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Post by mnhermit on Dec 21, 2014 9:51:20 GMT -5
I am not a coffee snob, I've had some bitter black water that's been heating on a burner for hours and been able to enjoy it as 'coffee', I've had demitasses of Turkish mud and enjoyed it. This morning I threw out two pots of coffee that I just couldn't handle. I think I've discovered a blend/roast that I just don't like. Lately I've been buying whole beans from a local roaster and have found that I enjoy it, as much for the smell of freshly ground beans as for the taste of the final product. Unfortunately...
Is there a basic difference in a 'sumatra' roast? Or have my coffee taste buds just gone into the crapper. It's not just bitter but 'salty' and 'tangy' with a real sour aftertaste. That's what I get for experimenting, guess I'll just go back to my regular 'medium roast morning blend'.
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Tamarack
Administrator
Ancient Citizen
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Post by Tamarack on Dec 21, 2014 10:11:02 GMT -5
I am a former devotee of dark roasts who has become a convert to medium roasts (maybe I have reached the bottom rung on the coffee snob ladder). Sumatra could be the problem -- I have always found Sumatra concoctions to taste kinda muddy.
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Dec 21, 2014 10:30:45 GMT -5
No such thing as a "Sumtra" roast level. Although, this not being N Korea, your local roasters can call it whatever they like. But that's marketing, not a recognized roast level. Sumatra coffee, is of course grown in Sumatra. But different farms, at different altitudes, with different micro climates, possibly different coffee varietys, (robusta? Arabica?) and different drying methods will of course give different outcomes. Even the same farms will vary year to year, season to season, just like winery's have great vintages and some not so great ones. Bottom line, if you like it, it's good.
Mike
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Post by RickW on Dec 21, 2014 10:31:37 GMT -5
I like some of Starbucks coffee. They have a habit of making coffee that tastes burnt. And they have persuaded everyone that that's how it's supposed to be. Good coffee should taste rich.
I have ground my own beans for years, but I'm the only coffee drinker in the house now, so buy small bags of ground, and keep it in the freezer.
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Post by millring on Dec 21, 2014 10:34:29 GMT -5
I'm often reminded of the studies done on the great Coke/Pepsi "taste test" commercials. The actual studies showed that one actually scored better in taste tests but scored poorly when the enjoyment of a whole "dose" (can, bottle, glass) was ultimately tested. So, in the final analysis (if I remember it correctly) Pepsi scored better in taste tests, so Coke came up with "New Coke" to compete....only to find out that original Coke was what the majority of drinkers ultimately returned to.
I find myself liking different tastes of coffee for different times. But I can also suffer worse coffee because I sweeten and whiten it.
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Post by billhammond on Dec 21, 2014 12:01:30 GMT -5
 This is what I've been drinking lately -- very smooth and very affordable. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2014 12:20:09 GMT -5
I've holidayed in Sumatra a couple of times and enjoyed lots of coffee there. Often you're given a tall glass of boiling water with a couple of spoons of ground coffee bunged in. Inelegant but quaffable. Googling around a bit, it seems that some people think Sumatran coffee tastes a bit earthy.
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Post by drlj on Dec 21, 2014 12:25:25 GMT -5
I love coffee. I had had to give it up because caffeine is the suspect in causing irregular heartbeats for me. Decaf is awful no matter what type of coffee it was before it was turned into decaf. I am trying to get used to it but it ain't easy.
I have tests scheduled for the day after Christmas so we shall see what is up. Maybe good coffee will be in my future and maybe not. Maybe my new bag of Sumatra will go to waste.
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Post by millring on Dec 21, 2014 12:40:50 GMT -5
I love coffee. I had had to give it up because caffeine is the suspect in causing irregular heartbeats for me. Decaf is awful no matter what type of coffee it was before it was turned into decaf. I am trying to get used to it but it ain't easy. During my bus driving debacle I met a fellow driver -- Jim -- who, upon my opining that decaf is dreadful, replied "Not Starbucks'. I could put a cup of Starbucks regular and a cup of their decaf next to each other and I bet you couldn't taste the difference." That was when I first realized that Jim was an idiot. |
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Post by drlj on Dec 21, 2014 12:55:35 GMT -5
I have been drinking Starbuck's decaf and, while it is dreadful, it is not as dreadful as most other decafs. Still, I doubt Mississippi John Hurt would ever sing about it.
