Coffee

[umslopogaas]

Coffea arabica, which produces the best coffee, needs a relatively cool mountain climate. As global warming increases, those cool areas will be pushed higher up the mountains, with the inevitable reduction in area. Coupled with ever increasing demand, that is likely to push up prices. Alternatively, we will have to get used to drinking coffee made from Coffea canephora (robusta coffee) or Coffea liberica (liberica coffee) which thrive in lowland climates. Robusta coffee is "more neutral in cup quality and has not such a good aroma as C. arabica." It is "extensively" used in instant coffee. Coffea liberica has a bitter taste and in 1968 when my book was published accounted for less than one percent of global production.

Incidentally, I have drunk instant coffee in various countries and if you think the stuff sold here is rather nasty, you should try a cup of Pablo in Papua New Guinea. Yuk!

[jayne lee wilson]

Interesting about the mountain climate. My current favourites are Café Direct Kilimanjaro and Macchu Picchu, the latter described as "high-grown organic arabica" so no wonder it tastes good. Pretty fussy about (and hopelessly dependent on for daily restoration of compos mentis) my coffee but I've stuck with these two (the African one usefully lighter & tangier) for some time...
I like to take two cups into the garden wth a smaller one of Yeo Milk alongside, to sip separately....

[teamsaint]

Ok, can't be bothered to read through 29 pages without a double espresso, so I'm all ears for recommendations.
I'm a rank amateur at coffee, but have decided re commission the cafetiere, and could do with suggestions for ground or beans , supermarket price, kind of medium stength, but needs to be cool and name droppable , obviously,as I may have a high level do to attend soon, and may need to make small talk .

In other words, for suggestions, not the kind of thing that Thropplenoggin would buy .

[Richard Barrett]

I love coffee. I make it with an espresso pot on the stove (Illy for preference) though it certainly is better when it comes out of a big expensive machine with dials and tubes and stuff. It's also better from one of those capsule devices but I can't bring myself to buy such a wasteful piece of gear. If I can't get good coffee, as on planes, trains and hotel breakfasts, I can make do with crap coffee because if I don't get it I'm useless at everything. Yesterday I spent some time at a good café, followed by some time visiting a friend who has a highly sophisticated machine, and drank so much I didn't get to sleep until 3am which completely spoiled my day today, but it seemed worth it at the time.

[Bryn]

I love coffee. I make it with an espresso pot on the stove (Illy for preference) ...

Which Illy though:

[french frank]

needs to be cool and name droppable , obviously,

I buy Coop Fair Trade - Ethiopian at the moment. On Sundays I use a small stove pot but during the week (several times a day) I use a metal gadget that stands on top of the cup like a mini filter. I bought a couple in Paris when I was a student and people seem to have forgotten all about them now (though you can get similar plastic things: I think you throw them away when they've been used once). It's a lighter, cleaner taste than the cafetière, which I prefer.

[teamsaint]

I buy Coop Fair Trade - Ethiopian at the moment. On Sundays I use a small stove pot but during the week (several times a day) I use a metal gadget that stands on top of the cup like a mini filter. I bought a couple in Paris when I was a student and people seem to have forgotten all about them now (though you can get similar plastic things: I think you throw them away when they've been used once). It's a lighter, cleaner taste than the cafetière, which I prefer.

Ah, now that sounds a good call.
My kids bought me a Nespresso machine for Xmas, ( I know, I know) mostly so that they could use it when visiting I suspect, but it has got me a bit into taking more notice of what I am drinking, and actually a "Cafepod ethiopian" ( Waitrose ?) has been one of my favourites.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Which Illy though

Regularilly.

[teamsaint]

Regularilly.

He seems to just drink it Willy nilly.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

He seems to drink it Willy nilly.

Which is the exact oppos[Self Modded! ]

[teamsaint]

Which is the exact oppos[Self Modded! ]

Can you Mod stuff anywhere then?
I thought you just did the obscure modern music bit?

Anyway, I've lost the thread of this thread.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Can you Mod stuff anywhere then?

[teamsaint]

Got to love the L Plate.......

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Got to love the L Plate.......

[Alain Maréchal]

Neither cool nor name-droppable, but I use a Melitta filter machine, with a thermos jug rather than a heated baseplate (which stews the taste). Melitta seems to have ceased to produce coffee in favour of the accessories. I use filter-fine coffee from those reliable Netherlanders Douwe Egbert, sold in France as Ma Maison. The best Netherlands coffee, as any will tell you, was produced by Van Nelle, who were purchased by their rivals DE and promptly shut down. I think vN may have been my favourite of all time, DE comes close, but not quite close enough.

- and we've been here before, but I use Koffiemelk, know to the British as evaporated milk.