Coffee - do you and how do you consume it?

[March Audio]

March, nooooooooo I find Starbucks blends way too 'burnt' tasting but to each their own. I sometimes buy a large at the train station and admittedly you do get a lot of caffeine for the money.

Usually at work we have fresh espresso beans to go with proper machines which is nice.. but due to WFH I'm currently resorting to capsules. I found some good tasting ones though, slowly turning into a capsule coffee snob. But hey good coffee > mediocre coffee. Right?

Ah these are the Nespresso capsules which do taste different to the shops.

 

[Sukie]

Ah these are the Nespresso capsules which do taste different to the shops.

Got to agree with @March Audio on the Starbuck's Nespresso pods. House Blend, Caffe Verona and Pike Place are all lovely when prepared to my specific recipe using a Nespresso Creatista Uno.

3 x Nespresso pods extracted at "ristretto" setting
150g of milk frothed on setting no 2 for frothing and setting no 2 for heat (The 150g is the weight of the frothed milk, measured using kitchen scales!)

My entire family laugh every time they watch me make coffee. I normally wait until I'm alone!

Talking of which, it is now time for my morning coffee.

 

[BDWoody]

Coffee is life.

I drink lots of it... Probably 8-10 cups/day.

I buy green coffee in (relative) bulk a couple times a year, and roast it myself in a roster that does roughly 8oz batches.

My current coffees are Sumatra Mandheling, Lions Gate Kona Estate, and Tanzanian Peaberry.

I'll usually buy about 40-50 lbs at a time...

I mostly use a Saeco Superautomatic, but also have a portable hand grinder and press for camping, etc.

 

[mansr]

De'Longhi all-in-one espresso machine here. Beans from Union Coffee in London, a freshly roasted batch arriving by mail every couple of weeks. As for preparation, I am of the opinion that people who add milk or sugar to their coffee don't actually like coffee.

 

[Wombat]

'Capsules' are a significant source of plastic litter.

 

[Veri]

I am of the opinion that people who add milk or sugar to their coffee don't actually like coffee.

I can get behind that

Capsules are litter. View attachment 92935

"Big coffee" will tell you the opposite holds true, though they claim the resources needed are actually less wasteful (as long as you recycle the damn aluminium, I suppose!!) https://www.wired.co.uk/article/coffee-pods-nespresso-recycling

 

[Wombat]

I can get behind that


"Big coffee" will tell you the opposite holds true, though they claim the resources needed are actually less wasteful (as long as you recycle the damn aluminium, I suppose!!) https://www.wired.co.uk/article/coffee-pods-nespresso-recycling

Who is responsible/pays for the recycling? Not 'Big Coffee', I betcha.

 

[Veri]

Who is responsible/pays for the recycling? Not 'Big Coffee', I betcha.

Fancy brands often use plastic capsules, though. I'm not sure plastic is any better...... for now I have to make do with capsules so I have to pick my poison =(

 

[Sukie]

'Capsules' are a significant source of plastic litter. View attachment 92935

I knew we'd get that. I send every pod back to Nespresso. I know that lots of people don't.

Coffee is energy intensive to produce, maybe it would be better if we didn't drink it.

Sorry to sound so negative but I was hoping that we could chat about something that maybe gives us pleasure without the need for an injection of guilt.

 

[Music1969]

De'Longhi all-in-one espresso machine here.

Same for me.

The 'Specialista' model for you?

 

[Wombat]

@SJ777. How you feel about your choices is up to you. No reason for refuting awareness.

 

[Audiotone]

Fully compatible with the rest of my audio system

 

[mansr]

Same for me.

The 'Specialista' model for you?

This one:

It makes a decent espresso, but I discovered the hard way that cleaning it thoroughly is rather involved.

 

[Veri]

Fully compatible with the rest of my audio system

illy classico is pretty good~~

 

[Sukie]

@SJ777. How you feel about your choices is up to you. No reason for refuting awareness.

The only specific capsules that have been mentioned are Starbucks by Nespresso. They are made of aluminium, not plastic, and can be returned to Nespresso for recycling. Personally I have never used a plastic capsule in my life.

I am fully aware of the the impacts of most of my consumer choices, but thank you for the reminder.

 

[Veri]

Well enough of that. Maybe my mistake to bring it up! Let's keep this thread cosy

 

[Wombat]

The only specific capsules that have been mentioned are Starbucks by Nespresso. They are made of aluminium, not plastic, and can be returned to Nespresso for recycling. Personally I have never used a plastic capsule in my life.

I am fully aware of the the impacts of most of my consumer choices, but thank you for the reminder.

I didn't mention plastic, either. "Can be returned" vs are returned are not the same.

Back to how do you consume it? I drink coffee, various medium to stronger brews, with or without milk - expresso preferred.

 

[pavuol]

 

[pavuol]

 

[Count Arthur]

Black, no sugar for me.

I have one of these Delonghi machines, tip the beans in the hopper, press the button, it makes a lot of noise then coffee comes out. It must be about 10 years old now and still going strong.

Once I have everything dialed in the way I like it, it makes really nice coffee; better than I can get from a coffee shop.

I've tried lots of different beans, Illy, Lavazza, some the Taylors, but my favourites are a couple of the UK supermarket own brands. Oddly, most UK supermarkets carry a much wider variety of ready ground coffee than beans.