A Coder's Guide to Coffee | Hacker News Reader

A Coder's Guide to Coffee

blog.moertel.com

75 pointsbuluzhai55 comments

"As most software and creative professionals know, coffee is an important technology for boosting mental acuity and maintaining peak on-the-job performance"

I would personally worry much more about the real long term performance impact than the tastiness of my coffee. Do some googling on caffeine tolerance and caffeine dependence - something like 300mg of caffeine a day for 3 weeks and you are fully tolerant and typically caffeine intoxication starts around 500mg. 300mg is often one large latte. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors and prevents proper sleep. It's also worth noting that caffeine has a half life of 6 hours and stimulates with a burst of adrenaline that is much shorter lasting than the adenosine binding which prevents proper sleep. Caffeine is a useful tool to have in the toolbox, but long term addiction leads to decreased performance, not increased performance. I personally will drink my coffee at Red Rock or whatever nice cafe because I find it necessary to manage my intake very carefully to maximize performance.

I'm fairly confident that the author meant the opening line to be taken as humor, not actual advice about maintaining peak on-the-job performance. Yeah, I'm fairly confident about that.

nevertheless, many use it in this way...

I'm a espresso fan. A double or triple shot americano to start the day is awesome, particularly when the kids (toddlers) have kept Mom and Dad up half the night.

I use a Gaggia Classic espresso maker (bought used on ebay for a decent price) and a hacked Krups burr grinder (added #4 washers to allow the burrs to get a good espresso grind). It's hard to make a bad shot with this setup - easily beats what you can get at most coffee shops, except for one shop in my town that has both high quality baristas and a really good commercial espresso machine. I also have access to fresh, locally roasted organic espresso beans. If you're a latte or mocha fan, buy a stovetop steamer and do a little research on how to properly steam milk. Guests are usually impressed.

It's a fun setup and I enjoy the preparation ritual. If only my kids were old enough to begin their barista training . . .

Do you have any stovetop steamers you recommend?

I have the one pictured here (http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/accessories/stovetopfrother/ar...). I've had two of these - the first somehow broke at the thumb handle part internally, but it was replaced for free.

The one thing I don't like about it is that where the top screws to the main body, there is a rubber gasket with holes about the diameter of a pencil eraser. You want one of these holes to match up with the hole on the steam wand - if you tighten the lid in a way that makes the gasket slide away from that, it seems like the wand isn't as effective.

But with a little practice (oddly enough, the sound is the key), you get a really decent foam out of it. You won't be making latte art, but you'll do much better than the vaguely hot milk splashed around by some coffee shops. I found a thermometer to be really helpful as well - I use one that I bought for $5 at Borders one day on a whim.

The other thing is that you have to let the steam pressure build back up between drinks - you can't really do three drinks in a row without doing that. But for one latte or mocha it's fine. It probably takes less than 5 mins on the stovetop to get the pressure back up though.

If I get another stove top steamer, I'll probably try something like http://www.1-800-espresso.com/stove-top-steamer.html to avoid the gasket issue I mentioned.

It's funny, but the stove top steamer works better than the steam wand on the Gaggia - the Gaggia has some weird foamer attachment that creates really bad bubbles without making any nice pourable foam.

http://www.wholelattelove.com has great online videos that talk about/demo various espresso machines and http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides is another great resource.

Another Tip: Try an Aeropress

Designed by the same guy who came up with the aerobie, it makes very good espresso shots (add water for americano) and it costs about 25 dollars. The great thing about espresso vs. french press or drip is that it's much less acidic so you're stomach will thank you.

http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm

I make cold-brew coffee sometimes, which also lessens the acidity of coffee (supposedly by 67% or so.) It is especially good if you ever make iced/frozen coffee drinks, because you can adjust the concentrate ratio and get a much richer taste as cold coffees go. I also like the Aeropress, but my wife prefers the cold-brew method so we probably do that more often. We're trying to cut down on both, though. I recently read a couple of studies that say that unfiltered coffee increased your risk of heart disease, because the diterpenes raise your serum concentrations of cholesterol, triacylglycerols, and alanine aminotransferase.

By the way, has anyone tried a Chemex?

