Non-coffee drinker wanting to start; what do the experts recommend?

March 06, 2019, 07:56 PM

Sig Sauer Kraut

quote:
Originally posted by SIGfourme:
Basic definitions
Americano= Expresso diluted with hot water
Expresso=strong black coffee made by forcing steam thru ground coffee beans
Cappuccino= Expresso based with steamed milk foam
Latte=Expresso with lot of hot steamed milk
Macchiato=Expresso with a dash of frothy steamed milk
Mocha= chocolate flavored variant of latte

So, European coffee is much stronger than American coffee. A coffee aficionado will gravitate towards Expresso. Expresso is a very small small amount of coffee.
For a noob- start with American coffee. Coffee with a little cream to balance the flavor , reduce the bitterness. Coffee has caffeine, which the coffee drinkers crave. Expresso is shots of caffeine. Start with “Fresh” coffee- MacDonalds is a good start. Milk, cream, half and half to balance the flavor.
This is a start. You don’t want the “burnt” taste - avoid leftover coffee, sitting in the pot for hours.
That’s all I got. Good luck.

Espresso.

Back to OP’s question, I recommend finding a third wave coffee shop in the nearest metropolitan area. Any shop that roasts their own, offers pour overs and uses a scale to weigh the grounds and the espresso extraction is like a third wave coffee shop. You’re likely to get darn good coffee there so you can see if you like coffee without a bunch of extras first.

March 06, 2019, 07:56 PM

vthoky

Maybe I've become a coffee snob, or maybe the stuff has gotten a lot better since the last time I tried it, but these recommendations toward instant coffee are just baffling to me!

Why in the world would we subject a coffee-n00b to the horrors of instant coffee? Let's instead go with the good advice offered here such as "find Kona."

My goodness, y'all!

- - -

To the OP: I don't know where in NC you are, but I cross that state occasionally.
I'd gladly help search out a good coffee shop in your area and buy you a cup sometime if you're on my path.

March 07, 2019, 12:34 PM

Pipe Smoker

quote:
Originally posted by SIGfourme:
Basic definitions
Americano= Expresso diluted with hot water
Expresso=strong black coffee made by forcing steam thru ground coffee beans
Cappuccino= Expresso based with steamed milk foam
Latte=Expresso with lot of hot steamed milk
Macchiato=Expresso with a dash of frothy steamed milk
Mocha= chocolate flavored variant of latte
<snip>

Also, there are these:

Lungo – an espresso with more water run through the grounds. Unlike an Americano, which has water added after brewing.

Ristretto – an espresso with less water run through the grounds.

March 07, 2019, 12:41 PM

TMats

Dear mojojojo,
You asked for it.

Your friend,
T

March 07, 2019, 12:47 PM

erj_pilot

quote:
Originally posted by Sig Sauer Kraut:
Espresso.

THANK YOU!!!!

For the OP:
Whatever coffee you choose, you can't go wrong by making it a little "Irish" with a shot of Bailey's Irish Cream.

"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24

March 07, 2019, 12:57 PM

mojojojo

quote:
Originally posted by TMats:
Dear mojojojo,
You asked for it.

Your friend,
T

So I did!

I guess finding the right coffee for an individual is kinda like sex...you have to experiment a lot to find out what you really like.

March 07, 2019, 01:08 PM

dog44

I like 8 O'clock Original.

March 07, 2019, 01:10 PM

smschulz

Just add a little Jameson. some cream and bit of brown sugar.

March 07, 2019, 01:17 PM

TMats

quote:
Originally posted by mojojojo:
quote:
Originally posted by TMats:
Dear mojojojo,
You asked for it.

Your friend,
T

So I did!

I guess finding the right coffee for an individual is kinda like sex...you have to experiment a lot to find out what you really like.

Hadn’t really thought of it that way, but hey...

. Go drink some coffee, before this goes clear off the rails and down a dirt road