what brand of coffee do you drink?

I am about the farthest thing from a coffee snob there is. Ihave laways been willing to choke down anything. I have always bought the cheap stuff. maxwell house. I can often buy it for 5 bucks for over two pounds. I bought yuban yesterday thinking I should really try to be more responsible when I can afford it and they tout at least 30% of their coffee is rainforest freindly. I am now doomed to buy it even when I can't afford it.  I dont' know anything about the finer points of coffee but this is such an improvement on the old stuff that even I can tell.......

any ,,aNd more than i should

I'm a part time coffee drinker. I really only get a taste for it during cold weather, particularly when the days are short. The best tasting coffee I've ever had was 100% Kona coffee from Hawaii. It was so smooth & had no "bite" at all. I had also tried a Kona coffee blend, which was a waste of money. They mark it up just because it's 10% Kona. What a joke. I did a little research online and found a wonderful source direct from Hawaii.

My mother is almost 80, and drinks her coffee black, with artificial sweetener. (I know, artificial sweetener...ew! But by golly, she's been using the stuff for 50+ years & it ain't killed her yet!) She liked the Kona coffee too. Also likes Dunkin' Donuts brand coffee, but I'll only buy it if it's on sale. It's like $ 2.00 more than what I usually buy, and that's just because of the Dunkin' Donuts brand.

IMO, true coffee purists drink it black, but I'm not one. I put "creamer" in mine. So I suppose high dollar Kona coffee is wasted on me, but it sure tasted good!

I'm probably more particular about which flavor creamer I'll use than which coffee. I will say that I notice a BIG difference between freshly ground coffee beans vs ground coffee. I rarely buy ground coffee. Once in a while, I'll try some because it's on sale or new, whatever. I always end up going back to the whole beans and grinding them myself.

Mostly, I buy 8:00 whole bean coffee. I saw the Yuba brand in the store recently. If I can find it in a whole bean, I'll try it.

I cannot remember the name right now, it is a Louisiana brand which is a 50/50 mix of coffee and chicory.  A little bitter aftertaste the first few times we made it, now we have really gotten used to the taste and friends cannot tell the difference from our previous brands. 

I drink just about any kind of coffee, don't mind instant, but cannot stand the way Starbucks makes it, too strong and bitter.
Just hot  and black for me.
What I really want is one of those "Permies.com " coffee mugs....hold the cream...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTgNcuJbAUg&feature=channel

siderea, you can order a mug here: https://permies.com/swag.html (you're welcome, Paul!) 
(Edited to note that we are out of mugs and t-shirts, sorry!)

I'm actually replying about the coffee though. I'm in the Seattle area, around tons of coffee snobs.

It's always been freshly ground coffee beans in my house, at friends' and family's houses and at coffee shops, so I've been unable to buy Folger's, Maxwell House or even Yuban for years.

What saves my budget a bit is Costco's whole bean coffee that is organic, shade-grown and/or fair trade at around $4-5 per pound. That's a pretty amazing price for organic, whole bean coffee.

(Edited to add that I've moved to Montana! And, the San Francisco Bay brand whole bean coffee we get at Costco might be more near $6 or $7 per pound now.)

nothing but Middle Fork Roasters
.  all certified organic, all certified to be traded fairly, all grown in the shade of larger trees.  that's a friend that just started a roasting business in Seattle.  he's pretty good at it.  much better than he is at building websites and punctuating.  personally, I prefer roasted dandelion root tea, but we're talking about coffee here.

someday, somebody will get wise and fill some of those British Columbia hothouses with coffee plants.  the locavores will finally be able to get their fix.

i only drink zapatista coffee.

here in europe you can only buy coffee from south american countrys.

and even if its organic, its usually some sort of huge western company that, burns, grounds and pack the product. often 'fair trade' trade means we give them a slightly better price for the basic produce, but we make the bulk of money, money that is taken out of local communities.

zapatista (and just a fe others) coffee doenst only offer the farmers a better price but is also produced locally, making sure that profits on burning an grounding go straight into the local communities.

i dont know where to get it if ure outside europe, but you can start looking here.

i usually drink their espresso coffee which tastes great.

i only drink zapatista coffee.

I've seen Zapatista coffee here in Seattle.  probably a better deal for the farmers, but it still contributes to an extractive economy.  personally, I wouldn't go patting myself on the back for buying something that has to be shipped from the other side of the world.  but that's just me.  I do generally like what the Zapatistas are about, though, and supporting them probably isn't all bad.

so, I'll just enter the variables into the Karma calculator, and... looks like you roughly break even on this one.  the calculator is imprecise, though, so don't stake your next incarnation on it.

Sometimes I go with the day old and cold. At which point brand names are of little significance.

I support local Mfg so it is Cains from OK  tastes good and has flavor ,but still miss my Italian expresso .

Cafe Bustelo, an espresso coffee. I buy it by the case from Java Cabana.


Their instant espresso is amazingly good too. I use that for camping. The ground cans are available at Walmarts here in NM

I only drink Costa Rican mountain grown coffee - but I am sure that is no surprise.  (we live in Costa Rica) We have an espresso maker, and I make each cup fresh. Yeah, I take my coffee serious.

1 pound costs about 3 dollars if I recall, and that is premium coffee. You can get some of the cheap stuff for about a buck, and that would still be so much better than foldgers or maxwell house.

Being close to the source is always and advantage. I used to even have coffee bushes - but really, not worth the trouble.

My favorite is, Drip Coffee or filter coffee as the water passes through the grounds solely by gravity and not under pressure or in longer-term.
It is a sweet milky coffee made from dark roasted coffee beans (70%-80%) and chicory (20%-30%). It is best blended taste for me.

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:

What saves my budget a bit is Costco's whole bean coffee that is organic, shade-grown and/or fair trade at around $4-5 per pound. That's a pretty amazing price for organic, whole bean coffee.

Wow Jocelyn - I buy the same thing but at my local grocery and it cost me $9 a pound!  But wait, we just had a Costco open in town last week, and a friend bought me a card!  So now I know what I want to buy there   Thanks much for the info.

I usually buy the French Breakfast Roast, with a few flavored beans thrown in.  I use stevia in my coffee, and pray my daughter doesn't make it to strong or there goes my deep sleep pattern....

Costa Rica Tarrazu if you like a low acid coffee with great taste.  We used to grind our own.

Coffee bean direct has fair pricing, and a great selection of coffees and teas.  http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/terms.php

We now use the Keurig coffee maker for convenience.  Expensive to use, but then again we don't have a half pot sitting around, and every cup is fresh.  I believe Wolfgang Puck's K-cups are biodegradable.  Hopefully all manufacturers will do that soon.



Al

I think it's funny how people think that they need coffee to make it through the day. Because I am pretty sure you end up with net less energy after you come down from the high. Only twice in my life have I drunk coffee with any regularity, first in college, when I would be up all night working on a project and guzzle the stuff through class so that I could almost pretend to be conscious. Also when I first started farming and had to be up at 5 in the morning. Gave it up when I started nodding my head around noonish and I had actually had a good nights sleep... also gave me a tummy ache.

If I want long lasting energy through the day, fermented animal protein and fat is the way to go hands down...

mmm butter, kefir, yogurt and fermented fish...

thers a small coffee roaster ten miles down my cummute to school he sells only organic fair trade ceritfied stuff so I asked hime to make sure mine was shade grown as well and hove hom roast it lightly well worth 8 a pound to me

I love coffee.  I consider myself a coffee snob but I will drink the local brew when I'm out and about, upon occassion.  I prefer Central/South American coffee vs. Indonesian/African because it tends to be much less acidic and often carries the chocolate/carmel/nutty undertones that I like best.  Although, I wouldn't turn down a good Sumatra!

I get my coffee primarily from: http://www.metropoliscoffee.com/ .  The owners are wonderful, very well educated and give true-to-type descriptions on their flavor profiles.  I believe all of their coffees are Fair Trade & Organic.  It costs a little more per pound than the grocery store variety but, given this in my one "true-vice," it's worth it!  They also carry some FANTASTIC teas for both drinking and culinary use.

I have lately been very happy with the fair-trade stuff from Trader Joe's.

tel jetson wrote:
I've seen Zapatista coffee here in Seattle.  probably a better deal for the farmers, but it still contributes to an extractive economy.  personally, I wouldn't go patting myself on the back for buying something that has to be shipped from the other side of the world.  but that's just me.  I do generally like what the Zapatistas are about, though, and supporting them probably isn't all bad.

so, I'll just enter the variables into the Karma calculator, and... looks like you roughly break even on this one.  the calculator is imprecise, though, so don't stake your next incarnation on it.

True....
you are completely right.
i am all for only consuming what can be grown locally, and are equally repelled by products from afar. like you said not only cos of the transport but as well cos of the extraction and eventual depletion of recources from a certain place.

i actually dont drink coffee that often (im not the type that wont function untill they had their morning coffee, but my girlfriend is. and many around me are... The closest for us would be arabic coffee, but thats still quite a distance

Maybe i should start trying to convince people (all mid- and northern europeans) NOT to drink coffee anymore  and switch to chicory or similar stuff...? (im afraid i will get lynched )

Al,
I too use the Keurig coffee maker. Did you know you can buy a refillable K-cup? No more plastic cups for the landfill and you can use what ever brand or type of coffee you want.

Karl

Karl, I own one and have yet to use it.  From the reviews I've read it is a pain to clean and you need to have quite a few of them if you have more than one person needing that morning cup.  We're 5, and it would take a half hour for everyone get their cup.  At $14.95 per refillable k-cup it is not too great a deal yet.  However, it is cheaper in the long run to use and stops the leftover plastic cups.

You gave me the impetus to try mine today.  I'll let you know how difficult it is to clean and reload.



Al

Most coffee makers do not get the water hot enough to make a decent cup of coffee. Nuke your water before adding it to the maker and see what happens. One minute per one cup works for me.

I get bulk coffee from Winco in Twin Falls, ID .. Coffee House Blend. My daughter spent the night a week ago and always has berry this and chocolate that and fuwfue this and that .. gripped and drank mine .. loved it.

I have one quirk .. I add whipping cream .. one pour .. and suck it down while not mixed but two different flavors .. love that .. but then I am usually running in "cabin fever mode."

I have had an on-again off-again relationship with coffee.  Never been addicted to it, though I've gone through up to a month or two drinking coffee every day before.  In the past half year or so I have come to really appreciate drinking tea rather than coffee.  There are several distinct advantages for me to drinking tea over coffee. 

Tea gives me energy and what I think of as a "healthy high" rather than the jittery, anxious feeling I get from coffee if I don't watch myself.  Tea is very nutritional which is another plus - I've even read that some cultures once relied upon tea as their sole source of vitamin C.  I also can make tea from more than just the tea Camellia - herbal teas which diversify my diet and can serve medicinal functions.  There's also antibacterial and medicinal qualities to the tea Camellia along with antioxidants.

Having many different kinds of tea around means I can drink tea any time of the day I want - in the morning I can either drink a lightly caffeinated white tea or really go for some energy with a black or oolong.  With coffee I had to cut myself off at the latest 5pm or else I wouldn't be able to get sleep but with teas if I have the urge I can still drink herbal teas late into the night.  I always keep around some tea that is a blend made for helping to get to sleep in these cases.  This really works with my occasional impulsiveness since it won't hurt to drink one last cup and I tend to get addicted to things I do every day.

The addition of herbal tea also reduces my reliance on imports from far-away lands and enables me to take advantage of local ingredients.  Mints, conifer tips, lemon balm, Echinacea, reishi, various berries, oat straw, nettles, horsetails, and a growing list of others all have their place in the beverages I drink now.

Right now in my corner of the kitchen with my main tea ingredients there are some of: black tea, chamomile, white tea, genmaicha (brown rice + green tea), green tea, masala chai, some ginger/honey crystals that dissolve into water, reishi slices, yerba mate, a "nutritonic" herbal tea mix containing oatstraw, nettle, horsetail, alfalfa, passionflower, lemon balm and peppermint, and a similar "happiness" mix and a "dream time" mix.

As for the coffee and chicory mix, it's made me nauseous a few times so I'm a bit afraid to go near the stuff anymore.  I really recommend teas as a way out of the vicious circle of coffee.

DustyTrails wrote:
Most coffee makers do not get the water hot enough to make a decent cup of coffee.

Absolutely true!  The Specialty Coffee Association of America recommends 195 - 205 F (92 - 96 C). It's also recommended to not allow the water to boil before using it as boiling makes the water flat. Filtered water makes better tasting coffee. We use a reverse osmosis system with the "waste" water from the process going for irrigation use.

On the topic of water temperature and boiling remember that increasing altitude lowers the boiling point. Water boils at home (5500 ft) at 202 F while up at our cabin (8800 ft) it boils at 195 F. Makes a difference in cook time for potatoes and other boiled foods too.

Here's a "Boil at..." calculator. Barometric pressure makes a difference too..... 

Hi Don and Nathan,

At 65 I was farming a twenty with twenty leased out and started a new house that I had designed my self. Yerba Mate literally pulled me through each day .. what a discovery. I use Guayaki' or why a kee. I can drink it at night if I want to relax and go to sleep .. the opposite of coffee which I too have formed a love hate relationship with.

I just got a two pound sack of Hawthorn Leaf and Flower organic from Mountain Rose Herbs and when I opened the box and its smell hit me I knew I wanted a cup of tea from it.

According to their site the Hawthorn berry lowers high blood pressure and the stems, leaves and flower raise low blood pressure . And some claim chance as their designer .. if you know what I mean .. Vern.

I have written several articles on .. "Cooking over the Hump" .. how unsuspecting pioneers came from home at perhaps 400' on the East Coast and trudged their way through scant fuel to WY's South Pass at 7,550' and then back down to OR. We live "on the trail at Filer, Idaho .. 3,800' " .. I use twice as much water here than Texas or CA where I have cooked and my recipes come from.

Al,

    I don't have a problem with mine. I have had the same one for over a year. I just take the top off and tap it on the side of the compost pail we have on the counter. Once in awhile, I blast water through it but not often. There's only my wife and I but I can make one cup after another. It is a little hot on the fingers though.

Karl

Karl, I still have yet to give mine a try.  I've been under the weather the past two weeks and quite frankly forgot to give it a go.

I'll let you know cause I am curious to see how easy it is to clean.  I have also seen those caps that allows you to use original K-cups a few extra times.  Another interesting idea.


Al

Trader Joe's Breakfast or Dinner Blend - light roast. Excellent for the money.

Otherwise Whole Foods Costa Rica bean, expensive but very good.
Also a Nicaragua bean, Mocha Java (light roast only), and Colombian

I love the locally roasted, triple certified Cafe Ibis coffee that pours out of our 1940's era percolator every morning. Maybe I am a junkie, but mornings don't feel right without it.

i love me a good fair trade organic high quality coffee, but i am not above drinking the cheap stuff -only if i am desperate for a cup!

I get bulk coffee from Winco in Twin Falls, ID

^^^interesting i didnt know that winco was also in twin fall ID, its one of the biggest, best, and cheapest markets in eureka, and i like that it is a co op.
i really like their bulk bins too.

they started carrying some 6 dollar a pound fair trade coffee, and some organic, somewhat recently. last time i was on the coast i stocked up with 10 pounds!
cascade pride is the brand name, and i found the coffee really good, got a lot of different kinds and have enjoyed them all.
right now i am enjoying the sunrise blend, which is one of the organic ones and a nice medium roast.

out here in the mountains there are very few stores, our one local market only carries the cheap stuff, some starbucks (burnt! tasting and expensive)and one brand thats ok (and organic fair trade) for 11 + a pound.

About 6 years ago, I quit buying factory coffee and have been roasting my own since then. About every 10 months I order 50 lbs of green beans (Sumatran Mandheling) from greenbeanery.com and use a Whirley Pop popcorn thingy to do the roasting. My partner and I are now looking for options to acquire our caffeine from tea that we can grow ourselves. Being in zone 1b, we'll need a little luck. Maybe a greenhouse, too.

Recent studies have shown that people who drink 6-8 cups of coffee a day have lower risk of depression , suicide , heart disease , and diabetes . I have been waiting my whole life for someone to say that and I will take it to my grave . No matter what kind of evidence contradicts those findings ! Now that we have determined coffee to be a superior herbal medicine I have a couple of tips :

Most of the good stuff in coffee are volatile oils . These are destroyed by heating . So the lighter roasts have more natural goodness.

The longer coffee stays in contact with water the better . Espresso is great but a slower extraction is better for getting all coffee has to offer . A drip brewer can be turned off for 10-15 minutes 1/3 of the way through a pot and then restarted . Try it . Even yuban and folgers tastes like starbucks . I think this might be their secret .

Most of the good stuff in coffee are volatile oils . These are destroyed by heating

Those volatile oils are also destroyed by freezing.
Many people freeze their coffee to keep it fresh longer. NOT a good idea.

The longer coffee stays in contact with water the better... A drip brewer can be turned off for 10-15 minutes 1/3 of the way through a pot and then restarted .

What? You want me to delay my first cup of the day an extra 10-15 minutes? LOL
My drip cone coffee maker has a very fine mesh stainless steel drip cone. It is a real pain to clean up after each brew cycle. So, what I do, is to use a paper filter inside of it. Not only is it quicker to clean up, but having essentially 2 filters to pass through, it slows down the drip rate. By slowing down the drip rate, I can actually use a tad bit less coffee, and still get a good, strong cup o' joe.

As far as the roasts go, I am not fond of 'French Roast'. To me, it is a frugal French trick to get more coffee out of fewer beans, and since the beans are 'fried beyond recognition', it allows the use of cheaper beans. Very few French Roasts use a high quality bean.

I usually get a medium roast, but most often, I want the extra kick of the darker roasts. For those times, I put 5 scoops of my regular roast, and 1 scoop of an Italian roast. Makes a fine cup of coffee, without that 'burnt bean' harshness many dark roasts have.

I grow and roast our own. We prefer a blend of three varieties: Guatemalan, yellow cattura, bourbon. The cherries are pulped, fermented 12-15 hours, washed, dried. Once the beans are dehulled, we roast 20-25 minutes to medium/dark. A cup of coffee is made via a one cup drip using a muslin filter. I'm not a coffee lover, but I do very much enjoy coffee done this way. Hubby will drink just about anything.

OK. I'm going to be brave and say this OUT LOUD.
I drink Tasters Choice. Occasionally I'll make some espresso for a latte, but really, Taster's Choice. It's not exactly like brewed coffee but it's got its merits.

Plus, I made some for a friend in college and she said it was so delish she was going to have another cup. Then she asked where the coffee pot was. I told her it was instant and she didn't believe me. It was like a commercial.

Double plus, my grandmother drank it and lived to 96. I was convinced it was the caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. I gave up smoking 10 years ago and only drink once or twice a month so caffeine it is. Helps with the low blood pressure.

Taster's Choice, is in my mind, the only instant coffee worth drinking.
It is far better than many of the commercial drip coffees.
I usually keep a jar in the pantry for emergencies.

I think that for many of us addicts, part of the experience is the ritual involved.
Somewhat like going to a Tea House in Japan.
(Where's the August Moon when you need it ?) I think I just dated myself. LOL

LOL! I have to tell you that my mother will ONLY drink instant coffee. She hates any other kind. Her favorite is Maxwell House but she will drink Folgers in a pinch.

I like instant coffee with lots of milk. But I don't even try to compare it with drip coffee. They are two different drinks as far as my tongue is concerned. And I prefer my drip coffee with a small dollop of half & half or goat milk, no sugar.

I'm not a coffee snob. In fact, I don't particularly like coffee. But I do like my own homegrown. I've been to several cupping events because I live in a coffee growing area. I hate to admit it, but I don't like most of the coffees that I've tasted. But I tell folks, don't go by me. I'm not a coffee lover.

John Polk wrote:

I think that for many of us addicts, part of the experience is the ritual involved.

If the ritual is not having a splitting headache by one in the afternoon, then yes, it's the ritual :).

I try to get it from a local roaster. If I'm short cash or getting to a local roaster is inconvenient, I get a nice gigantic bag from Costco.

I'm a bit of a snob about it. If the headaches are imminent I'll drink anything, but I prefer to enjoy my coffee.