Let's talk about COFFEE!!!

[Aurora63]

I was watching this show about coffee and coffee beans the other night, and I was surprised to find out there are actually different beans of coffee (duh)...robusta, which are the chearper, not as good ones, and arabica, which are not as bitter and taste better.

So, of course, being the consumate shopper, I went out and bought some coffee made with '100% arabica beans' - I wound up geting a brand called Eight O'Clock Coffee, which I have to say, does taste better than our regular.

So, anyway, what coffe do you drink, and can you taste a difference between it and other brands? Or do you think it's all the same? Oh, and of course, how do you brew it?

 

[LEO_Magic]

The only coffee that wakes me up is cuban coffee! Here in Miami that's the most popular coffee we drink. How you brew it? Sorry don't know how to brew it

 

[Southern4sure]

I'm not a coffee drinker but DH likes strong coffee. We buy CDM (Cafe Du Monde) brand. It is from New Orleans and has chicory in it. It'll put hair on your chest from what I hear.

 

[Poohnatic]

As a kid, I used to love going grocery shopping to A&P. Mom bought a bag of 8 o'clock Coffee every week and my siblings and I would fight over who was going to grind the beans. Love that smell.

There's definitely a difference in coffees. I am a recent convert, after hating it for years. I made the mistake one day of getting coffee at McDonald's-blech! That said, the donut shops (dunkin donuts and Krispy Kreme) both have good coffee. My first choice is Indigo (a local chain) and then Barnies. Alas, neither one is too close to me. Perhaps that's a good thing, because I don't get as many cups!

Suzanne

 

[Dan Murphy]

We use Starbucks French Roast, about one pound a week, grind the beans here at home each pot. Their coffees are full-bodies (strong) without being yuck tasting. They are arabica.

 

[julie_yet]

Like Dan I also use Starbucks coffee. My favorites are the Italian Roast and Sumatra. I usually grind it in the store so I can make it as fine as I want.

 

[chyam]

I love coffee and my favorite is Barnies, Starbucks to me is a little to strong, Barnies has Santas white christmas blend that is my favorite and it was so popular they sell it year round now! I don't like the Christopher Bean brand, but there is anoterhe that Target sells that is not bad...........but if you want to taste bad, 1 cup of the C*** they have in the food courts of the DW hotels is enough to make you want to give it up for life! I have heard it is Nescafe........now I always bring my own and brew it in the room! I tend to like the flavored coffees like Hazelnut etc.

 

[Blondie]

I've been a loyal Gevalia coffee drinker for over ten years, my favorites being Chocolate Raspberry and Breakfast Blend.

 

[jx3smom]

I am not a coffee drinker but it is only Starbucks at our house. DS works there and gets a free pound a week. DH only drinks it occassionaly so my SIL gets a lot of free coffee from us now that she is a Starbuck convert! She drinks a lot of coffee.

 

[siouxi31]

Our staple is 8 o'clock Colombian beans but for Christmas I received a gift pack of several Starbucks flavors. I never like their coffee at the store but when making it at home I really enjoy it. Kenya and Guatemala are my favorites.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I order my beans from a place in NYC--Porto Rico Imports. I have them custom blend 50% Columbian Supremo and 50% Kenya AA. I grind the beans fresh for each pot.

FYI I find mail ordering a lot cheaper than buying locally, even with the shipping charge. I order 10 pounds at a time. Last week I paid $72.50 including shipping. Usually I pay about $10 less because I try to order when the Columbian Supremo is on sale (the Kenya AA never goes on sale for some reason).

Now, I think I'll go make a pot of coffee!

 

[binny]

I am a recent convert to Ethiopian coffee. I LOVE it!


I drink a lot of coffee and have to have the good stuff its my splurg and I fully admit to be a coffee snob.

HOWEVER I am also quite cheap LOL and I found an awesome blend at Costco for under $4./ pound that made me very happy

 

[cardaway]

You can buy the most expensive beans in the store and it's still about how you brew it. It has to be at the right temp, and not take too long, to get all the flavor you are paying for.

Or you can be like my IL's and like it with barely enough grounds in there to change the color of the water.

Want great coffee, then you need to have a great coffee maker too.

 

[eclectics]

You can buy the most expensive beans in the store and it's still about how you brew it. It has to be at the right temp, and not take too long, to get all the flavor you are paying for.

Or you can be like my IL's and like it with barely enough grounds in there to change the color of the water.

Want great coffee, then you need to have a great coffee maker too.

I use an electric perculator because I think it tastes better than a drip machine. Stays hotter too.

 

[cardaway]

I use an electric perculator because I think it tastes better than a drip machine. Stays hotter too.

Those are great too. Basically peole just need to avoid the cheap drip coffee makers. Might as well put Yuban through those.

 

[Deb in IA]

We buy our beans green. Our preference is Jamaica Blue Mountain, but you have to be careful, as there are almost as many "counterfeit" JBM beans as there are fake Louis Vuitton handbags.

We roast the beans, then grind them in a burr (not blade) grinder, then brew them in a French press.

Yes, we are coffee snobs!!!

 

[eclectics]

We buy our beans green. Our preference is Jamaica Blue Mountain, but you have to be careful, as there are almost as many "counterfeit" JBM beans as there are fake Louis Vuitton handbags.

We roast the beans, then grind them in a burr (not blade) grinder, then brew them in a French press.

Yes, we are coffee snobs!!!

Wow! Can't get any fresher than that. Bet it tastes great!

 

[beachbunny]

I won't drink anything with robusto beans. In addition to the VERY LOW GRADE BEANS, I've got serious concerns about the robusto growers themselves. But this is not the thread for that.

My favorite is Kona coffee. The best tasting Kona is from a small company called Blue Sky. With shipping, it's about $20/pound.

If you're really interested in coffee and learning more about it, I'd recommend a vacation to Kona, Hawaii where you can do a coffee tasting tour - driving from coffee plantation to coffee plantation. Just like wine tasting in Napa, but for coffee lovers.

I grind my own beans and use a Capresso machine with a stainless carafe for brewing. Grinding brings out the flavor of the coffee and the carafe ensures that the coffee doesn't burn after brewing.

 

[soccerchick]

I'm not a coffee snob - too cheap. I do like Starbucks Christmas blend that I received as a gift. I also like Dunkin Donuts blends and buy a couple of pounds when they have their 2/$10 sale. My in-laws also bring me a few pounds of Kona coffee each spring when they return from snowbirding in Hawaii. Instead spending $$ on coffee, I flavor it with yummy cream, makes any brand taste good.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

I learned the difference between Arabica and robusta several years ago and I’ve been spared many bad pots of coffee since then! Before then, I’d pay more attention to where the coffee was grown; Columbian, Kenyan, etc… but if it’s robusta, it’s probably not very good, regardless of where it was grown.