View Full Version : Coffee
Roguish Lawyer
05-27-2008, 17:34
I don't believe we've discussed this before. Favorite brand? Favorite type of bean? Grinding preferences? Anything else?
I like Peet's, which used to only be available in the Bay Area but now is getting marketed more widely.
BoyScout
05-27-2008, 18:51
Anything but Starbucks. The coffee from Bentonville used in our break room is pretty good, never saw a company name on the box. Honestly I'm more of a sugar laden iced tea.
I like drip grind coffee, french roast - but I haven't developed a brand preference.
I avoid flavored coffee - the plain coffee, when well prepared, stands on its own merits.
Ret10Echo
05-27-2008, 19:41
Fine grind:
Jacobs - Kronig, Cafe Bustello - Espresso grind.
Kenya AA, Guatemalan, and I once was sent some Kona that had a great smoky flavor. I have yet to find the like again. Whole bean and I grind the beans to a very fine texture...I like my coffee strong :lifter
3SoldierDad
05-27-2008, 19:53
It's not just the kind of coffee or the brand...Sometimes it's the time and the place. Do you guys find that coffee tastes best when your getting it out in the field, early in the morning? Some things just smell better and taste better outside, early in the morning...
Three Soldier Dad...Chuck
Anything from www dot westcoastroasting.com ESPECIALLY the Sumatra. It's....heavenly. They roast each order to order, and mail it out within 24 hours of roasting by 2nd Day Air.
Red Flag 1
05-27-2008, 20:19
Gypsy, I may just have to try them! Fresh is always best. Not a fan of Starbucks at all.
RF 1
You'll love it, promise. I can't really afford to order that often...but when I do it's a party in my coffee pot! :D
The Kenya and Guatemalan are good, but the Sumatra has always been my fav. I can't have caffeine anymore...so will be trying a decaf from him next. The owner is a good guy.
I like 7-11 coffee's.
I know, I know.....but it's cheap. I bring in my own mug/cup and get it even cheaper. I tend to go to the same store, and every so often, the manager gives me one on the house.
I like putting in those "Irish Cream" creamers, (13 to be exact) in my 30 oz mug. I tell people I like my coffee like I like my women.....Hot, Rich and Creamy. :D
Red Flag 1
05-27-2008, 20:29
Thanks!!
longrange1947
05-27-2008, 20:30
Folgers Pods. :D
Kyobanim
05-28-2008, 03:48
I'm allowed to buy one pound of Jamaican Blue Mountain during the xmas holidays. I used to get it from Barneys but now I need to order it. I'd drink it everyday if I could. I grind for a drip maker. Price $30 to $50 a lb, depending upon who you buy from.
JBM has to sit a few minutes before you drink it, otherwise it tastes like that starbucks rotgut. My second choice is Kona.
If you want a smoother coffee try a pinch of salt in the grinds. This method takes a little experimentation to get the right amount of salt.
AngryPistols
05-28-2008, 07:04
Fine grind:
Jacobs - Kronig, Cafe Bustello - Espresso grind.
I would consider Cafe Bustello to be among the best 'cheap' coffees.:)
Angry
http://www.rangercoffee.com/
Good stuff....good cause.
ZonieDiver
05-28-2008, 14:17
Sumatran is my regular fav. Grind it myself - almost fine. Panamanian Chiriqui, if I can find it, is great.
greenberetTFS
05-28-2008, 14:47
I'm allowed to buy one pound of Jamaican Blue Mountain during the xmas holidays. I used to get it from Barneys but now I need to order it. I'd drink it everyday if I could. I grind for a drip maker. Price $30 to $50 a lb, depending upon who you buy from.
JBM has to sit a few minutes before you drink it, otherwise it tastes like that starbucks rotgut. My second choice is Kona.
If you want a smoother coffee try a pinch of salt in the grinds. This method takes a little experimentation to get the right amount of salt.
I totally agree that JBM is the best coffee you can buy,but at that price it's a real killer...We only have it on special occasions,but it's worth it.
