Bad Coffee 4

[KENAT]

OK, a bit of a stretch for a serious "Obstacle Getting My Work Done Forum" but what is with the bad coffee? I'm here late trying to get stuff done and the coffee aint helping.

The coffee itself is supposedly a fairly reputable brand, Peets.

However, whenever I get a cup it tastes awful. 5 little containers of half & half and it's barely paletable. I had about the best cup I've had in months today, I got through almost half of it before I couldn't take the taste anymore.

Only good thing about the coffee is it's free.

I'll admit I'm not much of a Coffee drinker, much prefer hot tea with cow juice being a Brit originally (I know a lot of Brits like coffee & it's a stereotype but work with me here). In fact I'd be drinking tea but my milk went off. However, I've heard other mutterings about the issue.

So anyone else have this problem, anyone fixed it?

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[ajack1]

Any Brit who drinks coffee deserves all they get, if you must drink coffee get a job in France, Germany or Italy.;-)

 

[YoungTurk]

Coffee here comes in little un-labeled foil packs, and I'm convinced its sawdust with food coloring and caffeine. It is one of the necessary things for getting my work done, though!

I have found a solution though - a small hand operated burr grinder and french press. It gets a lot of comments, and it takes some time, but it makes all the difference on the cold winter mornings before dawn. And it can be a nice little ritual at that.

Another solution, largely dependent on your office personnel and setup, is to start a coffee pool. Take turns bringing in a pound of something decent. Eventually failed here though, lots of drinkers with just a few coffee bringers. People also have greatly varied ideas about what good coffee is. I can hardly drink some of the artificially flavored schtuff.

 

[PSE]

Ah caffeine, the fuel for engineers.

The equipment (yes it should be cleaned and maintained once in a while) and the skill of the individual making the coffee has a significant effect. We do the coffee pool thing here and the unwritten rule is if you finish the carafe (pot) you make the next one. Some people use a level scoop of coffee, some a heaping scoop, and some not even a full scoop based upon their particular taste.

I also keep a reserve of tea or instant coffee at my desk. If the "bulk" stuff is unpalatable at the moment, time to hit the reserve.

One thing I have noticed is that the younger generation of engineers seems to prefer their caffeine in with a carbonated solution of corn syrup and water with various flavorings. Some around here have never used a coffee machine.

Regards,

 

[737eng]

Make sure the coffee is fresh and not outdated by a year and make sure the coffee maker is clean. Also, the water has a big deal with how the coffee tastes. I didn't believe that the water made a big difference at first, but it was proved to me one day. First pot brewed was with filtered water - excellent. Second pot brewed was with water right out of the tap (which I drink everyday) and it definetly had a bad taste.

 

[GregLocock]

I also vote for a cafetierre (aka french press) and a foil pack of preground.

I actually double vote for my long time friend Irene and a double long black... but not many offices can afford their own professional coffee bar. (Actually at 3 bucks a pop option A looks far more sensible).

Anyway, few things in life can be modified so easily

Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[monkeydog]

When at the office I can only down one cup a day. When I am at home I can kill a pot in 2 hours (before my wife wakes up).
I think it has to do with the environment.

 

[oldfieldguy]

Ah, coffee! After running around petrochemical facilities on the Louisiana Gulf Coast for the last thirty years, I've tasted some very bad coffee. And some pretty good coffee.

One memorably good pot was found in a 1950's vintage steam turbine generating station. When I commented on it, the old operator revealed that his secret was to brew with water drawn from the turbine's condensate sample port.

Of late, I buy specialty beans, roast them myself, and brew a thermal travel mug full before I leave for work every morning. I have spoilt myself to good coffee this way.



old field guy

 

[MadMango]

5 little containers of half & half

You need to learn to drink your coffee straight-up.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the be

 

[COEngineeer]

I use internet surfing to keep me awake. So I wont need coffee.

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[ykee]

I vote for french press -- I also use something similar at home, it's an aerobie press, kind of wierd, but makes fantastic coffee

http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm

Anyway, bring in your own coffee & some kind of press. AND drink your coffee black. The half & half just dilutes it.

 

[ewh]

I've always felt that creamer in coffee is like steak sauce on steak... it is used to improve an inferior product.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - [small]Thomas Jefferson [/small]

 

[KENAT]

Ajack, I think you're right, the solution is just to manage my milk inventory better.

(Just 'cause I've turned the notification off don't mean I'm not interested in any more responses, just don't want my inbox clogged for coffee.)

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[ykee]

Kenat -- you don't want your inbox clogged up for coffee? Where are your priorities, without good coffee, how can you get any work done??

 

[casseopeia]

French press and bring your own ground coffee. Personally, I don't like Peets, no matter how fresh or carefully made. I think it tastes like liquid cow dung.

BTW, if you need a coffee creamer that can make the best of the old rot gut in the office, I highly recommend this one

http://www.coffee-mate.com/products/CoconutCremeLiquid.aspx

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[btrueblood]

Start with the water - high alkalinity or hardness (esp. calcium), chlorine or dissolved solids makes a lousy tasting brew. Normal chlorine content in city water usually gets boiled out, but if it's bound to +ions, you get salt - yech. Buy bottled water for the coffeemaker if you have hard water in your area (and most areas do). If you use a french press and boil the water on a stovetop kettle, rinse the kettle daily and put fresh water in.

Clean brewing equipment and container, but if you use a detergent, rinse the bejebus out of it when you are done. A little vinegar or lemon juice and a second rinse helps cut any soap scum too. Nothing worse than soapy coffee.

Fresh beans. The foil pouches delivered here at work are nice.

I prefer drip, thru a paper filter. The foil filters are ok, but leave a sludgy grounds residue. French press coffee, again, can be ok, but to me typically tastes weak. But, I was raised on percolator coffee, and in hunting camp, boiled coffee with the grounds settled with crushed eggshells.

Don't leave coffee in the pot on the heating element, you are just boiling the coffee down to an oily sludge. At home and here at work we have the brewers that drip straight into thermos flasks. Buy an airpot if your coffeemaker is the type with a glass carafe, and pour the freshly made coffee into the thermos, rinse the carafe, turn off the coffee maker, and clean/rinse the grounds container immediately.

 

[KENAT]

ykee, it's called tea, you know the stuff certain colonials throw in the harbour;-).

For the first year or so I was here I managed to drink it more as I didn't have a good way of storing milk but for the last 18 mths or so we've had a little fridge in our area and I've mainly been drinking tea. Maybe that's the problem, my tolerance to bad coffee has gone down;-)



KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[COEngineeer]

Have you guys been to a vietnamese restaurant? They sell those little espresso filter metal thing at asian markets for less than $5. You can just put ground coffee, press it, put hot water on top. Your own personal coffee!

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

 

[HgTX]

Supposedly a little salt sprinkled over the top of the coffee in the Mr. Coffee filter basket before brewing keeps it from getting bitter.

But don't trust me; I hate coffee. I bought an electric kettle for the tea and cocoa drinkers in the office. (Also good for non-nukable imported ramen soup.)

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[cvg]

Coengineer - and the Vietnamese drink cat coffee also - yuck!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak