Thread for the Coffee lovers

[Lizard King]

I am a cheapskate - hard not to be considering I end up consuming 4-5 cups of espresso a day.
My tastes aren’t particularly high brow as my preferred blend has been Lavazza Qualita Rossa - and I prefer it over 100% arabica (including Illy as well as the fancier single source ones.)

However, Qualita Rossa tends to run pricey in India (at least by my standards)
so I continued my hunt till I landed upon Lavazza’s local packaging - Il Mattino Vivace.
Fancy name aside, its an honest arabica/ chicory mix (like Qualita Rossa) thats roasted right (medium roast), ground right (so as to not choke up a pump espresso) and most importantly, priced right (about 800/- a kg)

That’s what I have been using since it was launched a couple of years ago - and can gladly recommend it for the non super fancy coffee crowd

Have you tried Lavazza Gusto Crema? It's a Arabica/ Robusta blend with excellent smooth body. Low on aroma, but wraps you with the loving comfort of an old blanket on a cold winter morning.
It's my 'reset' blend, whenever I feel jaded with my fancy high maintenance coffee habits, I pick up one. Everything is fine and beautiful again. For Hyderabadis, it's available in QMart.

 

[superczar]

Have you tried Lavazza Gusto Crema? It's a Arabica/ Robusta blend with excellent smooth body. Low on aroma, but wraps you with the loving comfort of an old blanket on a cold winter morning.
It's my 'reset' blend, whenever I feel jaded with my fancy high maintenance coffee habits, I pick up one. Everything is fine and beautiful again. For Hyderabadis, it's available in QMart.

yes, tried that as well ..
have a slight preference for the il mattino over that as the latter seems to be a slightly milder roast which works for my preferences.
all three however (qualita rossa, gusto creama and il mattino) are good choices for someone who likes espresso but is not into very fancy beans

 

[stevieboy]

Got this as part of a three sampler pack. The regular price gives me a heart attack but as part of a sampler pack it’s affordable. Tasted very flavourful in a French press. Reminded me of the Amul raisin and nut chocolate bars we used to get when we were small, with the rum notes added. Not too overpowering just right. Beautiful lingering after taste. Fantastic at Christmas time or winter time this will be. Koinonias shipping is also much faster than Bluetokais. Barely a couple of days from bombay.

 

[pks.k]

This is only for 'kaappi' lovers and not for those who want 'Coffee'!
For years now, we have been using Coffee day's fresh and ground (tiny hole in the wall kind of grinding shops). We used to go to the outlet, ask the shop girl to mix and grind 50/50 of plantation A and peaberry pre-roasted beans and buy about a kilo or two depending on the need. No chicory. The beans are ground right in front of your eyes. Unfortunately for the past two - three years, the beans have been in short supply, shop closed due to lock down for extended period of time and in the current iteration - shops have not opened even 45 days after the lock down has been lifted.
It used to cost just about Rs450 - 500 per kg of ground coffee powder.
We are forced to look for alternates in the same price range. Tried a few but finding powders without chicory is a pain. Tried Pristine(flipkart), Thanjai natural (flipkart), Alive - direct from their website and most recently Columbian brew espresso Arabica from Amazon.

Columbian brew espresso: stay away from this if your nectar (why call it a poison when you enjoy it so much!?) is typical Tamilian filter kaappi! The decoction has some aroma, but once mixed with milk - it tastes awful.
Thanjai natural: yields more decoction, but taste / flavour is slightly below average at best - lacks the coffee aroma
Pristine: Tried it when lockdown was first enforced in 2020 - forgot what it was really like, but did not enjoy it much
Alive: come somewhat close to Coffee day - fresh and ground.
Coffee day fresh and ground: it has all the three (மணம், குணம் & சுவை i.e. aroma, character and flavour as they say in three roses or some such tea ad!) and it is easy on the budget too! It still is the best and am sincerely hoping and praying that they will be back in business soon!
View attachment 60858

As a kaappi lover, i want to suggest you try to buy from Janaki coffee shop opp to Muthumariyamman Kovil (near PSBB SCHOOL), KK nagar. I'm just a New customer...

