Coffee, Tea, and Me.

I am very serious about my coffee, and tea, as I know many of you are. I take it the extra mile, and thought you might enjoy this thread.

I shop the world for coffee beans, and purchase fair trade, green, unroasted beans. I get most from Sweet Marias in Oakland California, and some from Amazon. Green beans stay fresh . They do not begin to go stale until at least 2 weeks after roasting


They must be roasted outdoors, as they put out a lot of smoke during the process. I sometimes use a giant stainless wok on the patio, stirring constantly


I also use Vintage air poppers, that can be found on ebay


The poppery2 by Westbend works best


I roast to what ever color I want depending if I am going to make dark espresso, or light drip style

I always filter my water first, through a Big Berkey stainless unit that utilizes a Berkshire carbon filter system. It only allows calcium to pass through. The water tastes great


The pure water, then goes into a Zojirushi water heater, set to what ever temperature I require


The Zojorushi is powered by my solar array out back. The power feeds from my panels, into a battery bank in my garage, then runs through inverters that put out 120 volts to run most anything in my garage, including compressor, freezer, lights etc.


This picture shjows my Chemex hand blown glass carafe I use sometimes


There is a hotplate to keep it warm while it is dripping

Some of the other things I use to make different styles of coffee




I like espresso, drip, and Turkish coffee

TEA

I love good tea as well

I also shop the world for tea. I get most from Teavivre in China, but also buy tea from England and France

Teavivre has a rating and review system much like Amazon. They have awesome teas

I have a teapot and tea cup collection. Some are quite old, and very valuable







I hope you enjoyed this presentation. Cheers to you all

I usually keep 15 to 25 lbs of green unroasted coffee beans on hand at all times from several different countries, and a couple pounds of tea., I just put in an order for tea from China , and another 5 lbs of wonderful coffee beans from Columbia today

You saving all the coffee for yourself or what? LOL

I'm waiting for the pics.

a reply to: visitedbythem

Teavana Green tea with lemongrass and mint.


I only drink it iced though. It's sooooo good.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: visitedbythem

Teavana Green tea with lemongrass and mint.


I only drink it iced though. It's sooooo good.

Sunflower Jasmine tea iced............heaven.. pure heaven

I'm here in Wisconsin, these folks do not know ice tea, they just drink beer.
I've got the soul of a southern person, ice tea is in my blood

a reply to: JAGStorm

I've got the soul of a southern person, ice tea is in my blood

Me too.... Except I use like a tenth of the sugar. I like to really taste the tea.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: JAGStorm

I've got the soul of a southern person, ice tea is in my blood

Me too.... Except I use like a tenth of the sugar. I like to really taste the tea.

I went to a bbq place in Florida, they put so much sugar in the tea it was actually thick/slimy. Seriously like 1/3 cup sugar per cup. I like it sweet, but that was gross. Two small teaspoons per cup is enough for me.

a reply to: visitedbythem

Ah, now the pics are there. YUM!

I'm too lazy to go through all that trouble. I'll just stop over at your place.

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: JAGStorm

I've got the soul of a southern person, ice tea is in my blood

Me too.... Except I use like a tenth of the sugar. I like to really taste the tea.

I went to a bbq place in Florida, they put so much sugar in the tea it was actually thick/slimy. Seriously like 1/3 cup sugar per cup. I like it sweet, but that was gross. Two small teaspoons per cup is enough for me.

I live in Virginia, sometimes I'll get a breakfast sandwich (unfortunately biscuits rule this area), I go in and do bottom half unsweet, one inch sweet, the rest unsweet.

a reply to: visitedbythem

Your coffee looks incredible.

I only drink it on occasion and prefer espresso, but it's one of my joys in life.

I would drink it more but the acidity can mess with me in the morning.

I've found cold brew though is excellent. The most course grind you can get, soak in cold water for 12-24 hours (depending on strength wanted), and it's less bitter, less acidic, double the caffeine and doesn't delude in ice.

You can even heat it without compromising flavor.

a reply to: visitedbythem

There is some serious stuff happening in that coffee room.
Kinda looks like a scene from breaking bad, but with coffee.

Those beans look amazing!

a reply to: visitedbythem

I am very serious about my coffee

Wow....that is serious.
I will be embarrassed to pop a K Cup in my Keurig in the morning after seeing that equipment.

a reply to: visitedbythem

Phenominal! I am dying for a cup of your coffee! I would ask for a medium roast in your French press first. Damn everything looks so good!

How long does it take to roast your darkest batch?

I used to drive 90 minutes into Berkeley to get a pound of beans from Philz.

I love Turkish coffee as well.

And now I have to have a cup of hot tea (usually English Breakfast).

a reply to: visitedbythem

I have old teacups and saucers too. I love antiques!

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: visitedbythem

Your coffee looks incredible.

I only drink it on occasion and prefer espresso, but it's one of my joys in life.

I would drink it more but the acidity can mess with me in the morning.

I've found cold brew though is excellent. The most course grind you can get, soak in cold water for 12-24 hours (depending on strength wanted), and it's less bitter, less acidic, double the caffeine and doesn't delude in ice.

You can even heat it without compromising flavor.

I forgot to show you my cold brew system. I love cold brew coffee. I also have a separate ice tea cold brew system that infuses fresh fruit into the tea. I have two pitchers in the fridge I made yesterday. One has fresh Mango, and the other sweet red ripe pear

originally posted by: KansasGirl
a reply to: visitedbythem

Phenominal! I am dying for a cup of your coffee! I would ask for a medium roast in your French press first. Damn everything looks so good!

How long does it take to roast your darkest batch?

About 10 to 15 minutes.
Thanks for the compliment