Lunar Threads

Found a great local coffee place where I just moved to! Will probably start buying my beans there to support local business.

Where are you? Roughly, I mean.

As a Mormon, I find this topic offensive.

However, I have a neighbor who has made me coffee. She is from Ethiopia. She tells me it has peach, floral, honey, cinnamon. It's roasted at medium. It's good enough to have me betray my religion. I've tried to recreate it like she instructs me but haven't got close.

Have you tried blending together peaches, flowers, honey, cinnamon, and a roast cooked to medium?

Packed with protein! A meal in a glass.

Alunissage wrote:Where are you? Roughly, I mean.

Currently in a small town in Indiana. It's about one-and-a-half hours from Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. They get their coffee from Louisville. Went to another shop earlier in the week and their coffee was from Oklahoma of all places.

WD_RPG_WD... you should just get some good Ethiopian coffee and make it in a French press. I think you would like the results. I drank an Ethiopian coffee this weekend, and the first thing I said out loud was "Cherries!" The tasting notes say raspberry, but I beg to differ. Or don't because of your religion? I probably wouldn't risk eternal damnation for a cup of Joe. But then again, I risk eternal damnation by just questioning the existence of a god, and I don't even get a cup of coffee out of it. Just a nagging empty feeling

Alunissage wrote:Have you tried blending together peaches, flowers, honey, cinnamon, and a roast cooked to medium?

Your sarcasm is not appreciated.

I know it sounds simple but I have no experience in ever making coffee so It ain't so easy.


WereFrog, I am a Mormon but I sometimes question God's existence. Nothing wrong with critical thinking for the purpose of finding the truth.

I am determined to learn how to make good coffee. I have also started making Tea. I'm kind of over my head though. We have nice a little tea shop in DC called Ching Ching Cha where I just bought some Sweet Osmanthus and put it in my tea. I think I put too much in my cup because I was sick the rest of the day. :/

I think a French press is the best way to make coffee in an easy way. Two tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee per 6 oz water. Water just off the boil. 3:30 - 4:00 min. Get your beans from a shop and have them grind them for you (tell them that it is for a French press)... at least at this stage in your coffee making. There are bunch of other ways. I like the Clever coffee maker. I enjoy my Aeropress, but you might find it a little stuffy (one good thing about it is that you can make adjustments to strength pretty easily after brewing). By and large, commercial coffee makers suck.

Oh and as for tea, this article has made me want to get back into making tea. http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/tea- ... ryone.html Makes it sound very easy to get into making tea.

Werefrog wrote:Do any of you have a recommendation on national brands for beans? I usually buy Aldi brand. I enjoy the Aldi brand, but I think I might be willing to spend a few extra bucks now if it brought with it an increase in quality.

Werefrog wrote:Found a great local coffee place where I just moved to! Will probably start buying my beans there to support local business.

I was actually going to say that your best bet is to find a local coffee shop in your area that roasts their own beans (and who serve their own coffee so you can try it out, of course), and buy straight from them. I used to order online, but it was always a crapshoot. Now, the place I usually get my beans is a shop in Alexandria called Misha's, although there are several places in the greater DC area that serve coffee from Stumptown Roasters (they have a presence in several cities, and you can order from them online) and they're all quite good as well.

WD RPG WD wrote:However, I have a neighbor who has made me coffee. She is from Ethiopia. She tells me it has peach, floral, honey, cinnamon. It's roasted at medium. It's good enough to have me betray my religion. I've tried to recreate it like she instructs me but haven't got close.

If you're just starting out, you gotta start out with something more straightforward rather than skipping to challenge mode.

As Werefrog said, it'll be easiest to start with "plain" coffee brewed with a French press ("plain" since even then it should be good if you're using the right stuff). Find a good place to get maybe ½lb of beans, ground coarsely (if it's a shop like Misha's, you can just ask them to grind it for use in a French press and they will know what you mean), and go with Werefrog's instructions. I usually add 1-2 tbsp of sugar and almond milk, since that's how I take coffee, but experiment with whatever you like re: milk and sugar.

If you're satisfied with that, then you can maybe experiment with adding things like chicory and cinnamon (used in Vietnamese coffee), or the melange of flavors that usually is in Ethiopian coffee, or maybe do what I do and add a bit of chocolate. But, y'know, start off plain and work up from there.

Werefrog wrote:Oh and as for tea, this article has made me want to get back into making tea. http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/tea- ... ryone.html Makes it sound very easy to get into making tea.

That might be a topic for another time. I like the gist of the article (didn't have time to read it all the way through, just skim it), but I do beg to differ that mixing tea with sugar, cream, etc., doesn't make it any less authentic than straight tea -- it's just different styles. KF

Just made a "shot" of the Ethiopian coffee I got from the local coffee shop using my Aeropress. Damn fine cup of coffee.

They don't roast their own beans. They get it 'em from Louisville, which is probably the closest place for locally roasted coffee (Honestly, it's pretty much a three-way tie amongst Cincy, Indy, and Louisville). The first coffee place I went to in town was awful. I asked where they get their beans... Oklahoma. Seriously, why would you get your coffee that far away?

Oklahoma is farther away than Ethiopia?

Obviously coffee can't be grown (at least not well) in the US. So assuming that each roaster takes the same care with their green coffee (a big if, obviously), it's better to get coffee from a local roaster. Smart aleck.

Werefrog wrote:Obviously coffee can't be grown (at least not well) in the US. So assuming that each roaster takes the same care with their green coffee (a big if, obviously), it's better to get coffee from a local roaster. Smart aleck.

Kona coffee (Hawaii) -- I would argue that it's perhaps the best in the world. It's certainly my favorite.
...but yes, it's about where the beans are roasted, and usually closer is better. However, Stumptown Roasters is based in Seattle, and the places that serve their coffee around here are quite good. So I wouldn't say it's a universal rule. KF

Every now and then I might make coffee here at the house, but it's rare. I always have to use a lot of flavored creamer into it too. >.< I hate when it's too bitter, though sometimes I use just a tad too much and make it obnoxiously sweet. T^T When I was in college we had a Java City and I would normally grab a tall hot Mocha (I think there was more to the name but I don't remember)

During the summertime I tend to get Mocha frappes a good bit. ^o^ Mostly from Mcdonald's since I think Burger King's are horrible in taste. D;