☕ What's your definition of "good" coffee?

[lakeman]

I am genuinely pleasantly surprised when I get a passable coffee when away from home.
I moderate my expectations , unlike my wife who sends the coffee back, usually without much improvement.
Had a reasonable piccolo last week on the slopes with a ceramic mug at the remarkable last week .
Had a decent latte in the Qantas lounges in the past.
Ps. You may notice the home coffee roaster in my profile pic!

 

[CaptJCool]

I am genuinely pleasantly surprised when I get a passable coffee when away from home.
I moderate my expectations , unlike my wife who sends the coffee back, usually without much improvement.
Had a reasonable piccolo last week on the slopes with a ceramic mug at the remarkable last week .
Had a decent latte in the Qantas lounges in the past.
Ps. You may notice the home coffee roaster in my profile pic!

Oh for the days of Percolators!

Interestingly our Oz coffee culture primarily derived from Italy (couldn’t say the olde style Coffee palaces out of the UK were stella)

The French didn’t show up In Oz in any great numbers but they did in Quebec

 

[RooFlyer]

Best coffee I discovered in many, many visits to Canada was the Wild Flour bakery cafe in Banff, run by Australians

 

[Happy Dude]

Good coffee is exemplified at Tazza d'Oro opposite the Pantheon in Rome. Once you've had a cafe there, you've had "good" coffee and the standard for every subsequent shot has been set. It must have lots of crema to even enter the conversation.

 

[Himeno]

You are aware chocolate contains caffeine right?

Not enough to make it disgusting (like coffee), only enough to improve migraines.

 

[jase05]

I never drink instant coffee and try to avoid pods.
Has to be freshly ground beans from a decent barista. I have cut back though and now only 4-5 per day. Most coffee I’ve had around the world isn’t a scratch on Australian or NZ especially what you get in Asia and most of Europe.
I don’t mind a good Middle Eastern coffee though and still think Oman Airlines has had the best coffee during a flight

 

[justinbrett]

Not enough to make it disgusting (like coffee), only enough to improve migraines.

Depends on the coffee and the chocolate.

90g of Lindt dark or 100g of Cadbury milk is equal to the caffeine content in a Nespresso pod.

 

[Forg]

Not enough to make it disgusting (like coffee), only enough to improve migraines.

I would suggest that the caffeine doesn't add any perceptible flavour ... this explains why on blind taste tests, 83.4% of testers couldn't tell the difference between a cup of tea and a cup of hot water (and also why the same percentage of statistics are made up).
The odd flavour you get in decaf isn't because the caffeine is missing, it's because of the chemicals used to remove the caffeine.

 

[Cloud9]

But not powdered hot chocolate. It has to be made with dark chocolate beads

Or with a whole freaking block of chocolate, as Gânache chocolate shops used to do in their cafés. Sadly, they shut these all down during the pandemic. But what a cracking picture my face must have made when I asked if I could buy some of their hot chocolate flakes, only to be informed that they just put a bar of chocolate in and poured hot cream and milk over it...

 

[SydneySwan]

I thought discussion of religion was against AFF rules ?

I believe that coffee has an exemption. I was at hospital yesterday (minor issue - broken finger) and one of the questions I was asked along with next of kin, etc., was religion and I answered coffee. The nurse was nonplussed.

I will forever remember the coffee made by a crew member on an American Airlines flight in Jan 2005 from LA to NY in J. It was served in a mug and was so perfect I ordered another and it was just as good. It was so unexpected and no other airline coffee has come remotely close since and in the majority of cases airline coffee is barely serviceable. I have faithfully preserved this memory by not flying AA since.

Absolutely the worst part of being away from Australia / NZ is being able to source reliably great coffee. The rest of the world seems to charge a premium price for ...... well in many places disappointing slop. The UK is particularly poor although Hagen in Leadenhall Market is a notable exception. Barista is an Australian (of course). For the sake of brevity I won't list all the cafes that disappointed me on my last visit to the UK.

Often when overseas I channel my inner @Himeno and revert to hot chocolate as a more reliable option. There is often too much disappointment when you order the local coffee.

