How to make a great cup of coffee

A good device for brewing helps tremendously, I use a coffee siphon from the 1930's. But there are lots of good brewing methods, from pour overs to the french press and even cold brewing.

Next is great fresh roasted coffee beans, if you happen to live near a coffee roaster I would start there. If there is no coffee roaster near you you could try roasting coffee yourself, it's pretty simple. Where I live we pay $14 or more for 2lbs of Folgers, I decided for that kind of money I should be drinking gourmet coffee. First I tried ordering already roasted beans which were not bad, but I was often disappointed in the choices of roast or how dark the roast was. I came across coffee roasters at Amazon and thought it was interesting, but those roasting machines were a little pricey.

Long story short I found I could roast coffee beans with a hot air popcorn popper ($12 used Amazon)! I bought my popper and some green coffee beans and my adventure into the most delicious coffee's began!


The only mod to popper was adding a glass chimney to stop the beans from flying all over the place, tin cans can be used in its place.

Next you might want a good place to buy your beans, I suggest Sweet Maria's good prices and great coffee!

Here is a quick guide on the basics of roasting stages.

I never knew coffee could taste so good and had so many different natural flavors!

I would suggest some Google searches to add to my quick how to, but this is a good start!

Enjoy!

EDIT: Roast outdoors with the cornpopper as husks fly about while roasting making it messy!

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a dream...

Just a couple days ago I had never thought of roasting your own coffee as anything worth doing.
Then I saw this guy on TEDx talking about roasted coffee.
He explains different ways to roast your own including using an air popcorn popper.

I've been getting into coffee lately seeing as I gave up alcohol. At some point I'd like to roast my own.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

know what would go great with that cup of coffee...
a big slice of Chocolate Flan Bundt Cake


Here's a writen recipe

a reply to: KnightLight

Go for it!

Great coffee is amazing!

a reply to: HardCorps

That really looks and sounds good!

Many thanks!

a reply to: AlaskanDad

I am jealous of all you coffee aficionados. I wish I liked the stuff, but I have never acquired a taste for it. I fee like I am missing out on one of our biggest cultural pleasures. I'm not being sarcastic, either. I swear not being able to meet at a Starbucks for a coffee is hindering my (nonexistent) dating life.

Start with very cold water. It's highly oxygenated. Grind your beans right before you're going to brew them.

a reply to: ScientiaFortisDefendit

So do you do single estate teas?

If not you might want to try them, I drink a lot of white and green teas.

originally posted by: AlaskanDad
a reply to: ScientiaFortisDefendit

So do you do single estate teas?

If not you might want to try them, I drink a lot of white and green teas.

I have never heard that term. I am not a fan of tea, either. I liked iced tea in the summer when I was a kid, but I don't like it now.

Do coffee places have tasting events? Maybe there is a particular roast or concoction that I haven't tried that I might like.

a reply to: ScientiaFortisDefendit

The term single estate means it is from one farm since the name of the estate is named they have good quality control, the same with coffees.

The original Mohka Java was a blend of high grade mohka beans from Yemen and java beans from Indonesia, now it is the name of a chocolate flavored coffee drink. I had always been a black coffee person but with my fresh roast I like milk to cool it a little and brings out more flavor, no sugar.

Anyway I did a quick search for coffee tasting events and there are a few events.

I've thought about doing this too, roasting my own with a popcorn popper. Maybe I should just go ahead & try it one of these days, since it seems so easy to accomplish.

originally posted by: HardCorps
a reply to: AlaskanDad

know what would go great with that cup of coffee...
a big slice of Chocolate Flan Bundt Cake

Here's a writen recipe

Oooohhhh! Come to MAMA!! Between me & our younger flan-addicted kiddo, that wouldn't last the night, for sure

a reply to: ScientiaFortisDefendit

Oh there are so many different coffees.

I don't know much about them. I used to work in two separate grocery type stores that were more into coffee than other places, so I got to try many different kinds.

There are some fruity flavors.
Chocolaty flavors...
darker, lighter, deeper, more shallow.

There are blends that smooth out some of the odd points, and there are blends that bring out odd points.

If I have to go with cheap coffee I like Colombian coffee. If I have more money or more options it gets complicated haha. I don't go to coffee shops though.

I like to brew the coffee my way which depends on my mood. Sometimes it means pouring fresh ground beans into a cup with hot water, letting it sit and then filtering that back into a cup. Sometimes it means doing a drip coffee brew in a one filter cup. sometimes I like a french press..

I pretty much hate coffee makers.

And I know from extracting other things that I wouldn't so much respect a cold press or cold extraction coffee.. Coffee likes the nuttier side, which you need heat to bring out. But sometimes boiling heat is too much.

a reply to: KnightLight

Yeah, I should clarify that I don't think I'd be interested in all those crazy concoctions Starbucks comes up with. I was thinking more along the lines of a type of bean or roast that I might get into and make at home.

I use the heat gun/dog bowl method. Nothing comes close to fresh-roasted coffee.

I also drink high-quality teas.

With so few freedoms left to us we have to enjoy what we can while we can.

a reply to: Spruce

Very cool!

Fresh quality coffee and fine teas adds to the quality of life!

Enjoy!

a reply to: KnightLight

I lost interest in my old drip coffee maker after my first use of my coffee siphon (ebay).

I would like to try one of the Bunn coffee makers:

The Bunn Phase Brew uses a new brewing technology to hold water until it reaches the optimal brewing temperature. The machine then brews with a six minute heating phase and a four minute brewing phase, yielding delicious coffee in just ten minutes. Water is heated to 200° and will only be released once it reaches the correct brewing temperature. After heating, water is spray-released at once to create professional agitation for an even extraction in every brew cycle

source

i don't roast my own....but you are sure giving me ideas.

I love coffee. I drink a french roast, usually all day at work. I use a keurig for convenience, but love breaking out the ceramic grinder and french press from time to time.

But fresh roasted beans? That is so far over 9000......

This is where I've been buying gourmet pre-roasted (whole bean).

smile.amazon.com...

The storefront, Coffee Bean Express seems like a great place to start if you wanna get away from drab grocery products. In a pinch, Eight '0 Clock COLOMBIAN is pretty good, and Melita is ok.

smile.amazon.com...=bl_sr_grocery?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=Coffee+Bean+Direct&node=16310101

Guatemalan, Peruvian and Kona Blend are my current favs.

Boy, aren't we spoiled?!

Here is a amazon comment that is also a how to on coffee roasting with the popper in linked in the op.

I suggest a piece of 3/8 wood dowel to stir the beans while roasting.

a reply to: FlyingFox

The Java Taman Dadar was our favorite before we went to roasting.