Export thread

For years I've made do with a Hamilton Beach Scoop single cup coffee maker and a can of Maxwell House. I finally got bored of that and tired of the constant cleaning whenever I wanted more than one cup. After the fiasco with the Mr. Coffee (#2 on the Amazon top seller list doesn't mean it's good, or even decent), I dug a little further. Conventional wisdom on r/Coffee suggested a Baratza Encore grinder and a Bonavita TS1900 coffee maker was the way to go. A certification from the SCAA for the maker certainly helped.

Okay, fine. The hardware is out of the way. Now what? Like I said, I was raised on Maxwell House. Even when I was using whole bean coffee, it was Gevalia or maybe Starbucks. Grocery store coffee that had a expiry date instead of a roasted on date. I have no idea what my preferred bean is.

As a result, when I bought the grinder and took the offer of a free pound of coffee, I had to flip a coin. It came up Traditional Colombia. At Coffee Tree Roasters in Pittsburgh, I just confessed my coffee sins and asked the girl at the counter to pick me a winner. She picked the Costa Rican that is one of their top sellers. Both make a righteous cup of coffee.

But again, now what? I liked them both, but really have no idea what my preferences are other than I can't go back to supermarket coffee.

So there you have it. Discuss.

I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum, I'll drink pretty much any coffee as long as it wakes me up. I'll usually dump a diabetus-worthy level of sugar in it too.

DarkAudit said:

But again, now what? I liked them both, but really have no idea what my preferences are other than I can't go back to supermarket coffee.

Click to expand...

Only way to find out is to keep trying new stuff.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker. Used to be, but then I wanted to slow down my caffeine intake, so I stopped. I still go for supermarket coffee for cups I brew at home, though, purely for money reasons. Don't really get coffee when I'm out, unless it's really really early, or I'm at a restaurant. But I always take it black. No sugar, no milk.

I can't do black coffee. I use the "international delights" creamer since it's non dairy and pre-sweet. The only coffee that I tend to really prefer is the Kenya blend from sbux. That's what I'm going to be making soon once I get out of bed. If I'm out though I go to Racetrack and get their coffee.

I usually have black coffee, except at Tims. There I feel obliged to get a Double Double.

I often cheat.

The Marshalls/Homegoods near us usually has an impressive selection of coffees, and the prices are low enough to experiment with new flavors/brands. The only downside is that they don't always have the same brands, but more often than not they eventually get them back in. Or you can hang onto the bag and find it online.

Celt Z said:

The Marshalls/Homegoods near us usually has an impressive selection of coffees, and the prices are low enough to experiment with new flavors/brands. The only downside is that they don't always have the same brands, but more often than not they eventually get them back in. Or you can hang onto the bag and find it online.

Click to expand...

Yeah, this is the place I go for experimenting, too. They usually get fringe stuff in, and I've found some winners.

I love the smell of coffee. Love it. The taste? Can't do it. Tastes like ass.

As far as supermarket coffee goes, Folgers is probably the best(-tasting).
As far as other stuff goes, you'll probably want to try things like Kenyan (AA) or Hawaiian (Kona) for a good intro to "high-end" coffee.
As far as roasting goes, if you drink it straight, black, and for the caffeine, you'll want to keep it to some kind of Medium roast at most in order to preserve the flavor and caffeine content. If you're willing to mix, I recommend stirring 2-3 heaping tablespoons of a step or two higher-roast beans into a 1lb bag of light-to-medium roast coffee in order to bring some of that caramelized roast-y body to a bag of beans that have not actually crossed over yet into bitterness. You can play with the proportions to suit your taste, of course.
I view coffee beans like I do hazelnuts or walnuts...there's a really fine line between "roasted enough" and "too much" and it's easy to cross, so when I drink coffee (which admittedly is not often, though I am usually surrounded by coffee drinkers) I either get stuff that isn't burnt or else I have to drown it in milk and sugar.

--Patrick

I like tea.

ThatNickGuy said:

I like tea.

Click to expand...

Hear, hear!

--Patrick

I like the Costco brand Sumatra. I like darker coffees, and this seems to be in the sweet spot for me. I'm pretty sure it's actually rebranded Starbucks, but it's 1/2 the price at least.

ThatNickGuy said:

I like tea.

Click to expand...

fade said:

Click to expand...

NO! It's one or the other, Fade! Don't you know how tribalism works?!

Next you'll tell me I can buy both DC AND Marvel comics.

I like tea and coffee. Individually, I mean. I've never actually mixed them together.

Hmmm. . .

