[Janet Kenny]

COFFEE IN AMERICA

I woouldn't have volunteered these opinions but when 20 years ago I visited America fairly regularly, coffee was a major disappointment.

An Italian editor I knew said that he was so addicted to coffee that when in America he was tormented by American apologies to him about the standard of the coffee. He said he would have taken it intravenously if necessary but they kept offering him tea, saying: "We know you won't be able to drink our coffee".

Janet

[Robert E. Jordan]

American coffee does not compare with European and Latin American espresso.

Bobby

[Carol Taylor]

I buy German coffee.

Carol

[nyctom]

It still is miles better than coffee in London. Can you say melted brown crayons? My cousin and I could--we were thrilled to find a Dunkin' Donuts near Carnaby Street.

[James Henry]

ah, but you've yet to try any specialties of Raven's Brew.


http://www.ravensbrew.com/


Originating in Alaska, they now serve the States, and quite possibly further abroad, from their shop in Tumwater (waterfall/heartbeat water) Washington.

This is the real deal.

They once had a brew that was derived from a Luwak's droppings.
http://www.ravensbrew.com/NewFiles/kopiluwak.html

Now, isn't that special?




[This message has been edited by James Henry (edited December 27, 2006).]

[Janet Kenny]

Tom, I agree about London coffee, a few Italian restaurants excepted. In fact, I can remember when the coffee was awful in Paris. You could see the bottom of the cup. No longer. The French have quietly taken up the espresso machine.

Australia has been blessed by a powerful contingent of Italian immigrants who opened coffee places and the general populace cottoned on rapidly to Arabica beans and the crema on the top of a well made cup and the essential freshly roasted bean and not letting the coffee sit in the water but instead letting the water pass swiftly through the coffee. Here in the rural fastness of Queensland I expected to be in a coffee wilderness. Instead I find I'm amongst coffee junkies. A large proportion of them have domestic espresso machines and there are numerous outlets of freshly roasted beans with their provenance advertised.

But in the end it's what makes you happy. Patrick White wrote somewhere that other people's coffee and other people's furniture was never to anyone's liking.
He liked Turkish/Greek coffee which is pretty good too if you don't mind the grit.
Janet

[David Landrum]

In London and Oxford I ended up going to Starbucks because the coffee I got in British restaurants was so hideous. In Greece, you could get a nice cup of sweeet expresso, but what they called "filter coffee" was almost impossible to come by and not good at all. While expresso is good for a change, it isn't the same as sipping a nice cup of strong, abundant black coffee (as I am doing this moment).

Cultural preferences should not be translated into statements of quality.

[Roger Slater]

The article seems to focus on coffee outside the home. Although I think that the author understates the quality of Starbucks, and overstates the quality of Dunkin' Donuts, his general point about restaurant coffee is sound.

However, the coffee that many of us drink in our homes is far superior. There are several places to buy fine beans. In my suburban town, there's a place that roasts its own beans on a daily basis. And the Fairway Market offers literally dozens of variety of freshly roasted beans from all over the world, includin dozens of organic varieties. Lately I've enjoyed their Santo Domingo beans, though organic Sumatra is what I drink the most. French Roast, Italian Roast, etc., are also good. I always buy dark, full-bodied beans.

Janet, however you rank US coffee now compared to the rest of the world, I assure you that it's night and day better than it was 20-25 years ago, when large numbers of people actually drank instant coffee at home. Food in general in the US has vastly improved over the last 20-25 years (I think this is an understatement), and coffee has risen with the tide.

[Janet Kenny]

David,
You know that Greek coffee can be ordered without sugar? Alicia would be the expert on that topic. Starbucks didn't exist when I was in England or even when I visited it regularly in the 80s. I used to walk for miles in central London for a decent cup of coffee. All to no avail although at the Putney railway station (for David and Peter) there was a wonderful coffee roasting shop where one could buy superb coffee beans to take home.
It's not long coffee that's being criticised. I know scads of English and Americans who would applaud the Australian journalist's article. I mean, some people may have a cultural preference for Ovaltine
Janet



Roger,
Of course things are better domestically. I have some good American friends, some of whom are involved in food journalism, and they really know their way around a coffee bean. I ate splendidly in America in the 70s and 80s. I remember San Francisco with particular affection.
I think that most places make better coffee than they used to and just as Paris lifted its game, so, I'm sure, has New York.
Janet