The Sunnyside Cafe in Boracay serves what they call 'Death Cream' - an espresso with thick, creamy custard. Their blurb says it is like drinking liquid ice cream and it is a fantastic treat. I survived. I am not sure it is really what you would call coffee though but I can't wait for my next visit.

 

[Forg]

Or with a whole freaking block of chocolate, as Gânache chocolate shops used to do in their cafés. Sadly, they shut these all down during the pandemic. But what a cracking picture my face must have made when I asked if I could buy some of their hot chocolate flakes, only to be informed that they just put a bar of chocolate in and poured hot cream and milk over it...

There's a small chain of fancy chocolate shops in Sydney by the name of Adora ... they may have expanded further, we first went to their original shop when we signed up for one of those "foodie" bus tours which take you around places you might not otherwise discover (the tour was lead by Maeve O'Meara if anyone remembers the various seasons of Gourmet Food Safari from SBS?) and that was the only shop at the time. They were situated on the Cook's River at (I think Earlwood), not that far from where said "river" gets to the airport ...

... anyway the point of all this drivel is that they made a hot chocolate by melting one of the brands of Belgian chocolate that's used for making pralines. eg. Caillebaut (?sp?). They had something else in there, it may just have been cream, but hoooo boy was that stuff good with a waffle for a brunch after having parked the car at North Strathfield up casually ridden the pushie alongside the Cook's River down to said chocolate shop ...

And they now have shops in quite a few locations, so you can prolly get that Smurfy(*) hot choccolate all over the joint.


(*) Cultural-reference intentionally chosen for Belgianness

Absolutely the worst part of being away from Australia / NZ is being able to source reliably great coffee. The rest of the world seems to charge a premium price for ...... well in many places disappointing slop. The UK is particularly poor although Hagen in Leadenhall Market is a notable exception. Barista is an Australian (of course). For the sake of brevity I won't list all the cafes that disappointed me on my last visit to the UK.

Our last OS holiday was 2018 to the UK, and for the return home I booked 4 nights in one place (more relaxing than packing up, moving on, setting-up somewhere else - for the end of your holiday) which was about a 10 minute walk from Borough Markets. Now I know you can get decent coffee there, however I wanted to go somewhere closer to where we were staying ... first thing next morning I followed the smell of coffee to a little joint around the corner and even from outside the coffee-shop I heard the New Zealand accent coming from behind the coffee-machine and knew I'd found the right place ...

 

[elanshin]

For the travellers in NYC. Having just been there, little Collins near grand Central is very good. Dudley's near little Italy area was also solid.

Give Bluestone Lane a miss. Seems the expansion and franchising has just turned it into another chain this time with "aussie cafe" as the theme.

 

[Lynda2475]

Dudley's near little Italy area was also solid.

I usually stay a couple of blocks from Dudley's on the LES, its decent. There used to be a great French wine bar 2 blocks east of there that did coffee in mornings and early arvo which was fab but unfortunately Covid saw it close.

One of my favourites in NYC is actually Devoción, their original Roastery & Coffee Shop is in Williamsburg Brooklyn. They fly beans in from Colombia, roast and serve on site. Looks like they have now have 4 other cafes including two in Manhattan (at Flatiron and in Midtown) but Ive only had coffee at the orginal.

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

I feel like, as has been alluded to here, your definition of 'good' will change depending on where you are. For me the go to is a 2-3 shot latte with either one sugar or some vanilla/hazelnut syrup. I didn't drink coffee until I was 26 and first got onto it in Canada with sickly sweet American style coffees as I couldn't stand the bitterness. That's faded over time but I still like a little sweet kick and don't really do black coffee of any kind. So my list of hits and misses is below!

