The best coffee?

[readspider]

Best coffee I have ever had was in the highlands of New Guinea and it was the local bean.

The cooks and baristas there (a huge gold mine camp) were locals but highly trained in there arts and it was heaven.

[Melanie]

...The best I've had is Hawaiian Kona, but I can't afford it as more than a VERY rare treat. It is running about $35 a pound, and that is through an online wholesaler...

Coffee…The package description of Hawaiian Kona Coffee reads like seductive poetry (see below) and tastes like poetry. Yet, I only pay a fraction of what it's worth. Here's my secret: I buy mine at...drumroll...TJMaxx for 7.99 a lb (or Marshall's). I know, I know, this discount store is so unworthy of this masterpiece but never-the-less there it sits, in the gourmet isle, in all it's glory…and has been for years and years. You may think it's not fresh but my current bag has an expiration date of Dec. 11, 2015. You can get whole beans or ground. It's absolutely authentic too!

Brewing…Pure Mountain Spring Water is a MUST. I have a Braun Coffeemaker with a fine metal mesh strainer then I also use a brown paper filter (unbleached) but I'm not sure if the paper filter is necessary.

Almond Milk…I add some Organic Almond Milk Unsweetened that I purchase at Whole Foods. It's their own store brand of organic products called "365" at 1.99 for 32 fl oz.. Surprisingly, it's cheaper than any other brands at any other grocery stores. It's also a little creamier and tastes better.

Poetry...Here's the sensuous description on the package:

Overlooking The Vast
Blue Green Pacific Ocean

Parry Estate Kona Coffee is
grown on Mauna Loa's mountain slopes
bathed in crystalline rain water
cooled by tropical trade winds
and nourished by fire

The island's seductive setting
produces a coffee vibrant in flavor
with a strikingly exotic character
unique to this world-renowned varietal favorite

Sun ripened coffee cherries
are hand-picked, sun dried,
expertly graded, roasted in batches,
and blended to ensure the highest quality

Our family oversees this entire process
to bring you the distinctive intense flavor
of the world's finest Kona Blend Coffee

Centuries ago King Kamehameha
cultivated his royal fields on the fertile
volcanic mountain slopes of Mauna Loa
where today the Parry Estate thrives

Hundreds of acres have been preserved
to protect the ecological and historical heritage
of this extraordinary paradise
exotic wildlife and lush rainforest vegetation flourish
in our carefully planned natural habitats

We are passionately committed to preserving the
fertile soil and crystalline waters for future generations
through sustainable agricultural practices

[Emil Miller]

[QUOTE=Melanie;1280393]Coffee…The package description of Hawaiian Kona Coffee reads like seductive poetry (see below)


Wow! Talk about poetic licence. Your signature should read: 'Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink Hawaiian Kona Coffee.

[Helga]

That poetic description sounds great, I'd like to try it someday.

I have found that I prefer African coffee, a strong black cup of some good African coffee is hard to beat. I brew in my Bialetti.

I actually wrote a poem about my black cup once, and my brother turned it into a song. It's probably my only real love poem, and coffee my only real love.

[108 fountains]

I also like African coffee. I should be more specific and say Ethiopian coffee as that’s the only African coffee I’ve had. The Ethiopians believe that the drink originated there in the area around Kaffa in the southwest. They have an elaborate coffee ceremony for brewing at home. Both the ceremony and the coffee are wonderful experiences. (Coffee brewing is definitely an ancient practice in Ethiopia, but since it is an ancient practice in many parts of the world, I have doubts about any country’s claim to be the origin.)

I also like coffee that is blended with chicory. The first place I ever had that was at Café du Monde in New Orleans. It gives it a somewhat bitter, chocolaty flavor. It’s best when you add milk to counteract the bitterness; at Café du Monde it’s served as café au lait.

Another interesting coffee is Vietnamese “chon” coffee. The beans used to make this coffee are extracted from the feces of civet cats (a kind of weasel) that have eaten them but only partially digested them. I’ve had it several times and will admit that it really is good, but I always wondered who the first person was to dig those beans out of a pile of civet feces and say, “Mmmm… I think I’ll try brewing these!”

[Helga]

Another interesting coffee is Vietnamese “chon” coffee. The beans used to make this coffee are extracted from the feces of civet cats (a kind of weasel) that have eaten them but only partially digested them. I’ve had it several times and will admit that it really is good, but I always wondered who the first person was to dig those beans out of a pile of civet feces and say, “Mmmm… I think I’ll try brewing these!”

This is done with beans from feces of other animals too. I once heard that the workers who had to pick the ripe berries and slave all day long to get the beans ready for sale were not allowed to use them themselves, but they saw the animals eat the berries and the beans came whole in the droppings so they cleaned them and roasted and had what is now some of the most expensive beans you can get.

What I like about African coffee is that it often has more acidity than many others. my local barista is a multiple brewing champion and I get all my info from him, he has the best coffee too.

[Pompey Bum]

I used to eat the civets themselves when I lived in Africa, but that was another day. A nice cheery cup of bug poop tea is about all I manage anymore. I told you getting old was no fun.