Finding Good Coffee Beans Without Breaking the Bank

[wolram]

I am looking for a good coffee bean to use, and as i have never had make it your self coffee
i have no idea what to buy, so what is good without being crazy expensive?

 

[hypatia]

The best way to find out what kind of bean and roast you enjoy is to buy small amouts and test them.
I like mine dark and strong, but not bitter. So I opt for a dark roast with mixed beans.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

I am looking for a good coffee bean to use, and as i have never had make it your self coffee
i have no idea what to buy, so what is good without being crazy expensive?

Ask the French they have some absolutely amazing ranges of coffees. When I was over there I pitied the English for having such a poor range comparatively. There coffee shops have coffee from everywhere, and in all forms, although not instant in most of the more specialised places.

I tried that civet poo stuff and it was really mellow, really nice actually, best not to think where it comes from but at least they wash it to death before they sell it. :/

Not an expert on coffee though, that would be the Americans also.

 

[Kurdt]

I like Italian coffee.

 

[lisab]

I'm so picky about my coffee, it's one luxury I won't give up easily. So I don't know how helpful my advice will be to you.

Patty's right, it's highly subjective. You'll have to try several, from mild to strong.

Which bean you end up using will depend on your personal taste, but that's not the only critical variable. The grind is extremely important, and that's also a matter of personal preference. Whether you prefer coarse or fine grind, be sure to grind the beans right before you brew.

Brewing method is also important. I prefer a drip cone, with a paper filter. (Some people like the gold cones, but I like a very fine grind and the gold cones allow too many fines into the brew.)

Also, water hardness will affect taste. To me, water that's too soft makes coffee taste bitter.

 

[wolram]

There seems more to coffee than i thought.

 

[wolram]

Loads of Brits drink coffee with milk, i prefer mine black.

 

[Kurdt]

milk is horrible. It has to be cream.

 

[turbo]

Woolie, the brewing method is more important than bean selection to me. My wife and I have a coffee grinder and we experimented with beans for a while until I bought an espresso maker. The steam pressure forces heated water through a tightly-packed layer of coffee grounds contained in a stainless steel basket. I usually use an inexpensive commercial coffee like Chock Full O' Nuts regular or Columbian and get excellent results that we could not manage to get by using the drip method with $$$ beans.

 

[wolram]

I will look at the cost of a espresso maker, i am sure the UK is anti foodie, i have been looking for some where new to take Kia and bf to, all i can find is Chinese and Indian mixed in with the traditional Brits and that is a 50 miles radius, we are as international as Yorkshire pudding.

 

[Andre]

There seems more to coffee than i thought.

No, not "more", A helluvalot more.

google for Coffee academy for instance.

 

[wolram]

Getting away from instant is going to be a struggle, new machinery, product and methodology.

 

[Chi Meson]

After trying "Mr. Coffee" drip coffee makers, home espresso makers, percolators, Melita cones; after grinding my own with three different forms of grinders (including manual grinding); I ultimately prefer:The French Press, with pre-ground beans. Dark roast, Summatra. Kona if you can get it.

A two-to four cup press is relatively inexpensive (don't break the glass, and they last forever). If you grind your own, you will get a lot of bean-dust which clogs the press.

And it doesn't take much more time than instant coffee. Put in the beans, pour in the boiling water, wait a few minutes (5 max), plunge!

I always do a halfway plunge, then pull up, then plunge down. This seems to get more flavor out of the beans. Maybe not. When I make my coffee this way, I always get reminded of scenes in movies that show a junkie cooking up a fix of heroine (Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting etc).

 

[Oxymuon]

Light roast single-origin (as opposed to a blend) is generally considered to be at the top, especially if grown in Kenya. Try to get organic coffee. It will taste better and is healthier for you.

 

[Evo]

Light roast single-origin (as opposed to a blend) is generally considered to be at the top, especially if grown in Kenya. Try to get organic coffee. It will taste better and is healthier for you.

I won't buy anything that has the word "organic" in it. It's not going to taste better and may even be less healthy, it's definitely going to cost you more.

 

[turbo]

There, Woolie! Now you have a definite plan of action!or not

 

[Moonbear]

Wollie, if you're just moving up from instant coffee, and it's just for you, get a little 4-cup drip coffee maker and start out with any brand of coffee. It'll all taste better than instant. Everything else will probably taste too strong if you're used to instant.

If you find a place that sells whole bean coffee, just buy a quarter pound at a time and try different varieties and see what you like (you can either get your own grinder and do it yourself, or you can let them grind it for you...keep in mind that it's stronger when freshly ground than if stored). You can also play with how much you use. Everyone has different tastes. What I like to drink leaves other people I work with gagging, and what they drink tastes like dishwater to me it's so weak. So, you just have to play with it for yourself until you find what you like. People use somewhere between 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of grounds per cup of water (if you use metric, you're on your own there), and one extra for the pot. I think a teaspoon is WAY too weak. But, the range gives you an idea of where to start.

