Coffee Talk

[haltz]

I used to go to Foundation a lot. Really close and my ex is friends with the owners. I agree - it's a nice local shop, but it doesn't seem like they are doing anything exciting there. I'm not much of a coffee guy, though.

I bet you could get a consistent, albeit labor-intensive grind with a pepper mill to see if an automatic burr grinder is worth the investment.

[slide_into_first]

Wouldn't the pepper taste ruin the coffee?

[slide_into_first]

Seriously I did a search and someone said pepper mill burrs are too small for coffee beans but yes haltz said it was just to try out not permanent.

[haltz]

The knob on top of a pepper mill adjusts the coarseness and you'd want to wash it out. Just a thought.

[slide_into_first]

I can think of reasons why fresh ground coffee is better than pre-ground but it would have to do with the grounds getting a surface coating that inhibits the transfer of flavor in brewing. Are there other ways to overcome this- varying water temperature, brewing technique, etc? I wonder if a different water pH would help. If the pre-ground coffee has oxidation, something could remove or reverse that coating.

[thrill]

I used to go to Foundation a lot. Really close and my ex is friends with the owners. I agree - it's a nice local shop, but it doesn't seem like they are doing anything exciting there. I'm not much of a coffee guy, though.

I bet you could get a consistent, albeit labor-intensive grind with a pepper mill to see if an automatic burr grinder is worth the investment.

Or you can get one of these like I have for camping.

[KyCardinalFan]

My husband has a friend who owned a coffee shop several years ago. He gave my husband a coffee grinder and, as a result, my husband has become somewhat of a coffee snob. (I'm more like Doc, it's all coffee to me.) Like it has with his beer, my husband has gone increasingly darker and stronger with his taste preferences in coffee.

For Father's Day gifting, I found a site called The Coffee Fool. The copy and testimonials talked about how their beans are fresher and not burnt like store bought or the likes of Starbucks. I ordered several types that he normally likes (Italian, French Roast and other darker beans). I was frankly a little disappointed because his reaction wasn't as adamant as testimonials. He noted it was smoother, but he didn't seem to notice a dramatic difference. Since I bought several bags, he took one to the office where he shares with only a couple of other drinkers. He didn't says anything, but one of his coworkers offhandedly commented after a few days how much better and smoother the coffee was. My husband seemed more swayed after that, and actually, when we ran low, he wasn't happy at all with a brand he had previously enjoyed regularly.

I get an email from them every Friday (Foolish Fridays they call it) in which they offer specials in addition to a 20% discount. I order on Fridays which often put it equal to premium-like brands in area stores. If you're curious, use the code "FRIDAY" to get the 20% Friday discount. (The offer is good Fri-Sun) I'd be interested to know if anyone else notices a difference.

[lukethedrifter]

The problem is that those roasts essentially burn the flavor out of a bean. Imagine three totally different types of bread, eg ciabatta , country white, sourdough, then make croutons with them. If you cook the croutons to the point they are really dark, almost burnt you won't taste nearly the difference had you roasted them much less.
Coffee is like that. The new coffee snob places very lightly roast the beans.

[Freed Roger]

I have picked up la cosecha coffee at Global Foods. It's good coffee but not like the stuff we've started talking about in this thread.
Foundation Grounds is another nice coffee shop but, again, not the sort of place where you're going to taste the coffee and think, wow I didn't know coffee could taste like that.

Sump
Comet
Blueprint
and maybe Rise

if you can't tell the difference when you're drinking coffee from one of these places then you aren't trying.

So, just 3, maybe 4 good coffee joints in the STL area?

That's absurd.

[lukethedrifter]

I have picked up la cosecha coffee at Global Foods. It's good coffee but not like the stuff we've started talking about in this thread.
Foundation Grounds is another nice coffee shop but, again, not the sort of place where you're going to taste the coffee and think, wow I didn't know coffee could taste like that.

Sump
Comet
Blueprint
and maybe Rise

if you can't tell the difference when you're drinking coffee from one of these places then you aren't trying.

So, just 3, maybe 4 good coffee joints in the STL area?

That's absurd.

That's not what I'm saying. I like going to Kaldi's. You can get a pour over with one of the smaller batch roast beans there as well as getting a good cup of coffee.

I can't say what I'm trying to say without using some of "those" words so http://www.saucemagazine.com/a/1888

this article about Kaldi's kind of gets to the heart of the matter
http://www.stlmag.com/dining/Changes-A- ... at-Kaldis/