Tips for a newbie?

Jimmy Bottlehead

Hey all.

Picked up an Aeropress at Christmas, never drank coffee before that but the girlfriend talked me into it.

Anyways, I've been enjoying it since then, but find that it needs a fair amount of milk, and also at least 1.5 sugars, if not 2 teaspoons.

Can't help but think it's a waste of coffee

Anyways, any tips on how to appreciate it more? Took a sip of espresso, was very strong indeed. Also popped into 3FE yesterday, got a latte, but again had to pop in 2 sugars to make it enjoyable.

keane2097

If you just drink it black repeatedly you won't want it any other way after a while. Even half way through a cup you'll find yourself enjoying it more and more.

That's how it started for me anyways.

Then again, it's all about how you like it yourself.

Fajitas!

How are you brewing your Aeropress?

Are you grinding it yourself or what grind are you using? How much coffee in the Aeropress? How long do you brew for and how fast/hard are you pressing down on it when you're pouring?

It'd be worth popping back in to 3FE and watching the guys make an Aeropress and try to match up to their brewing techniques (Everyone's a little bit different, but you'll get an idea).

If you get a real sweet coffee, you might not need any sugar in it, then it's only a matter of trying to get used to not having milk in it. But if you end up enjoying it most with milk and sugar, stick with that

Jimmy Bottlehead

Fajitas! wrote: »

How are you brewing your Aeropress?

Are you grinding it yourself or what grind are you using? How much coffee in the Aeropress? How long do you brew for and how fast/hard are you pressing down on it when you're pouring?

It'd be worth popping back in to 3FE and watching the guys make an Aeropress and try to match up to their brewing techniques (Everyone's a little bit different, but you'll get an idea).

If you get a real sweet coffee, you might not need any sugar in it, then it's only a matter of trying to get used to not having milk in it. But if you end up enjoying it most with milk and sugar, stick with that

I popped onto the HasBean site last night, and my girlfriend used their inverted method this morning. We also used some HasBean coffee we bought in 3FE.

Oddly, my girlfriend used less sugar in it, and only told me after. Coffee seemed milder

I guess I see the amount of detail and interest people take from coffee, and I feel like I should appreciate good coffee, or at least be able to tell what's good and what's not
At the moment, it feels almost like you could throw any coffee at me and I'd not be able to tell the difference.

But thanks! Hopefully it'll come with time.

keane2097

It definitely will come with time. Like I said, if you just make a commitment to drink it black (if that's how you want to end up) then you'll actually acquire the taste for it surprisingly quickly if my experience is anything to go by.

triseke

keane2097 wrote: »

It definitely will come with time. Like I said, if you just make a commitment to drink it black (if that's how you want to end up) then you'll actually acquire the taste for it surprisingly quickly if my experience is anything to go by.

Thats how I got drinking black coffee. Really didn't want to add sugar to it, and the milk just made it cold, so just started drinking it black. Tastes delish now

Mrs Fox

Funny, it's the completely opposite for me -- when I started drinking coffee I took 3 sugar and loads of milk in the beginning. Then slowly reduced the amount of sugar spoon by spoon, followed by omitting the milk later. As far as I can remember it took me a good 5 years before I went black.

The Toff

I guess it depends on the coffee. Most americanos have a lot of robusta, and generally taste burned and bitter. It's tough going, so it makes sense that people would cut it with milk and sugar. A properly extracted filter brew is pretty mellow in comparison, and is much easier on the palette. Even a nice, fresh, well made espresso will be really sweet more often than not. Even if you're brewing your own stuff, you might be under or over extracting, which would also probably require milk, sugar, or just updosing the coffee to make things drinkable.

Adolf Hipster

Once you go black, you'll never go back.

ntlbell

Maybe you just don't like coffee?

It's not a huge problem, drink something else

Jimmy Bottlehead

Oddly enough, I've switched to black coffee the past 4-5 days... not sure why, decided to see how it'd taste a few days ago and it was nicer than I thought!

Success!

sealgaire

Adolf Hipster wrote: »

Once you go black, you'll never go back.

Dude , that is SO GAY!