[Closed] Help me to like coffee.

Your route in is a cup of decent black coffee, steaming hot.

It's the milk that gives coffee that cat sick-up flava.

nescafe gold blend. 2 scoops.

🙄 @ jam bo

Sorry dude, but we're trying to make alfabus like coffee here...

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 caffine 🙂

Tea is so much better

her indoors drinks decaff catsick with loads of milk... this could be why I wince at the smell of coffee.

Could 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.

hmm, '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...

@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.

I 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 caffine

Will echo what camo said above, milk in coffee is horrible. Black Americano, extra shot please.

A 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?

I 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.

Strong 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.

Get 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.

Will echo what camo said above, milk in coffee is horrible. Black Americano, extra shot please.

Earlier 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.

Don'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 [i]haute cuisine[/i].

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! 😉

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).

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.

OP & 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]

Ignore the weird non coffee drinker ^^^^^ 😉

This is not a route to help you like coffee.

😆

I'm used to that

😀

Mmmmm.... 🙂

[img] [/img]

Why 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!

Someone help me stop liking coffee, it's not good for my sugar intake (can't drink it without)
Help me like green tea please!

Someone help me stop liking coffee, it's not good for my sugar intake (can't drink it without)

Get some better coffee 🙂

And 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. 😉

I 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.

Can'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:

[img] http://tinyurl.com/ndgh2wt [/img]

ignore the coffee snobs. And the black coffee extremists.

Stone the unbeliever!

😉

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?

Get yourself a one-cup stove-top espresso pot or a caffetiere and some proper grounds

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.

DezB - 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.

He 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. 😉

And 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 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.

Going anywhere near Dorchester?
This place will sort you out - [url= http://www.coffeehouseandkitchen.com/beverages/coffee ]No. 35 High West Street[/url]. 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.

[i]read the thread.[/i]

"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?

hangover piss

Have you tried Red Bush, wrecker? That's like hangover piss-infused hay...

Have you tried Red Bush, wrecker? That's like hangover piss-infused hay...

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.

Alfabus, 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!

"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?

I guess it is a bit like wine, or real ale, lots of foods in that you do need to persevere a little bit and you can get a lot of enjoyment from if you do. I don't think liking stuff that tastes good is being snobby.

What's wrong with just liking tea? It's not like you insist on nothing but fizzy pop when you visit your folks.

I'm coffeely indifferent... Rarely drink it unless absolutely dead on my feet.

It always amuses me that the MIL insists on bringing her "posh" coffee with her when they stay... By "posh" she means instant coffee in a fancy jar.

[i]I don't think liking stuff that tastes good is being snobby.[/i]

Neither do I... neither do I. 🙄

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Didn't like coffee for years but one Valentines Night out with the missus I decided I'd try a double espresso at 11:30pm. Delicious, but needless to say I didn't sleep that night – for the wrong reasons.

"Great enjoyment" from coffee!?? They like being snobby about it.

Nope, good coffee is a genuine pleasure. Instant coffee is cack. No need for snobbery.

Don't listen to any of that purist crap above. Milky coffees or lattes are not evil, they do not taste like sick. Some people don't like them, but that's ok and many people do.

Some points:

1) Coffee should not be bitter. If it is, it's been made wrong. Water too hot makes it bitter. Do not use boiling water.

2) Coffee goes off, quite quickly. Beans last maybe 4 weeks, ground coffee maybe 2. It has to be stored well though. Best way is in a bag with all the air squezed out and sealed, and in another sealed container. Not in the fridge. If you don't drink it fast enough divide into smaller sealed squeezed bags and keep those unopened in the freezer til you need them

Try as many different kinds as you can, both brewing methods and beans. Beans are mainly differentiated by continent. Africa, Indonesia, Central America mainly, but also Hawaii, Carribean and Australia.

Each bean has it's ideal roast, lighter or darker. African coffees are lighter and they can make a lighter infusion, more tea like.

As for milk, sugar, vanilla etc, to taste! Espresso based drinks like latte and cappuccino are generally better with dark roasted beans or espresso blends.

Alfabus I too am in London in the week with little to do besides work, let me take you out for a coffee 🙂

Don't listen to any of that purist crap above.

I'd accept the wisdom of your words, Molgrips, if it wasn't for...

1) Coffee should not be bitter. If it is, it's been made wrong. Water too hot makes it bitter. Do not use boiling water.

2) Coffee goes off, quite quickly. Beans last maybe 4 weeks, ground coffee maybe 2. It has to be stored well though. Best way is in a bag with all the air squezed out and sealed, and in another sealed container. Not in the fridge. If you don't drink it fast enough divide into smaller sealed squeezed bags and keep those unopened in the freezer til you need them

Try as many different kinds as you can, both brewing methods and beans. Beans are mainly differentiated by continent. Africa, Indonesia, Central America mainly, but also Hawaii, Carribean and Australia.

Each bean has it's ideal roast, lighter or darker. African coffees are lighter and they can make a lighter infusion, more tea like.

