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Coffee - do you and how do you consume it?

Somafunk

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Been far too hot recently here in Scotland to drink hot coffee so I’ve moved onto iced coffees. Two double espresso shots placed in freezer to go solid overnight, 500ml full fat milk into a blender, big chunk of ice and frozen espresso, healthy swig of double cream and two scoops of vanilla hagan-daz ice cream, blend all together and then spend the entire day getting shit done fuelled by caffeine
 

Jdunk54nl

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Wes

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Why doesn't my Super-Automatic machine have a "over blonding" detector?
 

Xulonn

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In 2012, I moved from wine country to coffee country - from Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California to Boquete, Chiriqui Province, Panama. Boquete is an old town in a valley on the slopes of Volcan Baru near the border of Costa Rica, another coffee growing region. No el cheapo (good for grocery store instant coffee) robusta coffee is grown here, because Panama's coffee regions are high-altitude, suitable for the more desirable arabica varieties/cultivars (Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon).

Our most famous coffee is the tea-like Geisha variety, which is by far the most expensive coffee in the world, but not "my cup of tea" [pun intended]. This year's winner in international competition (LINK) was a 5.5lb nano-lot from Lamastus Family Estates that sold at auction for $4,100/lb. And you thought high-end audio cables were expensive. Welcome to high-end coffee.

Like my A/V system, the coffee I drink is modest, but excellent. There many boutique/hobby coffee fincas here, and I currently use $12/lb Palmira Gold medium roast from friends who grow, process, and roast it on their coffee finca about two miles up the hill from my home. My daily 12oz cup is brewed fairly strong with an AeroPress, and I drink it black.

Here is a LINK to a recent internet article about Panama coffee, including a good video about our growers and their coffees.

2013 Finca Lerida Workers.jpg
 

Jimbob54

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In 2012, I moved from wine country to coffee country - from Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California to Boquete, Chiriqui Province, Panama. Boquete is an old town in a valley on the slopes of Volcan Baru near the border of Costa Rica, another coffee growing region. No el cheapo (good for grocery store instant coffee) robusta coffee is grown here, because Panama's coffee regions are high-altitude, suitable for the more desirable arabica varieties/cultivars (Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon).

Our most famous coffee is the tea-like Geisha variety, which is by far the most expensive coffee in the world, but not "my cup of tea" [pun intended]. This year's winner in international competition (LINK) was a 5.5lb nano-lot from Lamastus Family Estates that sold at auction for $4,100/lb. And you thought high-end audio cables were expensive. Welcome to high-end coffee.

Like my A/V system, the coffee I drink is modest, but excellent. There many boutique/hobby coffee fincas here, and I currently use $12/lb Palmira Gold medium roast from friends who grow, process, and roast it on their coffee finca about two miles up the hill from my home. My daily 12oz cup is brewed fairly strong with an AeroPress, and I drink it black.

Here is a LINK to a recent internet article about Panama coffee, including a good video about our growers and their coffees.


You could probably have a nice little earner shipping your modest daily to ASR coffee fans worldwide.
 

Xulonn

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Although "single estate" coffees - without mentioning which cafe finca (coffee farm) - are occasionally available from specialty coffee dealers in the U.S.A., Canada and Europe, the best way to experience real Boquete coffee is to buy some Panama Joe Coffee. The business is owned and run by my Canadian expat friends Paul and Tracy, who buy from local micro-farms around here and process and roast the coffee for sales via local specialty stores and online sales. [LINK] International online is their biggest source of sales.

Be aware that the delicate details of coffee are lost in dark roasts. If you like only espresso and espresso drinks, this is probably not for you.
[Panama Joe coffee is] Hand Roasted to Perfection

Coffee Roasting is the process that transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee. We generally roast light to medium to extenuate the the distinct nuances of particular estates and to satisfy individual preferences.

During the later stages of roasting, oils will appear on the bean’s surface giving darker roasts a shiny appearance. Few if any of the “origin flavor” (the flavors distinct to the varietals, altitude, soil and weather conditions of the individual growing region) are retained at the darker stages of roasting. These origin flavors are eclipsed by the flavors of the roasting process itself. Other coffee’s are generally roasted dark, this provides consistency and masks defects in the beans at the price of flavor and quality.

They will respond to your inquiries from either their website [LINK] or Facebook [LINK]

Panama Joe Coffee.jpg
 
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A Surfer

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I find dark coffee dreadful, no matter what people say it has lost flavours which have been replaced by the flavours imparted from almost burning the bean. Not for me at all, dreadful stuff. I find that due to consumer trends (not sure how dark roasts took off) that even many coffees marketed as Medium lean too much towards dark so I only go after the lighter roasts. I would love to try some Panamanian coffee.
 

Xulonn

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I find dark coffee dreadful, no matter what people say it has lost flavours which have been replaced by the flavours imparted from almost burning the bean. Not for me at all, dreadful stuff. I find that due to consumer trends (not sure how dark roasts took off) that even many coffees marketed as Medium lean too much towards dark so I only go after the lighter roasts. I would love to try some Panamanian coffee.

Spoken like a person who really understands the nuances of coffee. Yet, even here in coffee country, many expats still drink dark roast diluted with milk. I prefer medium and lighter, brewed a bit strong, using an Aeropress with water on the cooler side of the recommended range, and a bit longer extraction time.

