A Thread About COFFEE

[arabicadabra]

Having been told that I am an artist when it comes to brewing coffee, I'm just curious: to those of you who are specialty coffee inclined, what do you LIKE a lot and do you drink that on a regular basis or settle for something less spectacular?

[Hunnibee]

I prefer Colombian, a strong brewed coffe with a little kick. (I used to refer to "Juan Valdez" as my boyfriend, LOL!) At the grocery store, I usually choose Yuban's Dark Roast. They recently came out with a Pacific Coast blend which is pretty good, too. When the wallet is tight, I will buy Safeway's store brand Colombian, which is actually pretty good for generic.

Out on the town, I prefer Tully's or Peet's. I will try to find a local Mom and Pop coffee place in Portland, now that I've moved back. I try to avoid Starbucks like the plague, but sometimes, it can't be helped. I've been stuck in too many airports with Starbucks being the only option, and I simply MUST have my coffee!

I am no "coffee snob", though. I am pretty happy with anything strong and dark. No wimpy French Roast for me! (Not that there's anything wrong with France in general, of course!)

[trurl]

I just bought a bag of Moon Pie coffee. I mean- Moon Pie coffee!!! You can't not buy Moon Pie coffee.










Moon Pie Coffee.

[Duncan Glenday]

We had this conversation on the old site a few years ago - when you cocked a snoot at the fact that I confessed that I like Starbucks

LOL

I then asked you what coffee I should buy that is easily-obtainable and does not require a chef's degree to make. IIRC, the thread died and my question went unanswered.

Right now, I'm using a Keurig system at home purely for convenience. But the damned thing keeps breaking (had it erplaced under warranty 7 times - count them, seven), so I'm open to guidance...

[Seven8]

Just like my beer, the darker the better. My "go to" coffee is Pete's Major Dickason's Blend, but I usually but Starbuck's French roast in bulk when it's on sale at Costco.

There are some coffee shops in the bay area that serve killer 'custom' coffee, but I usually just make it at home using a drip automatic coffee maker. Two reasons: 1) it saves a lot of money compared to buying it made by someone else every day and 2) I really enjoy that first cup of joe (or two) in the morning as I'm slowly coming to life again. I think my Hamilton Beach coffee maker sucks the big one but I don't usually have time to make it cup-by-cup. Plus I like the fact that (as much as I hate my coffee maker) I can set the coffee maker on a timer so that it is freshly brewed and ready to drink when I wake up in the morning (usually after too little sleep).

[Chuck AzEee!]

I had my first cup at 6 something this evening. Prior to that cup my head was pounding! As I have mentioned elsewhere, Dunkin Donuts coffee is horrible! McDonald's is my favorite from the fast food joints.

[Hunnibee]

Oh, and I should mention that the best "gas station" coffee EVER is from the Terribles/Chevron chain in Las Vegas.

[roddenberry]

My current bag-o-caffeine at home is 500g of "tanzania Brazil black" I bought at Brulerie St-Denis in my neighborhood. LOVE IT! The aroma is so intense, and it tastes just like a little bit of heaven in the morning.

I've been buying this mix for a while, and I have them grind it up for regular paper filters. I keep the bag in a jar, as I was told that keeping ground coffee in the freezer is a myth and not the right thing to do.

[East New York]

Oh, and I should mention that the best "gas station" coffee EVER is from the Terribles/Chevron chain in Las Vegas.

Hahaha...so true re: "Chingon"! I love their coffee!

I'm not what some would call a coffee snob, as I used to be a devout fan of what might still be known to this day among New Yorkers as "coffee, regular": diner coffee, cream, two sugars. I'll wrestle any coffee down my throat now, as long as it's not dark/strong. The trick for me, now, is finding a true non-dairy creamer that works (the Coffee-Mate types still have casein in them, and they taste awful).

[East New York]

...although Indigo Coffee (out of Northampton, MA) is to die for.

[Chuck AzEee!]

G'Day Stacia!

Ugggh, I just had a horrible cup of coffe from our building lobby... I think I'm gonna be sick...

[East New York]

G'Day Stacia!

Ugggh, I just had a horrible cup of coffe from our building lobby... I think I'm gonna be sick...

Dollface! Howaya? You'll need a fifth of scotch to help that bad coffee along.

[Chuck AzEee!]

Dollface! Howaya? You'll need a fifth of scotch to help that bad coffee along.

AYE! The way things are at my job right now, that sounds great! Chivas anyone?

[Vic2012]

Mostly just regular coffee (no decaf). I have a little Mr.Coffee drip type thingy. I usually get a couple of bricks of whatever's cheap (usually the stores brand). Folgers and all that stuff has gotten expensive. At work I usually have a couple of Capucinos from the el cheapo coffee vending machine. I like strong, Cuban coffee (it's just espresso with a little too much sugar) once in a while too.

[East New York]

AYE! The way things are at my job right now, that sounds great! Chivas anyone?

I'm flyin' back home in 3...2...1....!

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I like the taste of darker roasts better but have recently switched to lighter roasts because it turns out they have more caffeine in them. Though I love my coffee it is first and foremost a caffeine delivery system.

[Duncan Glenday]

500g of "tanzania Brazil black"

Tanzania is now ... in Brazil? I was in Tanzania this time last year and it was in Africa. They must have moved it!

