OK. I will start a discussion on Coffee:

My 2 all-time favorites Beans are:

Indonesian Sumatra Mandheling
100% Pure Hawaiian Kona Peaberry Dark Roast Estate

...These are WOWs for me. No doubt about it.

My 2nd-tier Beans are:

Cuban Turquino
Sierra Dorada Blend
Sulawesi Kalosi

P.S.: I just Roasted a new batch of New Guinea Coffee. My 1st try @ these Beans. It is good Coffee, but Not on the level of the Coffees that I mentioned above. It is Not as strong. Does Not have the Body/Aroma/Flavor/& Finish of those.

But, an easy-going, nice, flavorful Coffee. Will be preferred by people that like their Coffee on the lighter-side.

Similar Beans would be:
Torrefazione Settebello Gourmet Espresso Blend.
Kenya AA/Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend Medium Roast.

LCC, I hate coffee. But in an attempt to educate my palate, I often eat and drink things that I don't necessarily like. I had some of my wife's coffee while in LA this week. I didn't like it, but I got a good idea of what REAL coffee tastes like. I don't really know what particular kind it was, but my wife said it was a good cup. Caffiene is not really good for the wine palate, I have heard. I don't think I'll be taking up coffee drinking anytime soon, but I would like to try one of your special ones to see if I find it more enjoyable.

I also ate honeydew and cantelope this week. Yuck, but educational.

jb

I like Coffee, honeydew and cantelope. I like almost everything.

But, Coffee is 1 of my passions. Real Coffee, that is. I only drink Coffee @ home (& couple of friends that I have that are into Coffee). Notice when we go out, I almost never order Coffee. Cannot stand (most) Restaurant Coffee.

Ah man, I could use some of LCC's coffee right about now... I'm hurtin today. Stayed up too late messing with the forum and reading up on XML/XSL/XSLT/ASP last night.

Rev: Let's talk about that Today. We can split/share the work load. I am reading up & beginning to work with XML & related technologies also. 2 is better than 1. The DataBase we did Not get to, yet. So, I can help here also.

You know it's funny. But, Coffee does Not keep my awake @ all. If I am ready to go to sleep, Coffee will Not affect me. And, I drink "powerful" Coffee most of the time. I guess it's just 1 of those things. My father, on the other hand, will Not touch my Coffee late @ night (for that sleep reason). Cannot fall asleep after.

I'll be affected for sure, Unless I'm REALLY tired. But one cup a couple hours before bed (like right after a dinner) is fine for me.

I too like fairly strong coffee. Mostly because I do not drink it black. I put some milk and sugar in.... blasphemy I know! Kinda like putting ice in a cognac or .... or... well i don't know what anyone would put in red wine. Perhaps it's more like drinking the wine from a spit bucket.

Yeah, milk in Coffee like that. A no-no. Never. But,if you so choose...

Sugar is OK.

What do you think of the St. Helena blend from Dean and Deluca? I am a big fan. Good crema with a nice rich smooth flavor. The closest D&D to me is the one in St. Helena so I don't always have enough of it on hand. If you are familiar with the blend does Petes or other non-mail order brand have any comparable substitute? FYI, this only applies to espresso. I almost never drink american style coffee.

I never bought Coffee from D&D. So, cannot comment. I am Not familiar with that Blend/Coffee. But, Peet’s has some good stuff. I use them as 1 of my providers. If you want, I can post what I enjoy from them.

I, of course, like & prefer espresso also. But, with a French Press, Americano (as they say in Europe) Coffee can be Very Good. Also, depends on the Beans. Believe it or Not, some Beans are made (or better) with a French Press (for America-type Coffee).

P.S.: Always enjoy finding Coffee-people. Rare breed in the USA. Even, more rare than Wine-people.

Also, a question: Do you Roast your own Beens (Green Coffee)?

No I am too lazy to roast my own beans. About 18 months ago, I bought an everything automatic espresso maker (Saeco Magic Deluxe about $900 but worth every penny if you are lazy like me). I just fill it with beans on one side and water on the other. Press a button, the machine grinds the beans, filters the water, makes the espresso, and then expels the used grounds into a holding area which has to be emptied out every 20 or so pulls. Have to put more water in it every 20 or so pulls as well (I like a very short throw espresso) As simple as it gets and the machine makes a great cup of espresso.

Yes, these machines are Expensive. A friend of mine, who is a Coffee-nut, paid $2,500.00 for 1 of these. OUCH...

It's Not for everybody, I know. I mentioned it before that not too many people go through the rituals that I go through with Coffee. But, self-Roasting adds even more to the Coffee.

But, agreed, it is Not a necessity. I do & enjoy both methods.

Corkage: this was your last post to me...

Corkage:

LCC;

Funny comment about Indonesia, I stopped buying Yemen Mocha Matari, one of my other favorites because of Yemen's ties to terrorists. I guess I'll have to add Indonesia as well...

I don't know what Harrar Longberry is, but my roaster sells it regularly (www.centralcoffee.com). I've never roasted my own beans, perhaps that will be my next step.

I think the Costa Rican beans are quite good! We must have similar coffee tastes. I like Costa Rican coffee for its consistent smoothness. Its funny, my roaster recently roasted a small batch of New Guinea beans and I thought they were good too.

I wasn't too impressed by the Columbian or Peruvian arabicas, nor the Kenyan or Zimbabwean arabicas, although you might think they would be similar to other regional coffees. I also think that while Blue Mountain can be very good, its overpriced, esp. compared to Kona.

To Corkage (& ALL):

Yeah, I agree. But, 1 of my favorite regions is Indonesia (for Coffee). I really LOVE their Coffee. What can I do?

The only other region that compares to them (to me) is Costa Rica.

See, my comments about the "New Guinea" beans (above). Funny, how you had this about the same time that I did. I liked it, but was Not 1 of my favorites. I like more "power".

Agree on the Columbian/Peruvian arabicas Coffee comments.

My favorite Kona is the following:

100% Hawaiian Kona Peaberry Estate Grown Dark Roast. Sometimes hard to get, but if you see it. Try it. It blows you away, a "WOW".

I know "centralcoffee.com", but never used it.

The ones that I use are:

http://www.sweetmarias.com (considered THE BEST, but Green Beans Only).

http://www.peets.com/ (very popular, but good).

http://www.coffeewholesalers.com

...What are you drinking lately? Tonight, I will finish my "New Guinea".

I LOVE coffee. But I am afraid that I am still very much a novice about knowing what is out there.

Now, I KNOW it is always better to buy the beans and grind your own, but has anyone ever had Jakobs coffee from Germany? Delish!

Also, I know anything but straight black coffee is perceived as blasphemous, but I think that cream, half & half or milk are MUCH less blasphemous than SUGAR.

Just my opinion though.

I will disagree with you (for the 1st time). Sugar is actually OK. And, I use Sugar in all my Coffees.

The "other" stuff that you mention is a NO-NO.....

...But, to each is own.

I would love for you to try some of my stuff... May be, 1 day. 1 day soon (as soon as the NJ Real Estate market goes down)...

I use both cream and sugar, although I dont think I've experienced the caliber of coffees listed here, going to have to expand my horizons and break old habits

Question: On occasion, when dining out (relatively nicer places) I've experienced something I can only relate to an 'oil slick' on top of my coffee, any idea what that is? Some kind of oil from the bean?

I too drink a lot of coffee and enjoy many different kinds (brands). Being from Seattle, there are quite a few to choose from. I was in Portland for a spell and they have some great coffee, as does SF.

Question...my wife just returned from a business trip in FL where she had, as she termed it, a "life enhancing moment" as the result of drinking Cuban coffee. Now my question, which she couldn't answer, is; what kind of beans does Cuban style coffee use, is it the grind, roast or other..that got my wife so fired up!?!?

Cheers!

Sorry, do Not have too much experience with Cuban Coffee, yet.

MudPuppy: Not sure what you mean.

LCC-it was almost a 'film-like' slick on top of the coffee in the mug (kinda skeeved me out). Maybe the cup wasnt that clean...I honestly dont know. Definitely not appetizing, thats for sure...

It could have been soap residue from the cup, or oils from you lips.