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Why office coffee machine taste bad?

 
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Why office coffee machine taste bad?? Just because it is free.. or we don't drink more ;)
 
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Do you mean "taste" instead of "test"?

I'm working in a company where hardware as well as software is developed. I know two guys who work on developing a coffee machine. I can ask them how the testing goes.
 
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Maybe he just means test, because a machine can't be tasted (preferably). The question could be: why does coffee from an office machine taste bad, and I don't have the answer for that. My experience is also every Monday I must get used to the "other" taste at the office, at home I've a espresso machine.
 
Jesper de Jong
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Peter van de Riet wrote:because a machine can't be tasted (preferably).


I can saw a piece out of it and put it in my mouth. But it's indeed probably not going to taste very nice.
 
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Check where the milk comes from? :P
 
Kaustubh G Sharma
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Jesper de Jong wrote:Do you mean "taste" instead of "test"?

I'm working in a company where hardware as well as software is developed. I know two guys who work on developing a coffee machine. I can ask them how the testing goes.



Sorry, Yeah it's taste for sure. This office work pressure huh...
 
Jesper de Jong
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And you also mean taste the coffee, not taste the machine, right?
 
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I have seen it run the gamut.

On the good side, I have seen everything from high end espresso machines to a mini Starbucks in the kitchen (company lunchroom). On the bad side, instant coffee, a mini electric water pot, and small paper cups.

Henry
 
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Probably because the coffee machine is filthy inside (how often does it get cleaned?), or simply because the coffee is of poor quality?
 
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I only recently started drinking coffee; because I believe it's healthier than drinking colas and it's provided at no charge (versus ~$1 for cola in the vending machine). So coffee from the office machine is really all I know.

What is the difference in taste between coffee from the office machine versus other sources? Doesn't most of the flavor come from the cream and sugar either way?
 
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Frank Silbermann wrote:Doesn't most of the flavor come from the cream and sugar either way?


Assuming that you put cream and sugar in the coffee. Not everyone does. I cream my coffee, but sugar goes nowhere near it.


 
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Bear Bibeault wrote:

Frank Silbermann wrote:Doesn't most of the flavor come from the cream and sugar either way?


Assuming that you put cream and sugar in the coffee. Not everyone does. I cream my coffee, but sugar goes nowhere near it.


I only add sugar; the real kind, not those chemical substitutes. And also no cow hormones go into in my coffee
 
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Our office has one of these (Schaerer Ambiante Junior):



and it makes great coffee, one cup at a time. Not cheap, I imagine (any item that doesn't have a price listed and instead is marked "call for pricing" is always too expensive).

At home, I make fantastic coffee with one of these:



Great for home, but not all that practical in an office environment.
 
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Koen Aerts wrote:

Bear Bibeault wrote:I cream my coffee, but sugar goes nowhere near it.


I only add sugar; the real kind, not those chemical substitutes. And also no cow hormones go into in my coffee


No coffee goes in my coffee. I drink tea .
 
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Bear Bibeault wrote:At home, I make fantastic coffee with one of these:



Great for home, but not all that practical in an office environment.


++

At the office I do get decent results from this, however:

REI Double Shot Press Mug
 
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Koen Aerts wrote:

Bear Bibeault wrote:

Frank Silbermann wrote:Doesn't most of the flavor come from the cream and sugar either way?


Assuming that you put cream and sugar in the coffee. Not everyone does. I cream my coffee, but sugar goes nowhere near it.


I only add sugar; the real kind, not those chemical substitutes. And also no cow hormones go into in my coffee



I would recommend no additives of any kind -- no sugar. no milk. no cinnamon. etc. Of course, this means that you have to use high quality coffee, as you can easily tell the difference.

I would also try different roasts too. For example, if you hate the "burnt" flavor, try a quality medium roast this way. If you like a more intense flavor, then the darker roast would be better.

Henry
 
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Bear Bibeault wrote:
At home, I make fantastic coffee with one of these:



Great for home, but not all that practical in an office environment.



I too, like the french press.... but everyone tells me that this way of making coffee isn't healthy.

Henry
 
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Koen Aerts wrote:Probably because the coffee machine is filthy inside (how often does it get cleaned?), or simply because the coffee is of poor quality?



Yes, these are the most likely explanations.

Although once (many years ago) I was working for a consulting firm, and I was sent to a client in Lloydminster. Most of you have never heard of Lloydminster, but it's a city which sits on the border between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. My contact there apologized for the office coffee and explained that the city couldn't get its water system upgraded until both provinces approved the project and the cost-sharing arrangements. The coffee looked and tasted like mud. So sometimes it's the water.
 