 

[VRavichandar]

As a kaappi lover, i want to suggest you try to buy from Janaki coffee shop opp to Muthumariyamman Kovil (near PSBB SCHOOL), KK nagar. I'm just a New customer...

Thanks for the suggestion, but it is too far for me. I suppose you mean RK Janaki coffee works on 20 Ramasamy St. Will check with them if they door deliver !

 

[MusicMadness]

Thanks for the great thread.
This inspired me to start my coffee journey. so ordered 3 sample packs from BlueTokkai and have choosed grain type of south indian filter as I always used this for my everyday coffee.
I want to try moka pot as well.
Since I always drink coffee with milk, and usually just make one/two cups.
Is it feasible to use moka pot for such low portions or should I just stick to filter method ?

 

[stevieboy]

Yup you can use the moka pot for single serve. The 3 pot one makes enough decoction for one cup, 6 pots for two people.

Regards

 

[Dev.R]

For all those coffee lovers, when ever you are in Coimbatore, please try coffee from Annapoorna hotel ( particularly in RS Puram and Art college road branch) . A trip to Coimbatore without Annapoorna coffee is incomplete.

 

[stevieboy]

Today was clean your coffee grinder day. A complete strip down and brush down of the Lido 3 ET hand grinder. Back to clean coffee!

The amount of coffee hidden in various parts and crevices shows how necessary a regular cleaning is.

 

[rsjaurr]

I'm looking for a coffee beans grinder. Is this a good grinder for "casual" coffee drinker? Someone also recommended a Baratza Encore Wirth 12000 also but 12k is a lot of money for a grinder imo which I don't want to spend on a grinder.

Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in

Amazon.in: Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery

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[jai1611]

I'm looking for a coffee beans grinder. Is this a good grinder for "casual" coffee drinker? Someone also recommended a Baratza Encore Wirth 12000 also but 12k is a lot of money for a grinder imo which I don't want to spend on a grinder.

Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in

Amazon.in: Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery

www.amazon.in

This one doesn't seem to have adjustments for how fine (as per the reviews). I've been using a Timemore C2 manual grinder which has that

 

[manav24]

I'm looking for a coffee beans grinder. Is this a good grinder for "casual" coffee drinker? Someone also recommended a Baratza Encore Wirth 12000 also but 12k is a lot of money for a grinder imo which I don't want to spend on a grinder.

Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in

Amazon.in: Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery

www.amazon.in

Frankly Grinder is the most important part of the coffee setup, a perfect grind will give you the perfect taste, try buying a manual burr grinder if you do not want to spend much on it.

 

[stevieboy]

I'm looking for a coffee beans grinder. Is this a good grinder for "casual" coffee drinker? Someone also recommended a Baratza Encore Wirth 12000 also but 12k is a lot of money for a grinder imo which I don't want to spend on a grinder.

Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in

Amazon.in: Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery

www.amazon.in

Hi Rsjaurr,

This seems to be a blade grinder. You'd have very uneven particles. Avoid. Best bet is the Hario skerton pro or plus depending on your budget. The pro is more easily adjustable for grind size and has a stabilising plate so you get more consistent sized particles at coarser settings. The plus has the older style handle fixing mechanism will tends to strip over time unlike the Pro which now has a hex handle fit which won't strip over time. Or the Hario mini slim plus which won't be as consistent at coarser settings (compared to the skerton pro) but for a casual drinker if you don't want to spend too much, it's a good bet and very good quality.

Regards

 

[rsjaurr]

I do agree that grinding is probably the most important step and common to all the coffee-making methods.
However initially I want to settle for a basic electric grinder and then I might move to higher models. Manual is out of the question as I do not have that much time and also do not want to store ground coffee for more than 2-3 days.

If the default setting of the cheaper De Longhi grinder is very close to the 7-9 settings of the more expensive Baratza grinder I am fine with that.

Edit- @stevieboy thanks & noted
Edit2 Hario skerton pro or plus not available on amazon and flipkart and not going for manual grinder. So is there any cheaper electric grinder comparable to the one below?