Real Peruvian Coffee. ;)Traditionally made in the morning, with real sugar and a little water added. Muy Bueno!:lifter
Honestly, I did not think it would be so good.
But I found myself in bed each morning, seriously craving it...(and I pestered the poor soul next door to take me down the street each morning, so I could have it!)
The best, IMHO!
Holly
Jack Moroney (RIP)
05-29-2008, 05:32
Some things just smell better and taste better outside, early in the morning...Three Soldier Dad...Chuck
Gotta agree with this-nothing like hitting the back porch where all you can hear are critters, the brook at the base of the hill, and a gentle breeze. Of course, that is only 5 months out of the year. The other times you can hear the critters and the breeze, but the brook is frozen over and you are trying not to let your lips freeze to the thermos mug:D But, it still tastes good.
Maybe I do not have a discriminating pallet, but I have not found that one coffee tastes much different than the others and I have sampled a lot of them. I will pick up Peet's next week when I make my monthly run to the commissary to restock the larder.
Maybe I do not have a discriminating pallet, but I have not found that one coffee tastes much different than the others and I have sampled a lot of them. Whew....I was beginning to think it was just me...:D
I like "plain-old" coffee. NO Starbucks/Caribou/Bigby etc. I head for the nearest deli for good coffee.
Many good restaurants in the states serve Cadillac; mmmm.
For special occasions, I like Kauai Coffee (http://www.kauaicoffee.com/). Of course, I may have the good times mixed up with the good taste in my memory. ;)
longrange1947
05-29-2008, 17:27
Whew....I was beginning to think it was just me...:D
You heathens!! Try Folger pods. :D
Roguish Lawyer
05-29-2008, 19:08
I will pick up Peet's next week when I make my monthly run to the commissary to restock the larder.
If they don't have it, let me know and I'll send you some.
Jack Moroney (RIP)
05-29-2008, 19:14
If they don't have it, let me know and I'll send you some.
Thanks. They do carry it; I just never thought of trying it before.
You heathens!! Thank you...:D
AngelsSix
06-08-2008, 19:31
I like Kona. My little bit of Hawaii.....I would like to try some of that JBM, though!!
I usually buy Peet's, after having gotten hooked awhile back while in the Bay area. However...
This may sound familiar to some of you with tours in Italy. Small Bialetti (sp?) stove-top espresso maker with Lavazza Rosa coffee. It's fantastic!
Tim Hortons coffee. Big in Michigan and Canada of course. Not sure if the rest of the country knows of what I speak.
Jacobs Kronung; Starbucks' Yukon and Gold Coast. However, I only buy the beans and make my own as I prefer it darker and richer than they tend to make it, something I got used to while living in Europe.
Richard
doctorrich
06-10-2008, 13:51
I roast my own with a little Hottop roaster... smokes the house up wicked bad.
But once you roast your own, everything else is just stale. Except for Black Cat blend from Intelligentsia Roasters in Chicago. That's good, just not as good as mine.
Am a great fan of JBM as well, but don't know if it's available here in OZ...tried it my last trip to the States and fell in love with it. Not an everyday cup of coffee though, because of the price! Brought home some Guatemalan, but once it's gone it's back to the local roasters for their blends.
i_am_sancho
06-12-2008, 06:14
Have to say I'm fond of Turkish coffee. If you've never had it, I really suggest it. I can't be 100% sure but I believe Ethiopian coffee is pretty much the same.
The coffee is made by cooking the grinds in a pot called an Ibrik and the grinds are so fine that they create a sort of seal under which the coffee brews. They tend to have a lot of sugar in them, emphasizing a bittersweet flavor.
When it comes to brands of coffee, I really got hooked on Portland Roasting and as a company they do some great business. I actually had a fellow call me from the company to discuss what coffee would be best to make Turkish with. At the time I didn't realize that there were actual 'Turkish' coffee brands and that it wasn't just a way of making the brew.
x SF med
06-12-2008, 08:54
I tend to grind my own - unflavored - Sumatra Mandheling if it's available, a nice organic Peruvian or Mayan Black... Starbucks is only in case of emergency, it tastes burned and oily and heavy to me - and I love bold coffees as long as the taste is clean.
