Best coffee in the world?

[desertblues]

Italian espresso for me with a tiny glass of tapwater; any day, at any hour

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by ziesha

I think the best coffee in the world is Espresso

and Welcome to Mobileread ....

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by beppe

Thank you, from them I would get a better quality than from the supermarket in the states. My BIL goes to Austin in April and I will ask him to bring me back some, if his wife says so. She worked for years in a bar in Milano and she knows about drinks in general, I mean she is a pro.

The supermarket is definitely not the best place to get fresh coffee. There are some good places in Austin (Central Market and Whole Foods--I prefer Central Market because I think they get more shoppers thus the coffee should be fresher.)

If you have a stovetop popcorn popper, you can roast your own, but you'll probably never go back if you start. The dried, unroasted beans keep much better than roasted because the oils are not released. Sweet Maria's sells roasters, but you'd have to check to see if they have ones for Europe (right prongs and electrical stuff.)

The stovetop popper does great and is vastly cheaper. Ordered it from Walmart (online shopping; they don't carry it in many stores). Once you're in the habit of roasting a week's worth and then fresh grinding...you'll never go back!

[beppe]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

The supermarket is definitely not the best place to get fresh coffee. There are some good places in Austin (Central Market and Whole Foods--I prefer Central Market because I think they get more shoppers thus the coffee should be fresher.)

If you have a stovetop popcorn popper, you can roast your own, but you'll probably never go back if you start. The dried, unroasted beans keep much better than roasted because the oils are not released. Sweet Maria's sells roasters, but you'd have to check to see if they have ones for Europe (right prongs and electrical stuff.)

The stovetop popper does great and is vastly cheaper. Ordered it from Walmart (online shopping; they don't carry it in many stores). Once you're in the habit of roasting a week's worth and then fresh grinding...you'll never go back!

But. Thanks! You are a source. a true source. Have a kiss, if you allow me such familiarity.

[GA Russell]

I've been told that if you roast your own coffee, you need to do it in the garage or the back porch because it smells up the house for days!

[kacir]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

If you have a stovetop popcorn popper, you can roast your own, but you'll probably never go back if you start.

I have purchased THE cheapest electrical popcorn maker for 9.90 Euro and I am using that to roast my coffee.

I took large, 0.75liter can, cut bottom and top off and I place this "chimney" on the top of the popper with an "anti mosquito wire mesh" on the top. The popper blows hot air (like hair dryer) through the corn ... aehm ... coffee beans from sides and rotates cor^H^H^Hcoffee beans so they are roasted evenly.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I've been told that if you roast your own coffee, you need to do it in the garage or the back porch because it smells up the house for days!

Well, it does smell. And it smells very different from the beautiful smell of freshly made coffee ;-). But it is not that bad. I used to roast coffee on an ordinary pan on the stove. You just have to stir it constantly and air the kitchen thoroughly afterwards. The freshly roasted coffee needs 24 hours to fully develop the taste.

When it is not bloody cold outside I usually roast coffeebeans on balcony. This is the advantage of electrical roaster (popcorn maker). When it IS very cold outside, I roast in kitchen, in the evening before we go sleep and I air the kitchen thoroughly after roasting.

Just ask if you are interested in details - how to roast, how long, to what color ...
There are many, many sites devoted to roasting coffee at home. Just remember. You do not need to buy very expensive beans, you do NOT need to purchase roaster for thousands of bucks.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by beppe

But. Thanks! You are a source. a true source. Have a kiss, if you allow me such familiarity.

Kiss kiss!

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I've been told that if you roast your own coffee, you need to do it in the garage or the back porch because it smells up the house for days!

I don't think it smells up the house for days. For a bit, yes, much like if you stir fry anything. We use the small roaster from Sweet Maria's outside on the porch, but not because of the smell--because of the heat/slight smokiness. It tends to set off the smoke detectors. Sweet Maria's always has some sort of roaster. The smaller ones they sell run under 100 dollars.

The popcorn popper has a paddle that allows you to stir the coffee easily as it roasts. It also allows for a bigger batch than the small coffee roasters. If you have multiple coffee drinkers in house, you might want the stove-top method to roast enough for a weekly fix.

Green beans are quite a bit cheaper per pound than roasted coffee and you can get single regions, which is very interesting. Different places in the world have completely different tastes--it's a lot like wine tasting. You have your earthy tones, your chocolate tones, your light notes, top notes, deep notes...

Okay, that got into more singing that you probably wanted.

For espresso, my husband mixes his own, but Sweet Maria's and most coffee places do sell a "premix" of beans. Espresso mixing is quite an art. You need some deep favors, some fruity ones and some high notes. Whoops there I go again.

Anyway. You can make some good coffee.