Coffee help please...

Java Sumatra

Don't think I have ever had a cup of coffee that  I liked I will keep trying though.

Purchase a Lurwak / Civet cat off Indonesian Ebay. (make sure they pay the quarantine & p&p)

Suff it in a cage

Feed the tw@t- a mix of fruit & Arabica or Robusta coffee beans.

Retrieve its $hite & rinse - leave to dry

Lightly roast in a Nesco Cr-10 machine

Evenly tamp and the run through a 9 Bar Gaggia

... Works for me. Enjoy.

Morrison's Own Brand does it for me.  2 teaspoons coffee with 2 teaspoons white sugar, half-fill mug with boiled water that has rested for 30 seconds.  Stir in 2 teaspoons of coffee mate.  Job done. ✔  I like it rough and stong.

Or strong, even.

Nescafe Original for me. Tried all these new fangled beans and machines, can't beat a good cup of instant.

Bosch Tassimo - sorted.

cheap coffee, dear me..........

may as well drink hot water with a slice of lemon

if you want instant....get Azera

buy 10 at half price

SUGAR KILLS

Seems to be a leaning towards instant here, but I'm looking for the real deal!

I'm having 'Alcafe' from 'Aldi', as I type, and with added sugar of more than my usual 32 grains,
it is not that bad!

That was in a cafetiere, so I'll make more in my 'stovetop' shortly......

With machines such as 'Bosch Tassimo', are you not restricted to their choice of pods?

If you can also use your own choice, you may as well get a good 14 bar machine!

I always enjoy 'Starbucks' and 'Costa', so is it possible to buy that specific product?

LFV - Tassimo have a wide range of brands including Costa, L'or, Kenco and Cadbury. I buy Kenco XL which is an Americano. I buy three packs for £10 in ASDA. That's 48 cups of good coffee for £10. The Costa one is also very good.

Taylor's 'Hot Lava Java' Strength 6. Delicious.

Tassimo have a wide range of brands including Costa

Yes, I trawled through that lot earlier, but isn't that for use in the 'Tassimo' machine?

I've no intention of buying a machine, when I may as well get a 14 bar one, with a steam frother,
because I otherwise have to froth the milk with my whisk as now!

Yes - for use in the tassimo machine.

Lady Faye, you will only get good coffee from good beans(or good fresh ground), even then, it will be hugely improved by putting it through a decent machine rather than cafetiere etc. A Gaggia classic will do, I'm moving on to a Gaggia Anima cos I use it a lot and there is less fiddling.

one thing i would say Lady Ferret ...   keep the air out   ...seal instant coffee  or just partially  open the inner foil  ...air will ruin the taste quicker than anything and turn a good coffee bad .

grinding fresh beans i find the best of all but way  too much hassle   ...so gold blend it is

Instant here too, but do like a freshly ground cup from time to time.

Over the early years of life I found myself changing coffee constantly, until Gold Blend came along. Used it ever since.

If you want a budget priced ground coffee then try the ASDA Extra Special range.
My favourite of those is the Fairtrade Ethiopian Mocha Limu roast and ground coffee
Of the posher brands then try Lavazza Espresso.
Once opened the pack should be immediately transferred to a tin and kept in the fridge. It will then remain fresh for about 2 weeks.

With regard to costs the Aldi blue packet strength 5 is pretty decent at £1.15 but as someone else said JAVA!

The Taylors Java is only about £3 and lasts me a week.

I did try beans recently but wasn’t convinced they were much better / fresher but I will try again.

I haven’t been to a decent coffee shop retailer for a while but should you pay £2.50 for a Luke warm cup of of Petrol Station coffee then I am sure I wouldn’t  begrudge myself paying extra for something that gives pleasure everyday and lasts longer than a week

I have had Blue Mountain ashley on the Blue Mountains but was not overly impressed. My two favourites were from Whittards, Java Sumatra Blue Lington and Monsoon Malabar from India. I like coffee from Java and Sumatra. I am always happy to try a recommendation

Instant coffee is awful compared to the real thing . Get a proper coffee machine . You don;t need an all singing and dancing but the difference is astounding . Obviously peoples tastes are different but experiment until you find the one you prefer . My machine cost £70 and was one of the best things I have ever purchased. The nearest instant to real is Azeera in my opinion but still nowhere as good as real coffee .

Coffee over-rated imo. Yorkshire tea every day.

However, if after an instant, you can do worse than Douwe Egberts. Very passable.

Costa Latte.. every time does the trick..

Do you take sugar with your cup of coffee? If not, try spooning in a few - 4 or 5 - grains of salt (seriously) and see if you can taste any difference for the better.

Yorkshire tea, lmfao! Made with flood water for improved taste no doubt!

Had coffee in Camden Market once, sold by zealous coffee nerds, they allowed me to have sugar but not milk. Fair enough, still tasted good but...

I'm not a coffee drinker (cocoa person), but I do like the occasional Nescafe Gold Blend Barista (Instant). It's flavoursome; strong but not too strong with or without milk is just as lovely. If at a friend's place in Hackney I'd be given very strong Turkish coffee (in a miniature cup) or Turkish tea - both are lovely.

I've tried the Indian and Javan coffee you mentioned WD and they are pretty good.
I have used an AeroPress for many years and it makes excellent coffee. Cheaper than an espresso machine and no mechanical parts to go wrong.

Coffee always tastes better when someone else makes it.

Well it's not just me then, as when my daughter makes me a coffee at her's, and  I say how good it is, she will say that it's the
same as she's had at mine!!

paulypaul......I just bought Taylors, so will see how it goes....

What I hadn't considered is that of storage and, considering that whilst I've stored all in ex 'Douwe Egberts' jars,
they obviously now need binning!

I put my coffee in the fridge in a sealed tup. I use an on stove steamer called a moka pot!

Yeah, in my recent research I have also seen the advice to keep opened packs in the fridge so have bined a couple that have been in air tight containers for ages and will reuse for new products, and keep in the fridge.

As for 'Moka Pots', I mentioned earlier, I have used both a 'Cafetiere' and a 'Moka Pot', and I just bought a new 9 cup one,
because my current one only makes three cups!

I prefer a small pot enough for one good size cup, bugger everyone else although tbf I live on my own. Coffee should be hot, fresh and not reheated!

Best instant without doubt is Nescafe Azera Americano

Regarding moka pots, boiling water aint very good for fresh ground coffee. Comparing any instant is pointless, totally different end product.

boiling water aint very good for fresh ground coffee.

saddo, what's the source of that advice please?

I have heard that instant should be 'just off the boil'.....

Do not commercial coffee machines, as used by such as 'Starbucks' & 'Costa' and your favourite restaurant, or at home with your 14bar
machine etc, all use boiling water?

They do not, it burns it. Around 96/7 degrees I think, without looking it up.

*and if you do manage to get a crema, it will be thin and short lived.

"2 teaspoons coffee with 2 teaspoons white sugar, half-fill mug with boiled water that has rested for 30 seconds"

Do you really use all that in just a half mug?

Just found a Whittards in Portobello Road. Bought a small bag of Monsoon Malabar for 8 Sovs. It did hurt but they ground it from beans for me and  it tasted pdfg. I only use one pouch of coffee a week but I think it is worth it. Petrol Station coffee is £2.50 a cup so I’d rather make a decent cup of smudge and use a vacuum cup in the chariot.

I have gone from paying £1.15 a bag in Aldi to Java Sumatra for £3 in Morrisons to £8 in Whittards. If I am going to die from the virus I want a decent coffee before I go! FU Covid-19!