Interesting coffee convo this morning....

[beninma]

The thing about caffeine and light/dark roast is controversial.

If you measure the same volume of ground beans light vs dark to make your coffee it’s true. But that’s largely just because the darker beans are a lower density. You’re actually using less coffee with the dark roast.

If you’re measuring your coffee with a scale as a lot of enthusiastic coffee people do you don’t get this effect.

When you’re filling an espresso porta filter the density difference can be pretty noticeable. Say I weigh 15g of beans, with a dark roast the basket is 3/4 full, with a light roast maybe it’s 1/2 full.

Scotch and Whiskey and Wine obviously have all these fascinating aspects too just like beer and coffee. But tea might actually be the most fascinating of all of them. There can be really staggering differences in taste between the different variations of “plain tea”.

 

[buster poser]

Yeah, the brain wants to equate the strong flavour of the dark (burnt) roast with “strength.” Much the same way people often think a dark beer is a strong beer. It can be, but it ain’t always. A lot of stouts are fairly mild, ABV-wise.

For the record, I’m a medium roast/“breakfast coffee” kinda guy. And I prefer my coffee pressed. Decaf is for the weak in spirit.

I love when people are like "lol guiness is breakfast in a can." Like be serious, it's barely 4% ABV and has 120calories a pint. Functionally a dark (and considerably better tasting) Miller Lite.

 

[drumtime]

I like coffee. The fresher the roast, the better it tastes. I get my beans freshly roasted from a friend's shop.

The caffeine content is not my first consideration, but i've settled on a couple of light-medium roast varieties for everyday. I like the flavor of dark roast, though, so I can go that route when the shop is out of my usuals. Other people tell me I make it strong, but I can handle much stronger.

Like I said - I Like coffee.

 

[rcole_sooner]

This thread made me think of this beer.

 

[arlum]

I like medium roasts but tend to use a higher ratio of coffee to amount of water. I only drink it black and I drink a lot of it. My hands are naked and worthless unless they have either a guitar neck, cup of coffee or my wife's ... um.

 

[Telekarster]

I like jus a little bit of flavored creamer that might some find blasphemous, but I can take the ribbing.

No problems here man! While I like my coffee black and untainted, I too get a hankerin' for some sugar and cream every once in a while

 

[buster poser]

This thread made me think of this beer.

Brewed <five miles from me, but I've only had that one once.

 

[Manual Slim]

If you want caffeine, drink a Red Bull or a Monster.

What if I want caffeine but not syrupy weirdness?

 

[Dennyf]

Well, you taught me something today. Thanks!

We've been drinking Cafe Bustelo for years made in a regular ol' drip machine 'cuz we like the strong yet not-bitter flavor. But as I only drink coffee in the morning, and count on the "get-up-and-go" feeling (take that as you will), it might be time to give a "breakfast-blend" coffee a try.

 

[bgmacaw]

What if I want caffeine but not syrupy weirdness?

They do have zero sugar versions where you can get the bitterness of caffeine mixed with the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners.

Of course, if all you need is caffeine, there is this...

 

[black_doug]

I am interested in all things related to coffee and caffeine. The older I get the less my body can tolerate caffeine. Don’t know why.

I love coffee so I’ve been trying to find the drink with the lowest level of caffeine. I knew about dark roast but had been thinking that espresso has the lowest. Now I’m not so sure.

 

[imwjl]

I tend to go way overboard in everything I do. And I only sleep a few hours a day. So lots of time to explore hobbies while everyone else is sleeping!

Me too. Recently you got me at modern fountain pen inks.

Closer to topic, our grocery store chain marketing director and her husband are 2 of 3 partners in a high end local coffee roaster. She points out the lighter roast thing is mostly true but you should not be thinking about how dark or light and it's really a function of size and how brewed.

In a practical sense, we love a particular and somewhat expensive local Costa Rica product sold. What goes in our maker from the grinder is very consistent. When out a darker Starbucks can be a substitute just because of availability and consistency. I definitely get most morning boost from the medium roast Costa Rican beans.

 

[beninma]

The easiest way to control too much caffeine is to be precise when you measure the coffee. If you weigh the beans and keep track of the coffee to water ratio you can figure out how to get it just right.

 

[Manual Slim]

They do have zero sugar versions where you can get the bitterness of caffeine mixed with the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners.

Of course, if all you need is caffeine, there is this...

View attachment 932278

I only need it to ward off the withdrawal headaches but I don't like taking pills. Thanks though!

 

[posttoastie]

Try a can of coffee, Black Rifle coffee !

 

[Dostradamas]

I have tried many a roast and i prefer the flavor of a nice dark roast balanced with the smooth finish of half and half.

Grind, brew, and enjoy

 

[fasteddie42]

fake news!


what are you going to tell me next?


the earth is round?


birds ARE real?


nice try shadow guv' coffee shill!

 

[Robert H.]

Decafe.

 

[tattypicker]

Abandon certainty. https://www.javapresse.com/blogs/espresso/single-vs-double-espresso-shots

 

[beyer160]

One of my favorite coffee drinks is an "Americano", which is 2-3 ounces of espresso poured over 6-8 ounces of hot water. It's like a regular cup of coffee but has a little less body combined with the rich flavor of the espresso. It's called an "Americano" because during WWII, when American soldiers in Europe would ask for a "cup of coffee", it would have to be diluted with water to make it taste more like the coffee they were used to back home.

I had breakfast at a Columbian restaurant in Miami once, and ordered coffee. The server asked "Americano?" and my slightly hung-over brain told me to just say "sure". Evidently, to them "Americano" coffee is about two or three drops of regular coffee with cream and sugar making up the remainder of the cup. Lesson learned.

Guinness also far less alcohol than most IPAs.

Another well-established fact about beer, is that IPAs suck.

Guinness is actually quite mild for a stout (I do love it, though), but for folks used to Bud and Corona it's intimidating.

I don't mind Bass ale, but those super skunky stunt beers the hipsters brew, like the one with chunks of actual hops floating in the bottle, can just get the hell off my lawn.