2 Recent Excellent Beverages

[HDPM]

First the non alcoholic one. I have been pondering the problem of lousy office coffee. Generally I make decent coffee at home and try to bring a big cup to work. However that has all kinds of problems. Namely remembering it do it, having a clean travel cup, remembering to bring the mug home, etc.. So I tried buying the to go cups. Better. But still a hassle since I have piles of to go cups clogging my space. And drinking office coffee sucks. It is cheap and rancid. Often people forget to make it so you don't have a cup when you really need it and you are screwed. The big coffeepot at work doesn't work right either so sometimes you get cold nasty coffee that started as cheap rancid coffee. It sucks. But, the office does have a water cooler that has a hot water thing on it. So I began pondering my coffee victimization and what to do about it. And at a nice kitchen store I found a self contained french press/travel mug. It is a metal insulated travel mug thing where the lid has the plunger and you can just drink out of the same lid. Greatest invention sice saran wrap. Two scoops of good coffee hidden in my desk, fill the mug with the hot water, wait just a few minutes, and mash the plunger down for good coffee enjoyment. No cords, filters, long waits for brewing, cold coffee, etc.... I am no longer a victim. Excellent purchase. And my desk has a good coffee odor when I open the part w/ the coffee.


Now the alcoholic beverage. Had a small gathering tonight. First opened was a 1.5 bottle of silver oak cab that I have had waiting for the right occasion. Ooooh it's a crowd pleaser. Soft silky tasty cab. I suppose it could be criticized as being soft or lacking structure or something, but it is a nice wine. We threw out some munchies, bread, proscuitto, capacolla, peppers, cheese etc... and let people attack it. Good and simple. I am a victim of not being able to drink good cab 18 hours a day, and think I should get a cabernet subsidy to support hardworking American winemakers.

[Pocket Trips]

one look at this post and all i can think is no drink can possibly be worth reading all that

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

He had a good cabernet and he has this dohicky coffee press thing at work that lets him make good coffee at his desk and drink it out of the same container.

[HDPM]

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one look at this post and all i can think is no drink can possibly be worth reading all that

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We know. linky linky drinky drinky (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=2390442&page=&view=&s b=5&o=&vc=1)

[nolanfan34]

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one look at this post and all i can think is no drink can possibly be worth reading all that

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You're wrong.

[ThaSaltCracka]

some day I hope I can really appreciate the things you just discussed. I mean, I like coffee and all, especially good coffee, but they way you described it, as well as the wine, reminded me of my parents and their friends, and that is not a bad thing at all.

[Ulysses]

I've been contemplating buying one of those things. Thanks for the review.

What year Silver Oak?

[Phat Mack]

I found a self contained french press/travel mug.

Brand name? Does the coffee stay hot?

[Zeno]

That's two excellent posts you made today. I hope you are not on some sickening Crusade to become a nice person. That would be truly despicable.

I have one of those French press coffee thing-a-ma-jigs. It makes wonderful coffee, always smooth and great tasting with no bitterness - That said, I mostly drink tea. Although since I started my new job, I have started down the slippery slope of becoming a coffee junky.

Le Misanthrope

[HDPM]

2000 alexander valley.

[HDPM]

forget the brand name. I think it was called montana something with some drawing of a mountain on it. Made in China.

Coffee stays hot for a while. It also has a screen thing on the sipping area so you don't get loads of grounds down your throat. Some question whether the coffee at the bottom would get nasty stitting near the grounds for a while. I don't think it does. I suppose it is worse than the first part from the top while it is the hottest, but I have not found it to be a problem.

[HDPM]

I don't know what came over me.

[Rhone]

I could never get good coffee out of a french press. It always tasted too weak for me, but maybe I was doing something wrong. Do you have to use a very fine grind?

[InchoateHand]

For french press you would grind coarser than drip, but shy of percolator. If the water isn't the right temperature, that can also make it bitter/watery.

Good french press coffee is a wonderful thing--I fully agree with the OP. I have a little one cup FP too, which along with work is great to bring when hiking/camping.

[HDPM]

Exactly. The guy at the store I bought it from indicated a medium grind and ground up a 1/2 pound of what he liked in a medium grind. Normally I go with a french roast, but this was a little lighter. I forget the brand he carries in the store.

I normally just buy ground starbucks french roast and make in in a bunn coffee maker at home. I am thinking of getting a good grinder with different settings and grinding at home. The little cheap grinders never worked right for me. I may also get a french press for home. I probably wouldn't use it all the time, because the coffee maker has some advantages, mostly keeping it hot and not having to heat the water. But I may want a grinder that can do both and be able to have french press or drip fresh ground. I need to upgrade my coffee. I let ease (laziness) and convenience hold too much sway over my coffee choices.

[jakethebake]

Anyone tried to new single-serve, self-heating coffees. They're like $2 apiece and supposedly heat the coffee to 145 degrees in like 6 minutes. I think it's Wolfgang Puck or somebody like that putting them out.

[daryn]

http://www.austrianshop.com/shop/images/artikel/113_1_thumb_2.jpg

[Richie Rich]

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For french press you would grind coarser than drip, but shy of percolator.

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Unless you drink a McCoffee each morning, this is common knowledge.


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If the water isn't the right temperature, that can also make it bitter/watery.


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Duh. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif


[ QUOTE ]
Good french press coffee is a wonderful thing--I fully agree with the OP. I have a little one cup FP too, which along with work is great to bring when hiking/camping.

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French press coffee is good. But a well-made espresso-based drink is better several times fold, if you know how to tamp and brew well. The catch is, you need an espresso machine with separate boilers for both the water and steam wand. And the grinder is just as, if not more, important than the machine. The Expobar/Mazzer Mini is a notable combo.