Today is apparently the first ever International Coffee Day, which means nothing to me since I’m a non-coffee drinker (please put down those pitchforks). I’m open to becoming a coffee convert so I might as well kickstart my journey on this auspicious day with a bit of research into this brewed drink. Dear LH readers. What’s your perfect cup of coffee?
Coffee picture from Shutterstock
Everybody seems to have an opinion on what makes for a good cup of coffee. It’s a subjective thing but I’ve seen impassioned people debate over everything from what coffee beans should be used, the temperature of the milk (if you put any at all), to what cup it should be served in.
I’ve always been curious about coffee but never really had the compulsion to drink it. I figured I was getting enough caffeine from the copious amounts of Coca-Cola I was consuming. But given that I’ve scaled back on soft drinks recently, I need to find my caffeine fix from other sources, so I might just give coffee a go.
But where do I even start? With a mocha, cappuccino or a concentrated hit of espresso? I’m keen to find out what you think makes for a perfect cup of coffee. There’s no right or wrong answer. Let me know in the comments below.
Comments
22 responses to “What’s Your Perfect Cup Of Coffee?”
All different coffee is great.
Espressos are a great mid morning thought sessions.
Lattes are great in the morning
Aeropress or Syphons in the afternoon.
Cold drip with some sparkling water in summer.
It’s all good. About the only thing I don’t super like is coffee flavoured things as they add too much sugar to them.
I’ve never had a better cup of coffee than a doppio (although i have had bad doppios). Usually if you go to a coffee house and they have “doppio” listed on the menu (rather than double espresso), you know the coffee will be good.
Edit: @spandaslui I always liked long blacks as a good place to start with coffee. All of the flavour, with zero calories.
hate to bust your bubble but most espresso pulls in most cafes are doppio. Doppio refers to the size of the basket the grounds are held in and not some black magic special way of making coffee. for a single shot they just take one stream
You’re right that many places pull 60ml as an espresso for drinks made using espressos. But, I’ve been to plenty of places where ordering an espresso gets you exactly that – 30mls of coffee. Not coincidentally, they are usually the places that put doppio on the menu.
no what i mean is that many places use the doppio basket and put two cups underneath. still the same size shot
http://mrblack.co/
WANT.
I always recommend a Large Cappuccino with 1 sugar for beginners. Not too sweet, not too strong. Otherwise just get yourself a Regular Latte.
Oh, thank you! One of my friends has said Mocha is a good one to start with as well. Will try both! ^_^
You are a mug if you buy cappuccino’s or lattes. All you are doing is buying air, that’s right air. Flat white every time.
Ahaha, “mug”. I see what you did there.
But seriously, buy the thing you want – if you want 60mL espresso and 140mL milk, get your flat white; if you want 60mL espresso and 80mL of milk, some of which has been frothed up, get that. Value is an artificial construct, created by an individual to compare things.
Just like a glass of milk with chocolate flavouring is better value than a milkshake?
The bubbles (not froth) change the texture of the milk to give it a creamy texture and taste – which is why a milkshake tastes ‘better’ than a chocolate milk and a latte tastes ‘better’ than a coffee with warm milk. But ‘better’ is only ‘better’ if you like your coffee creamy – so it is all subjective. But to say you are paying for ‘air’ while factually correct, there is a reason why it is done.
I’m an anomaly so I thought I may as well chime in. I brew my coffee in a percolator at home and can’t stand going out for coffee as no-one else manages to get it right. Such a snob I am.
What gets me through the day is basically a 500ml mug, filled with espresso strength coffee. 3 tablespoons of rapadura (or raw sugar if needs be), chilled overnight in the fridge.
Sweet like coke, but without all the crap they put into it. Not recommended for children or those with low tolerance to caffeine………..
3 tablespoons of sugar?
Start with a half strength, very hot cappuccino, 2 sweeteners or sugars. I was a coffee hater until we bought our own cap machine and now I have it just the way I like it every morning. I find it hard to get the same quality in a coffee shop, it depends on the barista.
I order my coffee at 80 degrees, I cannot stand the luke warm crap that most coffee shops serve. I’ve all the excuses, it burns the milk which is bullshit, milk can be boiled easily, health and safety which is bullshit because they are happy to serve someone boiling water for tea.
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Cold Press ftw!
What’s so good about cold press, by the way? I’ve heard about it but seriously have nfi wtf it is…
It tastes a tad sweeter to me, and has no bitter aftertaste : ) I normally do it overnight on a saturday (soak) and then seep/press and filter on Sunday morning mmm. Usually have it with soy milk or similar.
Find a good local café with good quality beans and a good barista, beanhunter app is a good place to start. Realistically, you probably wont really like coffee too much in the beginning, just like nobody likes wine or beer their first try. Take the time to smell it before drinking, and hell, even start with a couple of sugars and wean yourself off them as you get used to the taste. I love a nice flat white personally. Also don’t get what some places call a “large”, where it’s a bloody huge travel sized monstrosity. It probably has as much coffee as their medium, and the rest is just milk.
Hot. There is nothing worse than a hot drink that isn’t.
I agree with @stubchain.
Always peed off if I’ve asked for hot, and it’s still only luke warm. It’s not like it’s fixable.
I like the coffee that comes from fresh beans and my Aeropress the most, personally.
There is only one rule to live by: Never go to Starbucks, ever! Starbucks may be a big chain, and I am sure it does everything else right, except for coffee.
A lot of great suggestions already mentioned. The local Cafe one is probably best, also try a few different places. I now stick with one little place near our train station because they do a medium (city-large sized) cappuccino for under 4 dollars and it tastes excellent. Also there is nothing wrong with some full cream milk. Skimmed just makes your coffee taste weird, unless you like that sort of thing then have at it of course.
Then once you are comfortable with your choice of coffee, break the only rule of never going to Starbucks and actually go to Starbucks and order the same coffee you do as you would from your friendly local cafe. You may do this only once a lifetime, just to confirm what everyone is saying about Starbucks being the worst place ever to get your coffee, and never venturing there again except for a frappuccino.