Perfect cup o' Joe

dogon dory":2b7xc08y said:
I pull the anchor a lot faster than I used to! :smilep
Click to expand...

~~~~ :lol: good one :thup

Yeah I'm stuck in town to, good thing for this site of mine huh :xnaughty

Baby, I'm all about good java on the boat. Since though, I drink mostly tea every morning, most the time I just get whats available at costco. And it ain't bad :thup Carry grinder (have for years) and make up cowboy-coffee. Went through a dozen of them nice glass french presses :disgust :crook No more :x

OK, since I helped out on yer crummy new thread... how bout showin me help on my crummy new thread brother :teeth :xnaughty

True to the name "C-Brat" RedFox (and a CB salute ... :moon ) :lol:
 
Good topic Dan. I love my coffee also but tend to jump around on the beans so to speak. Like trying new flavors as part of the experience, Will have to try some of your Kona in the near future.
Black and strong although I do enjoy a good latte or iced latte a couple time of week.

To lazy to grind my own so I grind it at the store vacuum pack it and put in the freezer.

A friend at work claims roasting your own beans makes the best cup, turned me on to some green beans and instructions that I will try tomorrow. Looks easy enough.

stevej
 
Great thread, Dan.

I'm a coffee snob...I've spent an embarassing amount of time and money in my lifelong quest to perfect the ultimate morning caffeine experience. The most telling example...the primary reason for getting a shore power setup and Honda EU2000 was so I could run the espresso machine anytime, anywhere.

Me...I'm a latte guy, but I also appreciate a shot of espresso, or the simple cup o' Joe on occasion. Regardless of your poison choice, everything starts with the ingredients...the bean. Over the years, I've settled on a few varieties.

Pure 100% Kona is indeed tough to beat, both in espresso drinks and regular coffee. Were it not for the price, I'd drink a lot more of it. When I feel like spoiling myself, I head on over to my friends at Smith Farms - the web site is funky, but the coffee is unbeatable. You can find Kona cheaper, but if you want fresh, perfectly roasted beans, these folks have the best that Hawaii has to offer. Also, when they have them, their Macadamias are terrific as well. They are huge, and perfectly roasted as well.

My daily bean came to me in a very unusual way. I had a van roof rack for sale, and the guy that ended up buying it from me worked for an organic coffee roaster near Santa Cruz. When I found this out, I gave him a bit of a break on the price in exchange for a few pounds of beans. They were so good, they've been my daily bean for about a year.

Whole Bean Roasting is the company (web site link), very good stuff. In addition to being freshly roasted and 100% organic (you CAN taste the difference), it's cheap! I order two pounds at a time, and get it for $18.75 delivered - their espresso and Ethiopian blends are my favorites, both make great espresso/lattes. They don't have any fancy online ordering, you'll need to email them or leave a message on their answering machine. If anyone has trouble getting through, drop me a PM and I'll provde the email address of my inside coffee connection there... :mrgreen:

If anyone's interested in home espresso/latte brewing, speak up - I've been around that block a few times, and could write up some details on my current setups. Yeah...that's setups, plural. A high end system for home, an excellent portable system for the road.

Quite simply, with a little practice and the right equipment, one can easily make these drinks at home and produce results better than you'll get at 99% of the coffee houses out there.
 
Hey... I been thinkin lately about getin a latte machine for the RedFox. Whacha got fer our babys on-the-go-mon :?:
Keep in mind; I know nothing about whats good or whats crapy :| ...
 
Yes! but I'll add... distilled water is no good for brewing brew :mrgreen: :beer
Same goes for great tea (Erba Mate) good soft water, distilled is probably the best fer that to :thup
 
Da Nag

Would love to hear about your current setups, both home and travel, I have been thinking about getting a machine, I love a latte but hate paying the 3 bucks for one and it would be fun to be able to make them.

Joe (Sundog)
 
Well, folks, if we put a latte machine aboard, where would the microwave go? :lol: :lol: I hear you all going "Boo! Hiss!" Seriously, we use a Melita cone and paper filter for the equipment , and good ole Fall City water. The coffee it self was formerly beans from Costco, ground at home and put in a plastic sandwich bag for each cruise. Ever since we first went to New Orleans, however, we have been hooked on Cafe Du Monde chickory coffee, and we have found a place in B'ham (the Asian Market on the south end of Meridian, in the Fountain District) that sells it for $4.99 a can. Coffee from a CAN, you say? Really, close your eyes and you are in the French Market...it is GOOD!
 
Come on DaNag... stop holdin-out-on-our-ass :shock: cough up the skinny on whachagotmon :)
 
Sundog":1l15lgbn said:
I love a latte but hate paying the 3 bucks for one and it would be fun to be able to make them.
Click to expand...

Not only is it fun, it's way cheaper, and you can make them better than most places with about a $500 investment. While this sticker shock may put some folks off, we were buying two lattes a day @ $7 (including tip), for something I can make better, with top notch ingredients for under $1 each. So, doing the math, the machine and grinder pays for itself after 100 drinks - 3 months for us.

I've been doing this for many years, and have settled on items that work well for me. However, for a wide range of reviews and feedback, the best site for researching this stuff is CoffeeGeek - spend some time there if you are serious about buying. For the products mentioned below, I've linked to them for further info.

So...here's my setup recommendation. It's what I used at home for about 7 years until recently, and what I use on the boat and in the RV. For lattes/caps/americanos, it's tough to beat at any price. For pure espresso, it's very good - to do better, you need to make a significant investment jump (around $1500 for grinder/machine.) Yeah...I made the jump, but quite honestly...I'd probably not do it again if starting over, as my daily drinks are lattes.

