Perfect cup o' Joe

Socrateur":u5ri1qvb said:
<<I (have) a Rancilio Silvia (on the storage shelf now) >>

Les - As a neophyte interested in getting his feet wet in the espresso world, I am looking at Silvia as a good one to teach me the proper techniques. If you are interested in selling, PM me. I am going to be up your way in June so could drop by and pick up, if appropriate.
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Hi Jay,

Silvia is challenging (is that why it has a feminine name? :smilep ) and depending on your approach that's either good because it makes you get it right or it's totally frustrating (I happened to like the need to learn it correctly). Right now it has a burned out heating element in the boiler which is what prompted the upgade to the Andreja but I am going to repair it (it's about $150) and it would be nice for it to go to someone wanting to get started. The element is the only issue the machine has ever had and once I got it apart I understood that I'm the culprit for letting the water level in the boiler get too low, thus exposing the element and overheating it.

I'll let you know as soon as I get a chance to order the part and get her going again (not too long). The price will be "right".
 
this site is loaded with info...I have been buying my green beans from them for a few years now.

Great people, great service and great (no hype,BS) info!

http://www.sweetmarias.com/

and I could not agree more regarding "star bucks" coffee being the mc donalds of coffee. It always taste burnt the times I have had it. once coffee is brewed you have about 20 mins. before it starts to go south. I am always amazed at how good marketing can make up for a crappy product.(ie centrum vitamins)



James
 
We also use http://www.sweetmarias.com/ to buy our coffee and really like the service. What type of roaster does everyone use. I think we need to get a bigger one. Our Son gave us ours as a gift. It works fine for him, but he doesn't drink the amount of coffee we do and it seems we must roast at least 3 batches to keep up with our needs.
 
Redƒox":jwgw8iig said:
dogon dory":jwgw8iig said:
I pull the anchor a lot faster than I used to! :smilep
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~~~~ :lol: good one :thup

Yeah I'm stuck in town to, good thing for this site of mine huh :xnaughty

Baby, I'm all about good java on the boat. Since though, I drink mostly tea every morning, most the time I just get whats available at costco. And it ain't bad :thup Carry grinder (have for years) and make up cowboy-coffee. Went through a dozen of them nice glass french presses :disgust :crook No more :x

OK, since I helped out on yer crummy new thread... how bout showin me help on my crummy new thread brother :teeth :xnaughty

True to the name "C-Brat" RedFox (and a CB salute ... :moon ) :lol:
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Bump
I wanted to bring this back up to the top to read what others have done. I'm thinking about roasting my own beans for a "fresh" cup of mud.
 
In the Army we used to tear open the paper/foil packet of instant coffee, dump it in our mouths, rip open the sugar or the instant hot cocoa powder, dump some of that in our mouths, chew and suck on the mixture for a while and then wash it down with some iodine treated ( to be rid of giardia), warmed in the sun, plastic canteen water. Ahhhh, now that's refreshing if you've put in a full coupla days or are about to. It's all perspective. C.W.
 
Rock-C":2mned8dx said:
I'm thinking about roasting my own beans for a "fresh" cup of mud.
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Two leads for you, Terry...but no personal experience. I'll be taking up roasting as well some day, just no time as of now.

I've read great things about the RK Drum - many suggest it is the best device one can acquire, for the price. There are plenty of posts about it over at www.coffeegeek.com

Another one - I was recently introduced to Kinetic Koffee by my brother-in-law, who runs a repair shop in the same industrial complex in Humboldt County. In addition to having incredibly good coffee, I met Mark Ritz, one of the owners. This guy is fanatical about his roasting, and very well informed. We discussed roasters, specifically the lack of quality units at reasonable prices for the home roaster.

Mark mentioned, he was currently working with somebody, and expected to have something up to his standards available on the market soon. He didn't commit, but was expecting it to be in the $300 range - well below quality drum roasters currently on the market.

You might give him a ring...his contact info is at the link above.
 
Bill
Thanks for the link. I've visited the coffeegeek web site and other links from there. It is amazing how a simple cup of coffee has evolved into it's own sub culture. I think I'm going to play with the popcorn popper to roast some beans and see what I come up with. I'm not ready to experiment on $17. a pound for Kona. If I only had more time. :shock:
 
After a long, cold and bumpy ride across the Strait of Juan De Fuca, only to not be able to fish for halibut, this cup was truly warming to the spirit. It tasted even better than it looked, there in Victoria, B.C.. C.W.

PA_Halibut_2007_040.sized.jpg
 
We used to drink coffee...but for no reason whatsoever, a month or two ago, we decided to try drinking (heresy) green tea. We bought a one kilo box of loose green tea (Special Gunpowder, from China). A nice little stainless mesh tea ball, and we haven't missed the darn coffee one little bit. We are smarter, better looking and definitely calmer! Well, maybe not smarter or better looking...but the glass carafe, filters, Cafe DuMonde and Melita cone will be coming off Daydream . The kilo of green tea cost a whole $2.99 at Asia Market in the Fountain District in Bellingham. Joe and Ruth - never fear, there will always be a pot of good coffee for you at the Crab Palace!
 
Pat/Patty, not sure I'm ready to completely take the plunge, but I know what you mean about good green tea. My sister-in-law (Chinese) brought home some 'real' green tea from China and presented us with the whole carton of smaller boxes. Each has a large quantity of crumpled up, dried tea leaves. I just put a few in a cup, add boiling water, very very smooth tea, highly flavorful and no bitterness whatsoever! Amazing when you compare it to the standard "Lipton" tea or similar.
 
A good friend, a boater, died of intestinal cancer some years ago, and the last words he said to me were, "Bill, drink a cup of green tea every day" and in his memory, I do.
 
Here is an article at about.com on green tea. The FDA however disputes that green tea has any special benefits. Maybe it does and maybe it doesn't, but it is a very pleasant beverage indeed...
 
I like Celestial Seasonings "Peppermint Tea" as my favorite non-caffienated. (sp?). While in China, we went to a tea vendor and she had a wonderful ceremony where we sampled a variety and settled on one. She poured the steaming water over the entire earthenware pot and tray..... moist steam everywhere, and we had my favorite... Jasmine tea. It is little flowers, hand rolled into little balls. Not cheap, but the aromatic qualities are unsurpassed. To this day, one of my favorite souvenirs I brought home (besides Ellie) was the tea pot, designed to have water poured over its "braided" exterior for extra warming. It cost either $4 or $6. I'll see if I can find a pic.

For the money, Joe's Bay Blend whole bean coffee from Trader Joe's is hard to beat for great flavor. C.W.
 
OK,
So we are going to head out on our tug for a week, for the first time, in June. So, on those mornings when we are not at a dock with electricity, and I cannot use our machine to make espresso/mochas, how do I get good coffee - that I can add milk and chocolate to!!!!!

Is the cone and filter the best route?

Nancy

PS
We grind our own Costco coffee...............

PPS
We will be in the San Juans if anyone would like to "deliver".
(Just joking - I think.)
 
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