
Coders guide to good coffee - drmironov
http://blog.moertel.com/pages/coders-guide-to-coffee
======
minus1
I like nice things, I really do, but what I've found is that sometimes being a
connoisseur kills your ability to enjoy simple things.

~~~
_delirium
It doesn't totally solve the problem, but one approach I sometimes try is to
only move up the quality ladder (insofar as there actually is a linear quality
scale, which is itself a bit of a simplification) when I can consistently tell
the difference. It seems many people jump straight to the best they can
afford, while I find it more enjoyable to slowly work my way up, so e.g.
there's no point in jumping straight to world-class wines if you can't even
tell much cheaper wines apart (it's surprisingly hard to get any good at blind
taste testing).

With coffee I think the biggest low-hanging fruit is recently ground coffee:
coffee that's brewed weeks after being ground is a _lot_ different than
freshly ground coffee, and it's fairly noticeable I think. You don't have to
jump straight to hand-roasted small-batch coffees ground in a $1000 grinder
minutes before you brew it in your high-end espresso machine.

Another more psychological issue is just separating different things for
different purposes. I used to have trouble drinking "normal" beer after
becoming something of a microbrew aficionado, but these days I'm a bit better
at mentally distinguishing beer-for-beer-tasting from beer-for-drinking-with-
a-burger. I just sort of consider them different beverages that happen to both
be within the very broad class called "beer". I think I mentally class normal
lagerish beer as a kind of soft drink that happens to have alcohol instead of
a kind of beer--- I don't think "man this sucks, I could be drinking [fancy
microbrew] instead", but "hmm do I want a lager or a coke today?".

~~~
ora600
Except that sometimes differences only exist on a slightly more expensive
scale.

If you can't tell the difference between 6$ Cab and 6$ Merlot, it is likely
because at this price range there is very little difference. Better wines are
better at expressing the differences between the grapes. Cheap wines are all
fruity and alcoholic.

~~~
gnaritas
And yet taste tests show that even experts can't tell the different between
the good stuff and cheap stuff they're told is the good stuff because
expectation plays more of a role in what they perceive than taste does.

~~~
dtegart
Master's of Wine certainly can. Quality is part of the test, as is the ability
to tell variety and region. From
<http://www.mastersofwine.org/en/examination/index.cfm> Practical - three
twelve-wine blind tastings, each lasting two and a quarter hours, in which
wines must be assessed for variety, origin, winemaking, quality and style.

------
jon_dahl
One more item: in a work environment, it's really useful to have single cups
of coffee on demand. A pot is usually too much, and is only really good for a
short time (even in a thermal carafe). So my office sprung for a super-
automatic espresso maker. We got this one - [http://www.amazon.com/Jura-
Capresso-13185-Impressa-Espresso-...](http://www.amazon.com/Jura-
Capresso-13185-Impressa-Espresso-Metallic/dp/B00030J23S) \- but there are a
few dozen models that are similar.

It makes really good espresso (freshly ground, brewed at the right
temperature, etc.), and you can dial in your desired strength by tweaking the
amount of water. An espresso with a few ounces of hot water makes for great
coffee. Not cheap up front, but with 5-10 people using it for a few years, it
isn't that expensive either.

~~~
Terretta
Absolutely. Five years ago I calculated the cost of daily Starbucks (or local
coffee bar of choice), considered why I preferred their coffee over regular
coffee pot brews, found there really is a texture and taste difference with
fresh ground espresso made coffees (see Wikipedia "espresso" paragraph on
"crema"), and bought this:

[http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-ESAM3500-N-Magnifica-Super-
Au...](http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-ESAM3500-N-Magnifica-Super-Automatic-
Espresso/dp/B000N31HEM)

Some three thousand cups of perfect coffee later, it seems like it's not just
a good idea for an office.

PS. Use distilled water in these machines, and you don't have to descale them,
and you avoid coloring the taste of the coffee.

------
ericb
Articles like this make me wonder how much of this is simple religious ritual.
I personally can't tell the difference between fresh ground and store ground
coffee.

I feel like these best practices are not subjected to KISS type debugging
after they are invented. If a blind taste test doesn't reveal a difference, is
the step needed? Instead they become the voodoo of the connoisseur. Regardless
of the possibility that, for example, "Put a kettle of freshly drawn, cold
water on the stove" works equally well (and faster) with warm or hot water. I
can't tell from store ground from home ground, so I just buy ground to save
time.

