Posted: 7/20/2004 10:36:03 PM EDT
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Ok all you coffee snobs (Especially you guys in Seattle).... We don't have much in the way of "gourmet" coffee here in AZ and I haven't tried much of anything other than Starbucks and namebrand everyday morning coffee. But I do see a couple others and I don't know if they are any good... Before I spend $8-$10 on a pound, I thought I would ask here. Seattle's Best Millstone (In most supermarkets) Now, if any of these are any good, which flavor do you like? I tried the Millstone Kona and it was ok but it was only 10% real kona beans. I drink my coffee black and like it kind of strong.. I like Starbucks Espresso and French Roast. I like my coffee like I like my womenz..Strong, Black, Hot and Bitter  ETA: I don't like foo-foo coffee's like Vanilla Almond or Irish Creme...Yuck! Not even coffee IMO |
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My personal favorite is a dark black Columbian bean fresh roasted and ground at home. I've found that many brands differ but the real trick is how fresh roasted the bean is. When I can, I buy mine from a local coffee shop that roasts their own beans. My wife doesn't care as much for the dark black coffee slightly bitter higher caffine so we also buy some fresh roasted brown beans and then blend/grind to suit our tastes. IMHO, a brand buyer is not a Gourmet just into better coffees. A gourmet blends and grinds his own bean and if possible even roasts it. Regardless of what you buy even Milestone, it's 100% better if you save the beans and grind at home. Grinders even electric are dirt cheap. I also keep my beans in the fridge to retain freshness. Tj |
Have her try Starbucks breakfast blend I like it think she would also. |
| I personally like the breakfast blend by Starbucks and Millstone both. But they may be a little mellow for you. My favorite store brand stronger coffee is Eight O'clock columbian. I like to buy the beans and grind it myself, it just has a better flavor than the pre-ground. It's very reasonable price wise, and if you don't have a grinder you can pick up a decent one at Walmart for around $12.00. |
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If you really want great coffee, buy your beans green and roast them at home. I've been home roasting for about 3 or 4 years now. You can buy top quality beans for about 3 to 5 dollars a pound and know exactly when your coffee is roasted. My preference is for coffees from the southern part of Africa. It will ruin you for other coffee, I can't hardly drink any coffee but my own now. I even take my roasted beans and grinder with me when I travel. 
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Next time your in Flagstaff check out 'Late for the Train'. They do their own roasting. Smokejumper and North Rim are my favorite dark roasts. I get a plain Joe when I pick up the beans to check out the other styles they carry, only add a little half and half - can't stand frou-frou coffee. |
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Check these guys out. I'm with in walking distance to there and only get the Columbian Supremo Dark Roast. www.ahillofbeans.com/ |
Alrighty, here's my PacNW opinion. Almost nobody here likes Millstone. It tastes like dirt and you get the shits within the half hour ! Only the Denny's patrons drink it cuz that's what they serve. Seattle's Best Coffee is pretty good. Tully's actually runs a close second on Starbuck's. My personal favorite though, as far as super rich goes, is Caffe Vita. There are only a handful of places in Seattle where you can buy it by the pound, whole bean. You can order direct online. My recommendation is the Cafe Del Sol. Here's their site; www.caffevita.com/ |
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Starbuck's French Roast is good. Doesn't taste smokey at all. Seattle's Best Coffee is generally pretty good. Millstone adds flavor to their coffee beans at the retail site. It's a sham... For best results, buy whole beans and grind them yourself. Grinders are cheap. Just grind enough for a day or two, at the most. If you are a radical gourmet, buy unroasted beans and roast them yourself in an iron skillet, then husk them and grind them. Just enough for one pot at a time. Check this site out too: Coffee Review Of course, the most expensive coffee is kopi luwak, from Indoneseia. The coffee cherries are eaten by the Indonesian palm civit. The bean passes through the animal's system and is excreted, passing close to the civit's perineal glands. The coffee is said to have a rich, full-bodied, almost syrupy quality that supposedly results from fermentation in the digestive tract. It's supposed to be quite tasty, for coffee made from shit. Read more here: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010525.html I heard a story from a Vietnamese man about the rarest and most expensive tea from China. Small mountain ponies are permitted to feast on wild tea leaves grown high in the mountains, then their stomachs are removed and the tea is harvested. Supposed to be the best as well. It's called "Tram ma tra" (tea leaves taken out of beheaded horse’s stomach). http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Den/5908/custom/teapleasure.html Enjoy your education. |
| I also prefer my coffee unflavored, strong, and black. I've tried millstone, starbucks, and peets. All were good (especially Peets) but also expensive. Ever since I moved to Louisiana, I've been drinking Community Coffee Dark Roast and am totally convinced it is some of the best stuff out there that is still reasonably priced. This is the stuff I rely on to give me a swift kick in the ass when I wake up in the morning. www.communitycoffee.com/ |
