Coffee

[DeF]

Like all proper cyclists, I'm a regular
coffee drinker. In fact, seeing as how
I'm also a mathematician, I've got to drink
it by the bucket.

Anyway, some of the staff at my local insist
on letting the first bit of coffee from the
machine drain away rather than putting it into
the cup. I asked them about this and they claim
that the first flush is bitter and it's best to
let it go. Personally, I think it just makes
for a weaker cup of coffee, which is not a good
thing.

Opinions?

DeF

--
e-mail: [email protected]
To reply, you'll have to remove finger.

 

[Joel Mayes]

DeF wrote:
> Like all proper cyclists, I'm a regular
> coffee drinker. In fact, seeing as how
> I'm also a mathematician, I've got to drink
> it by the bucket.
>
> Anyway, some of the staff at my local insist
> on letting the first bit of coffee from the
> machine drain away rather than putting it into
> the cup. I asked them about this and they claim
> that the first flush is bitter and it's best to
> let it go. Personally, I think it just makes
> for a weaker cup of coffee, which is not a good
> thing.
>
> Opinions?
>
> DeF
>


They are wrong, wrong, wrong, coffee should be slightly bitter I would
walk out of a coffee store that did this to my coffe

Cheers

Joel

 

[Tamyka Bell]

DeF wrote:
>
> Like all proper cyclists, I'm a regular
> coffee drinker. In fact, seeing as how
> I'm also a mathematician, I've got to drink
> it by the bucket.
>
> Anyway, some of the staff at my local insist
> on letting the first bit of coffee from the
> machine drain away rather than putting it into
> the cup. I asked them about this and they claim
> that the first flush is bitter and it's best to
> let it go. Personally, I think it just makes
> for a weaker cup of coffee, which is not a good
> thing.
>
> Opinions?

I'm guessing this is a proper espresso machine? If the machine is
properly heated and the empty filter has been flushed through with water
prior to filling with your delicious, freshly ground coffee, the first
bit shouldn't be bitter.

Bitter comes from a coffee machine that hasn't been cleaned in way too
long, from old ground coffee in the filter or using coffee that's not
fresh, from the machine or cup not being preheated for long enough, from
a bad blend (think lots of robusta and not much arabica bean) ...
they're bum-steering you, dude!

Tam

 

[Bean Long]

Man, you're paying for the cup... demand the whole thing! That sounds
wrong.

--
"Coffee" Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying
"DeF" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Like all proper cyclists, I'm a regular
> coffee drinker. In fact, seeing as how
> I'm also a mathematician, I've got to drink
> it by the bucket.
>
> Anyway, some of the staff at my local insist
> on letting the first bit of coffee from the
> machine drain away rather than putting it into
> the cup. I asked them about this and they claim
> that the first flush is bitter and it's best to
> let it go. Personally, I think it just makes
> for a weaker cup of coffee, which is not a good
> thing.
>
> Opinions?
>
> DeF
>
> --
> e-mail: [email protected]
> To reply, you'll have to remove finger.

 

[HUMBUG]

On 22/09/05 at 11:24:56 DeF somehow managed to type:

> Like all proper cyclists, I'm a regular
> coffee drinker. In fact, seeing as how

<snip>

>
> Opinions?

You need a new coffee shop. No question..

--
Humbug

 

[coowoowoo]

Are they for real. I would throw the cup back at them if they tried to give me the dregs of the coffee. I bet they serve it luke warm as well so that you drink it quicker and get your **** out of the chair faster. What a load of ****. I agree with you Tam on all the points you raised.

 

[DeF]

HUMBUG wrote:
> On 22/09/05 at 11:24:56 DeF somehow managed to type:
>
>> Like all proper cyclists, I'm a regular
>> coffee drinker. In fact, seeing as how
>
> <snip>
>
>> Opinions?
>
> You need a new coffee shop. No question..
>
> --
> Humbug


Well, I'm glad that this straw poll has agreed with
me %100 - will take this as ammo next time I'm down
there. When I challenged them before, it was two
coffee makers against one coffee drinker.

