Coffee question

[Jenise]

Like most of your respondents, I only drink the good stuff. My absolute #1 favorite is a New Guinea Pea Berry I have mailed to me from a roaster in Ventura, California (thanks again, Bucko). To keep boredom from setting in, I intersperse that with a blend from a roaster in Beverly Hills and a blend from a local purveyor.

I drink coffee mainly at work. Our coffee station carries Green Mountain coffees of various kinds.

-Paul W.

Gayla just got in a new batch of Peaberry -- I ordered another round. It is hard to beat.

For the generally imbibed coffee, what degree of roast is usual? Is it rather a light roast? Our common brands are very light roasted - and that tends to make my stomach upset. I only drink the so called "premium" coffee anymore.

For the generally imbibed coffee, what degree of roast is usual? Is it rather a light roast? Our common brands are very light roasted - and that tends to make my stomach upset. I only drink the so called "premium" coffee anymore.

Otto, there is no "standard" as far as I know. One drinks what one likes, although I would venture to guess that most commercially available brands are offered as a middle-of-the-road medium roast with their "specialty roasts" being more darkly roasted.

Dark roast is, however, not always dark roast. One can roast coffee long and slow and deeply to achieve a particular flavor profile without charring it. If you get queasy from dark roasted coffees the char might be at fault.

Some coffee lore: Light roasted coffees generally have more caffeine and acid in them than dark roasted coffee where these items burn off. (Espresso makes up for this by virtue of its concentration.) Maybe this is why your tummy hurts?

More coffee lore: Chemically decaffeinated coffee far exceeds the Swiss water method in flavor and caffeine removal.

Try medium dark roast, chemically decaffeinated coffee and perhaps you won't get such a belly ache.

A panel taste tested 42 different coffees. Their top two rated ground coffees were:

Berkley & Jensen 100% Colombian Batch Roasted (BJ's)
Kirkland Signature 100% Colombian Supremo

It has been years since I purchased ground coffee -- I don't think you can top freshly ground beans.

Now, that's the info I was looking for. For our meetings we buy the Kirkland--a reasonable price and it tastes good. We are not a coffeeshop; we hold free meetings for the public to hear writers talk about writing. They drink free Kirkland coffee (we go thru most of a can) and eat free day-old doughnuts and pastries. Otherwise, we'd go broke.

Yes, yes, to freshly ground beans and $10/lb beans, but not for our purposes.

We drink Starbucks. We buy whole beans at the grocery store. All dark roast beans, I grind it every morning. We love the stuff.

I've never understood what the problem is with Starbucks? Seems like the people these days just hate...for some reason...sucessful business ventures.

Be it Starbucks or Microsoft (both of which are great American success stories) ...everyone seems to hate a winner.

Richard

I don't hate success stories, even though it seems that Starbucks has metatisized to every corner. I really don't like their coffee, although I'll drink it if there's a cup in front of me. I think it's over-roasted and bitter, and I like a dark French roast.

If I had to choose between Eight o Clock, Folger's etc etc - I would go for the water pitcher. Really.

If you attended one of our programs, we would hand you a water glass upon request. Really.

The coffee at Starbuck's is AWFUL! They sell milk and sugar!(I'll leave discussion of Microsoft to the rest of you.)

I not arguing that. Brewed coffee (an all "coffee drinks" ) at Starbucks can be pretty awful depending on the store.

But for roasted whole beans...dark or light...Starbucks has several that I think are very good. They've got a large enough variety of whole beans that there is probably something in there for everyone. If you can get past the idea that you are buying from a major chain...as if thats any different than buying Folgers or Maxwell House.

In any case, the best coffee in the world is the one that you like.

Richard

If you can get past the idea that you are buying from a major chain...as if thats any different than buying Folgers or Maxwell House.
Richard

People buy Maxwell House?
Please tell me you don't drink it

Larry, I have no problem with Folgers. We use it from the can, and have for years. Sometimes I think we find value in a product, just because it costs twice as much I buy the Folgers in the 52 oz plastic can and one lasts us about a month. I do buy small amounts of ?gourmet? coffee beans that I can grind sufficiently for espresso, and have purchased several kinds of whole beans from different vendors, and honestly can not find enough difference in taste to justify the cost. I know I am an heretic here, but I think about the high priced coffee like I do about "organic" produce.

People buy Maxwell House?
Please tell me you don't drink it

Maybe they use the grounds for the roses..... ?

Does everyone hate a winner? Not necessarily.

Does everyone hate companies they perceive as screwing the customer? Yes I suppose I do at least.

Good large companies? John Lewis's over here springs to mind. A nationwide department store owned by it's staff. Service is interestingly very good on the whole.

Others - Lush soaps, shampoos, etc. Not cheap and could be seen as a rip-off, but questing attitude to their products, which equates to quality in my book. As long as they retain the drive and motivation they'll be fine in my book.

