Coffee - Coles is fine!
By Christina A
I am a coffee snob. If I come to your house and can't spy even a plunger, I will drink tea. I would rather drink water than bad coffee. My coffee obsession has seen a progression over the last few years, from plunger to stove top espresso, to an italian Espresso machine. Regardless of how you make it, coffee is only as good as the bean you use. Freshly roasted is best. Ideally coffee beans should be used within a few days of roasting, and ground just before use. There are certain beans that benefit from being left to sit for a week or so to degas, but most beans taste their best after three or four days. Of course this means that most beans bought from the supermarket are well and truly stale. Especially those that are bought ready ground.
Disappointed with supermarket beans, I eventually took the plunge and bought a Behmor coffee roaster. After much experimentation, and a few charcoal blends, my husband and I managed to produce a reasonably good even roast that produced a well flavoured brew. However, we do not always have the time to roast, or the available green beans. A couple of weeks ago I was forced to purchase some beans from the supermarket as we had run out of our own beans (waiting until more could be delivered, roasted and rested was of course out of the question). I decided to take a gamble on a small bag of Coles Finest Ethiopian beans. I chose the Coles brand over the more expensive alternatives for one reason - the bag of beans had the usual Use By date, but also listed the date the beans were roasted. I have never seen this information included on beans before, except from little boutique roasters. The beans were darkly roasted, and a little oily. This caused a few problems with my grinder sticking a little. However, the result was a rich and full bodied coffee that was surprisingly good. Very good indeed. Even more satisfying was the fact that the beans were Fair Trade certified. It seems that the quality of Coles Finest is a well kept secret - it has been awarded a silver medal in 2008 and 2009 at the Golden Bean Awards.
It's a win all round -fairly traded, full flavoured, fresh, and easy to obtain. Hmm, think it is time to go pour a shot. Latte anyone?
Comments
Thanks for abby D! That was amusing - can't believe McDonalds ranked so highly! It must be better in America. I would only choose a starbucks if the other coffee options around me at the time were looking pretty shabby.
I agree totally with Christina A - ideally coffee beans should be fresh roasted and consumed within 5 days from roasting, which is great if you happen tom have your own roaster or live down the road from a coffee roaster. Some boutique roasters like five senses in melbourne will take online orders and roast the same day they post it to you so it's still fresh-it really makes a big difference. I've had too many disappointing coffee experiences buying beans from the supermarket as they are usually months old and lost all their good qualities even if in a vacuum pack.It was only the other day i was forced to buy supermarket beans and decided to try the Coles Ethiopan beans which did, like Christina states, has the roasting date on the pack- i was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the coffee.If you happen to be going to Bali and want to try really excellent coffee go to F.R.E.A.K coffee in Ubud- roasted and brewed on the same day.
Hi Mattmac, the Bali brew sounds great! I would like to check out Five Senses some time. I live 2 hours away from Melbourne, so not much opportunity to get there. Glad you have had good experience with the Coles Finest too. We have had a break from roasting, and recently resumed. I was surprised by how much better it tastes than most other coffee, cafe shots included.
abby D 18 months ago
Okay, so if you're a coffee snob, check out this fellow coffee snob's rating of 'to go' coffee. Starbucks isn't even close!
http://www.eyeweekly.com/food/feature/article/1033