The good news is that since I have been off high octane leaded coffee, my irregular heart beats seem to have subsided. I have tests the end of the week to find out what is or is not going on. Maybe there is hope for a coffee filled future but, if not, I will learn to cope. Just don't go expecting me to be my usual cheerful self.
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Post by millring on Dec 21, 2014 13:09:09 GMT -5
Just don't go expecting me to be my usual cheerful self. That would not be an "expectation". That would be a "delusion". |
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Post by RickW on Dec 21, 2014 13:15:14 GMT -5
John, the bus driving experience is done?
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Post by millring on Dec 21, 2014 13:24:19 GMT -5
John, the bus driving experience is done? I hope so. I don't know what the future will bring, but at least here in Warsaw they simply don't pay well enough to make it a viable employment. I may have difficulty getting through the non-art-fair season, but taking a job that pays me less than I pay myself turns out to not be a very good idea. Who knew? |
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Post by Lonnie on Dec 21, 2014 13:34:48 GMT -5
Cafe Fair French Roast, whole bean, from my local grocer, or Dunn Brothers house roasted French or Espresso (in addition to a small amount of money, they give me a pound of beans when I play there once a month). I got very spoiled when I was a partner at the Atelier, a coffee house in downtown Minneapolis. We bought from B&W, a local roaster, so I always had incredibly fresh beans at home.
I've experienced that "Sumatra" flavor occasionally when having a cup of the house dark at various coffee houses. Not sure if it was actually Sumatra, if I run across it again I'll take notes.
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Post by fauxmaha on Dec 21, 2014 15:02:49 GMT -5
A few years ago, Angie got me a coffee pot with a built in grinder. Pretty cool machine.
As for the beans themselves, so long as there isn't some foo-foo flavoring added, I'm good.
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Post by RickW on Dec 21, 2014 16:01:16 GMT -5
John, the bus driving experience is done? I hope so. I don't know what the future will bring, but at least here in Warsaw they simply don't pay well enough to make it a viable employment. I may have difficulty getting through the non-art-fair season, but taking a job that pays me less than I pay myself turns out to not be a very good idea. Who knew? Heh. They don't pay really well anywhere, I gather. Was talking to a friend yesterday that I had not seen in while. She also retired from the phone company, and became a school bus driver for disabled kids. 4 hours a day, $16 per hour. It's not a lot of money. Well, perhaps with the economy picking up, more people will have more expendable cash for things like nice pottery. Hope so. |
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Post by millring on Dec 21, 2014 16:22:58 GMT -5
I hope so. I don't know what the future will bring, but at least here in Warsaw they simply don't pay well enough to make it a viable employment. I may have difficulty getting through the non-art-fair season, but taking a job that pays me less than I pay myself turns out to not be a very good idea. Who knew? Heh. They don't pay really well anywhere, I gather. Was talking to a friend yesterday that I had not seen in while. She also retired from the phone company, and became a school bus driver for disabled kids. 4 hours a day, $16 per hour. It's not a lot of money. Well, perhaps with the economy picking up, more people will have more expendable cash for things like nice pottery. Hope so. Curiously, the thing that got me interested in the first place was that it's been a great gig for my sister and her husband in Indianapolis. It's $100 a day for a four-hour day. That suits them great. They love having the summers off (they choose to have their pay standardized so they're paid over the vacation breaks). They have a side business and the driving works well with it. But Warsaw pays almost exactly half of that per day ... and it's for a six hour day. |
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Dec 21, 2014 16:44:35 GMT -5
John, the bus driving experience is done? I hope so. I don't know what the future will bring, but at least here in Warsaw they simply don't pay well enough to make it a viable employment. I may have difficulty getting through the non-art-fair season, but taking a job that pays me less than I pay myself turns out to not be a very good idea. Who knew? Who knew? I'm guessing someone here who has been driving for 17yrs now might have been able to clue you in. Maybe. Mike |
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Post by RickW on Dec 21, 2014 16:49:26 GMT -5
$100 per day for a four hour day, I could do that. Still wouldn't be enough for what we need now, but it's not bad.
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Post by mnhermit on Dec 22, 2014 8:07:05 GMT -5
Thx Cosmic, I knew someone would be able to clue me in on what was going on. I found a real good use for the last pot, it goes great with 1/3 cup of Bailey's in every mug.  I found a friend that is willing to take the beans off my hands, is it ok to freeze them to store until he can pick them up (a couple weeks at least, a month or more at worst)? |
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