And that was how his heart exploded...

fade said:

And that was how his heart exploded...

Click to expand...

. . . Dammit I already posted this pic, but, well, I do enjoy overusing a joke. Okay:

Nah. My heart exploded when she looked at me like this
-

ThatNickGuy said:

NO! It's one or the other, Fade! Don't you know how tribalism works?!

Next you'll tell me I can buy both DC AND Marvel comics.

Click to expand...

You can.

You read the Marvel comics and use the DC ones for coffee filters.

I'm all about the Dunkin Donuts shop and McDonald's has some damn good coffee when it is fresh. When I brew my own I use Seattle's Best - no cream or sugar just straight. Even living several years in Seattle I could never get used to Starbucks coffee.

Gruebeard said:

I like tea and coffee. Individually, I mean. I've never actually mixed them together.

Hmmm. . .

Click to expand...

There's a number of bakeries and such in Queens that serve coffee tea. It's delicious, especially chilled.

Mr. Z has tried to make it at home with limited success.

EDIT: It's not heart-stopper you'd think it would be. I don't feel extra-caffinated when I get it.

....dammit, now I'm craving coffee tea. Thanks, Oba...er, you guys!

Everybody else said:

I like coffee.

Click to expand...

ThatNickGuy said:

I like tea.

Click to expand...

I like the boys and the boys like me!
Wait, no!

PatrThom said:

--Patrici

Click to expand...

From now on I will read all of Patrick's posts in an Italian accent.

GasBandit said:

I like the boys and the boys like me!
Wait, no!

Click to expand...

Or, alternatively, I'd like to be able to enter a final plea.

Celt Z said:

Or, alternatively, I'd like to be able to enter a final plea.

Click to expand...

Is that how kids learn how to jump rope in Jersey?

Possibly. But I was thinking more this:

Celt Z said:

Possibly. But I was thinking more this:

Click to expand...

That's more like how they learn to play Overwatch.

--Patrick

Celt Z said:

Possibly. But I was thinking more this:

Click to expand...

Good god, I had forgotten how much music involved... hopping... in the 90s.

Celt Z said:

Possibly. But I was thinking more this:

Click to expand...

I unironically love this song. Champion.

I feel like they missed an opportunity to somehow work the phrase "Irish Coffee" into the title.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

I feel like they missed an opportunity to somehow work the phrase "Irish Coffee" into the title.

--Patrick

Click to expand...

That does seem a bit of a waste, doesn't it?

I don't spend big bucks on coffee. I am snobbish about drinking Folgers/Maxwell though.

I use a stainless steel french press and get whole beans ground at my local Costco (like @Shakey).
I've tried local roasters, and while they are good, I can't distinguish between their boutique stuff and Costco's beans.

I can tell the difference b/t drip and french press. I haven't tried any other method at home.

The BEST coffee I've ever had was in the ferry building in San Francisco. Oh, I dream of that coffee.

I have had only black coffee for the last 15 yrs, but recently I threw some whole milk into my coffee to cool it down so I could chug it quickly, and found that I really liked it. I think it adds a bit of body or something to the brew. Delightful!

My wife worked for Starbucks for a couple years, so I developed a taste for some of their medium-roast coffees (Ethiopia and Kenya). But recently I've started ordering green coffee from Sweet Maria's and roasting it at home with a Whirley-Pop. It's better than Starbucks and about half the price, but you have to put some effort into it and be willing to experiment to get the roast right.

I drink coffee black. As long as it keeps me awake, it's doing its job.

Terrik said:

As long as it keeps me awake, it's doing its job.

Click to expand...

Pretty much the only reason I ever drink coffee.

--Patrick

I like my coffee like I like my women...

Terrik said:

As long as it keeps me awake, it's doing its job.

Click to expand...

I'm not a huge coffee drinker, so I'll toss in a pinch of salt to help cut the bitterness if it's too much. Sounds weird but it works okay as long as you don't add too much.

I've heard that. It seems to work.

--Patrick

drifter said:

I'm not a huge coffee drinker, so I'll toss in a pinch of salt to help cut the bitterness if it's too much. Sounds weird but it works okay as long as you don't add too much.

Click to expand...

Yeah, my parents were visiting once. They made some coffee and they decided to sweeten their coffee from my salt pig...

Fun Size said:

I like my coffee like I like my women...

Click to expand...

You've got no laughs from any of the women yet. I wonder if that means anything.

Wait, let me take a swing at this. For science.


I like my coffee like I like my men: hot and a lot.

I like my coffee like I like my women: bitter, strong, and makes me go to the bathroom half an hour later.

