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I read in the last Art of Eating that the guy who founded Coffee Connection has started a new business after his noncompete agreement with Starbucks finally expired. I grew up on his coffee, and frankly stopped caring about good coffee after he sold out -- I've never found a source of comparable quality (to my taste; don't even get me started on Bay Area roasters). The thing is, we ran out of coffee this morning, and I'm not fully recovered from the freakout that ensued, and I want to order some RIGHT NOW, but I can't remember the website (it was publishished in AoE). Anyone know what it is?

My current place of employment is auditioning vendors for coffee service. (Coffee is the one amenity that supposedly increases productivity and so pays for itself.) I was thinking of starting a ‘coffee club’, as I had at other workplaces, with contributory membership. In the past, I used a cheap espresso machine, but this time I was planning on using Illy’s coffee membership program, so we’d get a good machine and good coffee. Illy: http://www.illyusa.com/AB1666000/webpage.c...ge_ID=110&DID=7 It was suggested the I hold off on the club till they finished their search because I might like the new coffee enough to drop the idea and because this company has no policy on clubs of any sort and wants to set one first. Do folks have any experiences with good coffee service or alternatives at work? I’ll keep you posted on how things go here. (We’re located in lower Manhattan.) I’ve heard they have looked at Starbucks so far favorably, since it’s stronger. warwart

anybody have any tips on getting the best coffee out of the swissgold "one cup" pour-over brewer? i just got one. specifically, i need help with: 1. how much coffee should i use for 8 oz. of water? when using my old automatic drip brewer, i always loaded up on coffee beans when making small amounts of coffee, and would lower the coffee bean to water ratio as i increased the amount brewed coffee. do i not need to worry about that with the "one cup" because of the water regulator? looks like the unit may not hold much more than 2 or 3 tablespoons of ground coffee beans anyway, so this may be a moot point. 2. proper grind -- i have a starbucks barista burr grinder, which i think is virtually identical to the solis maestro. what grind setting should i use? same as automatic drip? courser? finer? 2. adding more water -- the water container only holds 8 ounces of water. has anyone had success with adding more water midway through the brewing cycle? again, because there may not even be enough room above the filter for more than 3 tablespoons of coffee, this might too be a moot point. any advice would be appreciated!

And you thought that you had a hard time getting to a decent cup where you are. This piece by Thomas E Ricks and Liz Spayd of the Washington Post shows that people will make do with what they have in order to get the caffeine they need. G.I. Joe is a hit in the middle of the desert

Clickety. Jitter Jitter. Clickety. from the mastermind behind The Regrettable Gallery of Food.

Many of you have probably already seen this info on sites such as Coffeegeek, Coffeekid, and espoused by our many knowledgeable members here, but I just wanted to bring up my experience so far in the enthralling realm of coffee making. Most helpful has been the Newbie Tutorial on Coffeekid. Here is a summary of what I have learned: * Get a good burr grinder. This is an expensive step, but crucial. * Brewing temperature and grind seems to be the two major elements involved in making good coffee. * Fresh beans are extrememly important. Homeroasting is a fantastic option for many people. * Press Pots and Vac Pots are cool and somewhat affordable...but you still need a good grinder! * Espresso machines are expensive for the worthwhile ones...and be sure to add about $250-$350 to your budget for a good grinder! * There is much much more than this, but remember to buy a good grinder. So, I have been reading a bunch of stuff here on the coffee boards as well as Coffeegeek and Coffeekid recently. I really like the idea of making much better coffee and possibly even espresso. I see the purchase of a Vac Pot or Press Pot in my nearterm future. I am, however, having trouble swallowing the high cost of a good grinder. I fully realize the need for this aparatus, but I have yet to come up with a way to qualify it for myself. I am sure that I will only need some more lusting time until I am ready to pick up a Rocky grinder and a Silvia machine, but for my bank account's sake I hope I can hold out. Ben

Apparently, Starbucks is now promoting the radical idea that you can order coffee any way you want it, but is afraid that we won't know how to order it and has supplied an instruction manual. There's an article about it here.

OK, it's not all desert, but this is my dilemma. I drink espresso and milk drinks exclusively, as far as coffee goes--I was not a coffee drinker until I discovered good espresso, so I just haven't ever drunk "cup of joe" for my fix. I am heading out on a road trip through mostly small towns in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and I'm trying to figure out if there is a relatively uninvolved way of producing something I want to drink in the morning, assuming that I have access to a kitchenette most mornings. Those Turkish metal pot thingies? Or something else?