There are two more coffee shop options on campus, one
is a takeaway Aroma (bleah) and the other is the staff
club which is usually full of the be-suited admin crowd.

Will have to assert the proper method next time I'm down
there.

DeF.


--
e-mail: [email protected]
To reply, you'll have to remove finger.

 

[Bikesoiler]

Are they for real. I would throw the cup back at them if they tried to give me the dregs of the coffee. I bet they serve it luke warm as well so that you drink it quicker and get your **** out of the chair faster. What a load of ****. I agree with you Tam on all the points you raised.

Ditto! your Ditto!

More like they serve it scalding hot 'cause some peasant complained their latte wasn't hot 30 mins after serving.

Life is too short to drink bad coffee.

 

[roshea]

Anyway, some of the staff at my local insist
on letting the first bit of coffee from the
machine drain away rather than putting it into
the cup. I asked them about this and they claim
that the first flush is bitter and it's best to
let it go. Personally, I think it just makes
for a weaker cup of coffee, which is not a good
thing.

Opinions?

While I defer to the people on this forum when it comes to cycling matters, it seems that you may need a bit of education when it comes to coffee.

If you wanna get REALLY into it, you can head over to http://www.coffeegeek.com/forumshttp://www.coffeegeek.com/ for hours of caffeinated amusement.

One theory on this is that, depending on the beans and the machine, the coffee in first few drops is not properly extracted and so can have a different flavour profile (often it can be more bitter) than the rest of the pour. After the first few drops (which should be dark brown / black), the pour should be brown crema for the next 25 seconds or so - this is the good stuff. Once the flow starts to become more pale you get over-extracted coffee, which is sour, so you really don't want this in your cup.

If you really want to tast the difference, ask your coffee shop to separate the first and second half of the pour (or, even better, to split it into thirds) into different cups and see what you think of each.

 

[cfsmtb]

While I defer to the people on this forum when it comes to cycling matters, it seems that you may need a bit of education when it comes to coffee.

If you wanna get REALLY into it, you can head over to http://www.coffeegeek.com/forumshttp://www.coffeegeek.com/ for hours of caffeinated amusement.

We know about *coffee geek*, talk about obsessive obsessives!

From teh US of A: http://www.caffeinatedcyclists.com/

*Lightbulb goes off it head*

Hey PubBUG did a homebrew Sidewall Stout last year, how about a *a.b coffee brand*.

We've got contacts... Or do a deal with Friends of Baucau: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~fobaucau/coffee.htm

Goes off madly scheming more merchandising ideas

 

[Kim Hawtin]

DeF wrote:
> Well, I'm glad that this straw poll has agreed with
> me %100 - will take this as ammo next time I'm down
> there. When I challenged them before, it was two
> coffee makers against one coffee drinker.
>
> There are two more coffee shop options on campus, one
> is a takeaway Aroma (bleah) and the other is the staff
> club which is usually full of the be-suited admin crowd.
>
> Will have to assert the proper method next time I'm down
> there.

they should make you the coffee the way you ask them to make it.

if they persist, invest in your own introvenus^Wperculator coffee maker ...

cheers,

kim
~ /me has wicked memories of long days and Uni and 6 pots of coffee a day =D
~~ ahhhh the good old days

 

[Bikesoiler]

While I defer to the people on this forum when it comes to cycling matters, it seems that you may need a bit of education when it comes to coffee.

If you wanna get REALLY into it, you can head over to http://www.coffeegeek.com/forumshttp://www.coffeegeek.com/ for hours of caffeinated amusement.

One theory on this is that, depending on the beans and the machine, the coffee in first few drops is not properly extracted and so can have a different flavour profile (often it can be more bitter) than the rest of the pour. After the first few drops (which should be dark brown / black), the pour should be brown crema for the next 25 seconds or so - this is the good stuff. Once the flow starts to become more pale you get over-extracted coffee, which is sour, so you really don't want this in your cup.

