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ruthann
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User
Posts: 523
(7/25/01 3:23:13
pm)
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Calling all
coffee-holics
I'm in despair.
I've known for a long time that I don't
tolerate caffeine well, I've just been careful about how much coffee
I drink. I have been sticking to one cup a day. The way I make it,
that's about 4 cups of regular people's brew.
During my
recent vacation on the Oregon coast (did you miss me?) I abandoned
all restraint and ended up pretty sick - sick enough to lay off all
coffee for a few days, suffer through the caffeine withdrawal
headaches, etc. But it seems I've crossed that caffeine tolerance
line permanently. I can't tolerate any now.
Here's where I
need help. I need to find a really good quality decaf. The grocery
store has none, I've tried everything they carry. Where can I get
some good decaf? It'll have to be on the net or mail order, cost not
really a factor, as long as I can have my coffe and my stomache,
too.
cello_suttonr@hotmail.com |
TerryM
Registered
User
Posts: 479
(7/25/01 3:49:32
pm)
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Re: Calling all
coffee-holics
You can get pretty good quality de-caff in bean or fresh ground
form from most specialty coffee stores. I use a dark roast decaff
and mix it half and half with regular coffee. The dark roast gives a
good strong flavor without the caffeine after-effects. Grinding
beans just before brewing and storing the beans in the freezer gives
the best quality brew. Consumer branded pre-ground decaff products
are usually stale by the time you buy them and make pretty dismal
coffee in my opinion. Ask for water processed decaff as well,
sometimes referred to as the Swiss water process. A lot of big name
brands use undesirable organic solvents for the decaffination
process.
Terry
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ruthann
Registered
User
Posts: 525
(7/25/01 4:37:05
pm)
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Re: Calling all
coffee-holics
I appreciate your suggestions, Terry. We do have a local coffee
specialty store, but I've never yet received a non-stale been from
them. I'm currently limping by on Millstone french roast decaf. I
can get that in beans in the grocery store. I do store my coffee in
the freezer.
Having exhausted all local possibilities, I'm
looking afield.
cello_suttonr@hotmail.com |
Bobbie
Registered User
Posts: 544
(7/25/01 4:50:15 pm)
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Re: Calling all
coffee-holics
Starbucks does mail order. They are probably worth a try.
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Laura
Wichers
Moderator
Posts: 1077
(7/25/01 5:47:35 pm)
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Ten bucks says
Justin Kagan knows a good one
(This message was left blank)
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 Steve
Drake
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User
Posts: 396
(7/25/01 8:30:24
pm)
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Community Supporter
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Re: Calling all
coffee-holics
There's no such thing as decaf coffee.
My MP3's
My Cello
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vlcgirl
Registered User
Posts: 49
(7/25/01 9:56:45 pm)
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Oxymoron
Though in my opinion, caffinated is the only way to have coffee...
I would recommend Peet's Coffee and Tea for all your hot beverage
needs. Their web address is www.peets.com (I think). When the coffee
arrives, grind about 6 or tablespoons to a very fine powder (for
stronger flavor). Make it in a french press pot with water that is
steaming, but not boiling (this will scorch the flavorful oils of
the beans). Stir, then steep for 3 minutes, then press and pour. (If
you already knew how to use a french press, sorry...) Also, try not
to store coffee in the freezer, but in a cool or room temp location.
This is the cafe I go to every day for my coffee; often more
than once a day. it is THE best. BTW: Peet's used to be just in the
Nor Cal area, but I hear they just opened one up in Chicago last
year...why don't you Chicagoans hit KK and then try it
out?
Good luck with your quest. Let me know how it turns out.
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Mongkol
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Registered User
Posts: 62
(7/26/01 4:56:09 am)
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PEETS!
Seven years ago when I stayed in Baltimore, I always mailordered
from PEETS ( http://www.peets.com/
). They have very good decaf.
At that time they said they roasted
the beans freshly after receiving order. I could only knew that
coffee beans I got smelled very freshly and although
sealed,
everybody in the apartment knew when my coffee arrived in
my mailbox.
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sarah
schenkman
Registered
User
Posts: 441
(7/26/01 7:14:45
am)
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Starbucks
Their regular french roast is good and I think it comes in decaf
too.