~~~
geuis
I feel for you, if you are unable to tell the difference. It might mean you
haven't had really _good_ coffee before!

There are different brands of store-bought, pre-ground coffee that are better
than others. Say, 8o'clock coffee compared to Folgers. Under no circumstances
drink Folgers. Its sickening how bad it is. If available at your local
grocery, 8o'clock coffee is pretty damn good.

That being said, fresh whole beans aren't _always_ fresh whole beans. There
are differences in beans. For example, whole beans at Wal-mart. Do not buy, do
not buy! When I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, I did most of my shopping at the Wal-
mart that was half a mile away. For about 6 months I switched to getting the
flavored beans and grinding them in the store. While they tasted better than
the pre-ground coffee, the artificial flavoring that was saturated into the
beans did un-godly things to my insides. Ugh.

Today, living in San Francisco, I have much better access to real coffee. I
have for now settled on buying whole beans, pre-roasted, from the Whole Foods
that is right down the street. I have one of the $15 grinders mentioned in the
article, and a standard auto-drip pot. I grind fresh before every pot.

My roommate doesn't have the same taste for coffee that I do, so if I am not
careful in making sure there are fresh beans in the house we end up with the
oversize red plastic jar of Folgers that he tends to buy if we're out. The
best analogy I can think of is using sand paper instead of toilet paper, if
you follow my drift.

I am tempted to try roasting my own beans. It might be fun and tasty.

~~~
starkfist
There is something to be said for crap coffee. My grandparents used to drink
coffee all day, well into the late evening. I wondered how they were ever able
to sleep. It turns out the coffee they made was so weak that 12 quarts of it
probably had the same caffeine as 12 oz of today's intense artisanal coffees.
I had severe insomnia through most of my 20s and I think it was partially due
to the fact that I was emulating my grandparent's coffee intake but using
"proper" coffee. I still keep up the coffee snob act, but now when I make
coffee at home it's 4/5 decaf.

------
yason
I think it's important to not take things for granted and seek a bit to find
something that _you_ truly enjoy. And, I do, too, think that most of what is
sold as coffee is pretty much crap. However, instead of grinding my own
coffee, I found another (and presumably as labour-intensive) sweet spot.

Maybe there's better coffee out there but this is _good enough_ for me. If
anyone's interested...

I have a six-cup Italian steel moka pot, see
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_(coffee_pot)> and espresso-ground coffee.
This is what I've been drinking for years.

For the espresso, I've settled for the cheap Lidl flavour sold for €1.99 per
200g; not really for the price but surprisingly the taste. It's the only thing
I buy from Lidl: I go there twice a year and buy a plastic bag full of
espresso.

Pleasant and strong.

Out of one pot, I get about three regular cups a day. I make my coffee in the
morning and use a thermos to keep the remaining hot till afternoon. If I have
a long drive to make, I fill up my thermos and drink it during the day since
most gas stations here sell bad coffee.

I would never go back to filters or a French press. And I wouldn't buy an
espresso machine either: we've got one at work and while it makes fairly good
espresso, it's not significantly better or worse than what I make in the moka
pot. And mine costs about 20 euros.

The best coffee I've ever made and had.

~~~
Ernestas
Moka pot is the best. I've got one myself after being in italy and seeing how
all of them use it at home. They drink crazy amounts of espresso there.

I buy myself illycaffè type italian coffee it just has this different taste
(that I like a lot) from other types of coffee I've tried.

------
kuro3hat
> [Originally I posted this article on Thu Apr 25th, 2002 at 02:29:34 PM EST
> to Kuro5hin.org. I am reprinting it here with minor corrections.]

wow, kuro5hin.org, that brings back memories... and it is still kickin'
(barely)

~~~
c1sc0
I've always wondered if a revival of kuro5hin-style _huge_ articles & stories
would be possible. Or maybe we call that blogs nowadays.

~~~
pjscott
Less Wrong (<http://lesswrong.com/>) modified the Reddit code and made a
"community blog" with long articles. The concept of blogging really has taken
over this ontological niche, but there's room for a lot of variation in what
you call a blog. It's flexible enough to cover everything from really long
articles to tweet-at-a-time adventure serials like <http://twitter.com/Othar>
.