If you really want to tast the difference, ask your coffee shop to separate the first and second half of the pour (or, even better, to split it into thirds) into different cups and see what you think of each.

Yes, hours of fun on CoffeeGeek.

The problem here is a little bit of good info that is not fully understood. I agree about the first few drops but it's often the first 1 second of pour that's rejected. Could be worse. They could over extract by double hitting the run button to 'top up' the cup, due to peasants complaining their cups not full etc.

 

[Tamyka Bell]

DeF wrote:
>
> HUMBUG wrote:
> > On 22/09/05 at 11:24:56 DeF somehow managed to type:
> >
> >> Like all proper cyclists, I'm a regular
> >> coffee drinker. In fact, seeing as how
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> >> Opinions?
> >
> > You need a new coffee shop. No question..
> >
> > --
> > Humbug
>
> Well, I'm glad that this straw poll has agreed with
> me %100 - will take this as ammo next time I'm down
> there. When I challenged them before, it was two
> coffee makers against one coffee drinker.
>
> There are two more coffee shop options on campus, one
> is a takeaway Aroma (bleah) and the other is the staff
> club which is usually full of the be-suited admin crowd.
>
> Will have to assert the proper method next time I'm down
> there.
>
> DeF.

You can get a decent espresso machine for a few hundred dollars. Then it
only costs you about $25 a kilo for beans, and your average coffee costs
about 50c, so if you drink a few cups a day... woohoo! (Yes, I have a
small one at home, our office has a big one, and my best mate has gone
commercial.)

Tam

 

[Tamyka Bell]

roshea wrote:
>
> DeF Wrote:
> > Anyway, some of the staff at my local insist
> > on letting the first bit of coffee from the
> > machine drain away rather than putting it into
> > the cup. I asked them about this and they claim
> > that the first flush is bitter and it's best to
> > let it go. Personally, I think it just makes
> > for a weaker cup of coffee, which is not a good
> > thing.
> >
> > Opinions?
> While I defer to the people on this forum when it comes to cycling
> matters, it seems that you may need a bit of education when it comes to
> coffee.
>
> If you wanna get REALLY into it, you can head over to
> http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums'' (http://www.coffeegeek.com/) for
> hours of caffeinated amusement.
>
> One theory on this is that the coffee in first few drops is not
> properly extracted and so can have a different flavour profile (often
> it can be more bitter) than the rest of the pour. After the first few
> drops (which should be dark brown / black), the pour should be brown
> crema for the next 25 seconds or so - this is the good stuff. Once the
> flow starts to become more pale you get over-extracted coffee, which is
> sour. That middle bit (hopefully from ~ 2 - 25 seconds of pouring) is
> what you want!

Which is why commercial coffee machines are usually designed so as to
only extract for the correct amount of time, so as to produce 30mL for a
single shot or 60mL for the double.

Tam

 

[roshea]

roshea wrote:

<snippage>

> While I defer to the people on this forum when it comes to cycling
> matters, it seems that you may need a bit of education when it comes to
> coffee.
>
> If you wanna get REALLY into it, you can head over to
> http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums'' (http://www.coffeegeek.com/) for
> hours of caffeinated amusement.
>
> One theory on this is that the coffee in first few drops is not
> properly extracted and so can have a different flavour profile (often
> it can be more bitter) than the rest of the pour. After the first few
> drops (which should be dark brown / black), the pour should be brown
> crema for the next 25 seconds or so - this is the good stuff. Once the
> flow starts to become more pale you get over-extracted coffee, which is
> sour. That middle bit (hopefully from ~ 2 - 25 seconds of pouring) is
> what you want!

Which is why commercial coffee machines are usually designed so as to
only extract for the correct amount of time, so as to produce 30mL for a
single shot or 60mL for the double.

Tam

The automatic machines can do this (any many have pre-infusion, which should get rid of the issues with the first few drops), but if the grind is not right then you'll end up with **** in your cup anyway. The sad truth is that the educated amateur, using a humble domestic machine, can make better coffee than >90% of cafes, who use stale beans and don't-know or don't-care staff.