Bear Bibeault
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Henry Wong wrote:but everyone tells me that this way of making coffee isn't healthy.


If we listened to all the conflicting health claims about food, that seem to switch back and forth day to day, we'd only be eating celery.

 
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Bear Bibeault wrote:If we listened to all the conflicting health claims about food, that seem to switch back and forth day to day, we'd only be eating celery.


http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-10-22/news/27078943_1_celery-listeriosis-raw-foods

 
Bear Bibeault
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OK, we'll all be eating clean celery.


 
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Cafestol, the coffee component that causes all the broo-ha-ha over the French press, is suspected to raise serum cholesterol levels. But it's also thought to be anti-carcinogenic and an inhibitor of Parkinson's disease.

I'll take mine medium roast, please.
 
Paul Clapham
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Bear Bibeault wrote:

Henry Wong wrote:but everyone tells me that this way of making coffee isn't healthy.


If we listened to all the conflicting health claims about food, that seem to switch back and forth day to day, we'd only be eating celery.



Don't forget that coffee is listed as a Group 2B carcinogen along with kimchi, carpentry, and talcum powder.
 
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I brew my coffee, so I don't care. But to answer your question, some brands of coffee offered in offices are really good, unless you add some cream to it.... I don't like the natural flavor of coffee to be ruined by the cream...
 
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Paul Clapham wrote:Don't forget that coffee is listed as a Group 2B carcinogen ...



Except for the studies that claim it's an anti-carcinogen.

If you try to believe everyone, you'll go cray.

My doctor, whom I trust, says that the moderate amount of coffee that I drink isn't anything to worry about. If she ever tells me to cut back, that's when I'll worry about it.
 
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Henry Wong wrote:On the good side, I have seen everything from high end espresso machines to a mini Starbucks in the kitchen (company lunchroom). On the bad side, instant coffee, a mini electric water pot, and small paper cups.



I've seen a wide variety of quality as well. At a well funded start-up, there was Starbucks coffee in each kitchen. I'm not a big fan of Starbucks, but at least the company tried.

I've also worked in an engineering firm where there was one giant percolator that brewed a few gallons of coffee at a time, and it would then sit on "heat" all day. After a half dozen cups of that coffee, you knew what you were drinking.
 
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Pat Farrell wrote:After a half dozen cups of that coffee, you knew what you were drinking.


Yeah, that's called sludge!
 
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Bear Bibeault wrote: you'll go cray.



Since we've already had some typo-sniping on this thread, the pump is already primed. Does "going Cray" mean you'll have an extremely fast one-track mind?
 
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I am curious as to whether any coffee aficionados here have ever done a blind taste test. Sure, you can claim to be able to tell the difference, but that could just be your brain tricking you. After all, coffee that costs $20/lb MUST taste better than coffee at $3/lb, right?
 
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Pat Farrell wrote: I've also worked in an engineering firm where there was one giant percolator that brewed a few gallons of coffee at a time, and it would then sit on "heat" all day. After a half dozen cups of that coffee, you knew what you were drinking.



We also have exactly same thing. Is it not good to drink? What is the concern here?
 
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Saurabh Pillai wrote:
We also have exactly same thing. Is it not good to drink? What is the concern here?



Generally that's the recipe for the absolute worst tasting coffee imaginable. The hot coffee oxidizes and soon tastes like burnt rope.
 
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Ernest Friedman-Hill wrote: The hot coffee oxidizes and soon tastes like burnt rope.


I was drinking 8 cups or so a day, so it could not have been *that* bad.
 
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Pat Farrell wrote:

Ernest Friedman-Hill wrote: The hot coffee oxidizes and soon tastes like burnt rope.


I was drinking 8 cups or so a day, so it could not have been *that* bad.


What does that tell you about your taste buds?
 
Kaustubh G Sharma
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Jesper de Jong wrote:And you also mean taste the coffee, not taste the machine, right?



Hehehehhe yeah it's coffee for sure ;)
 
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Kaustubh G Sharma wrote:Why office coffee machine taste bad?? Just because it is free.. or we don't drink more ;)



Simple. You are not a good barista.
 
Akhilesh Trivedi
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Bear Bibeault wrote: At home, I make fantastic coffee with one of these:



Do you? or is it the machine!
 
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Akhilesh Trivedi wrote:

Bear Bibeault wrote: At home, I make fantastic coffee with one of these:



Do you? or is it the machine!


If you consider a French press a "machine", fine. Perhaps you confused the two pictures that Bear showed?
 
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