And I drink it black, allowing some of the coffee in my big mug to cool to room temp, where it still tastes great. As soon as I hit "Post reply", I'm off to the kitchen to brew a cup.
aeropress-3.jpg
 

A Surfer

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Spoken like a person who really understands the nuances of coffee. Yet, even here in coffee country, many expats still drink dark roast diluted with milk. I prefer medium and lighter, brewed a bit strong, using an Aeropress with water on the cooler side of the recommended range, and a bit longer extraction time.

And I drink it black, allowing some of the coffee in my big mug to cool to room temp, where it still tastes great. As soon as I hit "Post reply", I'm off to the kitchen to brew a cup.
Thank you,
Yes I also have and enjoy AeroPress, I even took mine with me when I travelled to France in 2017. I do find that the majority of the time I use a French Press and I always grind from the bean using a mechanical hand grinder.
 

Helicopter

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Thank you,
Yes I also have and enjoy AeroPress, I even took mine with me when I travelled to France in 2017. I do find that the majority of the time I use a French Press and I always grind from the bean using a mechanical hand grinder.
I might need an aeropress in my life. It could compliment my Chemex setup nicely.

I have been on strong pour over coffee lately in my mostly successful quest to replicate the Milchkaffee I had in Munich a couple weeks ago. I know milk is for babies. :facepalm: It is my quest. Coffee is German processed medium single origin Latin American. I just got a cheap hand grinder, so next batch will be freshly ground daily.

Anyway, this is way better than the mason jar cold brew it replaces.

I have some neurological damage which makes some coffee taste chalky or rancid to me, but strong brew and milk help, hence the Milchkaffee.
 

Jimbob54

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I might need an aeropress in my life. It could compliment my Chemex setup nicely.

I have been on strong pour over coffee lately in my mostly successful quest to replicate the Milchkaffee I had in Munich a couple weeks ago. I know milk is for babies. :facepalm: It is my quest. Coffee is German processed medium single origin Latin American. I just got a cheap hand grinder, so next batch will be freshly ground daily.

Anyway, this is way better than the mason jar cold brew it replaces.

I have some neurological damage which makes some coffee taste chalky or rancid to me, but strong brew and milk help, hence the Milchkaffee.
I too can vouch for aeropress. Especially if you get the metal mesh filter so only need to carry the device, cup and spoon to the Office etc.
 

maxxevv

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.

And I drink it black, allowing some of the coffee in my big mug to cool to room temp, where it still tastes great. As soon as I hit "Post reply", I'm off to the kitchen to brew a cup.

Would it help for consistency if somehow the force exerted for the pressing was consistent too? Such as a calibrated mechanical spring or a designated weight ?
 

BDWoody

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Although "single estate" coffees - without mentioning which cafe finca (coffee farm) - are occasionally available from specialty coffee dealers in the U.S.A., Canada and Europe, the best way to experience real Boquete coffee is to buy some Panama Joe Coffee. The business is owned and run by my Canadian expat friends Paul and Tracy, who buy from local micro-farms around here and process and roast the coffee for sales via local specialty stores and online sales. [LINK] International online is their biggest source of sales.

Be aware that the delicate details of coffee are lost in dark roasts. If you like only espresso and espresso drinks, this is probably not for you.


They will respond to your inquiries from either their website [LINK] or Facebook [LINK]


Have you ever watched (smelled/heard) them actually do the roasting? It's a smoky, smelly process, but very interesting as a lot of chemistry is going on... First crack, second crack, deciding when to stop the roast...worth experiencing for a coffee lover.

I'll have to send a note and ask if they'd ship me green coffee, along with their roasted beans so I could compare my home roast with theirs.
 

Helicopter

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I too can vouch for aeropress. Especially if you get the metal mesh filter so only need to carry the device, cup and spoon to the Office etc.
Alright. I ordered it with the metal filter. I won't use a paper filter since they catch a higher proportion of the oil that tastes good and is supposed to benefit your heart.
 

bloodshoteyed

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Have you ever watched (smelled/heard) them actually do the roasting? It's a smoky, smelly process, but very interesting as a lot of chemistry is going on... First crack, second crack, deciding when to stop the roast...worth experiencing for a coffee lover.

I'll have to send a note and ask if they'd ship me green coffee, along with their roasted beans so I could compare my home roast with theirs.

where i've grown up, there was a lot of home roasting going on
it was (probably the cheapest Ethiopian sourced) Italian bean mixes though, being burned to Dante's furthest inner ring recipes, which still gives me a kind of PTSD so i never even wanted to try it myself and just leave it to the proffessionals :facepalm:


xulonn, thanks for the links to PJ's site
 

Berwhale

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Would it help for consistency if somehow the force exerted for the pressing was consistent too? Such as a calibrated mechanical spring or a designated weight ?

That would take all the 'art' out of it! Click on some of the contestants to see just how much variation and control you have with an Aeropress... World AeroPress Champion Recipes | AeroPress
 

A Surfer

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Alright. I ordered it with the metal filter. I won't use a paper filter since they catch a higher proportion of the oil that tastes good and is supposed to benefit your heart.
Nice,
Although I had heard the paper also filtered out agents that cause cholesterol to rise in the blood. If somebody doesn't have a cholesterol issue, and or doesn't drink much coffee no harm no foul as they say. However, it may be worth noting that one positive aspect of paper filtration.

I'm sorry to learn of your neurological condition than messes with your sense of taste. That must be very frustrating.
 
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