Coffee recommendations

[gentlegreen]

Would you pay £10 for 125g of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans?

All the other coffee beans I checked out were cheap as chips compared to the Jamaican ones. £30 for 500g Jamaican beans. £6 for 500g other beans!

The fact that they are so expensive would normally put my off, but since they come from "back a yard", my home land, I feel a pressing need to try some... and they must be damn good if they cost that much.

I bought a slightly cheaper version once and personally I found it a little bland ... mind you it was Whittards's version

.

 

[s.norbury]

Cafetierre here , haven't plunged yet,, one must stir and wait 5 minutes according to a starbucks worker I know

 

[gentlegreen]

Cafetierre here , haven't plunged yet,, one must stir and wait 5 minutes according to a starbucks worker I know

It'd take at least that long to extract any flavour from Starfcuk's coffee

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

I bought a slightly cheaper version once and personally I found it a little bland ... mind you it was Whittards's version

.

Yeah, that's the version I was looking at too. Am thinking of going to Whittards in the Bull Ring today, but not to buy Blue Mountain coffee! Something cheaper for now.

 

[snorbury]

what do people think of italian coffee lavazza segafredo etc?

 

[fortyplus]

best coffee I've ever had was made by an Ethiopian friend - she roasted the beans on a charcoal stove, and filled the room with the smoke of the roasting coffee and burning frankincense. It would have been good even if the coffee tasted shite but it didn't.

Bit of a palaver for everyday though.

 

[snorbury]

half the fun of coffee is making it, those machine with plastic cups are only good if your just about to fall asleep or need to wake up quick

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

half the fun of coffee is making it, those machine with plastic cups are only good if your just about to fall asleep or need to wake up quick

Damned right! Same with all drugs IMO - the anticipation, the preparation, and finally the consumption.

I bought some Guatemalan Elephant from Whittard, drank some this morning, and it was LUSH. Absolutely delightful. Also got some Ethiopian Mocha, but I made it too weak so I don't know if I like it yet. In fact, I think I shall make a cup just now.

 

[Skim]

The smell of roasting coffee beans is fantastic. I've never roasted my own beans at home, perhaps I should just for the aroma they would leave in the house.

 

[pogofish]

and they must be damn good if they cost that much.

They are good but personally, not that good for the price!

I also remember something about quite serious issues of exploitation/poverty for the people who work the estates where it is grown. Only one of them could be described as anywhere near fairtrade.

With most other popular coffees, it is not that difficult to get reasonably ethical versions tho.

 

[pogofish]

what do people think of italian coffee lavazza segafredo etc?

Lavazza Gold - Excellent
Lavazza Red - Good day to day drink, maybe edging towards a little acidic for my liking.

Not tried the other two Lavazzas I've seen in local stores, One seems to be a very strong dark roast which isn't exactly my thing & IIRC, the other is a decaff or some other fiddly version.

Segafredo - OK. A local pub does a nice cup of it but in other places, it can be bloody awful - has a fairly strong taste so they tend to make it far too weak.

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

They are good but personally, not that good for the price!

I also remember something about quite serious issues of exploitation/poverty for the people who work the estates where it is grown. Only one of them could be described as anywhere near fairtrade.

With most other popular coffees, it is not that difficult to get reasonably ethical versions tho.

That does worry me quite a bit. Although I read that Jamaican coffee growers get the best price for their coffee, compared to other coffee growers. However, seeing how little other coffee growers get paid, this 'best price' is probably not as good as it might sound...

I wonder what percentage of the £40/500g they get. The amount is probably not that much more than what growers of £6/500g coffee get...

 

[snorbury]

just drank some french coffee GrandeMere, it was foul, always is

 

[pogofish]

Although I read that Jamaican coffee growers get the best price for their coffee, compared to other coffee growers.

On the whole yes but IIRC, the Blue Mountain growers were largely confined to one small traditional community & because of this, the poverty/low pay issue was compounded somewhat.

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

I need advice. How much water does a 'standard' coffee cup hold? You see, I bought a 'six cup' cafetiere from Woolworths, and found that it holds 0.8 L. That means it holds six 133ml cups. 133ml seems a bit small to me!

The coffee I bought says to add one scoop of coffee per cup. This is meaningless, if it doesn't say how much one cup holds. It would have a meaning if it said "add one scoop per x ml of water"...

 

[Reg in slippers]

trial and error, depending on how strong you like your coffee


me, i'd put in about an inch, maybe inch and a half of cafetiere ground coffee, then pour the just about boiling water on top

give it a quick stir then leave to stew for 5 minutes before plunging

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

Well, I find that one and a half to two scoops steeped for 4-5min is good for the size of my cups. However, only two and a half of my cups will fit in the six-cup cafetiere. Which makes the instructions a bit, erm, rubbish. x scoops of coffee per x ml of water would have been a good starting point.

I can imagine someone getting confused and adding six scoops to it, pouring it all into one of those 'jumbo'-sized mugs, and wondering why their heart explodes an hour later...