The Coffee Thread

[mat]

OK, we have the beer thread and many others, which are all good, but for coffee addicts such as myself, i thought we could use one on the best coffee and coffee products around and where to get them and other hints.

First off, for me, the best coffee is the new brand called THE FIVE ITALIANS. you can only buy from them direct at the moment i think. check out www.the5italians.cn The stuff is GREAT. Seriously, from the moment you grind it (if you use beans) the aroma is awesome. Illy is obviously great coffee, but for me, its now a bit bland. Theres just no kick in it anymore. Lavazza doesn't do much for me either.

Product wise, i have a DeLonghi machine. Nothing special, just about 1200rmb at one of the shopping malls. Does a good job, however, recently i have found that the water pressure coming out of it is very bad. In fact, it's not much more than a drip. has anyone else had this problem? how do you fix it? Is it humidity??

Cafes - Vienna cafe for sure is number 1, but i'm also a big fan of Kommune. They do a great job and you can get a Double black, which comes in a soup bowl size cup.

Anyway, feel free to post other comments on that amazing hangover cure and kickstarter to the day that is coffee.

[hc]

Hmmm. I saw that Da Marco uses 5 Italians and their coffee is pretty good. I dont grind my coffee but will get a machine sooner or later.

Vienna's great. Powerful stuff, well ran joint. Havent been there in a while, but have good memories of their coffee.

Any coffee in town is so different from back home (where we drink it strong as a bullet in the temper) that I can't actually compare, but if I was to say what's the best combination of price, quality, environment and all that, I'd stick with Boona and Vienna cafe.

Jamaica Blue is a pretty well run coffee chain, a full notch above Starbucks and Coffee Bean me thinks. LEt's hope that they keep expanding their presence in town (and bringing back their coupons to this site).

[evblell]

I usually buy my coffee when I visit my family in Mexico. The best coffee of the world. Just wish to have the coffee maker I have back home here.Our coffe maker here was bought at metro and its terrible quality.. When I run out of coffee I buy it at the carrefour, try different ones but nothing has really convinced us. And I have never seen Mexican Coffee here in Shanghai.

[p1atl10]

mat,
A pot in the morning before I shave...always!
Was talking to yu at the Saturday Coffee...he mentioned the 5italians....was going to log on this morning.

How old is the machine?
Might be getting crusted up with minerals.
Run a water/white vinegar soultion (1/3 vinegar) through it...then flush 4 or 5 times with pure water.
The vinegar will dissolve out any mineral deposits.

[mat]

p1atl10 thanks for the tip. Yeah, must be something like that. Will maybe "operate" on it later this arvo.

[louis.terdan]

Back home I would always have around 5-10 different kinds/flavors of beans. My favorite thing was to mix different flavors of beans in the grinder and experiment, sometimes using 3-5 different kinds. Ended up coming up with the most amazing coffee tastes. But here, my maker heats the water too much when perculating and releases acids into the mix that I can't stand so I've just been drinking Nescafe Gold instant coffee in the mornings when I get to work (time in the morning's an issue also). A big step down, but maybe when it cools off I'll get more motivated to do something about it.

[Lordlunchalot]

The grind of your coffee needs to be adjusted for humidity but I cant for the life of me remember which way it goes.
Coffee does absorb some of the water in surrounding conditons which would make me think a courser ground is needed when it is humid. Would explain why now your coffee is coming out at a slow drip, it is all packed too tight, and probibly tastes quite bitter as well?

[hc]

I remember having some memorable cups of coffee in Yunnan....something about the high altitude made the coffee stand out there.

Never been to Vietnam but heard their coffee is the real thing. Anyone confirms that?

[thewalrus]

I have The 5 Italians coffee as I know the lads involved. Good luck to them and I hope it goes well.

As for machines, I use a 3 cup "Bialetti" stove top percolator. It's amazing. I also have one that the lovely Treespirt got for me [electric percolator], and if my memory serves me correctly its a 6 cup. Pity is I dont use it now all that often, but for good quality of coffee the percolator [or "moka" in Italian] must be used at least daily.

[thewalrus]

PS - The Electric Moka is a DeLonghi.

[DragonAss]

... just wondering why instant coffee in China is often sour?? dont tell me b'coz it's China... isnt there any logic why it has to be sour??

[ShanghaiUnderground]

Great thread!

Instant coffee in China is sour because the local water is sour?

Have had Yunnan coffee (at low altitude) and have not been overly impressed.

Have had a lot of Mexican coffee back in the day, and that was pretty ok.

One of the best coffees on the face of the earth must be Douwe Egberts (Netherlands): http://www.de.nl My local hospital back home serves this free in their cafe. When home, I stop by once a week for a fix.

Daily, I make Illy Espresso Fine Grind, Dark Roasted in a Krups Espresso machine that cost approximately US$ 20,000 in American Express reward points. Illy Espresso is great, but I will check out the 5 Italians.

One of the strongest coffees I've ever had was a French roast brew served at a school I went to in France. It was served in bowls, not cups. Became rather addicting, but I don't know the brand. All other French Roasts I've tried suck.

Kona Coffee is good, but overrated.

Tanzania Peaberry is awesome.

Starbucks has become pure shiet, imho.