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justinkagan1
Registered
User
Posts: 411
(7/26/01 9:09:16
am)
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Yeah, JK puts
his 2 beans in
Seems like I'm living on the java edge these last few weeks with a
lot of commuting up to play Cosi fan Tutte in the Berkshires. I'm
beginning to take pity on all you West Coasters who don't have many
options after Charbuck's and Peet's, which yes, I too once thought
passed for coffee. After being in Italy and experiencing the real
thing (never more that 6 shots of espresso tutti gli giorni) I
decided that home roasting was the only way to capture the magic,
and have been quite delighted and juiced ever since (actually drink
far less coffee now that the quality is outstanding...espresso
drinkers know that there is proportionately less caffeine in a shot
since the grounds aren't exposed to water for as long). It's a nice
obsession, admittedly, and the aromatherapy of roasting is quite a
delectation. I got my roaster for about $110 from http://www.sweetmarias.com,/
where the purveyor, Tom, is a true fanatic and offers an incredible
selection of green beans...the distinctions are mind-numbing on
single-origin coffee, as varied as instruments and bows. The honest
best commercial mail-order roaster co. in my experience is
Barrington Coffee Roasting in Great Barring ton, Mass (http://www.barringtoncoffee.com)....friends/
Barth and Greg are true mayvens. I'm actually doing my first cupping
with them tomorrow afternoon. You should check them out...try the
current special offering, a Costa Rican Doka Estate, which I believe
they're selling for $6.65 a pound plus shipping, but their
Barrington Gold (espresso) is excellent for the mud crowd, as well
as the Sulawesi (sheeit, they're all good). Really blow away the
over-roasting companies named above. Shame on them. Also can include
Torrefazione Italia on the to-avoid list, though they do purvey
beautiful imported espresso cups from Deruta, It. But you won't
believe the difference real freshness makes...not to mention
subtleties. If you plunge with Sweet Maria's, try their Kenya AA
Eegads (when it's next available, current crop is sold out), Yemeni
Mocha Sana'ini, SM Monkey Blend Espresso, and Organic Guatemalan
Huehuetenango, for starters! Enjoy....
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bridge
Registered
User
Posts: 151
(7/26/01 9:40:40
am)
Reply
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Re: Calling all
coffee-holics
Shoot. Starbuck's isn't the best, but they're pretty darn good,
especially if you get the right blends.
I can't remember the
decaf we get. Sometimes just house blend. For the caf I like to get
Italian Roast. (One down from Espresso.)
I'm pretty sure they
have Decaf Espresso. I would think that you couldn't get a stronger
decaf than that.
I've ground espresso roast to put through my
mister coffee. It'll work.
I know you can get mail order
Starbuck's on the net. Give it a try.
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Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
Posts: 364
(7/26/01 9:57:11
am)
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Another one of
my favorite subjects
There are certainly some real coffee experts here - that's
great.
Ruthann, I too gave up regular coffee some 20 years
ago - but a few years later I took it up again - for health reasons,
believe it or not.
Only recently. I've reduce my morning cup
from about 16 ounces to only 200 ml (that's the way my beaker
measures the water - about 7 oz. I've found that the coffee maker I
use has a big influence on flavor. A pump espresso maker - carefully
metered to eliminate the final bitter fraction and then diluted with
hot water makes a good Cafe American - that is smooth (unfortunately
my pump espresso maker broke last year and the company is out of
busines - so the machine went to the dump). For a long time I just
used a regular Braun or Krups pot - but they make a more bitter
coffee (with more caffine) than the Salton (two sider) I am now
using. The left side is an 8-cup electric drip, the right side is a
steam espresso. (Steam espresso is really pretty bad because the
pressurized steam is too hot, and you have to stop the process with
only about an ounce of water or it gets too bitter). The Salton
makes better cups of coffee than any other pot in the house. It is
also important to use paper filters instead of gold - since the
former do absorb coffee oils that are reported to otherwise raise
one's colesterol.
The different coffee brands seem to have
different caffine levels - based on my nervouse systems response to
them. Peets, for example, seems to me to generally be quite low in
caffine - and until one gets used to it seems to be truly "charred."
Much of the Starbucks I have had seems higher in caffine. For a good
deal on "storebought" prepackaged coffee, I think CostCo does well
with both their "Starbucks" package and their San Francisco Bay
Coffee Company roasts. I only use dark coffees - and they can be
brewed much stronger and still have good flavor than can ligher
roasts.
