What was your coffee beginning? Here's mine...

[Coffee_Mad_Man]

Hi,
I'm from New Malden in the UK.

TL;DR - I went from loathing coffee back in my early days of university (2013ish) to now loving it so much that I make my own, like I imagine a lot of you!

If I was to summarise the events they'd be as follows:

• The Beginning - I thought of coffee as a tool or medicine to wake you up - this was instant coffee... I avoid instant now too.
• The Jouney - I then tried filter coffee, which wasn't too bad, but I still preferred a propa Earl Grey; moving to Aero Presses, tasting bearable, then to Frech press, in the words of Novak Djokovic "Not too bad" - oh yes, I am a proper tennis fan! Then I moved to a Krups CafePresso Crematic coffee machine... okay this was when I started to start loving coffee! Then I recently started using a VBM Domobar Junior, which was delightful, unfortunately, we had to sell it because we needed the cash then.
• The Now - I now am using a Solius coffee machine, this has it's quirks but it's minimal so I like it. I'm learning to do latte art, I still have a long way to go (and may be asking y'all some tips in the near future! )

What was your coffee journey like?
Did you like coffee straight away or did it take some time to find the right brew?

Looking forward to sharing, learning and laughing about coffee with you all

Coffee_Mad_Man XD

 

[MarcBeck]

I started about 30 years ago with a moka-pot and a stove top milk steamer. After about 10 years one day the stove top milk steamer blew up on the stove and I upgraded to a Pavoni. The Pavoni worked great but wasn't good for more than 2 cups at a time. About 12 years ago I had to have emergency heart surgery to remove a tumor, and after the surgery I couldn't drink coffee for about 2 years as even decaf gave me the major shakes so I sold the Pavoni but couldn't sell my grinder (good thing). My wife had a Jura and that was just OK for a few years and when I retired I bought myself a retirement gift - a Rocket Cellini and have been in love with it ever since. I upgraded my old Rancillio grinder to a DF54 just this year and couldn't be happier with the setup.

 

[Coffee_Mad_Man]

I started about 30 years ago with a moka-pot and a stove top milk steamer. After about 10 years one day the stove top milk steamer blew up on the stove and I upgraded to a Pavoni. The Pavoni worked great but wasn't good for more than 2 cups at a time. About 12 years ago I had to have emergency heart surgery to remove a tumor, and after the surgery I couldn't drink coffee for about 2 years as even decaf gave me the major shakes so I sold the Pavoni but couldn't sell my grinder (good thing). My wife had a Jura and that was just OK for a few years and when I retired I bought myself a retirement gift - a Rocket Cellini and have been in love with it ever since. I upgraded my old Rancillio grinder to a DF54 just this year and couldn't be happier with the setup.

Thank you for sharing your lovely story, I'm glad you have a setup you enjoy

 

[froze]

I hated coffee as a teen, but when I got into college I started drinking it with friends from college but put in a lot of creamer and sugar, that was about 50 years ago, I slowly over about a 20-year period reduced the sugar to none, and the creamer to none.

I have several ways to make coffee. I make cold brew; I have a Bialetti Brikka Moka Pot; Hario V60 Switch, when I got this one I put away my French Press and my pour-over maker because the Switch is better than those; and I make Turkish coffee.

 

[Coffee_Mad_Man]

I hated coffee as a teen, but when I got into college I started drinking it with friends from college but put in a lot of creamer and sugar, that was about 50 years ago, I slowly over about a 20-year period reduced the sugar to none, and the creamer to none.

I have several ways to make coffee. I make cold brew; I have a Bialetti Brikka Moka Pot; Hario V60 Switch, when I got this one I put away my French Press and my pour-over maker because the Switch is better than those; and I make Turkish coffee.

I remember the days when sugar was always in my tea or coffee, now I don't think I'd ever add sugar!
Turkish coffee is always a good one for a big kick in the morning

 

[mjcmt]

I've always liked strong black coffee, all the way back to college, and I'm 72 now. Little has changed since. I've used drip makers, moka pots and french press since. Now mostly drink pour-over and espresso at home.

 

[Coffee_Mad_Man]

I've always liked strong black coffee, all the way back to college, and I'm 72 now. Little has changed since. I've used drip makers, moka pots and french press since. Now mostly drink pour-over and espresso at home.

You're a coffee legend then I'm away from my espresso machine at home, so I'm using a Stovetop Espresso Coffee Maker, it's not too bad, but I do miss my home brew!

 

[froze]

A couple of weeks ago, after reading about Vietnamese coffee made in a phin, I decided to try one. I bought a Nguyen Phin maker on Amazon for $14.

I was surprised by the quality of the coffee this simple thing makes, it's great. I haven't used traditional Vietnamese coffee yet, but just store-bought expresso tastes fantastic. I need to see if one of my 3 local international markets has Vietnamese coffee, if not I will have to order it on Amazon.

There is a little thing they do in Vietnam, they stir up a raw egg, then put it in the finished coffee. That sounds strange, but I'm going to try it.