I wonder what other types of blogging are still uninvented, or at least not
yet popular.

------
jgg
I'm not the most cultured coffee drinker, but it's amazing to me what passes
as "good" in the US. All the self-proclaimed coffee addicts I know drink
either McDonald's or Starbuck's, which taste like lukewarm piss water and
burnt coffee bean scraps mixed with 77 different varieties of mint flavoring,
respectively.

The one time I had coffee that I though was "good" was some sort of expensive
French blend. I can't remember the name or taste, as it was a long time ago.

I stopped drinking coffee regularly a while ago, along with most soft drinks.
I find that not being addled by caffeine/sugar rushes, while drinking lots of
water, makes me fairly energetic for most of the day.

------
joeld42
I swear by the Aeropress:
<http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm>

I brew it a little differently than the instructions -- I use 2 scoops of
coarse espresso, fill the canister, let it drip halfway out (about 2 mins)
then top it off, wait another 30 secs, then use the plunger. Makes a perfect
12oz cup of coffee, every time.

I also have a hand-pull Gaggia espresso machine from Italy. So it's not like
I'm comparing it to crappy drip. With the same beans, I get equal quality, and
the aeropress is faster.

~~~
shmulkey18
The Aeropress is fantastic: it's cheap, easy to use and clean, and portable.
It makes fantastic coffee. I'm not an espresso expert, but I think you would
have to spend hundreds more to get an espresso machine which can make as good
Americano coffee.

Spend a few bucks on a burr grinder, however. I bought a Saeco Titan from
Costco some time ago for $70 and have been very happy with it.

~~~
stcredzero
I bought a used burr grinder off of Amazon for $40.

------
kscaldef
> An inexpensive ($15) blade grinder (“whirly-bird”) is sufficient for making
> drip coffee

While this much may be true, using a french press with a blade grinder is a
recipe for nasty sludge at the bottom of your cup. There's just too much
variation in the grind size.

~~~
johnswamps
It's not a huge deal in practice in my experience. You could always buy a
press that uses filters, such as the aeropress.

~~~
sgt
I _love_ the AeroPress. Bought one a week ago and it makes pretty amazing
coffee. No need for an expensive espresso machine to make super-smooth
americano... PS: I don't work for AeroPress :)

~~~
madssj
I too share your passion for the AeroPress, and might I add, that using the
upside down brewing method[1] it makes _excellent_ americano. Best I've ever
had actually.

Coffee is not supposed to be bitter, and it's a shame that so many people
think "Oh, well, that's just the way coffee tastes I guess.".

I recently got my parents one, and they went "Ohh, it can taste like that?
That's really good!"

[1]: [http://coffeecollective.blogspot.com/2010/01/updated-
aeropre...](http://coffeecollective.blogspot.com/2010/01/updated-aeropress-
brewing-method.html)

~~~
mattmichielsen
I've never heard of the upside-down method. That makes a ton of sense.

------
gamble
As an alternative, try cold-brewed (aka 'Toddy') coffee. Cold-brewing
circumvents the freshness problem by brewing large batches of concentrate that
can be stored in the fridge. Then simply mix the concentrate with boiling
water for standard coffee, or with cold water to make true iced coffee. The
results are notably less bitter than conventional coffee.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toddy_coffee>

~~~
ecuzzillo
I don't know about circumventing the freshness problem, but I do know that if
you introduce chicory to the brewing process and then add milk, it becomes
fantastic. See iced coffee here:

<http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net/coffee/preparation-guide/>

That's also probably the best guide on the internet for coffee preparation,
and one of the better places in the world to buy coffee in any form.

------
johnswamps
This is all spot on. The art of making the perfect cup of tea is fairly
analogous: buy fresh, loose leaf tea, pour the right temperature water over
the right amount of tea for the right of time, and then enjoy some great tea.

