What kind of Coffee Do You Buy?

dancingalone

Grandmaster
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
5,322
Reaction score
281
Hey, I'm looking for some coffee recommendations. I'm no coffee snob. I just use a regular drip brewer. I do have my own bean grinder though honestly I've been known to buy pre-ground beans at the grocery store. Yeah, yeah, I know. :)

Can you all share what you buy to make at home? Some of my likes are Starbucks Pike Place, Starbucks Cafe Verona, Community Coffee Cafe Roast Blend, Independence Coffee Jet Fuel, Stewarts Kona Blend, Gevalia Traditional Roast. I'm working through a bag of Dunkin Donuts Mocha Mint and Archer Farms (Target) Gingerbread right now.
 

Bob Hubbard

Retired
MT Mentor
Founding Member
Lifetime Supporting Member
MTS Alumni
Joined
Aug 4, 2001
Messages
47,245
Reaction score
771
Location
Land of the Free
I just got a Keurig. Love it. :)

I'm currently working through a few samplers for it, but the main stuff is Starbucks blonde and Wegmans hazelnut.
 

Carol

Crazy like a...
MT Mentor
Lifetime Supporting Member
MTS Alumni
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
20,311
Reaction score
541
Location
NH
Oooh....did someone say COFFEE? :D :D :D

I also have a Keurig. Also love it :) Last weekend I picked up a french press for the beans that aren't available in K-cups.

My K-cup faves: Green Mountain Lake and Lodge, Hazelnut, and Perfect Peach. I also like Caribou Coffee and most seasonal flavors. I have some DD Pumpkin in my desk at work.

My faves not in K-cup form: whoever did the Maple Decaf coffee for Ben's Sugar Shack made something heavenly. I also received some Peet's Major Dickason's Blend for my birthday that is quite good as well.
 

granfire

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
15,979
Reaction score
1,591
Location
In Pain
LOL, you mention 'Starbucks' and 'not a coffee snob' in one sentence! :lol:

I am currently testing my way through different coffees, but it might simply be my cheap coffee maker that the coffee has no real flavor right now (or that I spend 2 weeks with my dad, who makes the coffee strong enough to bend spoons in the cup!)


For the keurig (yes, moi has one, too) I grab what's on sale. Not touching starbucks...I hate cheater boxes: everybody else gives you 18 cups, they charge you more and only give you 16! Boo!

I have some pumpkin spice sitting here (but for the kid, he loves that), ginger bread, an assortment of different ones and hmmm, breakfast blend, Newmans Own - when I feel bold.

I do try to pick the kind that has the fair trade label on it. Not sure how much it really helps, but hey.
Sumatra reserve is open right now...next to a closed sampler box, with stuff like Kaluha and such....

Not currently grinding beans. I only really drink coffee in the morning, and between 6 and 9 I am not up for extra steps!
 

Steve

Mostly Harmless
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
21,918
Reaction score
7,474
Location
Covington, WA
http://www.soap.com/p/san-francisco...250802&utm_content=pla&adtype=pla&cagpspn=pla

San Francisco Bay makes k-cups. They sell them at our local Costco and it's relatively inexpensive and makes a good, strong cup of coffee. I like it. At Costco, it's cheaper than any of the other coffee k-cups, and I like it better. So, win/win for me. :D

Otherwise, I mainly drink espresso. I don't consider myself a snob, but I do really like coffee. I have over a dozen coffee makers and like to use them all. The one I use the most is my Nespresso machine. It's similar to the Kuerig, but makes actual espresso and I think it's delicious. Since I don't use milk in any of my coffee, I have the least expensive model and start every work day with a strong Americano from that machine. I only use the Kuerig on the weekends.

http://www.nespresso-us.com/machines/essenza/essenza-just-black/
 
OP
dancingalone

dancingalone

Grandmaster
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
5,322
Reaction score
281
Yeah the Keurig machines seem to be very popular. I was going to buy one for the ma studio but one of my students really got after me about it. Consumer waste, etc, even if you buy one of the reusable filters.

LOL, you mention 'Starbucks' and 'not a coffee snob' in one sentence! :lol:

I used to work with people who were WAY obsessive about their coffee rituals. Wouldn't touch a cup unless it came from beans freshly roasted not longer than a week ago and perfectly made in their $1500 expresso machines.

LOL. Starbucks by comparison is way plebeian.


I also received some Peet's Major Dickason's Blend for my birthday that is quite good as well.

I used to drink this all the time when I lived in California. Can't get it easily in my current neck of the woods unless I mail order or drive into "town". I want to say the Costco carries it.
 
