Caffeine Thread

but honestly ive always had a hard time keeping a good sleeping schedule but coffee made it way easier for me since it turned mornings to the best part of the day. i feel like the days where i get up at 4-5-6AM are the days i do my best work since i have a clear head and i feel better rested. so instead of having a second cup at 4 pm i just call it a day and i fall asleep at 8-9PM like a baby

I was thinking about getting a moka pot, I've heard good things.

So Peets coffee: stores are hit and miss with overemphasis on godawful milk drinks and flavorings and variable barista skills, but the beans themselves... great price/quality.

Bought a half pound of Sulawesi-Kalosi for a mere $8.50, roasted fresh within a day of purchase, and holy shit it's beautiful: deep and earthy, but with light floral notes and just the right amount of acidity (not much). This might become a go-to cup at that price. Could happily drink erryday.

Spent a week with it and managed to work out a better Aeropress system: grind about 2.5 Aeropress measuring spoons of whole beans to a little finer than drip. Wet Aeropress filter before assembly. Also wet plunger for better seal. Dump in ground coffee. Boil water and let rest for two minutes, then pour enough to cover the coffee grounds, stir until no resistance. Then fill the brewing chamber with the water just past the top marker, stir briefly again. Insert plunger very slightly at angle and then level it out, with a little reverse pull -- this creates some negative pressure and keeps the coffee from dripping out into your cup (at this stage, don't press down enough to push anything through the filter). Let it brew assembled like that for 1 minute. A little bit of coffee will have drained through before you lock in with negative pressure, and if you want a double espresso style drink, you can dump that drip through (if you're going for drip strength, leave it in the cup).

After a minute, lightly press the plunger down, aiming for about 20 seconds of press time until all water is pressed through the filter end. When you hear hissing from air pressing through, stop pressing immediately, lift the Aeropress, and push the rest out over the sink or sommat.

The resulting cup has a bit more volume than a double shot of espresso, and less faux crema than the normal Aeropress method (stopping the press at the hiss leaves the foam on the filter end -- you can push it through but I find it tastes a bit overextracted, with a bit of an ashy/tobacco flavor, at least with this kind of dark roast). You can dilute the cup with the hot water from there to your taste, or not.

It's fuckin good, and really quick and easy once you've done it a few times.

The inverted Aeropress method does the same kind of thing, allowing for longer immersion time with no early drip through. You get a little drip through as described above, but it's easier than inverted, way less precarious, and you aren't brewing the coffee directly on top of the rubber-like plunger tip, which seems kind of weird to me.

Might eventually experiment with longer extraction times, but the above will give you an excellent cup IMO.

  On 2/2/2015 at 10:05 PM, chassis said:

I was thinking about getting a moka pot, I've heard good things.

GET A MOKA POT!!!!!

Do it.

I don't drink coffee. But today I slowly cooked down 6 cups of fresh brewed, extra strong coffee until I was left with 3 cups. I combined this with a cup of whole milk and made pudding with this using egg-yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, gelatin, and a touch of cinnamon. Then I folded in a generous handful of couverture chocolate & a couple tablespoons of butter until the consistency was silky smooth. Poured the mix into a fresh baked homemade pie crust & let it set. Meanwhile I folded some dulce de leche into fresh whipped cream, and once the pie was cooled I slapped a giant pillow of the dulce whipped cream on top. Finished it with some chocolate shavings. It was delicious and sold quickly.

  On 2/24/2015 at 2:05 AM, tauboo said:

 

  On 2/2/2015 at 10:05 PM, chassis said:

I was thinking about getting a moka pot, I've heard good things.

 

GET A MOKA POT!!!!!

yes. there can't be a better price/value thing for really decent coffee.

we use this model: http://www.bialetti.com/coffee/stovetop/brikka-c-1_7_24.html

normal Moka pots don't produce crema, where this one does. It simply has a weighted valve on top of the coffee ejector part which allows for some pressure build up before splurting out the good stuff.

it seems to get mixed reviews because some people seem to be unable to realize that there's a certain sweet spot (amount of water & coffee) where the crema thing works.

but it's great.

  On 2/25/2015 at 5:38 AM, cloud capture said:

I don't drink coffee. But today I slowly cooked down 6 cups of fresh brewed, extra strong coffee until I was left with 3 cups. I combined this with a cup of whole milk and made pudding with this using egg-yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, gelatin, and a touch of cinnamon. Then I folded in a generous handful of couverture chocolate & a couple tablespoons of butter until the consistency was silky smooth. Poured the mix into a fresh baked homemade pie crust & let it set. Meanwhile I folded some dulce de leche into fresh whipped cream, and once the pie was cooled I slapped a giant pillow of the dulce whipped cream on top. Finished it with some chocolate shavings. It was delicious and sold quickly.

Damn.

Anyway, I just had my daily cortado - might just make me another one.

  On 5/6/2010 at 7:24 PM, chassis said:

Is anyone else a caffeine addict?

Went 48 hours (or almost) without caffeine ending this morning. I do this every couple of months when I have the time because it leaves me completely lethargic and I tell myself it lets me make up some sleep debt that way. But boy does everything else about it suck, it's like instant depression. I've been meaning to try and abstain for a little longer to see if that eventually goes away, but can't bring myself to do it. I can't take much more than a day of the withdrawal without feeling like I'm wasting my life.

Try vitamin supplements 

I got this thing called an American Press, which is sort of like a cross between a French press and an Aeropress and it’s gotta be my favorite way to make java. Much more flavorful than pour overs, even from fancy pants coffee shops. 

When I get really good beans(which is all the damn time) that’s the best way to brew them by far. The fruity flavors really sing.