The Matsuya method was developed by Matsuya Coffee in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, Japan to make clear, flavorful coffee free from astringent, harsh, and other unpleasant tastes. Matsuya Coffee's website (Japanese only): http://www.matsuya-coffee.com/ What distinguishes this method from others is that you first make coffee with half the required amount of water and then add the other half to make complete coffee. Assume that you want 600-cc (20-oz) coffee, then you first make coffee with 300-cc of water and then add another 300-cc of water to the coffee. The following is a translation of part of the page, "Mastering the Matsuya drip method", of Flavor coffee's website. http://www.flavorcoffee.co.jp/2f/2f-6.html *** Mastering the Matsuya drip method The way you make coffee makes such a difference. Do you think that coffee must be fresh? The degradation rate differs greatly depending on the coffee extraction technique. Explanation of the photo: A: Extracted three days ago with the Matsuya method B: Extracted three days ago with an auto drip maker C: Extracted two hours ago with the Matsuya method D: Extracted two hours ago with an auto drip maker Remark: The type of coffee beans used is Kilimanjaro. Glasses B and D glow whitish because they reflect diffusely the light of the fluorescent tube from above. This is due to the turbidity of coffee. An auto drip maker produces coffee that becomes turbid in about 30 minutes. If properly hand-dripped, coffee does not become turbid for two to three WEEKS. Properly extracted coffee is slow in degradation. The kind of coffee that you can drink when it's hot but cannot drink when it has cooled because it tastes bad is the one that also tastes bad when it's hot, but because it's hot, your tongue cannot sense the taste. When the coffee has cooled, your tongue is sensitive, making you feel it taste bad. Basically, good coffee also tastes good when it has cooled. When coffee has cooled, you will feel its acidity more. This is why iced coffee is made from deep roasted beans with less acidity. We feel cold coffee taste better when it's bitter than when it's tart. I'm going to tell you how to make coffee with the Matsuya method. Coffee made with the Matsuya paper drip method remains clear for a long time. It does not lose it flavor over time. It does not become turbid over time. I'm going to tell you such a professional way of making coffee. You need the following items: Matsuya dripper for five Matsuya paper filter for five 600-cc (20-oz) drip pot Kono server for five *** In my next post, I'm going to provide step-by-step instructions on how to make coffee with the Matsuya method.

The Brown Camel (UPS) arrived at my door today with a large box sent by one of my gadgeteer buddies. He tests small appliances for some publication and often sends me the "extras" he gets because the company doesn't want them back and he has only a finite amount of room. I opened the box and found one of the new Senseo pressure brewing coffee machines made by Phillips/Douwe Egberts. He said he had tried it with all three of the coffee types (Dark Roast, Medium Roast and Light Roast) and found it made a pretty decent cup of coffee and came very close to making a very fair substitute for espresso with the Dark Roast. I am not a coffee person per se, usually preferring tea, but I decided to give it a try and by golly, he is right. I have an espresso machine, one of the superautomatic monsters, mainly because I have a lot of friends who like it and when I entertain it is very popular. For many years I had an ancient (and huge) Gaggia that was kind of a running joke, it sounded like it was going to explode every time I operated it, and people who were not familiar with it would run outside. Jerry had forgotten that I had replaced the Gaggia earlier this year and thought he would do me a favor and give me something that was a little easier to operate and had a much smaller footprint. This certainly seems to be a foolproof machine. No complicated tamping of the grounds as in the cheaper espresso machines, no diffculty with cleaning the thing. The pods are pre-measured, use one for one 4 oz cup, two for 2 cups or one larger mug. The crema that forms on top is as perfect as any produced in any of the espresso machines I have used. The flavor of the coffee is very nice, however, as I mentioned earlier, I am not a coffee aficionado but I do like good coffee at certain times and this is just about as good as I have had. There is of course, no steam frothing with this machine, but nowadays you can get all kinds of little gadgets to froth milk, heating it in the microwave takes less than a minute so that should not be a deterrent . I have no relationship with this company so do not stand to gain by promoting this appliance but I thought that some of you who are coffee/espresso addicts might be interested. I checked on a couple of web sites and apparently it retails for somewhere around $70.00 Gadget madness has a review here and they mention the cost of a cup using the pods works out to 22 cents a cup. This place sell them at a bit of a discount: coffee pods Jerry sent me 6 packages of the pods so I doubt that I will be making any purchases any time soon but I seem to recall seeing them at Target and will probably shop there as they often have the best prices on such items. In any event, this might be just the ticket for people with little space and a great desire for a special cup. Oh yes, there were two small cups included in the box, slightly larger than regular espresso cups, these are 6 ounce cups.

