[ballfry]

On a different note, I have moved from Black coffee to Cold Brew about 2 years ago.
It's easier to make as I can make a larger quantity and have it in the fridge. When it's time to drink, as simple as pouring it into a glass and diluting with water.

Corridor Seven Coffee is something that I've stumbled upon and would highly recommend to all the black coffee drinkers.

[girishglg]

Wonderful to see the thread of the legendary Sam Kapasi to get back in action and for all the newbies out here, one can search for his threads, each of them an masterpiece bearing his unique trademark and style.

Speaking of coffee, for me it has been always filter coffee with milk and sugar which I have been drinking right from my childhood in bed served by my beloved dad till I got married and yes Bangalore is a heaven for filter coffee. One can get them at all major restaurants such as MTR and Maiyyas coffee is something some people travel daily to catch up with friends to sip a cuppa.

Talking of the filter coffee flavours that people from out of Bangalore can savour, the closest once can get in small packets is the ID filter coffee liquid packs. I have taken it all places in my travels from Swiss to Gujarat and a pack or two into a cup of milk would instantaneously bring back the flavours of my favourite drink. This is available in all the shopping platforms as well such as Big Basket/ Amazon etc.

https://shop.idfreshfood.com/product...SABEgIq6fD_BwE

If not this then prefer only Nescafe Classic / Gold rather than go for strong chicory blended like Bru/ Sunrise which do not whip up the same authentic taste of coffee.

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by raksrules

I sincerely apologize if I offend anyone here but I like Instant Coffee. On these lines, I need some help if someone can answer them.

I would request the instant coffee drinkers here to suggest me which brand / variant of brand that I can try?
I drink coffee with milk and sugar and do not like black coffee.

If instant coffee discussion is a no-no, just ignore this post.

Nothing wrong with instant.

Many Indian coffee sellers now have their instant powders. I like Hathmic, available on Amazon & Flipkart. Personal favourite is Kumbakonam blend - 70:30 mix with Chicori. Madras at 80:20 is also ok. I do not like the Mysore blend - 53:47 is too much Chicori for my taste. You can also try their 100% Arabica variant. I find these much better than Nescafe. I also find Tata Grande ok.

I have also tried Rage and Country Bean coffees in the past - they have infused coffees - with Vanilla, Hazelnut etc. I did not like them - too much faff, not enough coffee. But you can try - you may like.

Once you like these, you can then buy a traditional steel filter and start getting beans / ground powders rather than freeze dried (i.e. instant) ones. You can also mix and experiment this way. I also find the percolators too much work but plain steel filters are useful and simple. I typically keep both instant and ground coffee as instant is very useful when you just need a quick cup to keep the brain working, e.g. at 1 AM.

[tracerspiff]

Originally Posted by GTO

Another instant coffee lover jumping to "proper" coffee .

Which one should I buy?

Thanks!

Welcome to the world of "proper" coffee. I would suggest you try the channi starter kit from bluetokai. You can do a lot of experimentation with brew time, coffee quantity, roast to get your perfect cuppa.

https://bluetokaicoffee.com/collecti...ni-starter-kit

If you like this and would like to make bigger batches, you can get yourself a french press.

[Attorviator]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

At the risk of getting flagged in this thread (from die-hard coffee lovers who prefer to go the whole nine yards) , I would suggest you to try the ‘Davidoff’ variants - Fine, Espresso, Rich Aroma, Crema etc.

My personal fav is the Espresso.

I strongly second what JoshMachine has said. Davidoff Expresso Intense 57 is definitely one of the best coffees for black coffee drinkers.

I am a chronic black coffee drinker and was addicted to Nescafe’s machined espresso made from freshly ground beans at office. Once the pandemic hit, I was left with no choice but to resort to instant coffee. Certainly, I didn't feel like buying that huge coffee machine for my personal use. This is where the Davidoff Intense 57 stepped in and I was rescued.

Now I even stock Davidoff Intense 57 at office!

[Spyder]

Love myself the regular filter coffee - Cothas Filter coffee powder (hotel speciality blend). Decoction prepared with a bialetti Brikka and a lovely Crema and milk/sugar added to taste. I like mine strong. Bayer also has an excellent readymade decoction for sale.

Also have the Nespresso Latissima+ and enjoy the Indiriya (strength of 8/9) and Roma. Have the older version with milk attachment, so I can get my cappuccino at the press of a single button. @gto You get the capsules locally now.

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by Spyder

Love myself the regular filter coffee - Cothas Filter coffee powder (hotel speciality blend). Decoction prepared with a bialetti Brikka and a lovely Crema and milk/sugar added to taste. I like mine strong. Bayer also has an excellent readymade decoction for sale.

Adding to the above brands of filter coffee powders is Suma Coffee PB Blend with 10% Chicory and the quality has been very good consistently over the years. Also the good thing is that it is now available in a lot of supermarkets across the town and one does not need to visit their main store I think in Jayanagar.

[satishv1987]

Davidoff converted me from a milk coffee drinker to an espresso lover. Rich aroma and Espresso 57 are the best variants. I really did nt like Crema. Found it too light.

The best investment for an espresso lover would be a home espresso machine. That combined with the right grind will create magic. Blue tokai has a lot of good grinds for a home espresso with varying flavor profiles and roast levels ( dark roast, medium roast, french roast etc). A freshly brewed espresso will blow even Davidoff out of the water.

