I'll do instant coffee, but only if it's the only coffee available. Every brand and style of instant coffee I've ever tried was not much more than swill.

I just saw an episode of History channel's Modern Marvels about coffee. After talking about how we make our coffee in this thread, it was interesting.

One of the first things I learned, I already knew. One of the reasons American coffees taste bitter is because most Americans would prefer to pay less for a cup of coffee than to have a better tasting coffee, so most American coffees are made from the cheaper Robusta beans instead of the better quality Aravica beans. About the only good thing that can be said for Robusta beans is that they have more caffine in them than the Aravica beans do. How much more they didn't say.

The next thing I learned was that the French Press was the most popular and considered by many to be the best way to make coffee, and that the old percolators that were popular before automatic drip machine took over is probably the worst way to make coffee because it keeps rebrewing the coffee, over and over again, until you remove it from the heat and remove the grounds basket from it.

They never said what they thought of or how they rated the automatic drip machines. Pity. Since I have and use one, I'd would have liked to know.

Well, this thread is from a few months back...I brought it back from the dead because this seemed the most appropriate place to post this.

While perusing Amazon today, not looking for anything, just wasting time, I ran across this product and had to laugh. It is a one pound bag of coffee beans that is described as being the world's strongest coffee and is called Death Wish. Gee, I wonder how much caffeine it has.

@Dark

Just out of curiosity, was there a particular reason why you chose a French press coffee maker over all the other types available?

Matt 1211 might both have opinions on this one, as we are both thinking of buying it... at least, once I recover from travel expenses!

No, the french press doesn't heat water by itself. But I agree with what the other two have said... there is more subtle nuance in the flavour of the coffee produced by the french press, and you can have some control over how much of that flavour you want to bring out by letting it sit longer or for shorter time.

Bringing this topic back.. because you can never have too much discussion about coffee! Looking for a tip.

I'm looking into a hand grinder, as I'd like one for travel that's not electric. I'm looking at some of the hario grinders to compliment with my french press, as they seem to be popular choices... however, I'm wondering if anyone here has suggestions for a grinder which allows you to tell how much coffee you've ground in measurements of either cup or gram with some sort of tactile marking in the grind chamber? Also, as a relative grasshopper when it comes to coffee, what is commonly meant by a, quote, cup of coffee? As in, the measurements you get from grinders or recipies which ask you to add a cup or measure out such and such amount of coffee? If a grinder says three cups of coffee are able to be held in the chamber, does that mean the amount of grinds can brew three cups worth of decent coffee, or something else?

Although cup sizes vary, I think I remember reading somewhere that officially a cup of coffee is considered to be six ounces, which leaves a little room left over, in an eight ounce cup, for creamer, if you want it.

My father said that he likes to use coffee beans and grind them himself because he thinks it gives him better tasting coffee, to that end I was looking at coffee grinders on Amazon, and the most popular one seems to be a hand grinder made by Coffee Gator. However, since I haven't bought a grinder yet, I can't tell you if it has any kind of markings in the bean cup. Even if it did, since cup sizes vary, I'd just use trial and error to figure out how much beans for one cup of coffee, and go from there.

Besides, forgetting that cup sizes vary, you might prefer a stronger or weaker coffee than any markings in the bean cup would make.

Has any one tried those Death Wish coffee beans? If so, I'd be curious to hear what you though of them.

The markings in the coffee grinder would be a good place to start, but remember that they are just meant to be a guide to get you started.

I haven't made the switch to grinding the beans myself yet, but with everyone I've talked to saying that it produces better tasting coffee, I more than likely will switch soon.

I don't do coffee myself, but heard a lot of good in regards to death wish.

I will probably be getting a grinder and those Death Wish beans in a couple of months when my current supply of preground coffee begins running out.

But I am not yet willing to give up my drip coffee maker, having to heat water separately just sound like a pain in the ass to me.

That sounds like a pod machine, and while pods may be convient, they are pricey when compared to just beans or ground coffee.