Why coffee tastes better in Europe?!
I kept the German coffee in it;s original vacuum package, opening it and loved the flavour. (Germany requires that the packaging date has to show on the container) Taking that batch with me to California, and brewed it here, with FILTERED or BOTTLELED water. It tasted as awful as Starbucks coffee. Maybe Americans don't know how real coffee taste like ???
So bringing the same batch, date, and brand coffee with you from Germany doesn't make it taste better here. Why? Again.
Answers: OK, I asked that question before, but I neglected to mention that the coffee I drank in Germany 4 days prior to drinking it here in California, was with filtered water. Then I tried it with bottled water. It still tasted as bad as Starbucks coffee. Maybe Starbucks coffee is from coffee stored too long.
I kept the German coffee in it;s original vacuum package, opening it and loved the flavour. (Germany requires that the packaging date has to show on the container) Taking that batch with me to California, and brewed it here, with FILTERED or BOTTLELED water. It tasted as awful as Starbucks coffee. Maybe Americans don't know how real coffee taste like ???
So bringing the same batch, date, and brand coffee with you from Germany doesn't make it taste better here. Why? Again.
There are a few possible answers for this one.
1. The water.
2. The coffee beans themselves. American coffee is a lot more processed than coffees in other countries are and that really affects the flavour.
3. The coffee making process itself. The drip coffee makers that Americans are so fond of are not used all over the world. Many places use coffee presses and other forms of coffee makers and that also makes a big difference in the flavour of coffee.
Because you are in EUROPE!
First, don't use distilled water to make coffee. You can't make decent coffee with out a certain amount of "salts" in the water to pull the flavor out of coffee. Try not using filtered water or try a different type of water. Yes, Americans don't understand quality. We are raised under mass produced product that is meant to be sold cheap. My Ethiopian friend use to buy coffee and always take two sips and throw it out. He keeps telling me that he got suckered in by the smell.
I am curious why that would be. In Germany did you make the coffee or someone else? How are you brewing your coffee?
My first thought was water. Here there is so much chlorine in it that I have to filter it. But my coffee is alright. I use an espresso maker. In the past I used a number 2 filter and a mug and about 2 good teaspoons of coffee finely ground with good results. You do have to pour the water over the coffee slow. The roast of the coffee matters as well. I stay away from french roast and most Colombian beans. I find that Island beans, organic from Mexico and Mocca Java give me good results. They seem less bitter. Some people in Germany also ad just a pinch of salt to their coffee. It suppose to take the bitterness out.
I have often wondered that myself and the only explanation I have come up with is that food and drink just tastes better when you are on vacation because you are in a different mindset.
Oh, I forgot to mention that most commercially served coffee has been brewed at a temperature of at least 200 to 205 degrees Farh. Most American coffee makers are lucky to reach 160-165 degrees.
The difference is that the higher temperature brings out the essential oils in the coffee. The lower temps only get the coffee grounds wet. For the difference in flavor you might as well cold brew the stuff.
There is a coffee maker available in the US that WILL reach the proper temp. That is the TECHNIVORM. it's $200.00 but from everyone I have heard from that has used it, they will not use the Mr. Coffee type junk ever again.
your other option is to make the coffee by the pour over method. in that method you suspend a filter (with a solid holder please) over a coffee pot, place the grounds in the filter and pour water just off the boil over the grounds. I use this method daily with my home roasted coffee and enjoy the fruits of my labor...
One other idea...Use 7 grams of ground coffee per 6 ounces of water. Most Americans water down the stuff to where it is a crime to call it coffee. 2 scoops per pot...get real...a bit over 1 scoop (or tablespoon) per cup...get the flavor...don't get chincy with the coffee..
I am a former chef from Canada, and have had coffee all over Europe,Asain and N & S America, and lots one long day coming back from Oktoberfest (1985) in Munich with 3 very intoxicated chef buddys of mine at 5 am.
True temparture is one thing, but the European blends are completely different to those in th US, here in Canada we have some good ones, but there is alot of the German (Tsigbo) ones available in the US, I am more partial to the Swedish one named Gevelia, and there Stockholm blend. I also feel whole beans and fresh ground each time you make it is far superior, filtered water does make better coffee, but a clean mineral free pot/coffeemaker is a must also.
If you willing to try some a bit radical, buy a french press coffee maker, I have 2, you add the coffee, hot BOILING water, push down the plunger and then drink a very heady brew, the trouble with drip coffee makers is the coffee does not always come into contact with the water, and most home brewers only heat the water to 180-190 d F, if you want a quality home drip maker, buy one made by the people who make them for the restaurant business, they are called BUNN, and will make you a believer again for drip coffee makers.