Japan - Rarely will I get espresso as it's a bit w*nky in most places and overpriced so more often than not it's konbini coffee, likely Craft Boss Latte. A few exceptions to this are The Roastery by Nozy Coffee on Cat St in Shibuya/Harajuku and Byron Bay Coffee Co in Aoshima, Miyazaki. The first was the typical Japanese hipster roastery but nailed a strong latte and the latter a little cart in a park staffed by a Japanese girl who had lived in (of all places) Byron Bay and learned to make coffee here. Byron Bay Coffee has branches in Tokyo as well but not sure if they would be as good given the barista! Also Niseko/Kutchan has an oversized market for half decent coffees based on the amount of Aussies. Some good ones are Sprout, Mountain Kiosk and any cafe at a Rhythm store.

UK - As has been mentioned above, practically nowehere... All their coffee seems to be weak and overpriced and on 2 visits only managed one decent coffee. Barbie Green outside the Barbican Centre did a pretty banging breakfast and again a decent strong latte. Ironically it's an 'aussie cafe' but that I have learned is not a guarantee of good coffee... Also avoid SHIOK! next to the Pan Pacific, very expensive and milky was my experience(s) here.

Singapore - It was Clinton St Baking Company on Purvis St next to Raffles but it's gone so generally stick to Kopi and bubble tea around here now.

Canada - Bit of a fan of the Timmy Ho's Double Double as that was a gateway for me into the coffee world, but for half decent coffees there is a fair bit of choice in Whistler. Lift Coffee Co and Purebread generally conmsistent. Haven't been since 2019 though so will have to update early next year. Revelstoke - La Baguette and La Petit Baguette both very good, though again will update next year.

USA - Mostly all cough... Did a 6 week road trip in 2022 (mind you primarily in small ski towns) and only had a handful of coffees that weren't gross. Standouts are Persephone Bakery in Jackson Hole and Wild RIver Java in McCall, Idaho which was the most unexpectedly good coffee I've ever had.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk!

 

[justinbrett]

You can find a French patisserie in most major cities. In my experience they have good coffee.

 

[VPS]

Or with a whole freaking block of chocolate, as Gânache chocolate shops used to do in their cafés. Sadly, they shut these all down during the pandemic. But what a cracking picture my face must have made when I asked if I could buy some of their hot chocolate flakes, only to be informed that they just put a bar of chocolate in and poured hot cream and milk over it...

Most chocolate has sugar as the first ingredient and I avoid that at all cost.

koko black has got good hot chocolate but Steven ter Horst Chocolatier Hyde Park- Artisan Gifts this guy makes a fantastic one

There are the odd places that make a decent hot chocolate but they are rare

 

[Seat0B]

Life is too short to waste it drinking instant coffee or drinking from a takeaway cup.

This. Exactly this!

 

[Seat0B]

I've discovered that for pods it's awesome for making a quick ice latte at home.

Yes we do this too. It's also good for making Vietnamese style coffee (made with coffee and condensed milk) which is very tasty when turned into an iced drink.

 

[offshore171]

This thread is inspired by some recent discussion on another thread about the Rex lounges. Some AFF members were saying they liked the pod coffee offered there. Others were saying that they much prefer barista coffee, while some don't mind instant coffee.

What's your personal definition of a "good" coffee, particularly in the context of an airport lounge? Does it need to be from a barista? And do you drop your standards/expectations when on a plane or travelling overseas?

I nearly always prefer barista made coffee, made with fresh beans ground on demand. Tend to drink straight shots or americanos. In many parts of the world, milk based coffees are often made longlife milk, which I find pretty terrible.

In the hotel room scenario I definitely appreciate a pod machine and a few pods instead of a kettle.

Haven't used a hotel kettle since learning that some guests boil their soiled underwear in them!

When travelling, I tend to seek out a small independent coffee shop within reason, although in some cultures it's not really a thing.

I'll drink "urn" coffee at a hotel breakfast room if that's all on offer.

 

[justinbrett]

Life is too short to waste it drinking instant coffee or drinking from a takeaway cup.

This drives me crazy, the number of people who buy takeaway coffee and sip it through the hole with the lid closed.

You taste mostly with your nose so you’re not getting the rich aroma from the coffee when you drink this way. You may as well be drinking instant.

If I’m forced to drink from a paper cup I at least take the lid off.