- This topic has 72 replies, 34 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by wrecker.
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Help me to like coffee.
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alfabusFree Member
I don’t like coffee. I have never liked coffee. I’m a tea man, I have about 10 cups a day.
Everyone I know drinks and loves coffee, including all my extended family and my wife.
Why don’t I like it? I like coffee flavoured stuff (ice cream, cake, chocolates etc.), but never got in to the actual stuff.
What is my route in?
Educate me, please.
camo16Free MemberYour route in is a cup of decent black coffee, steaming hot.
It’s the milk that gives coffee that cat sick-up flava.
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Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...camo16Free Member🙄 @ jam bo
Sorry dude, but we’re trying to make alfabus like coffee here…
mikewsmithFree MemberDon’t bother, I have tried it a few times and it’s not worth it, if you get hooked then you will end up paying loads of cash for some hot milk in a paper cup with a shot of caffine 🙂
Tea is so much better
alfabusFree Memberher indoors drinks decaff catsick with loads of milk… this could be why I wince at the smell of coffee.
camo16Free MemberCould be
Black coffee from the bean not the tin FTW
This has three advantages over tea: (1) flava, flava, flava (2) you fit in well with the arts crowd, who automatically consider you their intellectual equal with a cup of steaming black joe in your hands and (3) unlike tea, it’s not a nan drink.
ahwilesFree Memberhmm, ‘moka’ pots can make coffee that’s quite bitter (i find)
there’s a lot to be said for the good ol’ cafetiere / french press.
2 tablespoons of good ground coffee – pick something with a ‘3’ on it, higher numbers can be bitter/smoky.
350ml’s of hot water, not boiling, give it a stir, wait for about 20 seconds, press.
try it with sugar / without. With milk / without. Combinations of the above, see what you prefer…
to my nose, warm milk smells revolting, but i do like soya milk in my coffee, it makes a drink that’s not completely unlike horlicks…
jambalayaFree Member@alphabus we all have things we don’t like. I suppose we need to know what you don’t like about the taste. Things like coffee cake, chocolates and ice cream have a little coffee and a lot of sugar, so on that basis I would start with weaker coffee and some sugar. I think it will be easier to drink with milk in too. You could try it with cream which would give it a flavour and texture more similar to chocolates and ice cream.
FWIW I drink 75% tea and 25% coffee, generally coffee only after meals and tea the rest of the time.
LiferFree MemberI only bother if it’s from a proper machine but it’s down to so many variable that even going to the same place you can get vastly different flavours.
mikewsmith – Member
Don’t bother, I have tried it a few times and it’s not worth it, if you get hooked then you will end up paying loads of cash for some hot milk in a paper cup with a shot of caffineWill echo what camo said above, milk in coffee is horrible. Black Americano, extra shot please.
mrblobbyFree MemberA proper espresso from freshly ground beans made by someone who has a reasonably good idea of what they are doing. Lovely.
What have you tried so far and what don’t you like about it?
alfabusFree MemberI suppose it is the bitterness – the smell normally puts me off too.
We’ve got some ground coffee and a cafetiere (generally only used when my family comes to stay and demands a proper cup of coffee, not instant).
Maybe I’ll give a cup of that a go.
CougarFull MemberStrong black coffee is hardly a ‘my first coffee’ experience though, is it. A latte or cappuccino would be a better proposition.
I know. Try a caramel macchiato from Starbucks.
DavesportFull MemberGet someone who knows how to make the stuff to help you. There are lots of different ways to make coffee from the same beans & they’ll all taste different. There’s more to this than than meets the eye & it’s an easy process to screw up.
Get help, it’s not for everyone.
D.
mikewsmithFree MemberWill echo what camo said above, milk in coffee is horrible. Black Americano, extra shot please.
In which case you will end up paying more for some coffee than whiskey 😉
midlifecrisisFree MemberEarlier this year I did exactly this. I’ve had a lifetime of tea drinking and could never bring myself to drink coffee. However, the obvious pleasure people get from a good cup of coffee inspired me to learn to like it. Here’s what I did.