PS: If you are buying an espresso machine, make sure that it can create at least 4 bar pressure. There are some good options on Amazon.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by Attorviator

Certainly, I didn't feel like buying that huge coffee machine for my personal use. This is where the Davidoff Intense 57 stepped in and I was rescued.

Now I even stock Davidoff Intense 57 at office!

No no Attorviator and Joshmachine, please don't regress back to instant coffee. You deserve better

For an additional 2 minutes of effort, you can get perfect black, halfway-house (between expresso and drip) grade coffee.

• Get a moka pot. Anything is okay and I use Bialetti.
• Get a packet of Blue Tokai with a Moka Pot grind.
• Brew wonderful coffee in 2 minutes on your gas stove.

This method is cheap, simple and almost as fast as using instant coffee but infinitely tastier. Please give it a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpyBYuu-wJI

[petrogeek]

what a nice thread on my go to early morning beverage. Here's my favourite from my place


Smoky Falls Tribe Coffee. Love the rich aroma. Needs a drip filter. Oh. forgot to mention its organic.

[karthikg87]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

At the risk of getting flagged in this thread (from die-hard coffee lovers who prefer to go the whole nine yards) , I would suggest you to try the ‘Davidoff’ variants - Fine, Espresso, Rich Aroma, Crema etc.

My personal fav is the Espresso.

Completely agree . It's one of the best coffees(instant or otherwise) in our market and my fav as well.

I have started consuming only decaf now due to caffeine induced anxiety issues. https://myvero.in/v2/product/decaf-roastedbeans-250gms/ is pretty great with a Moka pot.

[embee]

For me, it is Nescafé Gold + Coffee Mate

[slayer23]

Interesting thread!

I have moved around quite a bit in my coffee journey since moving to black coffee. What started as a move to reduce sugar 4 years back turned out to be a discovery to the coffee world.

I don't quite claim to be an expert in this, but I can fairly differentiate between a good black coffee and a not so good black coffee now. For the longest I used to have Nescafe sunrise. My first tryst with premium coffee was Nescafe Gold [obvious choice for a lifelong Nescafe drinker]. This was very good. My dad & mom were mighty impressed too - specially the aroma.

Over the years I have tried Davidoff, TGL, Continental and some other Nescafe variants in the instant coffee space. I also got myself a french press and for a while tried different blends of Bluetokai, Third Wave and Dope Coffee Roasters. Dope coffee really impressed me with their variety. But the good ones were really expensive.

I have now settled down on a simple routine - I have 2 cups a day now (1 black and 1 with milk). For the one with milk I have VS Mani. VS Mani goes very well with milk. Although not really a filter coffee flavour as they claim, I really love the taste. For the black coffee I alternate between Nescafe Gold & Davidoff Espresso 57.

Occasionally I dust off my french press during weekends, but I am content with the instant taste now.

[ramneek009]

Originally Posted by GTO

Another instant coffee lover jumping to "proper" coffee .

Which one should I buy? I am a black coffee drinker. For taste, my favourite is McDonald's black coffee. This is after trying coffee at Starbucks etc. Just love the taste of McDonald's black. At 2nd place would be the filter coffee you get at South Indian restaurants, but nothing like McDonald's taste for me.

Have loved the black coffee at independent cafes. Had gone to "Perch" in Bandra & their black coffee was the best I had. Asked them, it was some medium roast from Kaffa Cerrado.

Any Nespresso users here? My sis recommends it, but they don't have official presence in India? Overhyped or worth it?

Thanks!

Welcome to the world of proper coffee.

Let me first alert you that once you get used to proper coffee made from freshly grounded beans, you are never going back to anything else.

I might be able to answer your question. There are various processes that you can use to have an authentic cup of coffee. Moka pot, pour over, french press, aeropress, nespresso machines and espresso machines. My pick of the lot would be a "pour over". In fact my daily coffee is a pour over version. This can be done in two ways, you can either buy an easy pour pack from Blue Tokai or you can buy a pour over kit which would need small equipments like a coffee dripper, filter paper, a flask/carafe and a kettle. Nothing beats the consistency and flavour of a pour over version imho.

I own a Nespresso machine since many years. While very convenient, it does not come close to the freshness of other methods. Also, sourcing the capsules (flavour) is not easy sometimes since Nespresso is officially not available in India. If, you buy a Nespresso machine, make sure to order a descaling kit for the machine as well. There are few brands here which are selling Nespresso compatible capsules so that is something you can look into.

If you are into espresso, Moka pot/espresso machine is the way to go.

For coffee, i would highly recommend you to try The Flying Squirrel Coffee. They have multiple variations. My pick of the lot would be parama or the rohan bopanna blend from them.

[unknownartist01]

Great to see so many coffee enthusiasts among the car lovers here!

Belonging to a tea loving household, I've been an instant coffee lover my whole life. Later I graduated to a Starbucks Latte or a morning dose of dark roast from Dunkin's during my years in US. I guess, black coffee is an acquired taste where you discover more and more as you explore.

Since past few years, my go-to coffee has been mostly Robusta (in morning) to get myself going and something less-caffeinated (mostly Arabica or a blend of both) in the evening. I use a french press but seriously thinking about getting a Moka Pot or an AeroPress to explore more.

I see so many great suggestions for locally sourced coffee options. Anyone has any suggestions for NCR area? I mostly depend upon online options but would love to explore any local recommendations for sourcing great ground coffee.