Rachel's CafeAll things coffee…

A Question About Good Coffee?

Last year I went to Guatemala and since returning I have been haunted by the coffee I had in one particular cafe. It was an average cafe by any standards but the coffee served was excellent. Since returning I have tried many different beans whether from a supermarket or Starbucks etc, none of them come even close to how good it was. So the other day I ordered some gourmet Guatemalan coffee from here: http://www.hasbean.co.uk/
the bean I ordered was in the top 10 coffees of Guatemala and is freshly roasted the day before sending. Although it was the closet yet, it still wasn’t in the same ball park. I use a French press to brew the coffee, so you experts out there…is it the way I make the coffee or the bean I use, what am I doing wrong?

Hi You, I reckon you have done the best thing possible in the first instance by purchasing your coffee from a specialist dealer. Don’t bother with places like Starbucks, they are OK for the indiscriminate masses but not for an afficianado.
Do you mean a cafitiere by a french press? If so that is fine. I hope you bought the coffee as beans and you grind them just before brewing the coffee.
Do you drink the coffee black or as a latte type? If the latter using sterilised milk helps to replicate a true continental taste.
Can you remember what kind of machine was used in the cafe? You have managed to source some beans so the problem could be the method of making the coffee. Persevere problems are only solutions in disguise. Coffee making can be a serious business. It took me years to get the taste I wanted, I tried loads of different methods some dreadful, some almost there but found the simple methods were the best in the end. Good Luck.

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