Sure, I use a 3-cup Chemex daily. It's great - the brew is consistently high-quality, and it's so easy to clean. You just toss out the filter and rinse the carafe clean, done in 4 seconds.

The Chemex filters tend to mellow the taste (not the caffeine) of the coffee out just a bit compared to a french press, but I personally like that aspect.

Here's the article's doppelganger ('Cha': Tea-Drinking for IT Developers): http://www.simple-talk.com/community/blogs/philfactor/archiv...

If you find "mainstream" coffee enjoyable, is it really in your best interest to raise your expectations? If you suddenly find normal coffee lacking, have you really improved your life?

It's quite plausible that if you find mainstream coffee enjoyable, you might find quality coffee even more enjoyable.

If you find cheap wine enjoyable, that doesn't mean you won't find a Grand Cru a hundred times more delectable.

Quite the opposite, in my experience. The more really good wine I try, the less I'm able to enjoy cheap wine. These days I prefer water over cheap wine, unless I'm specifically trying to get drunk.

The same with coffee... after discovering freshly ground French press, I'll drink and really enjoy two cups a day, rather than the 6-10 cups of stale filter coffee I'd drink previously.

Yes. And the reason why you enjoy the quality coffee more than the cheap filter stuff is because it is more pleasurable. That is also the reason why you don't enjoy the cheap stuff anymore - because you know that it's actually pretty bad. You can still drink it anyway, but you know it's not that good.

Suggesting that this is a bad thing is kind of suggesting that you don't think your tastes should evolve for the better throughout your life. Pushing this argument to its natural conclusion, we should all just eat candy, drink fizzy soda, and watch kids' cartoons for the rest of our lives. Do you think that's a better state than knowing that there are such things as fine food, great wine and inspiring movies and books?

I recently became aware that I was unable to review a movie with anything more profound than, "It held my attention for two hours." I've been actively seeking out movies that are considered great, and just engaging my brain a bit more while I watch them. It has significantly increased my appreciation for many movies. It's also meant I've noticed more flaws, but it's made the experience of movie-watching so much more enjoyable and meaningful, and not just the time-killer it used to be.

> Suggesting that this is a bad thing

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that. I think it's great.

"Yes. And the reason why you enjoy the quality coffee more than the cheap filter stuff is because it is more pleasurable. That is also the reason why you don't enjoy the cheap stuff anymore - because you know that it's actually pretty bad. You can still drink it anyway, but you know it's not that good. Suggesting that this is a bad thing is kind of suggesting that you don't think your tastes should evolve for the better throughout your life. "

You're assuming that enjoyment and happiness always improve when drinking better coffee/wine/beer/etc. Untrue. If you're perfectly happy with what you have now, cultivating a more sophisticated taste will usually just frustrate you because now to get the same level of enjoyment you had previously you have to spend more money or time. Going back to what you had before doesn't return you to a baseline level of happiness, it makes you unhappy. To get back to the baseline you now have to regularly consume expensive or time-consuming coffee instead of the cheap stuff.

If your goal in life is to enjoy the "finest things", go right ahead. If your goal in life is to be happy, then be very careful about raising the bar for things that you enjoy. Being able to enjoy cheap crap makes you just as happy as being able to enjoy expensive crap, but at lower cost.

(As it turns out, this argument doesn't apply to books and movies and music because good books, movies, and music cost just as much as the crap ones, and because good art is intellectually stimulating, which is worthwhile for its own reasons.)

Good food is also intellectually stimulating (at the very least, many gourmets will agree). In addition, good food is often healthier, more balanced, etc.

I'd say that in many, many cases, "better stuff" has many other advantages than simply being considered better.

I actually am not a big fan of expensive coffee, because I can't taste the difference between a good cup of coffee and an excellent cup of coffee. And some people are not big fans of expensive wine because they can't taste the difference between a bad wine and a good wine. But I don't feel I'm superior to people who can taste the difference. In fact, I'd say I'm inferior - my range of experiences in my life is poorer than theirs - at least when it comes to coffee.

Honestly, I don't see how you can present the ignorance of better things as an advantage, except in are really base, utilitarian way, where we are all hamsters on the hedonistic treadmill with no higher aspirations beyond immediate pleasurable gratification.