Try different brands too. There are some types of roasts/beans that I love with one brand and find horribly bitter with other brands...some just do a better quality job of roasting, and it's the roasting process that's most important for getting a nice flavor.

 

[Integral]

I won't buy anything that has the word "organic" in it. It's not going to taste better and may even be less healthy, it's definitely going to cost you more.

Stay strictly AWAY from INorganic coffee.

 

[Moonbear]

Stay strictly AWAY from INorganic coffee.

Hey, some people like a little extra quartz in their diet.

 

[lisab]

People use somewhere between 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of grounds per cup of water (if you use metric, you're on your own there), and one extra for the pot. I think a teaspoon is WAY too weak. But, the range gives you an idea of where to start.

How do people drink such weak stuff?!? For me, I have to use a heaping 1/3 cup of grounds for two cups of coffee. Not a dark roast bean, but mellow and very finely ground. The Melitta cone I use isn't available any more - it has a very small drain hole, which makes for a longer extraction. Mmmmm!

 

[turbo]

How do people drink such weak stuff?!? For me, I have to use a heaping 1/3 cup of grounds for two cups of coffee. Not a dark roast bean, but mellow and very finely ground. The Melitta cone I use isn't available any more - it has a very small drain hole, which makes for a longer extraction. Mmmmm!

My wife uses the Melitta cone, still. I fill up the Maxim Espres espresso maker to the 4-serving mark, and that one is my one daily dose of coffee.

 

[Helios]

I drink generic brand instant coffee with cold tap water. I drink it from a used instant coffee plastic container. It's an acquired taste that all should develop.

 

[wolram]

I drink generic brand instant coffee with cold tap water. I drink it from a used instant coffee plastic container. It's an acquired taste that all should develop.

Yuk and double yuck.

I am going to see if i can purchase a coffee machine from ebay, i do not want to fork out on a shop bought one just in case i no like the coffee.

 

[Chi Meson]

I'm reminded of a joke:

Why does Karl Marx hate Earl Grey?

 

[Chi Meson]

I drink generic brand instant coffee with cold tap water. I drink it from a used instant coffee plastic container. It's an acquired taste that all should develop.

One step further, and you can use pencil shavings.

 

[wolram]

I do not know .Why does Karl Marx hate Earl Grey?

 

[turbo]

I'm reminded of a joke:

Why does Karl Marx hate Earl Grey?

Because proper tea is theft.

 

[turbo]

Proper coffee, however, is exempt, and Marxists everywhere revel in the cheery bean.

 

[Chi Meson]

Because proper tea is theft.

badum-tshhhhhhh!

 

[Moonbear]

Yuk and double yuck.

I am going to see if i can purchase a coffee machine from ebay, i do not want to fork out on a shop bought one just in case i no like the coffee.

You should be able to find very inexpensive ones in the store, enough so that it's probably not worth paying the cost of shipping on eBay. You don't need all the fancy bells and whistles.

 

[wolram]

Is this a good one.

http://www.morethancoffee.co.uk/acatalog/Technivorm_Filter_Machines.html

They are cheaper than i thought

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

I'm reminded of a joke:

Why does Karl Marx hate Earl Grey?

Because proper tea is theft.

Actually I was pulled up on this by a Marxist quite recently. The joke should go why do anarchists hate Early Grey, because property is theft.

Because it wasn't Karl Marx who said that but a prominent French anarchist of the 19th century.

Trouble is the joke doesn't work if it's technically accurate.

 

[turbo]

Is this a good one.

http://www.morethancoffee.co.uk/acatalog/Technivorm_Filter_Machines.html

They are cheaper than i thought

Holy cow, Woolie! Those are incredibly expensive coffee-makers. The Maxim Expres was probably about $60 when I traded my frequent-flyer miles for it, and it has a very sturdy permanent stainless steel basket for the ground coffee. It's been a solid performer for over 15 years. It is very compact, which is nice for our small kitchen.

 

[Moonbear]

Is this a good one.

http://www.morethancoffee.co.uk/acatalog/Technivorm_Filter_Machines.html

They are cheaper than i thought

Those aren't for home kitchens, they're for offices...large capacity coffee makers. You don't need anything that big, and that is VERY expensive for a coffee maker. Look for the UK equivalent of something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0008JIW8U/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[larkspur]

I prefer the taste of percolated coffee if it just didn't take so long to brew. It is so much smoother than drip.

 

[wolram]

Thanks Tubo, MoonB.

I will have a look around.

 

[wildman]

Shade grown Colombian is the best in the World if you can find it.

 

[turbo]

You may not prefer the strength of espresso over brewed coffee, but if you do, here's the kind of machine you should be looking for.

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3654066

By the way, you can reduce the amount of coffee in the basket to vary the strength, if you want. Be sure to relieve the steam pressure (using the frothing wand) before removing the basket. Steam is nasty stuff.