Bad News for Coffee Lovers

[bicker]

If you think that you're morning cup of Java isn't tasting that great these days.... well, you're right.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0247557920090202
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100202/lf_nm_life/us_coffee_consumerreport_blends

We noticed this this week even affecting Trader Joe's Columbian Supremo, which after begin super-fantastic for years, now tastes pretty close to bad.

 

[Kies99]

I haven't drank "mass produced" coffee in years!

I have a shop near me called PrestoGeorge that roasts all their own coffee. There's tons of different types and flavors and I know I'm getting a fresh cup.

I do find it funny that Eight O'Clock won out. My parents swear by that coffee!

 

[dakcp2001]

I would caution people about clicking on those links, I got about a zillion pop ups from the first one and had to run a visrus check after it was going for so long.

 

[suejai]

That's interesting. I've been noticing lately that the coffee isn't tasting the same. I started trying new brands and blends - so far I've determined that I don't like Columbian but have found that Sumatra blends are quite good if you prefer round, mellow flavours over more acidic blends.

 

[legalsea]

Try roasting your own coffee! I have done so for five years, using a hot-air popcorn popper.

All you need is green coffee beans, a colander or two, a freezer, and your popper.

The popcorn popper must be the kind with the vent along the side (inside, where you pour ini the popcorn, not at the very bottom like many models have).

Learn more here:


http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php

Sweet Marias sells lots of different kinds of green coffee beans, and is a good place to learn about the different type of beans.

A great place to get wonderful green Kona beans from Hawaii is http://huladaddy.com/

Hula Daddy's ships very, very fast. You may also buy the beans already roasted.

Roasting your own is usually less expensive than purchasing coffee at the supermarket. Roasting takes about 3-5 minutes per batch (depending on air temperature; you will want to roast outside).

 

[ragdoll]

I have used Folger's Columbian for years and loved it but it seems to get worse and worse. Each container is different. I can pretty much tell by the aroma when I open it if it is a good or bad container. Funny thing is, the last container I opened smelled and tasted great at first. By the time I was about a quarter through the container it smelled and tasted awful. I actually had to throw it out. The new container I opened isn't much better. Guess I need to try another brand when I get through my next six containers that I stocked up on when they were on sale.

 

[dawson5]

I've bought that 8 o'clock in a pinch, it is good coffee. We usually grind our own, have toyed with the idea of roasting. Going to check out those links.

Also, I opened those links with no pop-ups. We use firefox with the pop-up blocker enabled. Works on most sites, only have problems with two newspaper sites.

 

[legalsea]

I have used Folger's Columbian for years and loved it but it seems to get worse and worse. Each container is different. I can pretty much tell by the aroma when I open it if it is a good or bad container. Funny thing is, the last container I opened smelled and tasted great at first. By the time I was about a quarter through the container it smelled and tasted awful. I actually had to throw it out. The new container I opened isn't much better. Guess I need to try another brand when I get through my next six containers that I stocked up on when they were on sale.

I read a book about coffee that claimed that:

1) most major brands of ground coffee use inferior, cheap coffee beans (from India, Vietnam, etc and

2) when the coffee is vacuum packed they squirt in a 'fresh coffee smell' so you get that delightful aroma when you first open the can. But it quickly wears out.

 

[bicker]

I think the nature of the typical Sumatra varietal is such that it doesn't degrade as readily, due to poor conditions and such. The Columbian varietals vary from incredible to crap, and the incredible coffee can end up crappy with just minor changes in conditions, while Sumatra is much more resiliant.

 

[bicker]

I read a book about coffee that claimed that:

1) most major brands of ground coffee use inferior, cheap coffee beans (from India, Vietnam, etc and

If they advertise that the coffee is 100% from Columbia, then there is no concern about that. However, note that one article is talking about blends, and so you can very often see small print saying "no less than 5% Columbian" which can readily be read as "up to 95% whatever we want to put in".

 

[bettymae1121]

Wow, I thought something was off in my last can of TJ's breakfast blend...well not the coffee so much as I thought maybe my half n half was bad so I dumped it out and bought new cream. But I opened a new can of coffee just about the same time, so I figured it really was the cream and never suspected the coffee. Now it may have been the coffee afterall!

 

[agnes!]

Trader Joe's Columbian and the Eight O'Clock Columbian have been two of my mainstays for quite awhile. Years ago I used to love Costco brand Columbian but then they switched to "Starbuck's Roasted"...gack, tasted like burnt rubber. Luckily Costco fairly recently switched to a different roast and all is forgiven...now I really like Costco's Kirkland Brand Columbian Supremo (better than Trader Joe's or Eight O-Clock). Rrrrrreally yummy and doesn't get allthat nasty/stale smell by the end of the bag.

agnes!

