Hard News: Because it's about time we had another coffee post
409 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 … 10 11 12 13 14 … 17 Newer→ Last
-
I remember at the Sydney Olympics the Australian (and NZ) journos laughed like drains when a New York Times writer complained - in print - that she couldn't find a decent cup of coffee in Sydney. To really appreciate this, you need to have tried to get a good cup of coffee in New York, which is a major challenge.
The French make bad coffee too, in my experience. In Italy, even the coffee served in motorway service stations is superb. -
The issue of hot coffee suddenly spurting from a plunger as the action of plunging gives way usually lies in the grind of the coffee. If you put in a fine grind, and put in a bit of it, it will form a rigid layer that you have to push down against - which can be hard to do. The water is being forced through the grinds as you push down, but the fine grind 'mats' together preventing relatively easy passage of water. It will give way at some point which is where you get burnt from the resulting gush of hot water.
Use a coarse grind for plungers and you won't have that problem. If you can't get a coarse grind, then I recommend what someone has suggested, plunge a little, then lift the plunger up and push back down a little bit more. This action seems to break the grinds up a bit.
-
Kris V, in reply to
A kg a week for a home machine!
yeah well... 3 adults in the house, all baristas. Gotta focus on the important stuff in life (and feed the delicious addiction)
;) -
er that you have to push down against – which can be hard to do. The water is being forced through the grinds as you push down, but the fine grind ‘mats’ together preventing relatively easy passage of water.
I prefer a relatively fine grind in plungers, which gives you more surface area and (in my experience) a stronger brew. You can adjust the pressure and press down more slowly. No such luck in other machines, of course.
-
"New Zealand has wine growing regions that parallel Napa’s — kiwis take their beer and wine seriously. And while most people like coffee, these folks want to marry it."
- A Pictory Guide to New Zealand -
That's a delectable visual taster Lisa.
-
Starbucks is booming in Japan and its matcha latte is renowned all over the country. The company was the first coffee chain to be smoke-free in Japan. The cafes are often used by mobile businesspeople and students. The cafes are also popular places to meet, particularly for groups of young women. Furthermore, they were the first coffee chain that lets you pay with a smartphone.
-
-
nzlemming, in reply to
One of the small joys of the holidays was feeling no need to look at either Kiwiblog or The Standard.
It will improve your standard of living to continue that practice.
-
Amy Gale, in reply to
To really appreciate this, you need to have tried to get a good cup of coffee in New York, which is a major challenge.
Gimme, or Joe. More so Gimme, but Joe gets extra points for having a nearby puppy shop.
But I will repeat the advice I have given before, which is that ultimately it is a lot less frustrating to learn to drink bad coffee in the USA than to try to find good coffee.
-
But I will repeat the advice I have given before, which is that ultimately it is a lot less frustrating to learn to drink bad coffee in the USA than to try to find good coffee.
When in Rome? Fortunately in Rome, the coffee is really good.
-
sigh - finding good coffee in the US - look for the artsy fartsy hippy bookstore part of town, check out the cafes (alternately find a "Little Italy" though there's only a couple of big cities where that's possible) - remember that the names of things will be different from what you expect - that latte will probably come in a tall glass that's way too big and too hot to carry (until you learn to hold it from the top), there will not be a 'flat white'
-
BenWilson, in reply to
there will not be a 'flat white'
LOL, and only ask for a short black if you actually want Mike Tyson to bash you up.
-
Jacqui Dunn, in reply to
The French make bad coffee too, in my experience. In Italy, even the coffee served in motorway service stations is superb.
Yes, the Italians make excellent wine, as well. There's a saying amongst wine buffs (or snobs, if you will) that the French export all their good wine and drink the shit, and the Italians do the opposite.
-
Amy Gale, in reply to
finding good coffee in the US - look for the artsy fartsy hippy bookstore part of town, check out the cafes (alternately find a "Little Italy" though there's only a couple of big cities where that's possible)
The existence of good coffee is one thing, its availability in daily life is another thing entirely. For example, the following cover the majority of coffee experiences I've had in the last decade.
a) Get up->make something yourself, probably filter.
b) Go to work/school->drink filter coffee from shared coffee urn.
c) Go to catered meeting/seminar/etc->get fed filter coffee probably provided by whatever outfit the muffins/donuts/bagels came from.
d) Go for afternoon break->buy coffee from nearby purveyor. Some chance that this is espresso, depending on location, but low probability of awesomeness.
e) Make special pilgrimage to place with good coffee->have good coffee. Maybe look at puppies.