"But I don't feel I'm superior to people who can taste the difference. In fact, I'd say I'm inferior - my range of experiences in my life is poorer than theirs - at least when it comes to coffee."

I don't feel superior either, I'm just glad I have time and money left over for other things. Feeling superior due to a taste for fancy coffee is the kind of elitism I have no interest in.

Plus there's some well-known psychology behind this stuff. Expensive wine tastes better, in part, largely because it is more expensive.

"Honestly, I don't see how you can present the ignorance of better things as an advantage, except in are really base, utilitarian way, where we are all hamsters on the hedonistic treadmill with no higher aspirations beyond immediate pleasurable gratification."

If you're ignorant of better things, you're happy with what you have. If you're familiar with better things, you're unhappy with what you have, unless you spend time and energy on better things instead, at which point you're just as happy as you were before except with less money and less free time. That's the same reward profile as drug addictions, frankly.

I think it's even more hedonistic to waste time and effort on exceptional food and drink when you could just keep yourself contented with average stuff and devote that time, money, and energy to higher pursuits. Not that I'm entirely uninterested in those kinds of experiences, but I'm not the one to be accusing of hedonism here.

I just discovered Night Train, and boy does Thunderbird taste like swill these days.

It's like sushi. Mediocre sushi can be enjoyable, especially when you get a multi-course meal out of it. But premium sushi, the kind shipped straight from Japan or wherever the fish live best, is another thing entirely. You can't even compare the mediocre with the premium. Different planes of satisfaction. It's the difference between decent and incredible.

I've tried all the stuff mentioned in the article, and to me personally (allow me to repeat this to nip the obvious retorts in the bud - to ME, PERSONALLY :P) it hasn't made one bit of difference.

I still use a french press, but that has a lot to do with convenience. I just don't grind it fresh anymore or spend tons of money on fresh-roasted beans - a bag of 8 O'Clock Colombian works just fine.

So you might find that ultra-fresh coffee brewed in such a special way is the cat's pajamas, or you might like me find that it was way too much time, effort and money for way too little payoff. Trying new things is fun and worthwhile, but in this post-Internet post-9/11 pre-intergalactic wars world, product fetishism definitely abounds ("I won't take notes in anything except a Moleskine journal" and such).

But as always, why em em vee.

I am in the same boat with the french press - I really can't tell that much of a difference between a cup of freshly roasted/ground french press coffee and a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

However, I recently switched to an Aeropress single cup coffee maker, and it is a HUGE difference - it makes a small concentrated cup of coffee with very little bitterness, and brings out the coffee's natural sweetness. Also, I find it easier to use and clean than a french press. See http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm

Yep, I did the same. The French Press was great and all, but I couldn't produce a good cup consistently and it was quite messy. Didn't particularly like the grit either. Have been using the Aeropress for about 4 months straight and really love it. The flavors are great, clean up is quick and painless. Now I'm thinking about roasting my own beans. A local roaster recommended the Behmor: http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.behmor.php

I’ve never had good results using a french press with a blade grinder. You need such a coarse grind for the press, and fine grit is just inevitable with a cheap blade. I got a burr grinder several years ago, and my french press coffee has improved immensely. Of course, the clean up still sucks - I only break out the press for fresh, interesting coffee that I happen in to.

What's wrong with the cleanup? I've never had a clog just rinsing the grounds right down the kitchen sink.

I like that Aeropress is made by the same people who invented better Frisbees and yoyos. It's got that old school geek charm, which has motivated me to try it out. From a marketing perspective it seems that in addition to the stimulant use I'm using coffee as a way to define myself as a clever and discerning person.

Can't beat the Aeropress for the price. Saving tons of money by stopping my daily Peet's runs.

I used to not care much about beans, but recently, I've changed my tune. Now, I don't spend a lot of money on beans (I buy five pound bags of Equal Exchange from my co-op, since I get a 20% discount on bulk orders), but we had to use Eight O'Clock beans for a few days waiting for an order, and oh my, that coffee was not good.

I do appreciate a good cup of coffee, with fresh beans, a good brewing method, etc, etc. But...I don't have the time or motivation to do that regularly.