It's been a rather cool summer here and I just recently got back into iced coffee drinks again. After getting a few iced lattes recently when traveling I quickly remembered why I like the ones I make at home so much better than what I buy in cafes (in their defense I should mention that one of our local establishments makes a good one using the same technique). Make some extra espresso shots - three doubles should suffice - best to pull the shots into one small container like a little metal pouring pitcher. Depending on taste, put a bit of sugar in the bottom of the pitcher before pulling the shots. Stir to blend the sugar (I use Turbinado sugar - the taste is so much richer than white sugar). add another couple ounces of water and stir again. You should have about 8 or ten ounces of liquid. Pour in an ice cube tray and freeze. I make extras and keep them in ziploc bags in the freezer. This same process can be done with Moka pot coffee or extra strong drip coffee also. The uses are multi-fold and they're all good 1) Use in place of regular ice cubes in an iced latte, iced cappuccino or iced coffee. As the ice melts, rather than diluting the flavor of the drink and making it progressively weaker, it remains rich and as strong as it was when originally mixed 2) Nice addition to a chocolate milkshake - the ice makes the shake a bit fluffier and less creamy than a traditional shake but with a nice rich coffee taste 3) Great for making your own cloned version of a Frappuccino at home - I think we have discussed home made blended iced coffee drinks here before but if not I'll start a new thread as this is a favorite topic of mine. Using espresso cubes eally kicks up the intensity of the espresso or coffee flavor. I've actually come to realize that to duplicate the commercial Frappuccino, extra strong coffee (e.g. brew some French Roast with half the usual amount of water) is more to my liking than espresso but the addition of the espresso cubes is just right. 4) It might be really cool in a mixed drink. I"m not a drinker and will leave that for someone else to ponder. 5) Uhhhhh.... increases the caffeine content of iced drinks (as if I need it ) Tips for making a good iced latte or cappuccino - it would seem to be common sense but I have to give instructions to the people in most cafés - if I don't the result is usually a drink that gets watery too fast and has the sugar sitting undissolved in the bottom of the drink (if I use sugar, which is often necessary) Add sugar or other sweetener to the hot espresso or coffee and stir to dissolve Now add the milk and stir to cool the hot liquid last step is to add the ice and if necessary, top off with a bit more milk I consistently find cafés adding the hot espresso directly on top of the ice cubes, which hastens the melting process. Then they add the milk and now the sweetener (often needed because so many cafés have bitter espresso) won't dissolve properly in the cooled liquid.

I recently had Turkish coffee, capping off an excellent meal at a Turkish restaurant. What makes "Turkish" coffee different from a regular cup o' joe, or even espresso? Is this something I can make for myself?

As I briefly mentioned in another thread, Masashi Nakagawa of Flavor coffee in Aichi prefecture, Japan, was the first to succeed in roasting coffee beans by applying superheated steam. In what he calls the direct-heat and superheated steam roasting system, he applies superheated steam to coffee beans over direct heat in the drying phase (phase before the first crack) of the roasting process. He says that this allows him to control the humidity in the roaster, thereby controlling the moisture in the beans at will while keeping other components in. This has been just an introduction to his unique system. In my next post, I think I'll provide some more information about it. I'd like to talk about a unique paper drip method called the Matsuya method later. Masashi Nakagawa: Flavor coffee: Direct heat and superheated steam roasting system, with a super steamer on the right: Edit to add Flavor coffee's website (Japanese only): http://www.flavorcoffee.co.jp/index.html

The Canadian navy says it will serve Tim Horton's coffee at Canadian Forces base Halifax and in the galleys of the ships that sail from there, because because that is what sailors prefer: http://65.54.187.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=...zAD0BHt0Cha10A3

I was reading the glossary thread, and was reminded of a little terminology issue I had last summer in Rome. I went to the corner coffee place and ordered a cappuccino for breakfast. The woman was looking out for me, and asked if I wanted it 'con crema'--or at least that's what I thought she said, but I don't really speak Italian. In addition to a little foamed milk, she got out a big lexan full of brown fluff, and ladled on a gooey spoonful. She explained it was crema beaten up with sugar. It had the consistency of a not-yet-baked meringue, all glossy, and tasted like a coffee macaroon. So what's this stuff really called, I wonder? Is crema used to refer to both straight-up espresso crema, and the sugarized fluff? I did go in every day after that and order 'cappuccino con crema' and got the same thing--but maybe they just knew a sugar junkie when they saw one. And more important, did millions of cups of espresso really have to die to make it? It just seems ridiculously impractical to make the way I'm imagining (make espresso, scrape off crema, drink crappy leftover espresso, repeat), so there must be a shortcut?

