Kerises in different cultural spheres

[kronckew]

one of my favourite stores in al khobar, KSA was the coffee store, it had bags and bags of beans on display in a rather large room of all different beans and roasts, you'd tell them which beans, which roast and how much of each and what kind of coffee maker you used and they'd grind them right in front of you.

i'd buy a kilo at a time of arabica in a half and half mix of 'italian' roast (darkest) and 'american' roast (kinda medium-dark). they did their own roasting. wonderful smelling store. wonderful coffee. much better than the pre-ground common muck you get in supermarkets.

i occasionally buy a bag of 'specialty' coffee beans at the local costa coffee bar and grind them myself. beans and ground coffee get put in the freezer till used to keep the flavour in. i use one of the french press coffee things, never a percolater.

p.s. kopi luwak was 'only' £26.50 ($40) for 50grams (1.76 ounces) at a place i found here that had it.

have we gone far enough off topic yet?

[Jussi M.]

Originally Posted by kronckew

Have we gone far enough off topic yet?

From a surface level yes, but no

[Rick]

Keurig .




So hate me ...

[Jussi M.]

Originally Posted by Rick

Keurig .

So hate me ...

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Rick

Keurig .




So hate me ...

better than instant i guess....

[A. G. Maisey]

Coffee is one of life's essentials.

I've had kopi luwak a number of times, in fact, one of my wife's relatives in Bali produce the stuff as a hobby, they've got some luwak (palm civet) in a big cage, they feed them the coffee beans and then produce the coffee.

As noted, it can be unbelievably expensive-- I believe that the wife's relos charge something like 7 million rupiah for it if they sell it--- but to my taste, its not really anything special. Its less bitter than some coffees, but if it was given to you blind, and you didn't know it had been through an animal's guts, you'd only think it was some different sort of coffee. Its different, but not better.

In Indonesia you can buy coffee in the supermarkets that is branded "Kopi Luwak", but its just a brand name, not the real thing.

I currently get my coffee sent to me by a small custom producer here in Sydney. I used to get a custom blend that was arabica, blue mountain, and peabody, and that was very good, but the blend they send me now is just as good, and a lot easier to get. Mostly I use a plunger, but occasionally I'll do stove top espresso. In the past I used to wait while the beans were roasted, then I'd take them home and grind them myself, but I've found that if I buy freshly ground coffee in a vacuum pack, and store it in the deep freeze section of the fridge, there is not any noticeable difference in taste.

[kronckew]

the last bag of beans i bought was sumatran, it was quite tasty, i think i still have some beans in the freezer. the last bag of already ground i bought as an experiment was tesco's 'value range', the cheapest in the supermarket. it was also quite tasty, i was surprised. goes to show price is not everything. i must admit to using a dark roast instant in the morning when i am half awake and stumbling around trying to start my engines. there are two things that make life worthwhile, one of them is coffee...

[Boedhi Adhitya]

I believe the very basic 'idea' of Kopi Luwak is the wild luwak would only pick the ripe coffee beans for his dinner. When the luwak is put on cage and feed by human, then the 'luwak-picked coffee bean' is gone.
I believe there is another method where people would herd the luwak through the coffee plantation and let the luwak picks the coffee beans.
Certainly, the luwak ingestion track would alter the coffee taste, but ripe coffee beans also important.

It is worth to note that a wood from coffee tree makes a good alternative material for keris sheath. It has mild brown colour and smooth grain.

Well, at least I mention 'keris' once

[Rick]

Originally Posted by kronckew

the last bag of beans i bought was sumatran, it was quite tasty, i think i still have some beans in the freezer. the last bag of already ground i bought as an experiment was tesco's 'value range', the cheapest in the supermarket. it was also quite tasty, i was surprised. goes to show price is not everything. i must admit to using a dark roast instant in the morning when i am half awake and stumbling around trying to start my engines. there are two things that make life worthwhile, one of them is coffee...

I feel a bit less shame .

Diederich French Roast is our staple K cup .