Coffee making accessories for the coffee wanker in your life

[pogofish]

Maybe it's different down South in the US, but in the NE and Canada it's simply half whole milk, half single cream for a ~10% milkfat result. Which tastes very nice in coffee, but revolting in tea.

Very similar to how coffee used to be (sometimes still is) served in Munich/Bavaria and the Netherlands, although industro-creamer has made big inroads over "Koffeemelk/Kaffeemilch" these days. Traditionally made out of skimmed milk with cream added - again, powder/liquid/flavoured forms are made at @4% fat and sealed packs/bottles tend to keep very well, without the use of the sort of components that should never be anywhere near milk/coffee!


A very small amount of evaporated milk can make a very effective "creamer" - not a lot or its taste overpowers the coffee. My first and sometimes second coffee of the day is often one of these - a small/strong white. A small tin of evaporated milk keeps about a week if you decant it into a pre-sterilised bottle and keep it in the fridge.

 

[pogofish]

I make Greek coffee (I’m Greek so it’s Greek, not Turkish).

There is definitely a knack to it, it took me a little while to learn how to do it well.

Thanks - One day I will give it a go.

 

[Chz]

A very small amount of evaporated milk can make a very effective "creamer" - not a lot or its taste overpowers the coffee. My first and sometimes second coffee of the day is often one of these - a small/strong white. A small tin of evaporated milk keeps about a week if you decant it into a pre-sterilised bottle and keep it in the fridge.

Oh I love a Vietnamese coffee now and again. But definitely not all the time!

 

[abe11825]

Maybe it's different down South in the US, but in the NE and Canada it's simply half whole milk, half single cream for a ~10% milkfat result. Which tastes very nice in coffee, but revolting in tea.

That's true; it's very different in the south. But depending on which southerner you ask, by living in Florida, you're not in the south. You're in the southern part of the country. There's a big difference according to some people.

But no matter what, those living south of the Mason Dixon line, start experimenting with stuff, including putting way too much sugar in their tea, creating "sweet tea" (their life blood, it seems).

It's as much sugar as when you ask for a "regular" in Dunkie's.





* Before anyone asks - Sweet tea is brewing hot tea and sugar together and let it all mix on the heat. It's usually starts with a teaspoon of sugar per a cup of tea, but if you're making it for the family, you're apt to use a cup of sugar per gallon of tea (says a quick google search). It's not diabetic friendly, whatsoever.

A "regular" is coffee with cream and sugar, and the amount of sugar is a few heaping spoonfuls. You're basically chewing the drink when it's iced. Hot coffee melts the sugar, so it's just superbly sweet. Dunkie's is Dunkin Donuts, a New England chain.

 

[story]

That's true; it's very different in the south. But depending on which southerner you ask, by living in Florida, you're not in the south. You're in the southern part of the country. There's a big difference according to some people.

But no matter what, those living south of the Mason Dixon line, start experimenting with stuff, including putting way too much sugar in their tea, creating "sweet tea" (their life blood, it seems).

It's as much sugar as when you ask for a "regular" in Dunkie's.





* Before anyone asks - Sweet tea is brewing hot tea and sugar together and let it all mix on the heat. It's usually starts with a teaspoon of sugar per a cup of tea, but if you're making it for the family, you're apt to use a cup of sugar per gallon of tea (says a quick google search). It's not diabetic friendly, whatsoever.

A "regular" is coffee with cream and sugar, and the amount of sugar is a few heaping spoonfuls. You're basically chewing the drink when it's iced. Hot coffee melts the sugar, so it's just superbly sweet. Dunkie's is Dunkin Donuts, a New England chain.

In my experience, sweet tea is sugar water coloured with a couple of Lipton’s tea bags and served in tall plastic beakers with heroic amounts of ice.

 

[story]

In my experience, sweet tea is sugar water coloured with a couple of Lipton’s tea bags and served in tall plastic beakers with heroic amounts of ice.

They generally don’t refer to it as sweet tea. It’s Ice Tea. The sweet bit is assumed.