The trick for me, now, is finding a true non-dairy creamer that works (the Coffee-Mate types still have casein in them, and they taste awful).

Here's another question:

This may be unusual - but I find that I hate half-and-half, and far prefer my coffee with milk. I've often poured 2 cups from the same batch and tried one with milk and one with cream - and the milk wins the taste-test every time.

Anyone else..?

[arabicadabra]

Duncan said:
> when you cocked a snoot at the fact that I confessed that I like Starbucks <

I apologize, Duncan. And to anyone else I might ever have given the "coffee snob" treatment/righteous indignation air to, please, I beg of you, forgive me. (except Amy )

I love Melissa's post about what she looks for and then what she sometimes will settle for that isn't as good but is still better than much of what's out there to her. We are ALL in the same boat - and even the stuff I currently buy wholesale for $13 to $16 per pound, at it's very best, is nowhere near as good as the $5.80 per pound wholesale coffees I used to get from 1997 till about 2007.

I only have two tips for immediate improvement of your home coffee experience that apply to everyone:

1) Heat of the brewing water - Bunn makes a home line that can be had for about $100 on sale that actually brews with water at about 205 degrees. Before that price tag causes you to rule it out, remember - it lasts between 5 and 7 years and is definitely "hot enough" - how often do you replace your $20 to $40 coffee brewers cuz they break or start losing heat when they have NEVER been "hot enough"?

2) Water - whether purified with added minerals (Nestle Pure Life, Dasani, etc.) or spring water (any EXCEPT Poland Spring) or even filtered tap (provided you always change the filter at the recommended intervals), your coffee's taste will be tremendously improved by NOT expecting it to overcome the inherent problems in the unfiltered tap.

Good will towards coffee drinkers,
Greg Jones

[Don Arnold]

...I'm just curious: to those of you who are specialty coffee inclined, what do you LIKE a lot and do you drink that on a regular basis or settle for something less spectacular?

I'll confess up front - I'm a Starbucks coffee guy. I like my one thermos full, consumed within a couple hours during the earlier part of my work day. I like dark and bold. I like brown or cane sugar, and cream. And it has to be perfect. I can easily wile away 3-4 minutes doctoring my coffee, adding diminishing amounts of sugar, stirring, taste-testing, until...it's ready to be uploaded to the thermos. Favourite blends would be christmas, anniversary, komodo dragon, verona, espresso, and french, followed by any other types within the bold spectrum. I really dug their limited offering "red" blend.

I do enjoy other brands, such as Kicking Horse & Salt Spring Island. My wife has similar tastes, but divides her drinking between caffeinated and decaf. She was delighted to discover Kicking Horse, which already had bold blends such as Grizzly Claw and Kick-ass, recently came out with a half caff / half decaf blend. They call it "half-ass"!

[Don Arnold]

Here's another question:

This may be unusual - but I find that I hate half-and-half, and far prefer my coffee with milk. I've often poured 2 cups from the same batch and tried one with milk and one with cream - and the milk wins the taste-test every time.

Anyone else..?

Just the opposite for me! In fact, though I typically use half and half, I sometimes splurge for the extra 30 cents and buy 18% coffee cream!

[East New York]

This may be unusual - but I find that I hate half-and-half, and far prefer my coffee with milk. I've often poured 2 cups from the same batch and tried one with milk and one with cream - and the milk wins the taste-test every time.

Anyone else..?

That's interesting! I've never tried coffee with milk, but I completely "get" that it would be tasty to many folks.

[proggrl]

Greg, you are not an artist - you are the master! The Bean Whisperer himself! Currently enjoying some Dallis Bros. I don't think I could ever go back. Usually I will have mine with creamer (Coffeemate) but with the Dallis I rather not distort the flavour so I've been more on a half/half kick and save the creamers for work coffee (blehhhhh) which need the extra flavour.

Can't do straight milk in coffee - too watery.

Oh and I like to enjoy it in my Marillion.com mug. Tho my Tigger mug and PT Deadwing or Incident mugs get some mileage too.

[proggrl]

1) Heat of the brewing water - Bunn makes a home line that can be had for about $100 on sale that actually brews with water at about 205 degrees. Before that price tag causes you to rule it out, remember - it lasts between 5 and 7 years and is definitely "hot enough" - how often do you replace your $20 to $40 coffee brewers cuz they break or start losing heat when they have NEVER been "hot enough"?

I don't have a Bunn - we have this guy. How can I tell if water has been heated enough? We have our heater plate set to Medium.

2) Water - whether purified with added minerals (Nestle Pure Life, Dasani, etc.) or spring water (any EXCEPT Poland Spring) or even filtered tap (provided you always change the filter at the recommended intervals), your coffee's taste will be tremendously improved by NOT expecting it to overcome the inherent problems in the unfiltered tap.

At your suggestion, this we started doing since NEARfest. We use Zepherhills spring water. When we got our most recent bag in, I nearly 'purged' the grinder after a good clean, but felt I didn't want to waste good beans.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

We have an older view of this. It has a built-in filter, built-in burr grinder, and a timer, so we wake up to a fresh pot of pretty darn good coffee (and hot) in the morning.

[trurl]

My brother roasts beans himself and has a $180 French Press. IMO if you're not willing to go that far you're not very serious.