Nowadays I tend to mix my brands of coffee, after I
grind it, indiscriminately in jars so I never know for sure what the
next jar of coffee will taste like. If I want it a little more
charred, I'll ad some more Peets. (The mixing habit derived from
attempts to clean my larder of some nondescript blends I had
acquired at "bargain" prices.)
The key to getting decent
flavor from the decaffinated versions of the coffees, in my opinion,
is to carefully select the maker you use and the strength of the
brew. In my opinion a French Press makes as good tasting coffee as
you can get because you can completely control the brewing
temperature and time - but it is then a good idea to filter it to
get rid of the oils, that are even present in decaf coffees. Like
working with different strings - or bows - it takes some
experimenting, ut it is a lot cheaper than with the musical
instrument.
My experience with some fresh roasted "Italian
Coffee" in a Paris shop was that they mixed Aribica and Robusto
beans and got a rougher taste (and more caffine) than one tends to
get with some Aribicas alone - of course it was also a very dark,
but not over-charred roast. I brought home half a kilo, but that was
7 years ago and it is long gone.
Andy
P.S. Ruthann, if
you do come up to the Bay Area to experiment with the great
collection of coffees available, be sure to bring your cello (or you
could borrow one of mine) - and give me a call.
|
ruthann
Registered
User
Posts: 526
(7/26/01 12:52:09
pm)
Reply
|
Re: Another one
of my favorite subjects
Hey Andy, I did drive by on my way up to the Oregon coast. I
mentally waved as we passed the San Rafael exit on
101.
Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I've tried
Starbucks decaf, but the flavor is a bit odd. Perhaps, as Terry
suggests, it's from the chemicals they use to de-caffinate. I'll
check out the offerings from Peets and Barringtons.
I make
my coffee with a Mileta plastic filter holder that fits over a mug,
and use brown paper filters and hot, not boiling water. I've been
using about a pound a week, making myself just one mug a day, so you
can imagine what kind of mud I prefer.
Being an engineer, I
often get caught up in weird theoretical calculations (its an
occupational hazard), like how long it would take to cool a
watermelon in a refrigerator. I tried to do a calculation once on
how much coffee would be a lethal dose, using some basic math and
some numbers from a dictionary (yes, I was at work at the time) and
came up with the answer 1/2 cup! Poor math skills notwithstanding,
I'm proof that it takes a lot more than that.
Thanks for all
the suggestions!
cello_suttonr@hotmail.com |
bridge
Registered
User
Posts: 153
(7/26/01 2:36:03
pm)
Reply
|
Re: Another one
of my favorite subjects
Bravo! I too am an engineering cellist. I too and am using company
time to ponder this banality. However, I start a new job in three
weeks and I'll have to cool the time wasting, at least for a while.
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GlenC
Registered User
Posts: 13
(7/26/01 8:43:37 pm)
Reply
|
Re: Calling all
coffee-holics
Peet's is fanatical about quality. They ship it out the same day
it's roasted. Their's is a pretty dark roast, but not charred. They
are worthy. They also plan to expand into Seattle, starting by
selling through Larry's Markets. BTW, they're one of the original
gourmet roasters, predating Starbuck's.
Starbuck's seems to
be erratic. It's better than most, and sometimes truly excellent.
But there's no way to tell what quality you're going to get from day
to day. However, I've heard that for mail order they too send it
freshly roasted, and that it tends to be markedly better than what
you get in their stores.
I can't speak for any of their
decafs, as I understand their futility.
Re: caffeine, higher
quality beans tend to have much less than, say, Folger's et. al. I
seem to recall that darker roasting also reduces caffeine, but don't
take my word for it.
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Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
Posts: 366
(7/27/01 10:05:48
am)
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|
Peets and
concentrated coffee
Ruthann,
In my experience, the Peet's coffees stand up
better to high concentrations than anything else I have tried. I
just had a free cup of their decaf in SF last evening as I waited
for them to grind a pound of their regular "Major Dickason" for me.
I think Peet's decafs are fine, not unlike their regular
brews. My son-in-law brew up pots of major thickness after family
dinners (both my daughters adn their families all live
nearby.)
I do apologize for having my coffee ground in the
store - but it is faster and less messy than doing it at
home.
With all the clues receved here I may soon start to
self-roast, something I've wanted to do for years. Naturally, local
roasteries do not tend to offer raw beans or roasting
equipment.
Andy
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