What advice do you have for a coffee newbie?
Where do I start if I want to start drinking coffee? I've been a tea drinker all my life. I want start drinking coffee, but I find that most of the ones I try are *really* bitter. Where is a good place to start?
Lucky for you, coffee is the family business!
Here are the basics:
2 types of beans:
-Arabica beans are preferred for drinking
-Robusto beans are bitter and usually added to espresso blends or used by cheap coffee roasters
3 main growing regions:
-Latin America: Very flavorful, "balanced" beans. Generally mild and less acidic. Chocolatey and nutty
-African: fruity notes but quite bitter. often tend to be "earthy"
-Southeast Asian: Full bodied (intense) and less acidic/bitter. Flowery notes, very flavorful, very aromatic
Roasts:
Generally, lighter roasts will produce a lesser-bodied coffee in which you will taste more of the bean, where as a darker roast produces a fuller-bodied coffee and you will taste more of the roasting process.
There are many different roasts, but here are the basics from lighter to darker:
1/2 City, City, Full City, French, Italian
For a beginner, I would recommend a Latin American coffee, maybe a nice Brazilian Santos or a Columbian. If you want something that would work great in a french press, try a basic Sumatra.
DON'T go with Starbucks (Charbucks). They over roast their coffee and you'll pay a premium for sub-par beans. Local coffee roasters are great!
If you are interested, my parent's company is Ferris Coffee. The website is currently being redone, so you would have to call and place an order by phone.
17 Answers
Ask someone at your office who drinks coffee a lot where they go. In my experience the local neighborhood deli often has the best coffee in town. Start there until you develop a taste, then begin to branch out....
the first thing you need is a french press. There are other ways to brew good coffee, but they all either cost more, or produce an inferior brew. Second, a little blade grinder. In time you might want to upgrade to a burr grinder, but for a beginner the difference between fresh ground and pre-ground is enough.
That's all you need in terms of equipment, next you need the coffee. I strongly recommend finding a local roaster, many of the small cafe's roast their own coffee. Just work your way through the roasts, keeping a log of what you like and dislike.
Start by adding cream and sugar to your coffee (masks the bitterness) as you develope a taste for coffee. Start removing the additions until you no longer need them.
Lucky for you, coffee is the family business!
Here are the basics:
2 types of beans:
-Arabica beans are preferred for drinking
-Robusto beans are bitter and usually added to espresso blends or used by cheap coffee roasters
3 main growing regions:
-Latin America: Very flavorful, "balanced" beans. Generally mild and less acidic. Chocolatey and nutty
-African: fruity notes but quite bitter. often tend to be "earthy"
-Southeast Asian: Full bodied (intense) and less acidic/bitter. Flowery notes, very flavorful, very aromatic
Roasts:
Generally, lighter roasts will produce a lesser-bodied coffee in which you will taste more of the bean, where as a darker roast produces a fuller-bodied coffee and you will taste more of the roasting process.
There are many different roasts, but here are the basics from lighter to darker:
1/2 City, City, Full City, French, Italian
For a beginner, I would recommend a Latin American coffee, maybe a nice Brazilian Santos or a Columbian. If you want something that would work great in a french press, try a basic Sumatra.
DON'T go with Starbucks (Charbucks). They over roast their coffee and you'll pay a premium for sub-par beans. Local coffee roasters are great!
If you are interested, my parent's company is Ferris Coffee. The website is currently being redone, so you would have to call and place an order by phone.
My advice would be to not even begin drinking coffee regularly. The power of caffeine is well documented, but there are other, less addictive methods for you to get the energy you need in the morning. I used to drink coffee and found myself jittery and wide-eyed for a while, but the crash would always come later that day. It also stains your teeth (gradually), and leads to less then stellar breath. Combine some Vitamin Water with this Jack Black Protein Booster Eye Rescue and you will both feel better and look alert, without the ugly darkened teeth.
Learning the intricacies of coffee beans and coffee brewing is great if you're a coffee lover, but since you are a newbie who probably avoided it in the first place because of the bitter flavor, I say just start small. Whenever you come across some coffee, whether at work, free samples at the store, or whatever, just drink small amounts. Maybe 6 oz cups. Try different flavor creamers and varying the amount of sugar until you find something you like. How you take your coffee becomes a part of your identity.
When I started out all I wanted was the caffeine kick, but now I think coffee is the nectar of the gods. Keep it in small amounts until you decide whether you want to keep going or go back to tea.
Find a local, non-chain coffee and start with the light roasts and work your way up. Your local barista is your friend and they will often serve up samples upon request.