[louis.terdan]

Hmm, I haven't tasted sourness in my instant coffee, but I haven't tried many different kinds either. It could just be you're getting what you're paying for, but I don't know what you're drinking I can't say for sure. Is this another case of fake fill in the blank?

[DragonAss]

Even my local collagues admitted the diff between coffee they have here and when I brought from overseas as gift for them... well doesnt matter...

[8lrr8]

Anyway, feel free to post other comments on that amazing hangover cure and kickstarter to the day that is coffee.

do u use distilled water? i've heard it's best to use distilled.

[CoffeeHawk_0]

Use distilled or even just bottled water. All the minerals in tap water is what clogs up the plumbing in the coffeemaker, and, they also attach to the heating element this insulating it and lowering the water temperature, which affects the brew quality.

Next time you're in Manabe (smaller sized chain restaurant, everywhere) try the Yunan blend. It's a medium roast, yet light and fresh flavored, and the caffine content is just right for a coffee after lunch. I'm buying a bag of their beans this week and see how it tastes at home.

[GeoffOz]

I think you'll be pleased with their beans, CoffeeHawk. Not bad, nice change. I usually prefer a dark roast with a heavier flavour.

I own just about every contraption that can make coffee [most are dust collectors these days] but I keep finding myself using the good old fashioned Bialetti coffee pot on most mornings. You can tell I was brought up in a wog household.

By the way, does anyone know if it's possible to buy the rubber rings for these coffee pots in Shanghai? The rubber ring [or seal] sits at the bottom of the top part of the coffee pot. I know where to buy them in Oz but won't be there until Christmas.

[CoffeeHawk_0]

^I still don't grind my own beans.....should I?....do I need to really learn how to do it 'right' or just find a grind level that I like?

[thewalrus]

I think you'll be pleased with their beans, CoffeeHawk. Not bad, nice change. I usually prefer a dark roast with a heavier flavour.

I own just about every contraption that can make coffee [most are dust collectors these days] but I keep finding myself using the good old fashioned Bialetti coffee pot on most mornings. You can tell I was brought up in a wog household.

By the way, does anyone know if it's possible to buy the rubber rings for these coffee pots in Shanghai? The rubber ring [or seal] sits at the bottom of the top part of the coffee pot. I know where to buy them in Oz but won't be there until Christmas.

Geoff, let me know he size of your Bialetti and I'll grab you some rings as I'm headed back to Italy next week for a few weeks.

[mat]

^I still don't grind my own beans.....should I?....do I need to really learn how to do it 'right' or just find a grind level that I like?

Definitely have to grind your own, you'll be amazed at the difference, and there is nothing like the smell of freshly ground beans.

I have a little De Longhi grinder, think around 400 or 500 at Isetan, but i actually saw that Moon River Diner at New Factories is selling the exact same (don't think was De Longhi but they are all the same) for a bit cheaper. Well worth the investment.

on my machine that doesnt seem to have any pressure, went back to where i bought it and they gave me the number of their repairer. Will send it in for a full service.

[ashleym]

As the first post in this thread is dedicated to the wonders of the 5 Italians coffee, I was hoping that perhaps one of the management team might be able to shed a bit more light on this coffee.
The website while claiming that they offer the best coffee in China gives little to no information about the actual beans or the roasting process?
Where do the beans come from? ie Yunan? What type of beans are they (arabica or Robusta) What type of roast do the beans get (light, Medium or Dark).
All reports are that this coffee is pretty damn good but for us benders out there a little more info would be even better, cheers

[yu888]

Yeah, their website kinda sucks. And their promo material does too as i did not get much detail on the coffee itself. but the sample kind of spoke for it self for me. Anyhow, I will email the peeps that sent the samples and see what i can come up with, unless anyone else already has it?

[foodcoma]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but can anyone recommend a decent coffee/cappuccino machine I can buy in Shanghai?

[mat]

It's not hijacking, the whole thread is about coffee.

There is a good selection of machines on about level 5 or 6 of SuperCity shopping centre (the one above Jing An Metro station). There are a lot by De Longhi, but it depends on how much you want to spend.

There are also some other brands in iSetan shopping centre.

[CoffeeHawk_0]

^^don't buy the cheapest ones, you need one that can generate sufficient pressure (14psi?) and heat. Don't worry about frivilous features on the coffee machine, look at the pressure rating and wattage and compare that to the price, you'll see the difference.

[Flyingsnow]

HC - you need a Vietnamese coffee maker like this one: http://www.quickspice.com/cgi-bin/SoftC ... ?E+scstore and some dark roast coffee.

As far as the coffee from 5italians - I couldn't get past the web site so I don't think I'll be doing business with them anytime soon.

[foodcoma]

Thanks, mat and coffeehawk. Are there any brand & model that you would recommend, and how much should one expect for a decent one?

[mat]

The minimum you have to spend i think is 1200 to 1500. Even then, it is good for black coffee, but you are probably better off buying a seperate foamer if you want cappuccino. Mine is De Longhi, and it does the job fine.

[foodcoma]

Thanks, mat. Which model of De Longhi would you recommend for good black coffee as well as cappuccino?

[mat]

Mate, the more you can spend the better, that's obviously the rule. Just buy the most expensive you can afford.