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Well, My in-laws are Hawaiian and grow coffee; we get 100 pounds of beans and split it between 4 of us to roast. If I was to drink a standard coffee, my recommendation would be 8 O’ clock bean and grind it yourself. We have a Cuisinart Grind and Brew coffee maker, just pour the water, beans and filter and it grinds it to perfection. |
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I've been a Seattle's Best addict for a number of years. Unfortunately, they have shut down their mail-order business and the closest retail outlet is way too far away to drive to. I'm trying some of the coffees from the local stores. So far, I have not had any luck. Even the "premium, gourmet, super-fresh" coffee (@$10/pound) has been very lame. I think Peete's is available at Safeways and there is a Safeway a couple of towns over. I'll have to try that. Geez, I can't believe I am posting something this trival. Have I turned into a post-whore? (Or is that what a prostitute is after she stops working?) |
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Ditto on Community Dark or Between roast www.communitycoffee.com I didn't see that somebody already put a link up. |
You know I'm going to have to get even some day! I haven't tried the South African beans! I have the Ethiopian though, bad stuff way bitter. Tj |
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The darker the roast, the less body the coffee has. In addition, the darker the roast, the less caffeine the coffee has. The "dark roast" myth, that it needs to be roasted dark to have good strong coffee, is just a myth. +1 on roasting your own. Your total investment needs only consist of a metal dog bowl and a heat gun. It's really easy to do and you know exactly what's going in your coffee, as well as how freshly roasted it is. BTW, coffee needs to sit for at least 24 hours after roasting to allow the beans to out-gas. Peak flavor will not develop until this has happened. Once I roasted a Sumatran coffee that smelled like vomit until 72 hours after roasting, at which time it developed a rich chocolate aroma and was a delicious cup. www.sweetmarias.com is an excellent and professional source of green beans with a lot of detail about each kind they have. |
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There is a coffee that I get when I go to the Casino locally here...It has to be brewed one cup at a time. It is some of the BEST coffee I have ever had..I got the name once and lost it. The server said it's not available in stores, but didn't know if you could get it online..If I remember correctly, it had 2 names and started with an "E"... Anyone know? |
| Community hotel blend is what we have at home.Another thing we do is boil the water in a ss kettle and then use an old fashion drip coffee pot.I find that gives your coffee a better taste than using a mister coffee plastic tasting coffee maker. No cream or sugar for me. |
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The coffee of choice that I make in my home is Maxwell House French Roast! Favorite Coffee Flavors: Swiss Chocolate Almond, Hawaiian Hazelnut, Irish Cream, Southern Pecan, Mocha, Gingerbread, Cinamon Crumb Cake,Creamy Hazelnut, Kahlua Vanilla Creme, Vanilla Nut Creme, English Toffee. There are more,but that's what I have in my Coffee Cabinet. All these flavors are also good iced as well. I also have a Cappucino Machine. I use a Fine Espresso Ground and Flovored Coffee Syrups as well. Those are also good on Ice. So,who wants to come to my house for a cup of coffee? I use to work in a candy/coffee store for 5 years. We made Cappucinos,Espresso,Latte's, Cafe Au Lai, and iced coffee's. Which were all great and still are! I am hooked on coffee and have atleast 3 to 4 cups in the morning everyday! Mona |
Aw Mona, Maxwell House is the worse coffee on the market... try Folgers. |
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So, I go to Books-a-million with the family and wander over to Joe Muggs for a cuppa coffee. The pimply faced kid behind the counter asks, "What can I get you today, sir?" "Just a plain cuppa coffee," says I. The kid says, "We have (and started naming off lattes and mocha doolollies, and such)..." I interrupt, "Just a plain cuppa coffee." The kid keeps naming stuff. I lean over at him, "LOOK PUNK! JUST FIX ME A PLAIN F---IN' CUPPA COFFEE OR I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND S--- DOWN YOUR NECK!" And he fixed me a a plain cuppa coffee. As I head over to the tables I hear the guy who was behind me in line say to the kid, "I want the same thing you fixed that guy." |
I think I can fix that! 
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+1 Want strong coffee? What ever happened to smashing the beans in a pot with your rifle butt and brewing it all night? It was good enough for the Duke, dammit
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So how did your coffee and punk spit taste? 
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I watched him pour the cup. & He doesn't work there anymore. The plain cuppa coffee was pretty good. Now, if you want to do something interesting, just use your regular coffee, but brew it cold in the Toddy Coffee Maker. It makes a really strong syrupy brew that you can keep for a few weeks in the fridge. When you want coffee, pour about 1" of the concentrate, and fill the cup the rest of the way with water, nuke it in the microwave. This will be the smoothese coffee you have ever had. |