 

[legalsea]

Many of you probably already know this, but I will relate anyway.

During the Civil War the soldiers loved drinking coffee. At the beginning of the war the Union soldiers were provided with ‘ground coffee’ from a supplier. Corruption was rampant, and it turned out that the ground coffee was mainly dirt and sawdust. The Union general in charge of supplies then switched to whole coffee beans, which the soldiers then ground themselves, often by using the butt of their rifles.

One of the on-going arguments among the soldiers was ‘how many’ coffee beans it took to make the perfect cup of coffee. I once read that Beethoven always counted out exactly 66 coffee beans for his morning cuppa.

My newest 'thing' is making espresso coffee using one of those stove-top devices. Simply wonderful. I am now roasting my beans a bit darker for this type of coffee.

 

[ZachnElli]

Try roasting your own coffee! I have done so for five years, using a hot-air popcorn popper.

All you need is green coffee beans, a colander or two, a freezer, and your popper.

The popcorn popper must be the kind with the vent along the side (inside, where you pour ini the popcorn, not at the very bottom like many models have).

Learn more here:


http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php

Sweet Marias sells lots of different kinds of green coffee beans, and is a good place to learn about the different type of beans.

A great place to get wonderful green Kona beans from Hawaii is http://huladaddy.com/

Hula Daddy's ships very, very fast. You may also buy the beans already roasted.

Roasting your own is usually less expensive than purchasing coffee at the supermarket. Roasting takes about 3-5 minutes per batch (depending on air temperature; you will want to roast outside).

My bil and sil roast their own coffee too, they have an actual coffee roaster though. So we get our coffee from them. Dh and I don't drink much so they don't mind sharing. They are quite proud of their coffee, so sharing a little bit seems to make them happy. If we drank alot I don't think they would do it, lol. They get their green beans from Sweet Maria's and Roastmasters. They drink ALOT of coffee and my sil figured she paid for the coffee roaster in 10 months.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't drink coffee but DH swears by Dunkin Donuts. I hope that it stays good.

 

[dakcp2001]

Many of you probably already know this, but I will relate anyway.

During the Civil War the soldiers loved drinking coffee. At the beginning of the war the Union soldiers were provided with ‘ground coffee’ from a supplier. Corruption was rampant, and it turned out that the ground coffee was mainly dirt and sawdust. The Union general in charge of supplies then switched to whole coffee beans, which the soldiers then ground themselves, often by using the butt of their rifles.

One of the on-going arguments among the soldiers was ‘how many’ coffee beans it took to make the perfect cup of coffee. I once read that Beethoven always counted out exactly 66 coffee beans for his morning cuppa.

My newest 'thing' is making espresso coffee using one of those stove-top devices. Simply wonderful. I am now roasting my beans a bit darker for this type of coffee.

I love this kind of history and being a science major, not much time left over for the fun interesting stuff! Thank you for sharing!

 

[N.Bailey]

I'm not a coffee drinker, but a lot of people I know always buy this brand. You literally grind it yourself at the store, so it's as close to fresh as you can possibly get without grinding it at home.

 

[bicker]

Wow, I thought something was off in my last can of TJ's breakfast blend...well not the coffee so much as I thought maybe my half n half was bad so I dumped it out and bought new cream. But I opened a new can of coffee just about the same time, so I figured it really was the cream and never suspected the coffee. Now it may have been the coffee afterall!

Well, I suppose I'm marginally glad that it wasn't just us. It's a real shame that Trader Joe's, which many folks have relied on for a long time to provide reliably great quality, has ended up compromising on quality for their coffee, presumably to keep their products from getting too expensive.

 

[bettymae1121]

Well, I suppose I'm marginally glad that it wasn't just us. It's a real shame that Trader Joe's, which many folks have relied on for a long time to provide reliably great quality, has ended up compromising on quality for their coffee, presumably to keep their products from getting too expensive.

That article wasn't very specific, but it seemed like it indicated that there is a big shortage of quality beans right now. It could very well be that our usual suppliers (like TJ's) simply can't get the good beans at any price. And really, even if they could, is it better to double the price and keep the quality, or sacrifice quality a bit and keeps prices stable, and hope prices come down soon?

What would really be nice, though probably not possible, is to give the consumer a choice. Inform them of the situation (lack of quality beans resulting in huge price swings) and offer a cheaper, lower quality version and a pricier better quality blend. But given this is (hopefully) a situation that will solve itself as crops improve, it may just be easier for retailers to just ride it out and hope the customers don't get too cranky.

 

[auntie]

We drink Maxwell house..usually the filter packs.
However our favorite 7 Eleven Coffee..hasn't been so good lately. Taste is off and kind of bitter. As soon as it starts to cool down it's awful. Shame because I really liked their coffee.