Pure purist crap, God bless ya. 😉

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!

Alfabus I too am in London in the week with little to do besides work, let me take you out for a coffee

Might take you up on that some time 🙂

Brewing up another STW bromance? 🙂 Molgrips, I hope you're not just planning on taking him to your local starbucks.

My route in was a week in Italy and discovering espresso. I'd never been into instant but discovering what coffee should taste like got me hooked.

coffee snobs can't even say the word, but a s***bucks double-shot soy latte is a 'non-challenging', enjoyable drink.

while you're all here, how do i stop my moka-pot coffee tasting bitter?

(i've heard that i should / shouldn't fill the pot with cold / pre-heated water. But this is all clearly bollocks, as the water has to boil to generate a little pressure for the pot to work - the temperature of water when it's filled is irrelevant)

Pmsl you guys aren't really doing much for the stw stereotype here by backing up the "coffee snob" part. 😀 Fine ales of the cask variety yes, but coffee
Bleuuuggghhh.

Now for the big question. ... what cup size for coffee in Wales @ 80°c.... To bring the flavour alive.

op stick to tea Ftw!! 🙂

Has anyone else had Lao coffee? It's like a 'rounder', sweeter espresso. Not that regurgitated weasel stuff, btw!

Don't bother getting into coffee unless your poo doesn't run on time in the mornings (it will become as punctual as a German train) or you like getting the jitters*

*I may be caffeine sensitive

Glad to read that someone else rates Aldi Java, I put hot milk and honey in mine. 😛

Pure purist crap

I'm not the one saying it has to be black. I just had a vanilla latte, I'm hardly a purist!

But this is all clearly bollocks, as the water has to boil to generate a little pressure for the pot to work

Nope. Boiling water would force the water through very fast and too hot. Trick is to let the steam from the non boiling water push it through gently and slowly.

and (3) unlike tea, it's not a [s]n[/s]man drink.

FTFY.

I'm not the one saying it has to be black. I just had a vanilla latte, I'm hardly a purist!

Hey, I'm not the one giving exacting temperature/storage/country of origin instructions!

I'd forget espresso at first and start with a few less heavy roasts in a cafetiere / filter machine, or something like an all day, or house blend from a good coffee supplier. If there's a booths supermarket in your area they do some nice ones, their all day blend is really nice.

and avoid americanos unless you like strong bitter coffee.

I do enjoy a nice espresso but I think there's a lot of snobbery and willy waving about espresso machines and espresso in general as if its the be all and end all of coffee. There's a lot more ways to enjoy coffee than a tiny cup of the strong black stuff.

molgrips - Member

Nope. Boiling water would force the water through very fast and too hot. Trick is to let the steam from the non boiling water push it through gently and slowly.

well, maybe, but it's still non-dependent upon the temperature of the water at the start. Which is what the rest of the internet tells me i'm doing wrong/right.

i'm letting it rise slowly, at barely a trickle, but it still tastes/smells like burnt tar

maybe i just prefer cafetiere coffee... which is a pain, because i enjoy the faff of a moka pot.

That's not purism, it's how to brew coffee, and some basic information. Storage is important wether you like espresso or Pumpkin Spice Lattes with whip. Stale coffee is good for nothing but the garden.

it's still non-dependent upon the temperature of the water at the start.

Yes, true. However if you use cold water it takes quite a while on a low heat. If you put it on high then you have to be right on the ball to turn it down at the right moment.

It shouldn't taste burnt at all, maybe it's still too hot or something. I generally use cold water and a low ish heat til it starts to appear from the nozzle, then I turn it all the way down, and off if necessary, so it just oozes out as slow as possible. I also wet the coffee beforehand, no idea if this helps or not. Coffee comes out tasting non-burnt and really amazingly flavourful. Strong tho 😯

Ah, okay then. You're just really knowledgeable and exacting about your generic coffee experience? 😉

Vanilla latte, eh? Sweet.

Sorry I CBA to read all this but I suggest leaving a shed-load of work until the last minute. Then you will surely appreciate coffee!

Two kids is what made my wife appreciate coffee.

You're just really knowledgeable and exacting about your generic coffee experience?

Wot you talking about?

I find the secret with a moka pot is that you need to be on the ball and turn the heat completely off as soon as it makes any hint of gurgling / spitting noise, otherwise you boil the coffee. Other than that I get on fine starting with hot water out the kettle and putting the heat up full. Nice and quick too that way.

Don't drink instant it is not the best coffee. Ground or beans, persevere with it, but if you dont like the aroma you could be onto a loser.

Two of the best smells in the world, fresh bread and fresh coffee. I'm salivating just thinking about it!

I didn't like beer when I first tried it..........!

load of old poodle****, pretencious nonsense.

coffee is a means to an end, served black, tepid and strong as you think your heart can handle

i only drink it cos iDave told me to.

It tastes like hangover piss.

Sir has tried this delicacy? Why?

Sir has tried this delicacy? Why?