Still a coffee rookie

G

GP44

Member
I asked a few months ago about why some of my cup of coffee was bitter and I got some very good information about the sweetener that I used.
I let the coffee cool a little now before adding the Splenda and it works better that way.
I am learning slowly how to make a better cup of coffee.
My Son in Law told me that he likes the donut shop coffee from his Keurig.
I saw that Walmart has a donut shop coffee in their own brand and I bought a small package of ground coffee.
To me the W.M. donut shop medium roast is as different from the Maxwell House dark roast as day is to night.
Where the first sips of the Maxwell were harsh the donut shop was almost too mild and I wondered if it would even taste like coffee.
Another sip or two and it definitely tasted like coffee and has what I consider a great taste.
I guess it is the difference between drinking a really black cup of coffee or something a little milder and smoother.
Then I read a few tips on how to make a better cup of coffee like rinse the filter first before using it and drink from a ceramic cup instead of the styrofoam cups that I started out using.
Like I said I have a lot to learn but things are looking up.
 

againstthegrain said:
^^^What method of coffee making are you using?
Click to expand...
I’ve got a Hamilton Beach 12 cup drip type.
I put ground coffee in the basket and pour water in and hit the button and it does its thing.
I keep it set on bold. I don’t know but figure that is for a stronger cup of coffee.
It was cheap and I will probably never make over one or two cups at a time.
 

Coffee is just like wine, there are a multitude of coffee flavor profiles, it just takes time and experimentation to find what one enjoys. Since all people's tastes will vary and the interest in coffee might vary from using it only for a laxative or as a way to ingest a stimulant, to some one like me that dabbles in it w only a superficial knowledge, to others that roast their own beans at home.

GP44 said:
I’ve got a Hamilton Beach 12 cup drip type.
I put ground coffee in the basket and pour water in and hit the button and it does its thing.
I keep it set on bold. I don’t know but figure that is for a stronger cup of coffee.
It was cheap and I will probably never make over one or two cups at a time.
Click to expand...

Better than Keurig that's for sure. The bold setting will lengthen the time the hot water is in contact w the ground coffee and perhaps lead to over extraction which can be unpleasant.

Coffee has very subtle flavors that vary by region and flavor is easily lost by over roasting and over extracting. To me coffee that is dark to very dark, Starbucks style, perhaps like the Maxwell House dark roast is not the most enjoyable coffee to drink.
 
GP44, do you make a full pot and then drink it off and on all day?

My coffee maker has a pot with a stainless steel interior. It keeps the coffee reasonably hot for a couple of hours, but it’s not still cooking it. It doesn’t really matter about the time, since my main consumption is first thing in the morning.

To me there’s nothing worse than drinking coffee that‘s been kept warm on a heater. That’s why coffee places (in theory) replace any pot that’s more than 20 minutes old.
 
I probably waste a lot of coffee because I only drink about a 16oz. styrofoam cup at a time. The coffee maker will keep remaining coffee hot for a while but one round of coffee does the trick for me.
I have it in the mornings some times and I take a big afternoon nap on other days and have it anywhere from 10:00 to 11:30 or so at night.
I don’t make a lot of extra and what is in the pot goes down the drain.
I just found a ceramic mug that holds the same amount as the styrofoam cups and it looked like the lid with the stir straws would fit it.
Should have known it wouldn’t snap on.
There’s an idea for somebody a ceramic mug with a snap on coffee lid.
 
againstthegrain said:
Coffee is just like wine, there are a multitude of coffee flavor profiles, it just takes time and experimentation to find what one enjoys. Since all people's tastes will vary and the interest in coffee might vary from using it only for a laxative or as a way to ingest a stimulant, to some one like me that dabbles in it w only a superficial knowledge, to others that roast their own beans at home.



Better than Keurig that's for sure. The bold setting will lengthen the time the hot water is in contact w the ground coffee and perhaps lead to over extraction which can be unpleasant.

