What's In Your Cup This Morning?

[mtroo]

Is that a brand or type of oil?

[Weirdcuba]

That's worth an entirely separate forum, but here's my attempt.

Overall, I have a "baseline" (greenline from metropolis), and then rotate through a combo of sweet Maria's workshop blends and single origins. Details follow:

- I think it is good to have a "reference blend" that you come back to. For that, I use metropolis coffee green line. Not way sophisticated, but yummy and satisfying. So, about every third batch is that blend. Sometimes, I buy metropolis "redline" pre-roasted to see how I'm doing against the pro's. if you're in or around Chicago, go to metropolis coffee for fantastic 'spro.

- Then, from sweet Maria's, I rotate through their various espresso workshop blends, which are always outstanding. Note that espresso is like wine, in that you can blend beans (grapes), or go with the single origin. Blending is more reliable because you shave off the extreme edges, but single origin can allow you to really enjoy a particular characteristic of a particular bean (or grape).

Note that a coffee blend is always going to change (because beans, even from the same estate, change as conditions change over time (e.g., drier seasons, wetter seasons, etc)). That's why sweet Maria's has consistent blends that they try to make taste the same over time (but if you brew them well and taste carefully, you can taste the differences over time), and their "workshop" blends - where they try to come up with the best tasting blend based on the best beans at that time. The workshop blends come and go, as the beans change, but they are all just really really outstanding.

For single origin, I just move around the sweet Maria's site and sample stuff that they indicate is good for espresso. I'm particularly fond of beans from Africa and Indonesia, and less fond of beans from central and South America, but that's just me. I buy both single origins and blends, just for the variety. If you get a great grinder and a great espresso maker, you can taste the most subtle of differences (just like wine, but at a much cheaper price).

The good news is that it's all good, and it's all relatively cheap (since we met on an audio website) and beans keep for a long time. So, just buy a few different ones, buy blends and single origins, roast them and see what happens. I have yet to roast one that I wouldn't recommend. The worst fresh roasted coffee is so much better than the stale stuff you get from the grocery store or, dare I say it, charbucks, that you can barely go wrong.

You can, of course go even further off the deep end and buy from particular estates or buy only single origins and blend your own special brews, but thus far the affliction has left me somewhat less stricken than that.

I've been roasting beans for about 7 or 8 years now and still enjoy it and am still discovering new stuff (and, it's much cheaper than speaker cables).

[mtroo]

Originally Posted by Weirdcuba

That's worth an entirely separate forum, but here's my attempt.

Overall, I have a "baseline" (greenline from metropolis), and then rotate through a combo of sweet Maria's workshop blends and single origins. Details follow:

- I think it is good to have a "reference blend" that you come back to. For that, I use metropolis coffee green line. Not way sophisticated, but yummy and satisfying. So, about every third batch is that blend. Sometimes, I buy metropolis "redline" pre-roasted to see how I'm doing against the pro's. if you're in or around Chicago, go to metropolis coffee for fantastic 'spro.

- Then, from sweet Maria's, I rotate through their various espresso workshop blends, which are always outstanding. Note that espresso is like wine, in that you can blend beans (grapes), or go with the single origin. Blending is more reliable because you shave off the extreme edges, but single origin can allow you to really enjoy a particular characteristic of a particular bean (or grape).

Note that a coffee blend is always going to change (because beans, even from the same estate, change as conditions change over time (e.g., drier seasons, wetter seasons, etc)). That's why sweet Maria's has consistent blends that they try to make taste the same over time (but if you brew them well and taste carefully, you can taste the differences over time), and their "workshop" blends - where they try to come up with the best tasting blend based on the best beans at that time. The workshop blends come and go, as the beans change, but they are all just really really outstanding.

For single origin, I just move around the sweet Maria's site and sample stuff that they indicate is good for espresso. I'm particularly fond of beans from Africa and Indonesia, and less fond of beans from central and South America, but that's just me. I buy both single origins and blends, just for the variety. If you get a great grinder and a great espresso maker, you can taste the most subtle of differences (just like wine, but at a much cheaper price).

The good news is that it's all good, and it's all relatively cheap (since we met on an audio website) and beans keep for a long time. So, just buy a few different ones, buy blends and single origins, roast them and see what happens. I have yet to roast one that I wouldn't recommend. The worst fresh roasted coffee is so much better than the stale stuff you get from the grocery store or, dare I say it, charbucks, that you can barely go wrong.

You can, of course go even further off the deep end and buy from particular estates or buy only single origins and blend your own special brews, but thus far the affliction has left me somewhat less stricken than that.

I've been roasting beans for about 7 or 8 years now and still enjoy it and am still discovering new stuff (and, it's much cheaper than speaker cables).

Jim
Thanks for the excellent description. I have not yet made the plunge on a new grinder. I generally enjoy my drinks with a little milk. I did not drink coffee in undergrad except for the semester I liven in Spain. I was introduced to "cafe con leche", years before I'd heard of Charbucks and before the coffee scene took off in the US. I don't do straight espresso and think maybe the law of diminishing returns kicks in when you add milk to the equation.

[mtroo]

I will however be getting a roaster from santa.

[mtroo]

From Chicago I've had intelligentsia's Black Cat, which is great.

[Weirdcuba]

Add milk and sugar to practically anything and it tastes good.

Try straight espresso, or machiato ( just a little foam on the top). You will, I think, come to love it.

Most of the stuff in Spain (in my experience) isn't quite espresso. It starts as espresso, but they add more water to it so that it's almost an americano to my taste. Still quite quite good, but not yet a hard core espresso.

Aahhh, cafe con Leche - I knew I was married to a Cuban when my mother in law put cafe con leche in my daughter's bottle because she wanted to make her cold go away!!!

[doguniverse]

The brand name is Barleans MCT Swirl made with coconut. MCT or Medium Chain Triglycerides used for boosting cognitive performance and memory, and supports brain health.

[Weirdcuba]

Black cat is of the greenline (redline) variety - yummy and satisfying to most everyone that drinks it (but coffee snobs will go on and on about its lack of this or that). Still tastes damn good. It's a little dark for my tastes, but just wonderful.

[Weirdcuba]

Maybe I'll try mct swirl and black cat and steamed milk and sugar for yummy, caffeinated, cognitive health.

[mtroo]

Originally Posted by Weirdcuba

Add milk and sugar to practically anything and it tastes good.

Try straight espresso, or machiato ( just a little foam on the top). You will, I think, come to love it.

Most of the stuff in Spain (in my experience) isn't quite espresso. It starts as espresso, but they add more water to it so that it's almost an americano to my taste. Still quite quite good, but not yet a hard core espresso.

Aahhh, cafe con Leche - I knew I was married to a Cuban when my mother in law put cafe con leche in my daughter's bottle because she wanted to make her cold go away!!!

My mom just used whiskey. An Irish thing, I suppose. Or was it catholic?