 

[TimC]

On 2005-09-22, cfsmtb (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> Hey 'PubBUG' (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pub_bug/) did a homebrew
> Sidewall Stout last year, how about a *a.b coffee brand*.

I think PubBUG has gone lazy now that we have the Goat.

When I am able to attend, we must make it to the Belgium Beer Cafe
(unlike lasttime when I was in another city

If only I knew how much longer I would be here -- I would have joined
up to BBC's Saturday morning breakfast thing.

--
TimC
"The Internet is the most powerful stupidity amplifier ever invented.
It's like television without the television part." -- James "Kibo" Parry

 

[Tamyka Bell]

roshea wrote:
>
> Tamyka Bell Wrote:
> > roshea wrote:
> >
> > <snippage>
> >
> > > While I defer to the people on this forum when it comes to cycling
> > > matters, it seems that you may need a bit of education when it comes
> > to
> > > coffee.
> > >
> > > If you wanna get REALLY into it, you can head over to
> > > http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums'' (http://www.coffeegeek.com/) for
> > > hours of caffeinated amusement.
> > >
> > > One theory on this is that the coffee in first few drops is not
> > > properly extracted and so can have a different flavour profile (often
> > > it can be more bitter) than the rest of the pour. After the first few
> > > drops (which should be dark brown / black), the pour should be brown
> > > crema for the next 25 seconds or so - this is the good stuff. Once
> > the
> > > flow starts to become more pale you get over-extracted coffee, which
> > is
> > > sour. That middle bit (hopefully from ~ 2 - 25 seconds of pouring) is
> > > what you want!
> >
> > Which is why commercial coffee machines are usually designed so as to
> > only extract for the correct amount of time, so as to produce 30mL for
> > a
> > single shot or 60mL for the double.
> >
> > Tam
> The automatic machines can do this (any many have pre-infusion, which
> should get rid of the issues with the first few drops), but if the
> grind is not right then you'll end up with **** in your cup anyway. The
> sad truth is that the educated amateur, using a humble domestic machine,
> can make better coffee than >90% of cafes, who use stale beans and
> don't-know or don't-care staff.
>
> --
> roshea

Which is why everyone should get their how-to lesson from the World
Barista Champion (2004)

Tam

 

[cfsmtb]

I think PubBUG has gone lazy now that we have the Goat.

When I am able to attend, we must make it to the Belgium Beer Cafe
(unlike lasttime when I was in another city

Pfff, you haven't been around since the beginning at the Imperial beer garden years ago. We've done Team PubBUG Hawaiian shirts, a Sidewall Stout Home brew, a Kona24 Team entry, organised civilised pubcrawl/rides, made an annual event of the Triple R Community Cup and handed 60+ Hawaiian lei's at the '03 SingleSpeed Worlds.

 

[David M]

Tamyka Bell wrote:
> You can get a decent espresso machine for a few hundred dollars. Then it
> only costs you about $25 a kilo for beans, and your average coffee costs
> about 50c, so if you drink a few cups a day... woohoo! (Yes, I have a
> small one at home, our office has a big one, and my best mate has gone
> commercial.)

Agree that the espresso machine is important but the most important are
the roaster and grinder.

The roaster need not be expensive (a $20 popcorn machine works fine)
but you've got to have a good ear and a bit of practice to get it
right. The roast should only be between 24 hours and about 3 days old
imho. I now have a "Cafe Rosto" that's a bit easier to get right.

And the grinder is critical. I set mine (Saeco MC2002) up so that's
it's fine enough that having rejected the 1st second's worth, the next
17-20 seconds extract 30mm. Longer than about 20-22 seconds always
tasted burnt to me (La Cimbali Domus).

With the right beans, and my roaster and grinder, I'll bet I can make a
better espresso with some $200 department store espresso machine than
at least 75% of espresso I buy in cafes.

Cheers
David M

 

[trek-man]

Tam

Coffee and Bianchi, now your talking