Coffee has very subtle flavors that vary by region and flavor is easily lost by over roasting and over extracting. To me coffee that is dark to very dark, Starbucks style, perhaps like the Maxwell House dark roast is not the most enjoyable coffee to drink.
Click to expand...
There is a whole world of different things about coffee these days.
Probably would have been easier to find out what I like if I had got into serious coffee drinking about 50 years or more ago.
I really appreciate everything you said about coffee. Thanks!
 
I remember my mom's old "percolator coffee pot". I'm like TV Fraiser's dad- I want a cup of black coffee, no sugar, milk, etc. I've never been to Starbuck's, where you need to speak French and Spanish to order a cup of coffee. I guess I'm a coffee heathen.
 
GP44 said:
I probably waste a lot of coffee because I only drink about a 16oz. styrofoam cup at a time.
Click to expand...
Definitely. Switch to the cone drip system that Pinky suggested. It’ll save you money and you’ll have better coffee.

I drink my coffee in a mug with a stainless steel interior.
 
I think that I will let the machine do my dripping for me.
I won’t get into grinding beans or anything.
Although I don’t mind learning some of the finer points about brewing a good cup of coffee so that I can get a decent taste I won’t go to enough work for it to be the best anyone ever tasted.
 
^^^With medium and light roasts you might want to use more coffee/cup than the dark roasts to have more "coffee" flavor. Compared to dark roasts a weakly brewed med roast is really a let down.
 
I didn’t drink any coffee while I was taking meds for the strep and whatever for about a week and a half.
Been over it for a few days and back to coffee.
The first 16oz. last night was so good that I followed it up with another.
Tasted great and it was back to the dark blend, bold brew.
I wondered what would happen when I would try to sleep.
I went to bed about an hour later and got to sleep about three hours later and slept like a log.
Wow! absence makes the coffee taste better!
 
GP44 said:
I probably waste a lot of coffee because I only drink about a 16oz. styrofoam cup at a time. The coffee maker will keep remaining coffee hot for a while but one round of coffee does the trick for me.
I have it in the mornings some times and I take a big afternoon nap on other days and have it anywhere from 10:00 to 11:30 or so at night.
I don’t make a lot of extra and what is in the pot goes down the drain.
I just found a ceramic mug that holds the same amount as the styrofoam cups and it looked like the lid with the stir straws would fit it.
Should have known it wouldn’t snap on.
There’s an idea for somebody a ceramic mug with a snap on coffee lid.
Click to expand...

If I take coffee or another beverage to the porch I try to remember to mold a double square of foil over the top. This keeps the bugs out and helps to keep it warm. It also won't blow away as easily as some mehods.
 
I drink anywhere from 4-8 cups of coffee a day using Green Mountain Half-Caff in my Keurig single cup maker. My wife drinks some other type of coffee with chocolate in it. I drink it black because I drink coffee to taste the flavor of the coffee.
 
Well my old Hamilton Beach coffeemaker bit the dust 2 days ago...went to get my morning coffee and there was water all over the counter...I've ordered a new simple coffee maker as I no longer use the coffee pods, I have a sack full to give to a friend...I'm still drinking Folgers Colombian, the price is getting ridiculous.
 
Now that I’ve found one I like I will stick with it.
More to it than just loading in the coffee and the water and hitting the on button.
I use the 20 oz. paper cups despite all of the good advice.
I pour the nearly full 20 oz. cup of water in and spoon about 2 1/2 scoops of coffee into the paper filter.
I have the coffee maker set on bold and using Maxwell house dark blend.
Hit brew!
I drop a couple of thin ice cubes into a cup and after it is finished brewing I pour the hot coffee onto the ice.
Maybe it’s not required but I pour the coffee back and forth once from a spare cup.
I like the coffee hot but not scalding.
It’s important that the coffee is not so hot that it affects the way the Splenda works.
I just figured out that one and a half of those little packets off Splenda sweetens the coffee to my taste.
Two was too sweet so I went with one for a while and it was lacking.
SO! That’s what works for me.
I would have never got this far if it weren’t for those who pointed out that Splenda is affected by too much heat.
Thanks for all of the advice. I know that a lot of you have found what you like so keep on keeping on!
 
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