Coffee Newbie

[mistabman]

Hey all, just thought I'd introduce myself on this part of the forum and see if anyone had any recommendations for myself and my newly developed fondness for coffee. Now, when I say newb, I mean it! About a year ago, I wouldn't touch coffee, just didn't want to go there. Slowly but surely, my gf got my into drinking a cup of maxwell house every now and again either with breakfast on the weekends or with a cigar. Then we tried some of the more "specialty" pre ground stuff. Had a bag of kona blend that was pretty tasty, but still a bit bitter for my liking. For xmas, my parents got us a cheapo coffee grinder and a 4 cup mr coffee pot and some beans from world market. The bag that has caught my attention the most has been the kauai (blend I guess?). It had a toasty flavor that I just fell in love with and it's my absolute favorite beverage with a cigar. My question for you coffee gurus is this: Are there any low hanging fruit so-to-speak that I can utilize to increase my coffee enjoyment? I'm not looking to invest hundreds of dollars, but if there's a part of the process I'm missing, I'd like to know. I hardly drink anything black, everything usually has some coffee-mate creamer in it, which I'm trying to cut back on, but I still really enjoy. Is my 15 cheapo grinder good enough to get the job done? It seems like it is; it's already a huge upgrade from the blue bucket of maxwell house, but I'm wondering if I'm still selling myself short. And lastly, based on my preference for the kauai, can you recommend some more beans for me and possible places to aquire them? I've seen cheap beans at trader joe's, and we also have a whole foods around here somewhere in addition to world market.

Thanks!

Jon

[Mister Moo]

1. get a burr grinder and a french press
2. build a coffee roaster
3. buy a sampler package of green coffee beans
3. call back here in six weeks.

[NapCat]

Welcome !!

And congratulations on entering the wonderful world of one of life's finer things. The coffee experience can be as rewarding, exciting (and expensive) as wine tasting. I think the one greatest steps you can make is purchase a french press. Next as dollars allow get a burr grinder (whirly blades do horrible things to our precious beans). Grinders can be very expensive, but the Cusinart DBM-8 supreme at $50 does a pretty decent job.

Amazon.com: Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill: Kitchen & Dining

Mr. Moo (our lead guru) suggested building a roaster, which is easy and inexpensive, even easier and almost as inexpensive is the Fresh Roast 8 which is a great starter roaster...easy to use and fast

Fresh Roast Plus 8 Roaster

There are some great coffee sites out there with good information to new folks. Sweet Maria's has several sections of descriptions of bean selection, history, roasting and brewing.

Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's

There is a whole new world in front of you.
I will be looking for your enthusiastic updates.

Have fun !
'da NapCat

[s.tyler]

get a good drip machine like a Bunn. check coffeegeek.com. when you get more money buy a real espresso machine - La Pavoni, Gaggia, etc. for now buy yourself some good beans, i recommend www.intelligentsia.com

[Syekick]

I roast therefore I am.

I highly recommend the Bodum Columbia 32 oz or better French press.
www.bodumusa.com - the Bodum online shop

Fresh roast coffee can make a world of difference in your daily drink. The natural flavors can be outstanding.

However, it's not for everyone. As my daughter said, "Is this 'flavored" coffee?" I said no, it just has a slight natural flavor of blueberry and citrus when roasted to just past first crack. Her final statement, "It tastes awful. I want my coffee to taste like coffee!' And that is the preferred taste of a Folgers Classic roast daily drinker.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Syekick

... "It tastes awful. I want my coffee to taste like coffee!' And that is the preferred taste of a Folgers Classic roast daily drinker.

She is not alone, Sye'ck.

http://www.jimseven.com/2008/07/27/it-tastes-like-coffee/comment-page-1/

[DBCcigar]

I absolutely LOVE the smell of coffee, but I never acquired a taste for it. Maybe I need to GOOD coffee!

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by DBCcigar

... Maybe I need to GOOD coffee!

Nah. Ya need a grinder and a french press.

[Syekick]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

She is not alone, Sye'ck.

http://www.jimseven.com/2008/07/27/it-tastes-like-coffee/comment-page-1/

Good article Moo-Do. I'll never have the taste buds that detect a lot of those flavors. However, I enjoy the flavor hints along with the coffee. I took a healthy smell of a freshly opened Folgers Classic Roast today and it reminded me of the odor of mulch.

That said, the last statement of the article did give me a chuckle.

"We need more blueberries in the cup. Shoot - if you don’t want blueberries, just roast it wrong and brew it on the boil."

[Syekick]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Nah. Ya need a grinder and a french press.

And some freshly roasted beans!

[AspiringGent]

I'll second (or third or fourth) the recommendation to get a Burr grinder. It totally changed my coffee experience with nice rich, oily coffee.

[mistabman]

Sounds like I need a french press and a burr grinder... The roasting sounds like a bit much at this point, but so did a 28 bottle wine cooler (for wines) and 100ct humi just over a year ago, and now I complain about storage space. Thank you for the suggestions!

[golfermd]

PM me when you get the chance...

[Snake Hips]

Oh yeah, a burr grinder and a French press definitely. You can do without home-roasting for now, to be honest, but the grinder and press will exponentially increase your enjoyment of the brew. That's how it was with me. I was skeptical about all the fancy gizmos and the math and the effort, but I took the dive and I couldn't be happier. A $50 burr grinder works well enough, and a French press doesn't cost much at all. Get some good beans like Peet's or something, figure out the estimations for the press and taste the glory.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Snake Hips

Oh yeah, a burr grinder and a French press definitely. You can do without home-roasting for now, to be honest, but the grinder and press will exponentially increase your enjoyment of the brew...

The last guy who said "exponentially" in the coffee forum got off with 6 demerits and had an "E" branded on his forehead. If memory serves.