OP
dancingalone

dancingalone

Grandmaster
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
5,322
Reaction score
281
I don't consider myself a snob, but I do really like coffee. I have over a dozen coffee makers and like to use them all. The one I use the most is my Nespresso machine. It's similar to the Kuerig, but makes actual espresso and I think it's delicious. Since I don't use milk in any of my coffee, I have the least expensive model and start every work day with a strong Americano from that machine. I only use the Kuerig on the weekends.

http://www.nespresso-us.com/machines/essenza/essenza-just-black/

Aren't those supposed to be dummy proof and therefore 'bad' according to the initiated? :)
 

Steve

Mostly Harmless
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
21,918
Reaction score
7,474
Location
Covington, WA
Aren't those supposed to be dummy proof and therefore 'bad' according to the initiated? :)

Lol... Well. Here's the thing. There's the coffee and there's the art of making good coffee. Each is great and there's a time and place for both. I LOVE being able to make a solid, predictable, consistently good shot of espresso in the morning while I feed the animals and make my daughter's lunch. I was genuinely blown away at the quality of the shot te nespresso machine gives you.

i also have a traditional, pump espresso machine. I really want a lever style machine, but they're big bucks.

Coffee wise, I really recommend a vacuum press if you like smooth, full flavored coffee or a French press if you like it strong and don't mind a little silt.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

granfire

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
15,979
Reaction score
1,591
Location
In Pain
Yeah the Keurig machines seem to be very popular. I was going to buy one for the ma studio but one of my students really got after me about it. Consumer waste, etc, even if you buy one of the reusable filters.
LOL, no, for a setup like that, I don't think the Keurig is good. Though, you can have 20 people not drink the same coffee all at once...it's the machine when you drink maybe one a day, or the special flavor as a treat.
They do produce a lot of waste (and yhe reusable ones do need to be cleaned out after each use, a bit messy, kind of takes away from the easy use - again, for one a day coffee)


I used to work with people who were WAY obsessive about their coffee rituals. Wouldn't touch a cup unless it came from beans freshly roasted not longer than a week ago and perfectly made in their $1500 expresso machines.

LOL. Starbucks by comparison is way plebeian.
yeah, in THAT context, Starbucks is outright frugal! :lol:
 

Steve

Mostly Harmless
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
21,918
Reaction score
7,474
Location
Covington, WA
I have a cup for the keurig that uses paper filters. I don't mind the cost, and the filter and grounds go into yard waste. I got it at bed bath and beyond. Works pretty well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

rlobrecht

Brown Belt
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
473
Reaction score
2
Location
Houston, TX
French press for me. I have three of them, including a stainless steel vacuum insulated one for camping.

I usually buy my beans whole. Our local grocery store (HEB in TX) sells them in bulk, sourced from a local roaster.

I do grind about a weeks worth at a time, because grinding before drinking is a huge pain. I drink it black.

I will occasionally buy Starbucks if I want a sweet milky treat, but its not really coffee. Their beans aren't bad, but they are overpriced. Their drip coffee and espresso is mediocre now. In their quest for world domination, the have forgotten what good coffee really is.

Rick
 

granfire

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
15,979
Reaction score
1,591
Location
In Pain
I have a cup for the keurig that uses paper filters. I don't mind the cost, and the filter and grounds go into yard waste. I got it at bed bath and beyond. Works pretty well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

you put it in one of these?
Do they go in the regular attachment?
 

Steve

Mostly Harmless
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
21,918
Reaction score
7,474
Location
Covington, WA

Tez3

Sr. Grandmaster
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
27,608
Reaction score
4,901
Location
England
Coffee just for myself is made in a cafetiere and I use Italian, French or Dutch coffee.

I don't know if you have slugs and snails in American gardens but if you do putting coffee grounds round the base of your plants is a good way to stop them eating your plants, the grounds can also go on the compost heap.
 

granfire

Sr. Grandmaster
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
15,979
Reaction score
1,591
Location
In Pain
http://www.amazon.com/EZ-cup-K-cup-...qid=1355506000&sr=8-4&keywords=e-z+cup+filter

It's called the EZ-cup. You use little, one use filters. I like it because after you brew your cup of coffee, you just take the paper filter out and put it, with the grounds in it, into the yard waste. I have played around with grinds and at Starbucks, if you ask them to grind it to "4", it works well.

I thought I had linked it...but something is wonky with my computer today....
<scanning for bugs>
 

Steve

Mostly Harmless
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
21,918
Reaction score
7,474
Location
Covington, WA
I thought I had linked it...but something is wonky with my computer today....
<scanning for bugs>
No problem. It does just go in, in lieu of any standard k-cup. No swapping attachments or anything.

Regarding Starbucks, I like several of their roasts but hate the way they brew their drip. It's always tasted burnt and too strong for me. I do agree that their espresso quality has dropped since they introduced the automatic machines, but it's still good and it's way more consistent. With the old style plug machines, it's really a skill to get the right amount of pressure to create a good shot of espresso, and when it's good, it's VERY good, but it is always hit and miss.

What I really like, that is available in some Starbucks, is coffee brewed in their Clover machines. http://www.starbucks.com/coffee/learn/clover
That's an excellent cup of coffee.
 

Touch Of Death

Sr. Grandmaster
MTS Alumni
Joined
May 6, 2003
Messages
11,610
Reaction score
848
Location
Spokane Valley WA
You all sound so independently wealthy. :) I like me some MJB; because, it tastes good when it should. Sometimes Yuban is on sale, and when I don't want to spend the extra $.50 I break out the Western Family. :)
 

Latest Discussions

Top