I started with 1cm of coffee in the bottom of a cup with a tiny amount of sugar in. I had it black as I am not fond of milk. I forced this down for the first few days and to be honest it was pretty unpleasant for me at first. However, by the end of a week I was at the point where I didn’t mind it.
I then began having the same amount of coffee without sugar until this became bearable. I then began to increase the amount each time. I was still only on one cup per day but the quantity in each cup began to increase. Gradually, I found that I began to enjoy it more and more.
I now love strong black coffee and wish I’d learnt to like it sooner as I’ve clearly missed out on a lot over the years.
My method was helped by having folk around me who were making cafetieres each day so they could spare me a small amount.
My own thoughts are that I can now tell the difference between freshly ground and pre-ground but when I was learning to like it, I was clueless so any half decent brew should do the trick.
johnellisonFree MemberDon’t touch ANYTHING other than fresh ground and make it yourself.
Forget instant, it tastes as much like coffee as cheese tastes like lobster. Same goes for your “cartridge” type coffee machines. Forget your Starbucks/Costa/Rhode Island too – they’re the same to coffee as McDonalds are to haute cuisine.
Get yourself a one-cup stove-top espresso pot or a caffetiere and some proper grounds – my current favourite is Aldi’s own-brand Java, although all their own-brand coffee grounds are good.
DON’T put milk in it – once you’ve had black, you’ll never go back as the actress said to the bishop. Touch of sugar and off you go, running round the walls like a good ‘un! 😉
mrblobbyFree MemberWe’ve got some ground coffee and a cafetiere (generally only used when my family comes to stay and demands a proper cup of coffee, not instant).
If it’s a pack of ground that’s been languishing in the back of the cupboard waiting for family to come round then it’s going to be minging. Will probably taste very bitter and people will end up putting milk and sugar in it.
Try and find some reasonably freshly ground stuff if you’ve not got a grinder, maybe a market or a specialist shop or online. Try making a small coffee in a mocha pot to start with and see what you think. Personally don’t much like the longer drinks or the milk ones. Go check out the coffee forums, loads of advice on how to best use them there. Also see if you can try some proper espresso in some good coffee shops.
Love my morning espresso. Smells great. Looks great being made. Tastes smooth and rich. Go to bed sometimes looking forward to my morning espresso 🙂
I know. Try a caramel macchiato from Starbucks.
Not sure if serious 🙂
Edit: oh and while stove tops can make a really nice coffee, they don’t make espresso as they don’t generate sufficient pressure to extract the oils from the coffee.
29erKeithFree MemberOP & midlifecrisis sounds odd and like hard work to me. Why make yourself like something, when you don’t like it, because most other people do?
I don’t like tea or coffee, plenty of people can’t get their heads around that and think I’m a bit odd but hey, who cares.
I still go to the odd coffee shop with my wife and friends on occasions, I just have a smoothie\milkshake\hot chocolate.
If you try for long enough as midlifecrisis did you will like it no different from cigarettes I suppose.
Carry on and enjoy what you do enjoy, or push on, each to their own, just seem strange to me.
[edit] I do absolutely love the smell of coffee though, taste though blughhh[/edit]
camo16Free MemberIgnore the weird non coffee drinker ^^^^^ 😉
This is not a route to help you like coffee.
alfabusFree MemberWhy make yourself like something, when you don’t like it, because most other people do?
I’m not interested in liking it because others do. I’m interested in liking it because others derive great enjoyment from it, and I like ‘great enjoyment’.
Just asking to see if there is something I’ve missed that has prevented me from getting into it. I only mention that my family likes it, as it proves it can’t be genetic!
wreckerFree MemberSomeone help me stop liking coffee, it’s not good for my sugar intake (can’t drink it without)
Help me like green tea please!mrblobbyFree MemberSomeone help me stop liking coffee, it’s not good for my sugar intake (can’t drink it without)
Get some better coffee 🙂
camo16Free MemberAnd FFS put less sugar in your Joe, wrecker. Survive it for a couple of days and a boundless world of utopia-java will open up before you.
Help me like green tea please!
Sorry, can’t help you there.
