Coffee

[Levas]

a little too small for me so I gave it to a friend. Don't know if it will be used or not. As for lipsticks - didn't use them either

[Jordan]

Anyone into Maccha/Matcha at all? A lot of what is sold fraudulently under that name is just powdered sencha, which is properly called konacha, but the real deal is extremely powerful and naturally sweet. It's quite expensive as well. I've had Gyokuro a few times as well, which is the same kind of tea used to make matcha, but not powdered, which means your not actually ingesting much of the tea leaves, and I thought it was a little bit weaker, but still good stuff. I can't stomach cheap green tea, especially on an empty stomach, in which case it makes me puke on account of the acidity, but shade grown tea has none of the acidity and way more theanine and caffeine.

I currently have some bagged green tea from Costco that is supposed to be regular sencha with a bit of matcha added in, but on the ingredient list, in brackets beside matcha, it says powdered sencha so I guess it's fake, but it is a lot sweeter and I can stomach it. Fairly powerful as well.

I used to drink upwards of twenty cups of coffee a day, but for some reason which is at least consciously unbeknownst to me, I suddenly stopped cold perky a few years ago. I started drinking a lot of cola and stuff, so I guess that's why it didn't effect me so much, but the amount of caffeine I was ingesting via cola came nowhere near the amount I got from coffee for over ten years, everyday. I started up a few times since then, but always stopped after a month or two. It's probably good for my heart or something to not drink THAT much coffee, but I do miss it and am currently mulling over whether to start again. I like nearly any kind of coffee, but my favourite is this stuff from Portugal, can't recall the name right now, brewed in a moka pot. If a moka pot is not available, just a regular cone style filter is probably my second favourite method of preparation. I like to pour the near boiling water over the coffee until it fills the cone right to the top, then let it drain out completely, then slowly and carefully pour more water over the side of the filter, washing away all the coffee, and more importantly the oils, that have been deposited there.

One time, an ex-girlfriend brought me back a bag of Americano beans from Chiapas that were so lightly roasted, they almost looked like peanuts or something. It was caffeine heaven.

[ConcreteMascara]

20 cups of coffee a day?! I'd think you'd die from dehydration via diarrhea .

[Johann]

speaking of under roasted beans, i used to go to this coffee shop as a kid that offered an espresso shot where the beans were un-roasted...really bizarre, i can't even remember what it tasted like but it was loaded with caffeine...

20 cups is a do able thing, but i do not drink that much currently (waking up at 5 AM, i'm like an old person i don't wanna be up past 8). but when i was younger with certain friends/roommates or living at home with my mom it was easy, anytime i'm around other fiends or restaurants that are open all night...

[Nyodene D]

I used to work at a coffee shop for about 4-5 months. in that time i grew to appreciate espresso (by the shot mostly, though I make a hell of a latte) and cold-brewed espresso (used for incredible iced coffee).

Our owner was not very sophisticated - we had a drive-thru and stuff so we couldn't afford to brew coffee-by-the-cup or cater to a coffee snob crowd as our main business was mostly housewives and business commuters. Although we were independent we were pretty much a fancier (yet still cheaper) Starbucks. Lots of crowd-pleasing dark french and italian roasts and gross latte syrup flavors and such... 

At home I use a french press and locally-roasted beans (usually a stronger lighter roast).  I want to upgrade to that Hario V-60 that someone posted earlier - just gave one to a friend as a birthday gift today actually.  Seems like it would make a smoother cup of coffee than the sludge and bitterness of french press.

Since leaving the coffee shop, i started working at a whole food co-op / cafe.  I handle the drinks there but that mainly consists of organic juicing and smoothies.  I would LOVE for them to buy me an espresso machine and start doing things right again but i don't think they're going to sink the money into that for almost a year... our coffee now is good (same roaster i buy for my home) but is just auto-drip that sits in large thermos dispensers. Our iced coffee is just refrigerated brewed coffee and some of it gets frozen into icecubes. mostly it just tastes old.

[Jordan]

20 cups of coffee a day?! I'd think you'd die from dehydration via diarrhea .

It's definitely doable, but that is a nasty side effect,. I guess I should mention that I'm talking normal, eight ounce cups of coffee.


I find it interesting that Eight O'Clock Coffee always wins at these blind taste testing competitions. I picked up a small can once at a convenience store because it was late at night, but didn't think it was anything special. I guess it's like Smirnoff wining blind taste test spirit competitions.