Many years ago a friend at work (while I was still in publishing) turned me on to the Toddy System - a traditional (mostly) South American style cold brewing coffee maker. It takes about 24 hours to get the 'liqueur' - but the result is worth it - a heavy syrup that can be tailored to taste - about 1/4 toddy juice and 3/4 hot water for a 'normal' cup of coffee, and it makes the most awesome iced coffee in the world - just cut the toddy juice with milk (careful the extract is like quintuple esspresso) a little sugar and it tastes just like a very strong Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream. One batch of the cold-brewed extract is about a liter and a bit - can be kept in the fridge for 2 weeks, or frozen for longer. Coffee whenever you want it - and as easy as instant (and yes, I have been known to just drink the extract straight when needed asa boost - rocket fuel!!!)
Don't boil or over heat the extract, it changes the flavor - when you smell the extract for the first time - you will notice the richness (even using bargain basement beans/grounds). Use the roughest grind you can.
It actually tastes like brewing coffee smells - but a benefit - no hot water hits the grounds - so no oil, almost no acid, and a nice caffiene jolt.
Damn you all - now I have to make a batch to take with me on vacation next week.
doctorrich
06-12-2008, 10:02
Anyone tried Mocha Java?
I had some from the North End in Boston a few weeks ago, roasted fresh (by Polcari's, not by me). Almost has a peppery undertaste to it.
Edit- I need to try that coffee extract. I'll research the Toddy System setup. Thanks!
AngelsSix
06-12-2008, 19:33
Have to say I'm fond of Turkish coffee. If you've never had it, I really suggest it. I can't be 100% sure but I believe Ethiopian coffee is pretty much the same.
The coffee is made by cooking the grinds in a pot called an Ibrik and the grinds are so fine that they create a sort of seal under which the coffee brews. They tend to have a lot of sugar in them, emphasizing a bittersweet flavor.
Ahhh, memories of Greece....how I miss it!! There was an old man at the Lena Beach Inn that would make us coffee first thing in the morning before we left to go to the airfield. I loved his coffee, never had any like it since.
etcheeves
06-13-2008, 01:00
Since moving to Sicily, I've become a fan of Kimbo espresso grind. They sell it at the Exhcange/Commissary which probably means it's crap, but I like it, not too strong, but good flavor. Any house brand that the local cappuchino stand as on tap is good also, don't know what makes their coffee's so much better than mine, but they are. I guess it's the lifetime experience they have on the Barista.
A neat little trick that a friend showed me on a deployment, take a spoonfull of Nescafe', and a heaping spoon of sweetened condensed milk, mix the two together for like 5 minutes till you have this nasty looking peanutbutter goop in your cup, then ad your hot water, stir till smooth. It's odd at first but after a couple days, it's the best.
But then again, I've always like a little coffee with my cream and sugar.
VR/
I am partial to Green Mountain Coffee. Started drinking coffee in Iraqistan when GMC sent us beaucoup coffee for nothing. I like it "hot and Black" and, as COL Moroney said, there's nothing like coffee during a summer morning in VT (which can be pretty brisk).
Sucks trying to beat off the hippies when they come around though...
Jack Moroney (RIP)
06-13-2008, 04:58
Sucks trying to beat off the hippies when they come around though...
The aroma of fresh coffee wafting through the pines can bring out an assortment of the unclean. I find that if you tell them that there is plenty of hot water left from making the coffee with which they can wash, they run:D Or maybe it is just my smiling demeanor and the .45 that is very visible.
LibraryLady
06-13-2008, 08:30
... Edit- I need to try that coffee extract. I'll research the Toddy System setup. Thanks!
http://www.toddycafe.com/?gclid=CPfY2uLR8ZMCFRMYagodmCjbVw
LL
doctorrich
06-13-2008, 09:15
Thank you, Library Lady. Will do.