Coffee: the good, the bad and the undrinkable

[omgb]

I started this over on Leverguns and figured I run it here too. I'm curious as to what you guys think about the subject.



OK, so I'm from California and I love coffee. To my credit I don't have a child named Moonbeam and I don't have long hair and live in a Teepee. I am particular about my coffee though. I hate weak coffee. I really hate flavored coffee and instant is well, instant is not coffee. Instant tastes as I would imagine anything that has passed through the kidneys of an old mule would taste.

I am not a big fan of Starbucks as it usually is over roasted and harsh. We have a local roaster here, Newhall Coffee Company that makes some wonderfully rich beans with a full, robust but never bitter flavor. I also like Seattle's Best, another fine bean if I do say so. One brand I most definitely DO NOT like is Gavalia, geez is that nasty stuff. It's actually sour. Sour! What in the heck do you do to coffee beans to make them sour?

For Christmas a close relative sent us a gift box of, you guessed it, flavored Gavalia coffee. Adding insult to injury, it was pre-ground. Ack!

So, I discreetly tried to exchange it for unflavored and whole bean coffee. The folks at Gavalia gave me the run around with hassle to spare. Eventually, I managed to exchange six bags of Raspberry, Vanilla, Hazlebutt (no I didn't misspell it, the name fits) and some other brown trash for six bags of whole bean French, Dark and Espresso roast. Well, I've been trying to drink this horse urine for over a week now and I just can't do it. It amazes me how people get roped into buying this swill. It's sour, bitter and pretty much two dimensional and get this, it sells for about $19 a pound when you add shipping. No fooling, McDonald's has better coffee as does Dunkin Donuts and brother, that ain't saying much.

To be fair, this relative drinks brown water. She uses three table spoons of grounds in a 6 cup pot. What comes out of it is so weak it wouldn't stain a Kleenex. To that she adds creamer and sugar. To me, that's like using Krylon latex enamel to finish a fine custom rifle. Nasty.

Perhaps for most of you, this all seems like much adieu about nothing. Maybe, but for me, good coffee is like physical love. I would rather not have any unless it's good. Any thing less is a waste of effort that never satisfies and leaves me highly frustrated.

Of course, I, we thanked this person for the coffee and we are trying valiantly to consume it but I'm gonna toss in the towel. This is just plain awful. I think coffee is a lot like cowboy boots, each person has his own idea about what is good and what isn't. For that reason, I don't think it makes a safe gift. OK, so I'm gonna shut up now.

R J Talley
Teacher/James Madison Fellow/NRA member/Hunter/Shooter

[wills]

The coffee should be strong enough it wont run out if the cup gets tumped over.

[omgb]

To each his own. I learned to get picky about 20 years ago and got worse as time and age added up. There's so much now that is forbidden to me for health or safety reasons that I figure I'm entitled to one or two uncompromising areas. I smoke two or three cigars a week. This is not good mind you but I love them. Because it's not good for me and I am going to do it any way, I want something that is worth the trouble. So, I smoke only good cigars. I take my time, spend about 50 minutes and just enjoy the cigar. Likewise booze. When I was younger I would drink just about anything. Now, on those rare occasions when I pull a cork, "Who Hit John" ain't gonna cut it. I spend good money for good Rye or Scotch and refuse to drink the rest. Snobbish? Not really because I don't begrudge you your favorite drink nor do I think my pallet is more educated than yours, it's just different. What can I say? I actually prefer Coors and Bud to Heineken or some of the imports. I'm the same way with women. I've never been attracted to the model types with the single exceptions of Elle McPherson and Christi Brinkley. I think my wife is the most attractive woman I've met and if you think yours is better, all the better for you. I like mine though, she fits me perfectly.

As I get older, there are fewer days left to eat, drink and make love. So, with that in mind, I go for what I see as quality over quantity. So, I'm picky about coffee. I can afford to be. I gave up fried food, drinking to excess, riding motor cycles and just about anything that ends with "Hey guys, watch this!" In return, I live a safer but more satisfying life. I'm pretty happy over all and I wish the same for you too.

[waksupi]

I believe the Kirkland brand coffee, from Costco, is hard to beat.

[Rick N Bama]

My Dr. has told me that I must give up smoking, drinking booze & chasing wild women. If he ever says that I must give up my Coffee, I'll find another Dr.!

I really like Community Brand Dark Roast. 1 level tablespoon to 6oz of water in my Krups pot. Now that's living! No cream, no sugar, just like God meant for it to be consumed.

