Comments on: Waking Up To Coffee

By: Waterford Festival of Food

Waterford Festival of Food — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:02:31 +0000

[...] and Dodo. Brock, an Aussie by birth, is another one of those souls engaged in the business of bringing a better cup of coffee to the Irish punter and, for that, I can only say good on ya, mate. Some very welcome coffee from Badger and [...]

By: Champions Of Coffee

Champions Of Coffee — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:06:22 +0000

[...] all about espresso, he says that what most baristas drink at home is filter coffee, and (as I had learned previously from Karl Purdy of Coffee Angel) there is a real desire to educate people on how to do filter [...]

By: Daily Spud

Daily Spud — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:57:26 +0000

Indeed sorry about the trip Lar but, given the circumstances, happy not to be travelling just at the moment. Hopefully it will just be a postponement (and, who knows, depending on if/when they rearrange it, maybe you’ll be able to take up the invitation to travel yourself). Meanwhile, I’ll continue my coffee education in the capable hands of Karl and Colin.

By: Lar Veale

Lar Veale — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:16:59 +0000

Howya Spud,

sorry to hear about the trip. Hopefully a postponement rather than a cancellation.

I had a similar dénouement when it comes to coffee chez-Colin at 3fe. Always liked my coffee but never thought about it as much as my wine, but it’s essentially the same thing, terroir, processing, drinkin’ – albeit with different effects

By: Daily Spud

Daily Spud — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:45:12 +0000

Tangled Noodle: The more I learn about such things, the more I find there is to know! Karl is a great source of knowledge on the subject, though, so he’s a good teacher to have.

Sophie: Thank you Brussels :)

Jamie: I know, when everything thing else around is so complicated, it feels like a good coffee should be something simple, right? – and it can be, if you know the right places to go :)

Oyster Culture: My day always starts with coffee too :) Re: the packing, as you now know, those plans have gone awry, so will be consoling myself with a (good) coffee here instead (or perhaps something a little stronger)!

Chiot’s Run: Sounds like I should visit and sample Mr. Chiot’s coffee :) And trying out different beans with different brewing methods is definitely an interesting and informative experience – I can highly recommend it.

Keith: You’re waxing fairly lyrical there yourself! Interesting you should ask the fairtrade question, because that is one of the things that came up during the tasting session. Karl’s opinion on same is that fairtrade is a well-intentioned but flawed system – the chief flaw being that it is not necessarily quality-based. He would have more time for the cup of excellence program, which is run in several different countries and which allows both big producers and small to compete annually to be selected as their country’s best coffee for that year. Those who are selected then have the opportunity to achieve premium prices for their beans – they get good prices, we get good coffee.

By: Keith

Keith — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:16:48 +0000

If I could drink coffee like you write…! wonderful wonderful – was this very morning allowing Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink and my penchant for coffee to converge in my imagination, wondering if I could embody a two-second snap judgment on how to change my coffee consumption (along the hotter/cooler, stronger/weaker axes) to improve the whole ‘experience’ (whatever that means!).
Genius, a famous dead physicist I believe once said, is thinking of the answer before you think of the question (I’m cynically paraphrasing to my advantage), so apparently I’ve outsourced my genius to you; in which case I raise a cup of the good stuff to your health! You’ve answered several pressing coffee questions and made me envious of your kitchen (I Presume!!) in one posting!

One question though is how you feel about fairtrade coffees in general?! I await your thoughts with bated (caffeinated) breath..(euw!)…

By: Chiot's Run

Chiot's Run — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:17:44 +0000

Great info. We’ve tried just about all methods for brewing at home. Luckily we have a local guy that roasts his own beans regularly, so freshly roasted – super easy to find (very unusual in rural Ohio). Good grinder – check – invested for a Christmas present several years ago. We’re of the espresso camp, Mr Chiots worked and worked to find the right tamping weight, the perfect grind and the perfect length of time. He’s got it to a fine art and his espresso rivals any good espresso I’ve ever had, and is way better than most coffee houses. It does take time and effort to learn, but once you do, look out – ruins coffee just about everywhere!!!

I would love to do a taste test of different kinds brewed in different ways and at different temps – what a GREAT idea. Perhaps a Sunday afternoon brunch party???

By: OysterCulture

OysterCulture — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:40:04 +0000

To me the day just does not get off to a good start without my coffee. I love th new found information you shared. To the pointer on getting a burr grinder, I definitely agree it makes a difference.

How’s the packing coming for the big adventure?

By: Jamie

Jamie — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:26:14 +0000

Wow! Dizzying! Can’t a girl just get a good cup of coffee? No, seriously, I’d love to try different coffees to see the difference. I personally prefer a perfect cappuccino in an Italian bar….

By: Sophie

Sophie — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:20:11 +0000

Hello Daily Spud!

Brussels calling!! What a superb & very informative & interesting post!

I am learning something new!!