Coffee Recommendations

M

MissRibena

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Hi everyone

I really like my coffee; I make regular with a cafetiere and espresso with a little Bialetti. I have electric gadgets but I find the coffee is never as nice as that made the traditional ways (unless I could afford a super-dooper yoke).

I use Bewley's No 3 Medium Roast Ground Coffee (I can't remember the proper name but it's not the special fairtrade one or anything and it used to come in a green packet but changed recently) in my cafetiere and Lavazza Rossa in my Bialetti.

Anyway I'm stuck in a coffee rut and I'm looking for recommendations. It takes me ages to get through a packet if I don't like it (not to mention the cost) with MrRibena only around at weekends to share. I'm hoping nothing too obscure comes up though because I'm down the country without any specialist shops and Tesco, SuperValu, Lidl and Aldi are the only supermarkets I have access to. I'd like to use Illy but can't get it locally. Oh and I don't have a grinder.

Rebecca
 
The coffee they sell in O'Briens in either the tin or the bag is quite good. I would advise you to get a grinder (€20), as I find the freshly ground stuff to be the nicest and not as bitter as the packaged ground coffee. Still an expensive habit though!
 
I find Nescafé Gold Blend is your only man. Real posh stuff
 
If I go instant, I'd tend to go for Carte Noir or the blue Kenko. I reckon Aldi's freeze dried stuff is very close to Gold Blend and it's not bad. But definitely doesn't feel like an indulgence the way the real mccoy does.

Rebecca
 
Hogwash!

If I can't have proper coffee, I'd rather have a cup of tea than any of that 'Instant Mash' sh1te!

I find Lavazza 'Qualità rossa' just fine, and reasonably affordable (particularly in those silver-wrapped twin-packs that Tesco hide away at the bottom of the shelf, because they'd much rather sell you single packs at two-thirds of the price of the twin-pack...)

But Lidl sell a 500g pack (one of those vacuum-sealed 'briquette'-type things) that's considerably cheaper and is not-bad-at-all. A little less finely-ground than the old Luigi Lavazza, but still 100% Arabica, with all the flavour... :)
javahead1ga.gif
 
Re: Illy coffee

Hennessys on Upper Rathmines Road in Dublin sells Illy coffee. It's a very smooth coffee with none of the bitterness of most others. I buy the beans and grind them, keeping the tin in the freezer. An expert in BT's told me that coffee should be ground with a special grinder but I haven't looked into that.

As a fall back I use Cafe Noir ground. An Italian coffee pot (not expensive) is the best method I've found but I'd love one of those machines.

I used to buy Illy directly from the importer who would post about six tins and charge the retail price, around €8.50/250gms. If anyone is interested I could try to find the address. I'll give O'Briens coffee a try and see how I like it but always end up going back to Illy. It's because "I'm worth it"!

:cool:
 
Not questioning that 'you're worth it', Sherib (;) ), but This post will be deleted if not edited immediately, €8.50/250gms is pretty steep..!

Was in France and Spain recently on business, and was (once again) struck by the fact that you can walk into a common-or-garden café and buy an excellent espresso for 90c/€1.20... (even a Capuccino - and I mean a proper one! - is cheaper than most of the dross you can buy on the street in Ireland!
 
Is it just me or is the Unregistered Poster who is going on about "homo" coffee etc... really beginning to get on peoples nerves? It's alright to have opinions, but being offensive and rude is another thing entirely.
 
You're right. Illy is too expensive in Ireland but can be bought for roughly half the price in France, Italy, Spain or Holland and possibly UK. Rip off Ireland once more. I try to bring back a few tins when travelling but the tins are bulky.

Have been told that those expensive machines used in cafes, would you believe €20,000++, are far better at extracting the flavour. So, the coffeeaholic home brewer has to buy a better brand. And I do feel a bit guilty sometimes but don't drink much C2H5OH so it's swings and roundabouts. And I just don't like tea.

:)
 
Hate to admit it but Tesco's own brand stuff is very good and excellent value. I go for their French and Espresso blends myself (I like the strong stuff). I like Lavazza too, and Robert Roberts is Ok (the one in the black package).
 
My favourite everyday coffee (for a cafetiere etc.) is the Tesco 'Finest' Costa Rican (not any of the other 'Finest' ones - they're not nearly as good).
Not expensive either.

It's ready ground, and I keep mine in the freezer once I've opened it.

It also did very well in a recent F&W Magazine survey (and I suspect this is the reason it's now often sold out - I have started buying 2-3 at a time !!)
 
The best way to may coffee is to use a good Bialetti infuser like Miss Ribena, try to get a good steel one instead of aluminium.It is the same process as a Cafe Steam and compression passed through the coffee.
To be honest you should try to go to some Italian / Spanish/ Exotice food wholesalers and buy in bulk, allot of the coffeee in the Supermarket is much the same in taste but only branded differently.
Remember Coffee and Tea are commodities like oil, If you particularly like the coffee at your local Cafe ask them what brand it is, as you can always order from the Company yourself ,Lavazza for e.g
 
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