> I've tried all the stuff mentioned in the article, and to me personally ... it hasn't made one bit of difference.

You mean you actually roasted good greens, let them degass, ground them correctly and pulled espresso shots (at the right temp./pressure) and found them to have not one bit of diff from regular, supermarket/sb coffee?

No I was specifically referring to the first part of the article, about obtaining fresh-roasted beans, grinding them, and then brewing them in a french press using water off the boil.

The article writer alleges that that process improves your daily coffee significantly - I related my own experience, which was to the contrary.

Oh ok. The "all" and "one bit" threw me off. And the creamy, 4 days old hand-roasted, Yellow Bourbon SHB double shot made me answer. :)

Same here, until I got simple carafe-style water filter as a gift and realized/remembered that my tap water is really gross. It not only tastes bad, it literally stinks. I trained myself to drink it so I wouldn't waste money on bottled water, but I never realized how much it affects the taste of coffee and tea.

Actually, I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned the importance of water. My cheap carafe filter makes a huge difference even to my relatively insensitive palate.

This is a huge issue for coffee. Making sure not to use tap water here at my office vastly improves the output of the Keurig unit we have.

You want a Waterwise 9000. Really. Trust me. WORLD of difference.

Don't sell 8 O'clock short.

http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/204/con...

I have this sneaking suspicion that its harvested by third-world leukemia patients, or fertilized with aborted ponies or something else terrible, because it's too good to be true. I live out in the sticks and my coffee options are the grocery store and the gas station. It's not only tastes better, it's half the price of any other whole-bean coffee you can find in a typical grocery store. (I like whole-bean original myself. The Columbian is too sour for me.)

If you find mainstream coffee enjoyable, by all means stay with it!

Homebrewed (lit.) coffee will definitely teach you to taste deficiencies in everything from restaurants to Starbucks, but if you don't already think they're there then it's definitely either cheaper or easier to just stay innocent.

My experience was out of frustration with what I felt was watery or burnt or too sugary. Homebrew fits the bill perfectly. YMMV, yeah?

Not everyone finds higher quality stuff to be better. I prefer cheap white sparkling to champagne, and prefer instant coffee to any of the "nicer" coffees I've tried. But if you try higher quality coffee and prefer it, why not? It becomes a good treat.

As someone who moved from Europe the US, I can tell you I envy Americans who have never tasted anything other then standard US food. Ignorance truly is bliss.

The actual value of connoisseur-ship can be debated in ANY category, from coffee to beer to audio equipment, ad infinitum. I do think it would be worth it, since being able to discern depth, nuance, and quality is very rewarding. However, what I absolutely hate is arrogant connoisseurs, whether or not they actually know their stuff. You know the guy who asks what you're drinking, and when you say Miller Lite he scoffs and claims that all domestic light beers taste the same, then glances around to see who was impressed. I'm sure the same thing occurs in the coffee world.

If you are in the sf bay area and want to try freshly roasted beans, I highly recommend ritual roasters (http://www.ritualroasters.com/) in the mission district of SF, or if you are in the south bay, barefoot coffee (http://www.barefootcoffeeroasters.com/). YMMV, but for me, it has made a big difference in quality between making my own cup in the morning vs going to a Starbucks.

I also find having a good vacuum insulating coffee mug to keep the coffee hot makes a difference too.

I second that notion. You can also get ritual coffee at the creamery right by caltrain.

It seems like many people have problems with their french presses. When I first got my french press, it tasted like any coffee I had ever had from Starbucks. Recently, things have started to take a turn for the better - I can make a damn delish cup. This is what has changed:

A lot of it comes down to grinding your beans, right before brewing. How much do you put in the grinder? Usually I use +1 to however many cups I am making. The average mug can hold around 2 cups - so that means 3 tablespoons of beans.

Pour slowly some boiled water (usually you want to wait a moment after it begins to boil) over the beans. Stir briefly and let it sit.

What you should see is basically a foamy rich bit (kinda like crema on espresso) going on at the top of the brew. I've heard a friend call this 'the bloom', though I don't know if that is a technical term for it but I like it.

