Whatever machine you use, try coffee that you grind yourself at the supermarket or local coffee store, as opposed to pre-ground canned coffee. And buy it in small amounts so that it isn’t sitting around getting stale, which can massively change the flavor. (I bought my grinder after noting how much more I enjoyed coffee right after I bought it compared to after it sat around in my kitchen cabinet for a week.)
Finally, try different types of coffee from various countries and companies. Not surprisingly, Cuban coffee pairs excellently with cigars, but so can a good cafe au lait, latte, or espresso.
Like cigars, you need to try a variety to find your favorite. And when you do, you may find that, from time to time, you’ll pass over alcoholic beverages in favor of a good cup of Joe.
Article comments
1 - Ummy
Great article. I agree on all counts. I am a fireman and of course, drinking on the job is not even a question. The other members of my company and I often times enjoy a good cigar. And, to compliment we always have an incredible cup of coffee. I also roast coffee and so there is always a pot on. I appreciate this article not only because of my coffee biz but because I grew up with cigars in the house and have carried on the pleasure I learned from my father. I'm glad to know that others have found the pairing so true to each other.
2 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
What this country needs is a good 5 shekel cigar!! Oh, sorry, you were writing about coffee, weren't you?
Seriously, I enjoyed the article immensely, even though I don't light up. I do drink coffee, and it is one my very few luxuries in life (writing here is another one).
If I did smoke, it would be a pipe, with seriously good tobacco stored in a good pouch and a good pipe cleaned as infrequently as possible, so as to benefit from all the resins of previous "thinking sessions". Nothing like a good "Oom Paul" to make us pseudo-intellectual types look a lot smarter than we really are - and give us lip cancer a lot earlier than we might normally get it...
But I digress.
Israel is a coffee house country. Often, when no other solutions are available, we meet in coffee houses to bitch about the corrupt bureaucracy (knowing full well that India, Pakistan Iran and Turkey are far worse), or in an expansive mood, we meet and try and plan the next multi-billion shekel adventure. Nothing helps. The next month, we are there again, this time plotting revolution against the corrupt bureaucracy that has thwarted our most recent multi-billion shekel adventure with the demand for a mere 10,000 shekel bribe to go with mountains of paperwork...
In this atmosphere, it seems almost snobbish to get a good French press coffee brewer to go along with the fresh ground coffee that one can buy in the shouk.
But, I'm getting snobbish in my old age. I might just break own and buy a good French press coffee brewer and invite my friends over for some good home-brewed coffee while we plan the next revolutionary breakthrough in - underwear...
No smokers allowed though.