I've also added an alternative grinder selection, but it will drive the price up by about $200.

Grinder

As mentioned in earlier posts, you want a burr grinder. I don't have any experience with the hand grinders Dan mentioned...quite frankly, I'm far too lazy for such a manual contraption...:mrgreen:

Not all burr grinders are equal. In particular, most of the lower end units can not grind fine enough for a good quality espresso shot.

- Recommended: Solis Maestro

Note: The link above includes many older, negative reviews on the product. It was updated a while back - the current model is far superior to the old one of the same name.

Pros: Excellent grind and easy adjustability. Nice "bump" button up front so you can grind just what you need. Grind box fits very tightly, keeps the grinds from flying everywhere. Relatively compact and light - important on the boat. Cheapest grinder I've found that makes a decent grind - on occasion, you can find it on sale for under $100.

Cons: Plastic construction - with daily use, you'll probably get 2-3 years out of one before something breaks. Easy to disassemble, but tough to clean thoroughly without an air compressor.

- Alternative (more $$'s, but higher quality construction): Rocky Rancilio

Pros: Excellent grind quality and adjustment. Beefy unit that should last a lifetime. Very quiet compared to cheaper grinders. This is the model by which most high-end home grinders are judged. Not as expensive as pro/commercial models, but a great grinder if you want something nice for the house.

Cons: Cost - around $275. Messy. Too big to take on the boat.

For strictly home use, the Rocky is very nice. For those who are opposed to the semi-disposable nature of the Solis, it's a great alternative. But...you can buy almost three Solis Maestros for the same price, with no loss in grind quality.

Espresso Machine

There's only one machine for me in the under $400 range - the Solis SL70. Not only does it pour a fine shot of espresso, but it steams far better than anything I've used short of a commercial machine. If milk-based drinks are what you are after, look no further. With a little practice, you can froth up milk as creamy as a pro unit.

One note about the SL70 - the trick to getting an excellent espresso shot requires an inexpensive upgrade: the non-pressurized filter basket. It's a $15 item, but it makes a huge difference in shot quality, as you can use a much finer grind.

Just recently, I bought a second setup just like the above. For a Solis SL70, Solis Maestro grinder, 20 oz. frothing pitcher and a non-pressurized SL70 filter basket, I paid $519 delivered from WholeLatteLove. These are pretty decent every day prices, but if you really search and/or find things on sale, you can do a little better.

Well...enough for one post. I'll write up instructions on how to get the most out of the above items when I have more time. It does take some practice to get good results, but it's not difficult once you know a few tips/tricks.
 
A follow-up on the Solis SL70...

From time to time, you'll see "reconditioned" units for quite a discount - usually about $100 off. They are common on eBay (here's one such auction), and the Solis US importer offers them occasionally as well.

I know two people who have bought these units - both had nothing but trouble with them. I don't know whether the machines were heavily used, or had some fatal flaw from the factory that couldn't easily be fixed. Regardless, I'd avoid them...
 
manalive!! ya sure know yer stuff Bill :shock: priced me outa of it though :cry wait: theres always GS (garage sale) fer me :teeth
Can tea be made into latte ?
 
Our morning cup starts off far far from home but goes through it's final roasting process just down the street. They are all 100% organic and Fair Trade Certified beans that are all roasted in small batches. Some that we get are so fresh out off the fire that we have to leave the bag open till things cool off and the beans quit gassing. The have a great tasting room that you can sit and sample in while watch the beans go round. The name of this fine establishment is Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters and of coarse they have a web site at www.sleepymonkcoffee.com so if you're interested in checking them out give it a go.
 
sheeesh, you folks are making this all to complicated, all you have to do is grab your cup and stagger over to the Tyboo or DaNag boat in the morning for the good stuff....I sure like the cheap Costco stuff.
On the news last week they where test driving a new product by Wolfgang Putz. It was a Latte in a can. You pushed the button on the bottom of the can which caused a chemical reaction and in 5 minutes you had a hot latte. the reviews where good, I thought it would be a handy thing in the boat, a kind of "in case of emergency break glass" type of item
 
The old guy - Slim, he was called - I worked for when I was a kid at the Charter/Seafood shop had me make his coffee like this: Take one of them old fashioned ten cup percolaters, throw the insides away, fill it with water to the spout, and bring it to a rapid boil. Then throw in seven heaping teaspoons of any old brand of store bought coffee (except MJB), slap the lid on, turn off the stove, and let it sit on the burner for ten minutes. Then give it one quick burst of tap water to settle the grounds, pour, and serve. That's it. Bill would still be fluffing his milk.

Slim was a real character, and I learned a lot from him. I still miss the old guy, even though he died in 1972. The old shop and smokehouse is still standing, and I think about him every time I drive by it out in Hammond.

He always had me fetch his coffee. He used two heaping spoons of sugar and a spoon of canned milk. It had to be perfect. We worked seven days a week, and he only drank coffee from get up time at 4:00 until about 10:00 am, so during the busy season, I was the only one who ever got it for him. The second year I worked for him, I started early in the season reducing the sugar. After about a month, I had him down to less than one spoon. Then one day, he got his own coffee and noticed how much sweeter it was. I told him what I had been doing, and how long it had been going on. I said he was getting too onery, so I was cutting his sugar back. He was madder than the dickens and pouted for a couple hours, but then he got kind of proud of me for sticking with something for so long. He told just about everyone who came in that they would have to bear with him for being slow because "Scoob's been cutting me back on the sugar".
 
Back
Top