You wanna keep this bloom going, which means stirring intermittently for the next 4 minutes. Usually I stir a single brew once at the start, twice during the steeping, and once right before pressing it.

Place the cover and press on top and press down slowly. Try to press down with uniform pressure and keep it straight. I know my press is kinda jiggly when you press down. If you favour one side too much, you might let some grinds slip through the other side.

Pour and serve.

If you still find this dull, try other types of coffee. Try drinking it black (I know, this is daring for people who prefer 'sludge water' aka 3 milk 3 sugar). Personally I am a big fan of Ethiopian and Kenyan beans. I find they have such strong undertones. It is like drinking expensive wine!

Oh it's totally show-and-tell time: I'm a big fan of the Stumptown roasters out of PDX, in particular, their "Hair Bender" roast.

Modafinil, anyone?

Since I got on the stuff I only drink coffee in social situations.

Another interesting coffee variation is (forgive the lack of diacriticals here) ca phe sua da, Vietnamese iced coffee. (http://www.wanderingspoon.com/ws/Vietnamese_Coffee_-_Ca_Phe....)

We used a vacuum press at work for a couple of years. It makes great coffee and it's mesmerizing to watch, video here: http://daily.hotpads.com/hotpads_daily/2007/01/coffee_revolu...

The AeroPress (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GXZ2GS) is another fun device, good coffee from a machine faster and easier to clean than a french press.

Whole Foods is a good place to go for freshly roasted beans - Most locations I have been to roast their coffee in the store and put roast dates on it.

You can do packaged coffee right. This is pretty much the only coffee I drink now. It is semi-regional to the South, but anyone who tries it becomes an instant fan.

http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/Catalog_CS/coffee-detail/...

Tea snobbery is a lot less complicated, and doesn't really require any special tools beyond a mesh strainer of some description.

I couldn't disagree more. There's at least as much variety in teas as in coffees and the "skill" needed to expertly discern between them is an equal breed of obsession to that of the most affected coffee-snob. Tea preparation can be equally complex, requiring certain timing and techniques, depending on the type and grade of tea.

Just sayin'.

http://merchantsofgreencoffee.com

I swear by them :-)

At its simplest, e.g. at the office, I use a $2 (oops, $3, now) Melitta single cup brewer. (1)

http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-64007B-Single-Coffee-Filter/dp...

All it requires is a cup, a number 2 filter, and ground coffee. Hot water is fairly ubiquitous, e.g. from the hot water / tea tap on the officer coffee machine. I also use a measuring cup (ok, this is getting complicated) to ensure I am not pouring in too much water, which would make a mess.

At the office, grinding is not convenient. So I bring pre-ground coffee in "flavor seal" type bag; this an impervious (plastic/foil combination, typically) bag that has a one way valve that allows for pressure from the outgassing of CO2 to escape. For example, Starbucks, Caribou, and the like all sell their pre-packaged beans in these types of bags (not that I'm recommending them especially, but most people have probably seen the packaging; in fact, I believe "flavor seal" may be a Starbucks mark).

To help keep the coffee fresh, after dispensing a dose into the filter, I press the air out of the bag (out of the top; the valve is not high enough capacity for this) while folding the top over repeatedly until I have the folds down fairly tight against the remaining grounds. Then I rubber band the folds into place. This removes most of the air, and outgassing further reduces O2 content as it sits.

The coffee stays reasonably fresh until it is consumed -- I'm also not adverse to the flavor changes as it "ages" as long as that process does not go too far. With a minimum of fuss, I get a much better cup of coffee than the office can provide.

If you grind your coffee but hate the mess of grinds getting all over the place, try placing the grinder inside a container like a Tupperware casserole pan or similar. The grounds only get as far as that container, which is easily wiped out.

I have a big old beast of an Italian espresso machine, but I found it to just be too much hassle and mess. It sits in the corner of the counter, in need of a descaling.

Cash is tight for me, right now: When I have a bit more disposable income, I'd like to try:

Aerobie Aeropress

http://www.amazon.com/AeroPress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp...

Pump and Seal Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

http://www.pump-n-seal.com/

The latter to keep the beans fresh.

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(1) All links are free of any referral ID's or any benefit to me. Just provided FYI.

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