~~~
c1sc0
Do you know why the Chinese always seem to drink tea from these massive glass
jars?

~~~
byw
Mostly for convenience I think. There's also the working-class/unpretentious
image, and many people dig that. You will find many Chinese government
officials drinking from glass jars in public appearances. They probably have
expensive red clay tea sets at home though.

------
Groxx
Alternative to the french press that's easier to carry around: a good metal
tea filter. Not one that looks like this[1], with holes all over, but one like
this[2] with a super-fine mesh. Just knock the coffee out when you're done,
and rinse. Also makes excellent tea. You'll get a bit of dusting in the bottom
of your mug, but you can either stir it up as you drink (significantly-weaker
turkish coffee, I guess) or just leave it.

[1]: [http://www.amazon.com/swissgold®-TF-300-Tea-
Filter/dp/B000G7...](http://www.amazon.com/swissgold®-TF-300-Tea-
Filter/dp/B000G72D70) [2]: [http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Medium-Basket-
Black/dp/B...](http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Medium-Basket-
Black/dp/B000I68NCS/)

~~~
lovskogen
Does it really work for coffee too?

~~~
Groxx
I've been using it for years (the same filter, actually), it's excellent, and
lets you brew by-the-cup easily. French press pots are a PITA to clean. The
mesh is _way_ finer than even the finest grind, though a blade-based grinder
will make more dust than a burr-grinder.

Make sure you get a decent filter, though. Many of them aren't super-fine. I
personally got mine from SpecialTeas for less than I see in stores, and
they've got good tea too: [http://www.specialteas.com/Tea-
Preparation/Permanent-Tea-Fil...](http://www.specialteas.com/Tea-
Preparation/Permanent-Tea-Filter-for-Mugs-Sm-Pots.html)

------
camiller
The only thing I'd add is water quality matters ... a lot. When I moved to a
new office building the coffee was really crappy, even my freshly ground beans
had a horrible taste. I switched to using the bottled water the company
provides and haven't looked back.

------
silentbicycle
Cold-brewed coffee is another option. It brings out different flavors from the
coffee than brewing it with hot water - there's much less acidity. While I
usually drink french-pressed coffee or tea, I like cold-brewed coffee with
chicory (e.g. Cafe du Monde) in the summer.

To make it, I put about 3/4 cup coarse-ground coffee in a 1 qt. jar, fill it
with water, and let it steep in the fridge for a day. After that, just strain
it - two or three passes through a strainer, then a coffee filter seems to
work best. The result is a kind of coffee concentrate - mixing it 50-50 with
water seems about right. Refrigerated, it will keep for at least a week or
two.

You can make larger batches, of course.

------
alrex021
I got this Nespresso machine few days ago:

[http://www.amazon.com/Nespresso-D120-US-BK-NE-Automatic-
Sing...](http://www.amazon.com/Nespresso-D120-US-BK-NE-Automatic-Single-Serve-
Limousine/dp/B002NGNHBS)

It just simply makes awesome expressos.

------
whyenot
> As most software and creative professionals know, coffee is an important
> technology for boosting mental acuity and maintaining peak on-the-job
> performance.

There is good evidence that caffeine can increase human performance, but the
human body also builds up a tolerance for caffeine very quickly. I wonder how
much of the boost people believe they get is from caffeine and how much of it
is a placebo effect. According to Wikipedia, 300mg 3x a day for 18 days
(approx. 5-8 cups of drip coffee per day) is enough for many individuals to no
longer experience any effects of caffeine at all.

------
snowbird122
I'm curious if I can tell the difference between good coffee and bad. Where
can I go in Austin, TX to get a great cup of coffee, and what should I order?

If I can't tell the difference between the good stuff and the stuff I usually
drink, then there is no need to go through the fuss, however, I'd love to have
an awakening.

------
gokhan
Coffee drinks illustrated: [http://www.lokeshdhakar.com/2007/08/20/an-
illustrated-coffee...](http://www.lokeshdhakar.com/2007/08/20/an-illustrated-
coffee-guide/)

A guide to home roasting: <http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions-
revamp2_MRT.php>

Actually, if you roast at home or have access to freshly roasted beans, you
will probably won't be able to consume mainstream coffee as stated in the
article.

------
vixen99
Using two filter papers with a holder, it seems that temperature is <the>
critical factor in creating the smooth flavour I happen to prefer. 185F/85C
does the job perfectly. The coffee gets punchier as the temperature of the
water is increased. Seems to be quite a sensitive relationship.

One variation we enjoy is to add a pinch of cinnamon when grinding the coffee.
Strangely, I've found little difference in flavour which can be put down to
the brand if they're of equivalent roasts.

------
euroclydon
I'm not sure about the "off the boil" advice for temperature. I read in Cooks
Illustrated recently that boiling temperature water makes coffee taste bitter
and that it's best to use water between 190F - 205F. I tried this recently,
with my usual pour over cone, and found that 190F water made the coffee
delicious!