I believe the strategy for green tea is this: buy a packet, open the packet, throw a couple of sachets in the bin and leave the box hanging round for when guests come around so you look earthy and health-driven. Then put the box down and it’s out with the strong, black, sugar-less Joe. Heaven. 😉
BadlyWiredDogFull MemberI used to hate coffee, though I loved the smell, then I discovered tea in South America was like drinking dishwater. Learned to like coffee by starting with mocha – added hot chocolate – and escalating gradually from there.
Stay away from instant. ignore the coffee snobs. And the black coffee extremists. Move somewhere where half-decent tea is a distant dream. Or go there on holiday.
DezBFree MemberCan’t stand coffee either, tastes foul when you’re drinking it and even worse afterwards. Makes breath pong too.
Only one way to enjoy the vile stuff:
camo16Free Memberignore the coffee snobs. And the black coffee extremists.
Stone the unbeliever!
😉
DezBFree MemberPlus – why do you need a “route in”? Very odd to want to like something just because other people do… are you actually 10 years old?
bailsFull MemberGet yourself a one-cup stove-top espresso pot or a caffetiere and some proper grounds
Does it bring the beans to life?
You really don’t need to get as poncy as some of the posters above are suggesting.
Don’t get cheap instant, it’s properly grim. But you don’t need to be hand grinding your home-grown beans and mixing them in a fairtrade mung bean and knitted yoghurt Aga top pot.
If you want really easy then get some posh instant stuff (Nescafe Azera is nice) and drink it with a lot of sugar in it. Then try with less sugar. No milk though, coffee with milk is horrible!
Or just get a cafetiere and some ground coffee from a supermarket. Sainsbury’s do some nice ones, I think their ‘breakfast’ one is one that (I thought) was surprisingly delicious.
If you end up loving it then sure, get all fancy, but you don’t need all that just to have a cup of coffee.
Same as your tea, you probably just put a PG tips bag in some water, chuck in a bit of milk and drink it. If you use organic, hand reared, loose leaf tea and strain it through an artisan Mongolian tea strainer then you might want all the fancy coffee kit too, but it’s really not necessary.
alfabusFree MemberDezB – Member
Plus – why do you need a “route in”? Very odd to want to like something just because other people do… are you actually 10 years old?read the thread.
camo16Free MemberHe sees the error of his ways Dezzie. Not knocking, like, but there’s others on here could learn a thing or two from Comrade Alfabus. 😉
wreckerFree MemberAnd FFS put less sugar in your Joe, wrecker. Survive it for a couple of days and a boundless world of utopia-java will open up before you.
🙁
I’ve tried. It’s sugar or no coffee for me. Weirdly, I don’t even have a sweet tooth (don’t eat chocolate, cakes, sweets etc).
It’s a double whammy for me as I think I’m a bit lactose intolerant as well.I believe the strategy for green tea is this: buy a packet, open the packet, throw a couple of sachets in the bin and leave the box hanging round for when guests come around so you look earthy and health-driven.
In my defence, I’ve had two cups (in the two months I’ve had the packet). It tastes like hangover piss.
chaosFull MemberGoing anywhere near Dorchester?
This place will sort you out – No. 35 High West Street. Always a choice of 5 different freshly roasted and ground coffees to make your coffee with, expertly brewed/extracted without unnecessary bitterness and delicious cakes to wash it down with.DezBFree Memberread the thread.
“Great enjoyment” from coffee!?? They like being snobby about it.. but I’m sure you could find other things which will fit the bill. Like erm, maybe try shaving with outdated and inefficient equipment?
camo16Free Memberhangover piss
Have you tried Red Bush, wrecker? That’s like hangover piss-infused hay…
wreckerFree MemberHave you tried Red Bush, wrecker? That’s like hangover piss-infused hay…
Wife drinks it. The smell turns my stomach.
Alfabus, you’re Brizzle based aren’t you?
Get up to two day coffee on St Michaels hill. Roasted on site and will grind it to suit your means. Best coffee in the city.alfabusFree MemberAlfabus, you’re Brizzle based aren’t you?
No, Cheltenham… and London during the week.
Not sure I really want to go out to a posh coffee place, order something very basic and sit there making faces while I drink a tiny bit of it!
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