There's a Canadian company called Kicking Horse that has a range of pretty good coffees. http://www.kickinghorsecoffee.com/en/home

[simulacrum]

I don't swear by one coffee. When I run out of beans, I always replenish them with a new kind. I do the coffee shopping at work so I get to pick up premium bags of coffee on the company's tab. The only criteria (besides no Folgers, Yuban or any other diarrhea) is whole bean. Otherwise, I'm open to whatever because drinking the same cup of black coffee for weeks gets old.
At home, I just tried Mexican Piñon coffee from Trader Joes and, holy shit, it's some of the best I've had. It's pre-ground because I rarely drink coffee at home, thus no grinder, and not sure if it's available in whole bean, but I'd look into it.
Also, a quick morning shot of espresso or two has saved my life innumerable times.
Coffee/espresso is a twice- sometimes thrice-daily staple for me.

[nowirehangers]

I rarely drink anything of the caliber mentioned in this thread. It is usually Cafe Bustello made in my french press.

[Bleak Existence]

my two favorite beverages too

[Dirtbag]

I am a bad coffee addict and drink it almost every day, same with tea. Probably a dental death wish, but it's just so good in the morning or after work. I prefer Hawaiian Kona beans or Sumatran for more expensive brands. For cheap crap I go for "Chock Full O' Nuts New York," not amazing but it passes my test. Something about it is so goddamn good with a cigarette. For tea I like oversteeped Irish breakfast or Earl Grey.

I know all about the dental death wish. Drink coffee everyday (morning and night), after I've had enough coffee, I switch to tea. I prefer the breakfast varieties as well and over steeped. Also a fan of lapsang souchong because of the smokey aroma. If that is not enough on the teeth, I drink a few glasses of cherry juice at night to help sleep. Pretty much every night I have dreams of teeth rotting or exposed nerves in teeth etc.

Preferred method at home is French Press, I grind the beans right before brewing. No preferred beans, I try not to stay on the same kind for too long. Most recently it was Hawaiian Kauwai and Brazillian Santos. Picking up Mocha Java and some African varietal today.

[Zodiac]

I enjoy my daily dose of Lavazza Caffé Espresso made in a stovetop espresso maker. In addition i use instant coffee like Maxwell House when
there is no time or when i need a softer fix. I know that to some instant coffee is like a deadly sin but it is convidient and i like the taste of
this brand (and use it for years).

Since i live in East Frisia, i am exposed to a heavy (the heaviest) black tea culture and got used to it. So, a good black tea is fine as well.

[Diseased Peasant]

A cup of home made cold brew everyday. Not cut with water or any sugar or cream. Just straight black cold brew coffee. I hate what they try and pass off as cold brew at where I work now. They brew it most of the time for only 6 hours tops, cut it with a ratio of 1/3 cold brew 2/3 water and on top of that add ice. Comes out like watery crap that barely taste like coffee.

I once was looking at it after I ground the beans, and thought about what I could try and make it different. I saw some PBR in the fridge and figured 'fuck thats close enough to water'. So I cold brewed using PBR in place of water. I'll say this, it didn't taste as bad as you would think. However with that being said I wouldn't say it tasted good either or would recommend it. Still better than that watered down shit they pass for cold brew in the cafe. I have been experimenting in cold brewing with red wine in place of water. It has not had the best results. I think it has to do with how the alcohol breaks down the bean that the wine and beer cold brew tasted fairly similar. It may have also been an issue with alcohol to bean ratio. I don't know, I am still working that out.

[Sturmfieber]

I remember Death Wish Coffee being quite good. As for tea, I dig Irish breakfast, Earl Grey, and lapsang souchong.

[oOoOoOo]

Ah, I don't really know what I would consider my favorite coffee. I have been drinking several cups of black decaf coffee a day for many years. I usually just get whatever brand is higher on the shelf, so I get some self assurance that it will be of higher quality. I drink my coffee black, sometimes I add pumpkin and spice seasoning I get from the store if I don't necessarily have the taste for just plain coffee (that can happen if you drink so much coffee your taste buds grow used to the flavor and you don't taste it as much). This last week I got a pound of Sumatra coffee, which seems a little bland sometimes, but the funny thing about coffee is that some mornings you wake up and you drink it and it tastes astounding. That's what happened this morning, other mornings I would drink it and it would taste rather bland, but this morning I had several cups of it and it was fantastic. I only drink decaf because the caffeine seems to fuck with my brain.

[JuhoN]

I don't really like coffee. I can drink it if someone makes.

Tea all the way. I don't even own coffee machine.