Am I doing it right?

fade said:

Am I doing it right?

Click to expand...

Sounds like you're forgetting to cream beforehand.
...unless you're saying you prefer black, that is.

--Patrick

ILMCLILMW: In big cups.

fade said:

I like my coffee like I like my women: bitter, strong, and makes me go to the bathroom half an hour later.

Am I doing it right?

Click to expand...

Let's just get em all out of the way -

I like women like I like coffee:

1) Ground up and in the freezer.
2) Tied up in a burlap sack and dragged through the Andes by a donkey.
3) Black, bitter, preferably fair trade.
4) I don't like coffee.
5) Sweet and expensive.
6) Loaded up on whiskey.
7) Pale and weak.
8) Preferably without pubic hair.
9) Hand-picked and imported from a third world country.


On the other hand, I myself AM like coffee:
Really bitter and most people don't like me without fundamentally changing some part of what I am.

GasBandit said:

Let's just get em all out of the way -

I like women like I like coffee:

1) Ground up and in the freezer.
2) Tied up in a burlap sack and dragged through the Andes by a donkey.
3) Black, bitter, preferably fair trade.
4) I don't like coffee.
5) Sweet and expensive.
6) Loaded up on whiskey.
7) Pale and weak.
8) Preferably without pubic hair.
9) Hand-picked and imported from a third world country.


On the other hand, I myself AM like coffee:
Really bitter and most people don't like me without fundamentally changing some part of what I am.

Click to expand...

You left out "without some other guy's dick in it".

GasBandit said:

I myself AM like coffee:
Really bitter and most people don't like me without fundamentally changing some part of what I am.

Click to expand...

Well, at least you admit you're fluid.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

Well, at least you admit you're fluid.

--Patrick

Click to expand...

I wasn't, originally, though.

Just like coffee.[DOUBLEPOST=1487263565,1487263442][/DOUBLEPOST]

fade said:

You left out "without some other guy's dick in it".

Click to expand...

Eh, I lost my virginity in a threesome with a buddy and his girlfriend. So that's never really been a dealbreaker for me.

papachronos said:

My wife worked for Starbucks for a couple years, so I developed a taste for some of their medium-roast coffees (Ethiopia and Kenya). But recently I've started ordering green coffee from Sweet Maria's and roasting it at home with a Whirley-Pop. It's better than Starbucks and about half the price, but you have to put some effort into it and be willing to experiment to get the roast right.

Click to expand...

A Whirley-Pop, you say? Hmm.... got one of those for Christmas (for actually popping popcorn), maybe it's time to start looking into roasting some coffee - small batch, special occasion coffee perhaps.

Otherwise, I mostly have two modes for coffee consumption. If I'm at work and free coffee is provided, or if I stop in to a diner or cafe, I will drink it with creamer and sweetener, since it's usually the cheapest coffee a company can find. If I'm at home I prefer a good, medium- to dark-roast, single-origin coffee, which I will then either drink black or with just a hint of half-and-half for body and a touch of splenda to help bring out some of the sweeter caramelized notes.

Also, when it comes to Keurigs, who among us has a good self-pack pod brand/version that they would recommend? Aside from the occasional flavored variety for my wife, I could really do with never buying another k-cup pod again.

Gared said:

A Whirley-Pop, you say? Hmm.... got one of those for Christmas (for actually popping popcorn), maybe it's time to start looking into roasting some coffee - small batch, special occasion coffee perhaps.

Click to expand...

If yours has a plastic window on top, stay away. It gets a lot hotter than popcorn, so it might melt.

GasBandit said:

I wasn't, originally, though.

Just like coffee.[DOUBLEPOST=1487263565,1487263442][/DOUBLEPOST]
Eh, I lost my virginity in a threesome with a buddy and his girlfriend. So that's never really been a dealbreaker for me.

Click to expand...

I've always drank Folger's. I've tried a couple local grinds, but been unimpressed. At Starbucks, it's always Pike's.

Black.

I may be snobby about my beers, but my coffee-drinking is pleb-tier.

I've run through the latest batch of beans, so it's off to Pittsburgh again for some more, among other things. There are two shops across the street from each other just up the block from my favorite record store. I got the Costa Rican from one last time, so now I'll try the other shop.

I've been using this chart for my measurements. A "5 cup" batch (or a "6-cup" as measured by the machine) fills my Tims travel mug twice. Just right to get me going in the morning. Just measuring and grinding the beans is "too much work" according to my sister. She hasn't tried a cup of the good stuff yet.