It's crap quality and high prices (Starbucks come on down!) that make me critical. Other examples IMO would be British Telecom and British Airways. Plenty of other examples (and I haven't even mentioned Muck D's yet).

regards

Ian

I'm in charge of the coffee club at work ($2/week or $.25/cup) and I buy Folgers at Sam's Club.

Howie, I also take care of insuring that there are coffee supplies at work, and I also but Folgers at Sam's club for that. I only charge $3 per month and $0.25 per cup. Usually by the end of the month the fund is nearly depleted, but we always seem to make it.

Moved to Florida three days after returning from a trip to Italy in August 2005. Bought a stovetop espresso maker and make un doppio (right?) every day with Pilon, latino espresso..

I travel with my espresso maker.

B

Moved to Florida three days after returning from a trip to Italy in August 2005. Bought a stove top espresso maker and make un doppio (right?) every day with Pilon, latino espresso..I travel with my espresso maker. B

Barb, I also have a stove top espresso maker, and I love it, but it is a PITA. About 3 months ago, I was at the Lowe's and spotted a Krups cup at a time espresso maker that didn't have the little 5 oz glass pot. So I asked how much and heard $20, so I bought it. I Use my coffee cup to catch the output, and zap some milk to pour into it, and voila espresso, or Caffe con leche.

It doesn't bother me at all...I wash everything out before bed, reload, leave it on the stovetop, so all I have to do is stumble out and turn the burner to hi. (That's right: HI not HIGH)...I heat a cup of leche in the microwave and done...

In fact, I'm so hooked on this ritual that I haven't gotten some blood work done that you need to fast for...I can't imagine gettnig from 6 AM to 8 AM without my coffee...I'm determined to sleep in one day and just rise and leave...but the thought makes my blood run cold.

b

Interesting reading these replies particularly the anti-Starbucks sentiment and those choosing Kirkland. Around here, we get Kirkland EVERYTHING from Costco. Seems to be their private label name. To really throw a wrench in this, our regular brew is Kirkland House Blend, Roasted by Starbucks!!!

On weekends, we typically digress from the Kirkland stuff to Starbucks beans. We are fond of the Christmas blend and the New Guinea Peaberry.

At work, we buy our coffee from one of our customers. Its better than the Folger's it replaced but I wouldn't drink it except it is free.

Many here have wrung their hands about the Starbucks expensive milk and sugar concoctions. My wife enjoys an occasional latte while I indulge in a mocha every now and then. Interestingly, I've never thought of it as drinking coffee; rather these are a different way of ingesting chocolate!!

I agree with you on that, Mike! I'll occasionally get one of their frappucino things when it's hot here. I think of it as a low-fat milk shake rather than coffee. Very tasty when it's 105°.


Mike

Interesting reading these replies particularly the anti-Starbucks sentiment and those choosing Kirkland. Around here, we get Kirkland EVERYTHING from Costco. Seems to be their private label name. To really throw a wrench in this, our regular brew is Kirkland House Blend, Roasted by Starbucks!!!

Whether or not I like the business aspect of Starbucks has no bearing on whether I like the taste of their coffee. I don't. When I buy good French Roast beans, I head for a local roaster here in Albuquerque. Plus the local roaster has 30 different varieties from everyone on the globe.

I also buy some green beans, which I keep in stock so I can roast them myself with my handy-dandy coffee roaster. Now, that's fresh!

Larry,

If you were speaking, specifically, about the Starbuck's French Roast, then I totally agree with you. That stuff is awful, IMO. Same for Italian roast. Over roasted & bitter...I think you said? Yep...

But try the Christmas Blend, Yukon Blend or the Verona. These are our current favorites. You might be surprised.

Richard

Apparently there are many combo wine and coffee geeks like Larry out there. That must be why there has been a coffee column in Wine Spectator for a while.

We're are much further down the coffee chain. There are a few of you who get Green Mountain service in their offices. That is first class service, and could be the best in New England. We used their coffee for a couple of decades including the twelve years we ran a B&B. We have gotton crosswise with them over a couple of issues, including package downsizing, lately and switched to Piscataqua this past year.

Isn't the Kirkland brand just SBUX in a different package?

*ETA - Oops, I missed the 2nd page before I added this. Carry on.

Larry,

If you were speaking, specifically, about the Starbuck's French Roast, then I totally agree with you. That stuff is awful, IMO. Same for Italian roast. Over roasted & bitter...I think you said? Yep...

But try the Christmas Blend, Yukon Blend or the Verona. These are our current favorites. You might be surprised.

Richard

I'm always willing to try something new. Actually, my tastes are broad; I'll drink most anything from Folger's to Kona or Blue Jamaican. There are a few, however, that I couldn't drink--like my mother's Weis Supermarket brand instant decaf coffee. Gag.