...starbucks.

I too enjoy my coffee, I used to have around 8 cups a day but cut back to one in the morning. Gets me going in the morning (on many levels). I buy fresh beans and grind them before use, I gert a new small bag every week or two and always change it up. I like medium to dark roasts and usually get a Free Trade certified product in order to help small farms.
 
not a conneseur, but cant stand starbucks, hortons mcD's or other shit coffee. The stuff we get here takes a bit longer, costs a bit more, but by crikey it's so much better. Body, creamy, depth, flavour. Not dish water that makes you crap.
Best coffe I had in the US was in Alaska at one of those drive by coffe vendors in a little booth.
 
Yep, love the coffee.

Curent blend is a organic mexican french roast with some SA pea berry and touch of irish cream dark roast for fun.

Been grinding only fro yrs. Don't buy coffee I don't make anymore.

If ya can see through it, it's not coffee. :twisted:
 
TexomaHeat said:
Any other big coffee lovers here? I'm talking beyond the normal enjoyment: I'm looking for the types who can identify a growing region while blindfolded. I didn't get into it really until I had a job in college at Starbucks for a year.

What are some of your favorites? I'm a big fan of Middle Eastern and East African coffees myself. Can't stand any super-dark roasts or Southeast Asian coffees-- the former tastes like I'm drinking brewed ashes from my grill, while the latter tastes like dirt.
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I can't identify any particular region simply drinking a cup of coffee, but I have been cut off by Star Bucks before. Yep...apparently you can only get 9 extra shots in a Venti, 10 will cause certain death in a form a heart attack, so they say.
 
imaguitargod said:
If it's any color than black, it ain't coffee either. I drink mine straight, don't give me any of that sugar or cream crap.
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Sugar and cream?!?! that's pollution!

I occassionally splurge on a latte at this great shop in Vancouver, Cafe Artigiano's... but other then that nothing in my coffee pls.
 
cajunheat said:
I can't identify any particular region simply drinking a cup of coffee, but I have been cut off by Star Bucks before. Yep...apparently you can only get 9 extra shots in a Venti, 10 will cause certain death in a form a heart attack, so they say.
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Are you sure it wasn't simply because you can't fit more shots of espresso in the cup?? :)
 
An old hangout of mine yrs ago served something called the "Gravedigger" which was popular with the late night crowd...it had 15 shots in a 24 or 32 oz cup..can't recall for sure.

Good times. :D
 
There's a local coffee chain/supplier here named Joffrey's that blows starbucks completely and utterly away. My favorite one is their Roastmaster's Reserve which is a dark roasted blend of Indonesian and African beans, although they don't specify which country(ies) in Africa the beans come from. They've also got an organic Honduran thats killer too.
 
JungleRain said:
Don't know why ...but I can't stand the stuff ?
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My grandmother was the same way-- hated the smell of it, the taste of it, everything. Never understood why someone would willingly drink something that tastes terrible. She was a tea drinker instead.

There's no way 10 shots of espresso will kill a person. I drank 12 in the span of 4 hours once (I was working the bar at Starbucks, we didn't have many customers that day, I was bored, you get the idea) and aside from extreme irritability, I was no closer to death than I had been before I drank them.

And I'd agree that most smaller coffee shops are better than Starbucks. Starbucks is VERY generic while smaller coffee shops are given room to experiment and add their own twists. A Starbucks vanilla latte is the same in New York as it is in San Diego. Small coffee shops will vary, and variety is the spice of life or some such crap.
 
Yeah I don't really like the smell of coffee or the taste of it, until the other day when I had a coffee, I hadn't had it for about 7 years. I go on and off it, I used to love it (never the smell though) and now I've gone through a phase of it not bothering me. I like the effect though but not enough to make me a big lover, never say no though because I used to drink bucket loads. I'd never go for de-caff like my Mum does
 
I'm a big fan of the double-dead-eyes. I prefer the darkest blend I can find. I dont own a conical burr grinder (gasp!) so I grind at Whole Foods.

No training wheels, ever.
 
I you haven't tried a cup yet please make a note to add Kopi Luwak to your list. I have a relative who lived in Indonesia for several years and shipped a bag to me some time ago. The cost has sky rocketed in the last few years due to how the beans are "pre-processed", but it's a very good floral roast with a hint of natural sweetness!
 
I couldn't tell you what region a coffee might be from, but I could tell you if it was high altitude, indonesian or african or south american maybe.

I roast coffee, that's how much I love it. Right now I just got in Organic CoOp PROISCH, from Chiapas Mexico. This is a great full bodied cup, very sweet in the middle with slight nutty character at the start.

My favorites do tend to be African because they have distinct flavor profiles, I have Tanzania Hope Pea Berry and I really love that spice in the cup. One might ask why those distinct flavor profiles do not typically garner all those awards in the coffee industry. It isn't about being brutish and distinct, but more refinement and complexity along with clean even cup quality.

I could go on, but the short is that South American coffees tend to be tops because of how clean the cup is, and how refined the flavor profile is. Sadly, to me, this means it's kind of boring. But I'm trying to refine my palate and consider that my area of improvement. Really picking up on those very light floral, citrus and nutty characters in the cup.

As for Kopi Luwak, Kona and Blue Mountain. Supply and demand is what drives the price of those up, not the quality of the cup. Don't get me wrong, I haven't tried Kopi Luwak, they are good cups of coffee. They just seem to have a kind of premium put on them regardless of how good they actually are. This gives a false expectation and impression the majority of the time. Like I said, they are great coffees, I'm not trying to knock them. That's just a kind of stand back and look at the whole picture kind of things...
 
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