I’ll occasionally ask for unsweetened tea in a diner, but it’s hard to discern any tea flavour or taste. It’s just a bit tannic.

 

[abe11825]

In my experience, sweet tea is sugar water coloured with a couple of Lipton’s tea bags and served in tall plastic beakers with heroic amounts of ice.

That's the uninitiated version of making "sweet tea" - sugar water colored with a couple of Lipton's tea bags. LOL. Although some people swear by using Lipton for all their tea making - hot or iced. People in my family used to only buy Swee-Touch-Nee tea for hot usage. I think I tried using it for cold once and wasn't impressed but I would try it again in a pinch. Once, I was given an ear full one day by a co-worker (born and bred Floridian) on what the difference is in making sweet tea and putting a sugar packet in your tea. Trust me, it was a one sided argument and they wanted to win.

They generally don’t refer to it as sweet tea. It’s Ice Tea. The sweet bit is assumed.

I’ll occasionally ask for unsweetened tea in a diner, but it’s hard to discern any tea flavour or taste. It’s just a bit tannic.

Right; it's ice tea although you do need to differentiate if you want the unsweetened bit because people think you're creating major heresy by not having the sugar version. Yes again - unsweet tea does have a different taste and flavor due to the type of tea leaves used (I think. I could be wrong). It becomes an acquired thing and I feel like it's something that shouldn't be a mainstay in a diet (I try not to add unnecessary sugars to my drinks or food). The whole thought of sweetening up a drink boggles my mind.

I'm a bit of a hypocrite though - the type of green tea one would get at an Asian restaurant, always necessitates a sugar packet. I usually use Sweet N Low or another alternative. But this is so far and few between, I'm more apt to have a plain cuppa than reach for grain additives. Sometimes I'll use milk, but it's not like I'm going out of my way.

I stay away from using sugar in my coffee was I use creamer (or milk if we have it). Too many years of getting heaping spoonfuls of the sugar at Dunkie's has turned me off. I hate the texture of it... drinking a liquid and it feeling grainy or gritty. Sometimes you want to taste the Arabica bean... not the sweetener.

 

[chilango]

Take the tea talk elsewhere you heathens.

 

[abe11825]

This heathen turned it around by mentioning sugar and Arabica beans

 

[gentlegreen]

Two key elements of coffee are that it makes tap water taste nice and it REPLACES calories.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Take the tea talk elsewhere you heathens.

Tea drinkers of the world unite!

Never trust a coffee drinker... (From 'A Canterbury Tale' by The Archers)

youtube.com

 

[danny la rouge]

I’m home from Rye, and although I enjoyed the bean to cup machine the homeowner had there, my own stovetop moka pot and my regular bean order from Paper Cup is just exactly what I needed. It’s comfortingly right.

 

[Hassan I Sabha]

I run a coffee subscribtion for a coffee forum.

For pour over I would go for a flat bottom brewer such as the Kalita Wave or the Orea Brewer as they are more forgiving on taste - These work better with a goose neck kettle OR a Hario Air kettle
For travelling I use a Aeropress

Both of above I have a decent hand grinder (Commandante) to grind but you can get something that works for £50 upwards

I also have an espresso machine and you can get decent results from a £250 upwards machine - I pair this with a Niche Zero grinder (Electric)

You can spend loads and go down various holes (I have Hario drippers, Chemex, Clever etc) but essentially you do not have to spend loads to get a decent cup of coffee

James Hoffman on YouTube gives decent guides on how to brew coffee as well as other coffee related content. Check out the V60 ones and the French Press ones for a good starting point

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I want a second aeropress for home as mine has gone to the office. I'm surprised nobody makes a cheap Aeropress like device, seeing how cheap a cafetière can be. It's not that I think the brew is any better. It's just a lot easier to dispose of the grounds when making a single brew.

 

[Happy Tree]

I had a look at the Final Press. Looks cool. But then I watched reviews on Youtube. Rubbish.