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#CoffeeFail! Why can't I make a decent cup of coffee at home?

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  1. #1

    #CoffeeFail! Why can't I make a decent cup of coffee at home?

    HI there,

    I love having a cup - or two - of coffee in the morning. Nothing fancy. Brewed coffee, cream and sugar. But ever since moving to HK over a year ago, I have failed at making even one decent cup of coffee. I gave up last July.

    I was recently back in Canada for the holidays and I realized how much I missed my morning coffee so I decided to try again. Now I am back in HK and I still suck at making coffee. How hard can it be to make a simple cup of coffee? Does anyone else have this issue? Any suggestions? Tips? Advice?

    Here is my process:

    1. Pour fresh tap water in a kettle. Boil.
    2. Grind beans.
    - I have heard/read that local roasters will over-roast/burn the coffee beans; I have tried both local roasted and I have also brought back beans from Canada that I know makes good coffee.
    - I use a ceramic conical grinder.
    3. Put the fresh grinds in the Bodum (French Press). Add boiled water. Let sit for four minutes. Press the plunger down.
    4. Pour coffee into my favourite mug, add milk, some sugar and enjoy what should be a good cup of coffee. Instead...that's just one nasty cup of coffee!!! How did this perfect ritual result in such a bad coffee?


    - It's hard to explain the bad taste of the coffee...it's just really bad.
    - I don't want to get one of those Nespresso single cup brewers just yet - will leave that discussion to a separate thread. (As an aside, I really like the milk frother / milk heater that comes with some of the Nespresso machines.)
    - I use Kowloon Dairy milk. The red cap with the label that says "100% Fresh Milk".
    - What cream would you use for your coffee here.

    Any suggestions? Tips? Advice? I am open to all suggestions including a different way to brew coffee or even to stand on one foot while making coffee. Who knew a cup of coffee could be so important in ones life?

    Last edited by Howard LeGato; 22-01-2016 at 09:07 AM.

  2. #2

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    This thread is epic - https://geoexpat.com/forum/211/thread7929.html (all 100+ pages of it) for any coffee lover in Hong Kong.
    @boblam07 without doubt is THE person on GeoExpat who I think takes his coffee VERY VERY VERY seriously! Check out some of his posts on that thread.


  3. #3

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    The different ingredient variable from Canada is the tap water. Try distilled.
    Spring for an infra-red thermometer to get a more precise temp. Too high a temp and you'll release bitter elements from the beans.
    Get used to what good black coffee tastes like so you can compare. Once you add sugar and dairy, you're adding more variables into the equation and it's impossible to isolate what the issue may be.

    Last edited by shri; 22-01-2016 at 09:55 AM.
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  4. #4

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    Dont use boiling water and dont take unfiltered tap water. Chlorine and coffee is not a good mixture.

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  5. #5

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    @huja - did you mean infra-red thermometer or something else?

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  6. #6

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    Grinding Beans. How coarse or fine do you grind them? I found that too finely ground (powder like) taste terrible compared to medium ground beans when using those plungers.

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  7. #7

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    one word answer - nespresso


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    @huja - did you mean infra-red thermometer or something else?
    lol . . . yep.

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    Last edited by huja; 22-01-2016 at 09:53 AM.
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  9. #9

    Old school but still one of the best:



  10. #10

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    Great .... data center tools for making a cup of joe.


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