Buy Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (White) Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in

Amazon.in: Buy Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (White) online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery

www.amazon.in

 

[stevieboy]

As far as I'm aware no blade grinder has any settings. In a dedicated coffee grinder, there are burrs, flat or conical, let's take conical for example since its more common. The inner conical burr can be adjusted for distance from the outer circular burr and hence you can adjust grind size, further the distance coarser the grind, closer the distance, finer the grind. In an electric blade grinder you cannot adjust anything. For coarser grinds you just pulse grind a few times so the bean is broken up into bigger pieces and for finer grind, you grind for a longer time so the pieces become finer powder. So basically, grinding is trial and error, you pulse grind, open lid check to see if the particle size is the one you want and grind more for smaller size if you need to. Just like using a mixer. An electric blade coffee grinder is nothing but a mixer or spice grinder that's calling itself a 'coffee' grinder, and one that's sized like a spice grinder, so you could get a small spice grinder or use the one you have at home also. I think the Baratza is the cheapest available electric burr grinder, under that price you'd get blade grinders.

Regards

 

[sud98]

My favorite is Nescafe gold blend, available on amazon.
Cheers,
Sid

Do you notice any quality differences in the last few months. My wife has been complaining that something seems off in the last two jars. Not sure if this is a real issue or something else. Bought a Davidoff jar to check if thats better.

 

[narcissus]

Do you notice any quality differences in the last few months. My wife has been complaining that something seems off in the last two jars. Not sure if this is a real issue or something else. Bought a Davidoff jar to check if thats better.

Strictly speaking of my experience, I purchase the “Nescafé Gold” from Crawford Market in Bombay for 500₹ & there is a clear inconsistency in taste and color every time I buy. I think they are fake & not imported at all. YMMV..

 

[Lizard King]

I'm looking for a coffee beans grinder. Is this a good grinder for "casual" coffee drinker? Someone also recommended a Baratza Encore Wirth 12000 also but 12k is a lot of money for a grinder imo which I don't want to spend on a grinder.

Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in

Amazon.in: Buy De'Longhi KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder, Stainless Steel Blade, 90g Coffee Bean Capacity, Black, small online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery

www.amazon.in

Blade grinder is absolutely no no. If you don't want to invest in a burr grinder, use the small container of mixie rather than getting this Delonghi. It's the same thing.
But the Baratza at 12K is very good. It has grind size control. Only thing it doesn't have is time or weight setting, but that is not an absolute requirement. It's a stainless steel burr and not a ceramic burr, but that's OK at this price.
Go for it. I'm using it and very happy with it. Must clean it regularly to prevent blocking. For a domestic user it should last many years and will be actually cheaper than the Delonghi you listed.

 

[stevieboy]

I do agree that grinding is probably the most important step and common to all the coffee-making methods.
However initially I want to settle for a basic electric grinder and then I might move to higher models. Manual is out of the question as I do not have that much time and also do not want to store ground coffee for more than 2-3 days.

If the default setting of the cheaper De Longhi grinder is very close to the 7-9 settings of the more expensive Baratza grinder I am fine with that.

Edit- @stevieboy thanks & noted
Edit2 Hario skerton pro or plus not available on amazon and flipkart and not going for manual grinder. So is there any cheaper electric grinder comparable to the one below?

Buy Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (White) Online at Low Prices in India - Amazon.in

Amazon.in: Buy Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (White) online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery

www.amazon.in

@rsjaurr On second thoughts here’s a perspective for you to consider. On one side you think you’ll be getting the benefits of grinding beans fresh with a grinder yourself. However in reality that grind will be very uneven and result in an unevenly extracted cup of coffee. So are you really moving forward? or backwards?

Compare that to buying preground coffee from the same roaster you intend buying the roasted beans from. This coffee generally is still fresh ten days to two weeks after roast. Between evenly ground coffee from a roaster who has just roasted and ground coffee where flavour starts tapering off after about a week or even more and unevenly freshly ground beans that creates an imbalanced extraction right from day 1, that’s the choice facing you, think about it.

Regards

 

[sidvee]

Do you notice any quality differences in the last few months. My wife has been complaining that something seems off in the last two jars. Not sure if this is a real issue or something else. Bought a Davidoff jar to check if thats better.

Their quality/taste has been all over. Locally in Hyd. 200gm jar is about 900-950, on amazon one can get between 750-800. However there are a few different variants - Russia import, etc. so absolutely there are some differences. Not sure why this is happening, must be pandemic effect or something.
Cheers,
Sid