Anyone know of a place to get real cuban coffee near Grand Central???? I'm from Miami, and I miss it so. Note: moved to the Coffee and Tea forum in hopes of getting a response for "cupojoe"

"It happened frequently that I would carry a café con leche two blocks, climb up a flight of stairs to my apartment and set the coffee on the table while I did the dishes and made some phone calls. Then I'd take the lid off. And it was still hot. Really hot. That’s how hot you want this coffee . . . " Discover how Margaret Menge developed a craving for the the hot stuff

Okay, so this morning I decide to work at home, so I french-pressed some Joe and cozied up with my laptop, with a big ol' wide-mouthed Campbell's Soup cup and my cell phone. I poured some coffee into the cup, turned on my laptop, reached for the cellphone to check my messages, and dropped the damned thing into my cup of coffee. Desperate, I began trying to fish the phone out of the mug, spilling coffee on my clean sheets, and scalding my thigh in the process. And then I find out about two minutes later that these things are not waterproof, as the "service needed" message appeared on the screen, briefly, before blinking off altogether for the last and final time. Two hours later, having visited my Verizon store which can only be compared to going to renew your driver's license at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and $250 poorer having been suckered into buying an extended-life battery, I came home and cursed my stained sheets, taking some degree of comfort that I took out insurance on my new cell phone this time around. GrrrrrRocks.

It's time to incorporate a pinned glossary of coffee and espresso terms in the Coffee & Tea forum. We're looking for ways to distinguish ourselves from other online coffee resources and one thing has become quickly evident regarding the glossaries that currently exist: 1) They are usually either very broad based with inadequate detail or woefully short. The better ones try to cover every conceivable aspect of coffee and espresso terminology from bean and roast characteristics to cupping terms, drink preparation methods and names etc. but are very US-centric 2) None have any differentiation to account for regional, local or international variations We have a relatively upscale user community that includes many people who travel and try to integrate a meaningful food and beverage experience as part of both their personal and business travel. Coffee terms in general and espresso terms in particular have significant variations from one country to another - possibly even regional variations within a country. Wouldn't it be great to know the right lingo in advance before you travel so coffee and espresso ordering will be fast and painless? Here's your chance Here's where help is needed: the plan is to initially focus just on the terms commonly used to describe coffee and espresso drinks, as one would order them in a restaurant or cafe. I have a good handle on the US terminology (which is still open to variation as most of it has already been Starbuckized) but I'm not familair with many of the terms used in other countries. My exposrue to US terms is limited to the Northeast and the Northwest - folks with regional or local US terms should pipe up. This includes those problematic phrases such as "coffee regular" which in diner-speak means coffee with cream and sugar ("coffee light" is cream only and "coffee black" is just plain coffee). Anyone with specific knowledge of a country and or region.... please offer your input to help us make this the premier resource for caffienated drink names. At the present time we will not be including "Moolatte" on the list for well known reasons American drinks to consider: Drip coffee Americano (espresso mixed with water) Press pot coffee (aka French Press) Espresso Double shot espresso ( do they call it doppio anywhere in the US other than Starbucks? Cappuccino Latte Espresso con panna (topped with whipped cream) Lungo (long pull espresso - longer pull time than regular shot and more liquid) Ristretto (restricted pull espresso - ground finer and same pull time as regular shot but less liquid) Cafe Crema (coarser grind and slightly longer pull - like a drip coffee made in an espresso machine) Machiatto (espresso shot "stained" or topped with a small amount of foamed milk) Depth Charge or Red Eye - drip coffee with a shot of espresso added in I'm aware that terminology varies from place to place - Italy, Spain and France have their own variations while Australia has a whole raft of other terms (e.g. a "flat white"). We also have the issues of discrepancy within the industry in the US itself - Starbucks calls any drink with extra milk foam a cappuccino and any drink with no extra foam a latte but they vary wildly in the espresso to milk ratio depending on drink size. The more savvy specialty independent espresso purveyors here in the US know how to create pourable microfoam with the milk - there is no separate foam to scoop on or leave off - the foam is integral to the milk. In these establishments the differentiation between cappuccino and latte is solely one of the espresso to milk ratio (cappucino's have a 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 ratio and lattes are a 1 to 4 or 1 to 5 ratio). Any and all help appreciate including just pointing me to some existing online resources that may already have some of this info.