~~~
Avshalom
by the time you pour the water and it hits/heats the room temperature grounds
the water is going to drop several degrees, I could go test it but I suspect
>90% of the brewing is at <205F.

EDIT: for example when brewing beer my friends and I tend to add the grains
when the water is about 10 degrees hotter than we want to mash at.

------
zandorg
I use a Pezzetti which sits on a gas stove. It makes about 1 cup in about 5
minutes. Also, I buy 500g of ground-from-beans coffee at a proper coffee store
in town, and put it in the fridge so it doesn't go stale (I can't get to town
that often). Works fine for me so far!

Even with all that, each cup is only about 10 pence.

------
kentosi
Are there any coffee-drinking Sydney hackers here? If so, any recommendations
for great coffee around here?

I've been to Campos (the Newtown cafe) and it's amazing, but a little hard to
get to. <http://www.camposcoffee.com.au/>

Not sure of any others.

------
joubert
My setup is:

* Delonghi Magnifica (bought with Marriott hotel points): [http://www.delonghiusa.com/index.php?product&nid=20](http://www.delonghiusa.com/index.php?product&nid=20)

* Illy coffee (whole bean)

What's great is the machine actually does the grinding and there after brews
the coffee.

------
dotBen
I'm not sure there is a great deal of new insight in this article for anyone
who isn't already a coffee geek but it's worth a read.

For me, what is more interesting is that this is an article from 2002! (yeah,
check out the latest discussions over on alt.coffee!)

I wonder how these things resurface?

------
dashr
Not to be a Danny Downer- because I love my coffee (Philz Ambrosia!) - but
drinking lots of coffee greatly increases your chances of colon cancer -
especially as you approach your mid 30s. Enjoy that cup a day but learn to
like tea too.

~~~
Gormo
What's the source of that? I found an article on WebMD
(<http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food>) that claims that
moderate coffee consumption can actually reduce your risk of colon cancer.

~~~
dashr
Source is my personal doctor told me to cut back cause it was bad for me.

But also from personal experience, when I drink a lot of cups per day for
several days, my shall remain nameless parts start feeling odd. Doesn't really
start till you're in your 30s and later though.

------
bokchoi
The best Seattle roast, IMHO, is Vita from Vivace. I just grabbed a bag and it
is in the french press now. Absolutely amazing:

<http://www.espressovivace.com/intro.html>

------
dangravell
For UK based hacker coffee addicts: I recently discovered Has Bean which seem
to tick all the boxes in the OP -> <http://hasbean.co.uk/> (no connection).
Good blog too.

------
mindcrime
I love coffee, but that is way too much frickin' work for me to invest. Sorry
"coffee snobs" I'd love to join your ranks, but there are really just other
pressing priorities right now.

Maybe after I get "FU Money." :-)

------
feint
people seem to have forgotten how a real Italian coffee is made - you don't
need an expensive machine, and sure as hell don't drip or filter coffee. You
use an espresso maker: [http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Express-12-Cup-
Stovetop-Espre...](http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Express-12-Cup-Stovetop-
Espresso/dp/B000FDL588/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1279258361&sr=8-1)

This is how my family and the Italians have done it for generations

------
mmphosis
Stop drinking bad coffee. <http://thetyee.ca/Life/2009/02/20/BadCoffee/>

------
jokull
Or get a Nespresso and grab some Arpeggio capsules.

~~~
joeld42
We used to have these at my workplace. It was terrible. But still better than
the drip they had.

One guy would open and dump like 20 of the vacuum packed capsules into the
drip machine, and we'd have the only decent pot for a week.

------
gkelly
What kinds of places sell freshly roasted whole beans? Someone mentioned Whole
Foods, but are there others?

~~~
MartinCron
I'm lucky enough to live in Seattle, where we have lots of great small
roasters. My very favorite place (no affiliation besides fanboyism) is
Espresso Vivace. <http://www.espressovivace.com/> You can order freshly
roasted whole beans from them online.

It's not cheap, but life is too short to drink the cheap stuff.

------
lovskogen
This is great reading. A good cup of coffee is better than five bad ones.

------
borism
Coders guide to good coffee?

Nah, Russian Tea HOWTO:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1519624>

