[Sca-cooks] coffee

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
>I too, like the smell of coffee and I like the taste of coffee
>flavored ice cream. And I've like the chocolate covered coffee beans
>I've had.
>
>However, the two times I've had coffee in my life, once back in
>college and once at Pennsic, the "standard" coffee seemed rather
>watery and dilute like it was missing something.

Yeah, that's the pathetic stuff that passes for coffee. Nasty. I only 
drink it when desperate. I had  my first cup of Peet's coffee in 1968 
and i've been spoiled ever since.

Don't let Starbucks fool you. Their coffee isn't roasted as well as 
Peets and their beverages try to emulate melted ice cream, more than 
a good cup of good coffee.

>Perhaps I'm just
>more used to soft drinks,

Mmm, sounds like it :-)

>but I'm wondering if coffee brewed in this
>"Turkish Coffee gear" or whatever might be more to my liking. If I
>remember right, isn't this turkish coffee served in smaller cups?
>Which to me, implies it is thicker or at least stronger.I'm not sure
>if it is strength or texture/thickness which I find wanting.

The only way you'll know is to try various coffees. Each coffee from 
each part of the world tastes different for each other. I have a 
profound dislike for South American coffees. My preferred coffees are 
from Ethiopia, the Arabian Peninsula (aka Mocha, which is a location, 
in the Yemen, IIRC), and Indonesia - and the coffee from each island 
differs from that of each other - the most famous coffees being from 
Sumatra, Sulawesi (formerly known as the Celebes), and Java. Sulawesi 
is the best, followed by Sumatra, with Java trailing.

And then you need to try the coffee you like brewed different ways to 
find which method produces the best flavor. Percolating makes the 
coffee harsh - it destroys the subtleties of the different flavors. 
(i grew up on percolated coffee - i don't remember what my mother 
bought - Maxwell House?). Mr. Coffee makers and their ilk do 
something else. I used one when i needed to get out of the house fast 
for a long commute, but the coffee is not as richly flavored as the 
Melitta filter coffee i usually make. I grind my coffee myself almost 
as fine as for Turkish coffee then make it in a filter, so my coffee 
has a bit more physical body. Some people swear by the French press 
method as being even better than Melitta.

The method of brewing "Turkish" coffee is something else again. Part 
of the trip is the conviviality of the coffee drinkers sitting around 
while the coffee is made. Custom varies from one culture to another 
as to whether or not  a spice is added - in some places cardamom is 
added, in others ginger, and yet others nothing but coffee, sugar, 
and water. The ingredients are put in a small pot, heated until it 
foams up, removed from the fire, the the foaming is repeated, and the 
coffee poured (i'm over simplifying a bit). The coffee is strong, 
very sweet, and thick. Again, custom varies as to whether the coffee 
drinker consumes the sludge in the bottom of the cup or not. Because 
of the attention it takes, this is not the typical coffee of America.

So if one is not a mindless coffee drinker, there are a number of 
subtleties to be taken into account - where the coffee is from, how 
it is roasted, and how it is brewed (of course, old stale/rancid 
coffee is right out). The average cup of coffee in the average 
restaurant is barely more than just nasty brown and often sour water.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

who rarely drinks sodas because they're too sweet