When my wife were in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, we ate at an upscale Chinese restaurant called Mr. K's (I know there is also one in New York, my hometown). When dessert came, the waiting brought a device that was essentially two glass balls that stack on top of each other (with a tube connecting them) and sit over an open flame. The water is put into the lower glass ball, the coffee in the top. When the flame is put under the lower ball, the water heats and rises into the top chamber, brewing the coffee. Once all the water is in the top ball, the open flame is taken away and the water drains back into the bottom ball as coffee (with the grounds remaining in the top ball). Can anyone tell me what this device is called and where I might buy one? It made one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had (and it would be fun to use at home).

I suppose this discussion is primarily targeted at home roasters but those folks with access to good fresh whole bean roasted coffee might also consider doing some of this blending. I love the infinite variations that can come from espresso blending but sometimes I want a simple and easy to execute blend that to whip up in a hurry without paying much attention to minute details. Over at coffeegeek the inimitable Jim Schulman (he's a great guy, very coffee savvy and well known on alt.coffee) made this suggestion for someone looking for a lower acidity blend that would have chocolatey undertones I'm curious to know if any of you have a more general formula or is that not practical? I'm thinking along these lines: x parts base bean (Brazil or Colombian), x parts African, x parts Central American, x parts Indian, x parts Indonesian Perhaps this is just way too generalized an approach as various African beans, Central American etc can vary so much from one country or region to the next. That said.... is it or isn't it true that beans from one region will tend to have an overall domininant characteristic? For example.... not necessarily accurate enough but a thought Central American = bright flavor notes and mildly acidic - perhaps some fruity undertones African = chocolatey and darker fruity undertones - less bright Yemeni = earthy, winey and wilder flavor Indonesian = smoother less acidic and very rich flavor Colombian and Brazilian = relatively clean and neutral flavor profile I know that this aproach is overly simplistic but I have a large stash of green beans of many varieties. I'm just trying to establish some easy rules of thumb for making simple blends, then document the results and refine from there. One little blend experiment I tried recently that was ridicuolously easy (and kind of cheating but who cares?) came from a tip I saw at coffeegeek 1 part Uganda Budadiri (or Bugisu - can't recall the exact name ) to one part Sweet Maria's Moka Kadir blend. I bough some Moka Kadir by mistake when I meant to order a Yemeni Moka. Never really did care for the Moka Kadir blend by itself but when I roasted a half pound until early second crack, roasted a half pound of the Uganda to about the same level and mixed them... wow! It's one of the better espresso blends I've ever tried and worth another visit. If I recall correctly eGullet's slkinsey blends some high quality Robusta into the Sweet Maria's Liquid Amber blend and is very happy with the results. Perhaps he'll weigh in on this topic but I'm all ears to any and all blending ideas.

We visited some Ethiopian friends a few weeks ago and they made this awesome coffee -- regular filter coffee spiced up with pounded cloves, cinnamon and black pepper.. It was one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had This is my first post in this forum so forgive me if this is really a novice post.. but man that coffee was really good and I had to share! Do you all spice your coffee? What do you add to it? Are there spices that should not be added?

I read somewhere in a book on Chinease Energy medicine that Pu Ehr tea works like grapefruit juice in your system clearing away fats etc. I enjoy this tea as a substitute for coffee . Does anyone know anymore about it? I usally buy a medium grade that my pocketbook can afford. Some of the other grades seem a little pricey.

I just stumbled across this when browsing another site French Market Coffee Toddy package deal I have no affiliation with French Market but the Toddy Sytem sells direct from Toddy on their web site for $36. This deal includes a can of French Market brand coffee (you can always give it away as a gift ) and a ceramic logo mug. At about $24.50 it's the lowest price I've ever seen for the Toddy sytem and we still have plenty of hot weather left before fall. Not sure how much shipping is but it appears that Amazon doesn't sell it - this may be the best deal going right now.

In the new issue of Saveur there is an article about Ethiopia and Coffee. I liked it, except, like most Saveur stories, it is a bit brief. Anyone else read it?