Scenarios b),c) and d) are definitely what I'm thinking of when I recommend learning to drink bad coffee. e) is all very well but depends on living in a town with an artsy fartsy hippy bookstore part (or with parts at all, for that matter) or a Little Italy, and quite often is impractical except at weekends. Clearly I have only myself to blame for a).
-
I roast my own beans at home, partly for economic reasons but mostly for amusement.
One thing I noticed when I began doing it was that US-based web sites raved about how much better home-roasted beans were. My observation is that while I can often get results that are comparable to what I can buy from a local roaster, they’re not markedly better. From this I infer that the beans typically available in the US are crap, probably mostly because of the long bumpy trip from a big plant to the end user. When you think about it, the number of local boutique roasteries in NZ is crazy high. Any non-rural cafe in NZ can get great fresh beans easily if they want.
-
I must admit to having been spoiled working for silicon valley startups - one of the first things through the doors in a new business that we always did was take care of coffee - Peets and a good drip machine or an espresso machine depending on the people concerned - we want wired employees :-) and a standing coffee order from the right place - sure you can always find bad coffee but there's just no excuse
I lived in Berkeley for 20 years so I was spoiled for choice I guess
(on another cultural note, the first week when I first started work in the US I kept waiting for something to happen and strangely couldn't figure out what it was, I finally figured out it was morning/afternoon tea time - while people had coffee breaks there was no assigned time or place to all sit down and drink tea/coffee - it's one of those important non-official times where quite important non-structured communication occurs in the workplace)
-
Danielle, in reply to
Lucy noticed this too.
-
Sacha, in reply to
Any non-rural cafe in NZ can get great fresh beans easily if they want.
As others have said, that was perhaps one of the main things that went over Starbucks corporate heads when they entered this market. The visiting head honcho going on about our roasters being sub-par was also an utter laughing stock. And a dick.
-
Amy Gale, in reply to
I just like saying "I have nothing but bitching to do about American $noun"
To be fair, electric kettles can be obtained. They just don't seem to be common anywhere that doesn't have a critical mass of foreigners.
To be extra fair, my workplace is perfectly supportive of the afternoon "coffee walk", with shop talk taking place on the journey to and from the coffee shop rather than while drinking.
-
Sacha, in reply to
I finally figured out it was morning/afternoon tea time - while people had coffee breaks there was no assigned time or place to all sit down and drink tea/coffee
I remember the opposite experience of the utter novelty of being asked to join the collective teabreak in the staff cafeteria after years of scoff at your desk or escape the building when you can fit it in.
-
Sacha, in reply to
electric kettles can be obtained. They just don't seem to be common anywhere that doesn't have a critical mass of foreigners.
What do the locals make their instant with? :)
-
recordari, in reply to
I roast my own beans at home, partly for economic reasons but mostly for amusement.
Hi Stephen. Have also been roasting at home for about 18 months, and there does seem to be a lot of variance in the beans. Trade Aid in Auckland sells green beans, and seem to have quite a variety, but I have mostly purchased mine from Espresso Workshop, now in Falcon Lane Parnell.
They also advised me that you can order beans directly through Sweet Marias, although I haven't tried this yet.
My favourites in terms of origin and taste for single origin espresso have been;
(Interestingly, they appear to have been used in SBs - damn!)
I get a kg of green beans for around $17 - $19, which translates to about 4 x 200g roasts. Seems pretty good value overall. I also have a taste for 'fresh' coffee, which most connoisseurs would turn their nose up at, because the gases haven't escaped, and so on. But waiting 72+ hours to try a new roast just doesn't work for me. Quite like the grassy flavours.
-
Unlike Lucy's experience every place I've worked in the US had a coffee/break room with hot water, a kettle, tea/coffee, a coke machine (often free or with minimal prices), a microwave and fridge (at at least one place there was a "no durians" sign on the outside because of, well, you know, that incident when they had to evacuate the place).
But no organised twice daily sit down which I did miss
Now I work in NZ for a US startup I still get the weekly email reminder to clean out the fridge
-
Amy Gale, in reply to
Ah, you see, that depends on whether or not they know a foreigner. If they do, they use an electric kettle and are very pleased about it. If they don't, they use either a stovetop kettle or the microwave.
Post your response…
This topic is closed.