Rick

[JeffinNZ]

RJ - Come visit us in New Zealand. We LUV coffee and if it ain't strong enough to take a thou inch of coating off the spoon, it ain't coffee. Actually I understand that a few years back the US sailing team brought it's own coffee over as ours was too ballsy for them.

I will NOT drink flavoured coffee either. Coffee is a flavour for goodness sake. Nor do I drink instant as a rule. Two cans of instant in the cupboard at work that are maturing as I type cos we won't drink it.

In the office we have a very good Krupps drip filter machine and the boss just sent us down a baby espresso machine too. At home very similar set up.

I used to do a bit of cycle touring and my mate and I would go to lengths to have good coffee in the wild. Have to be a little civilised ah?

Java is my vice. I don't drink or smoke, eat very well and excercise very regularly so I don't think coffee will take me off too early.

[454PB]

I'm a coffee guy, I think I'd lose my will to live without it. A few years ago, my wife was gifted one of those fancy shmanzy machines that makes all the steam and noise and produces about 4 ounces of very strong coffee. Now I like strong coffee, but this stuff made me dizzy, and my ears (which ring constantly anyway) got a way louder buzz. I got all shakey and needed to lie down for a while. You should have heard the insults hurled at me over my reaction. Not only that, she keeps retelling the story and it's getting better each time.

[Bret4207]

I tried grinding my own and all that stuff a while back. Just don't seem to have the time, and I didn't see that much difference. In my defense, it was that Gevalia stuff, and it was awful. Maybe good beans would make me a convert.

Loser that I am, I stick with Maxwellhouse French Roast. It used to be Rich French roast which was better, but they improved to Bold French Roast. It's good if it's fresh enough and hot enough.

My inlaws still boil their coffee. Whatever is cheapest. Gad, I hate that coffee. I'd almost rather have weak than boiled for 50 minutes. Fresh to them means it was made some time this week. Yuk.

Went into a Starbucks once. ONCE!

[dragonrider]

At work we have a community coffee pot, you know what that means. It's so bad I can't believe anyone actually puts it in their mouth. Most complain that it is bad but continue to drink it. I quit drinking several years ago and went to a french press. Here in New England we have Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, very good stuff. Can't do the flavored coffee's either, as said earlier coffee has it's own flavor.

[RugerFan]

I guess I'm the tolerant one. I like pretty much every coffee mentioned in this thread including Gevalia and even instant. I learned to drink instant in the Army during field exercises when nothing else was available. Have no problem drinking it now (black like everything else). I have my own giant grocery story sized grinder at home (given to me used), so I only buy whole bean. Thats the only way to go. Keep the beans in the freezer until I'm ready to use them. If you haven't tried using a coffee press to make a hot cup, give it whirl. Makes a darn good coffee. Oddly enough my least favorite coffee is Folgers.

[sundog]

I'm as fussy about my coffee as I am about my beer. My favorite coffee for years was Maxwellhouse 1892. Can't seem to find it anymore. It was goooood stuff. And it came in full 16 ounce containers. sundog

[carpetman]

Here the water is so bad it eats up most coffee makers in a fairly short time. The exception is the Bunn brand. The Bunn's last for years. If you never used a Bunn,they are unique in that they have 2 tanks,and the water gets heated. During heating you can hear it. Then after it is heated,it is maintained hot with only 35 watts. When you make coffee the fresh water you add forces out the hot so it makes a pot very fast. I mostly use Folgers,but have a neighbor that stocks at the commissary(Air Force Base supermarket). Sometimes the date expires on their Millstone coffee beans and she gives me sacks of it. I dont like the flavored stuff either,especially the hazelnut. I grind up the normal tasting stuff and mix it with the Folgers.

[Bret4207]

My Mom has some sort of high tech coffee maker, not sure what brand. She makes Folgers de-caf (?!why!?) and it's GREAT. I have no idea why, but she can get it right. Too bad she wasn't as good at picking a 2nd husband. (Whoops, my dark side is showing)

I use dto be able to get the Maxwellhuse 1892 also. Haven't seen it in a while. Those 16oz cans abound in my shop, filled with lotsa boolits.

[Treeman]

Too bad you didn't trade for the Gevalia Kenya-Thta is a decent arabica that hasn't been overroasted. I love good coffee. Sadly expensive does NOT always equal good. My favorite cheap coffee is Wal-mart's Great Value brand Arabica. Excellent stuff for the price. Truly good coffee is not bitter-rather it tastes like coffee smells mmmmmmm. I got a lot of good stuff when I was in S. America and concluded that they must export the worst stuff! Most dark roasts are predisposed to bitterness.....proving once again that the French are weird preferrring as they do blackened coffee beans and white flags.Pardon me while I have another slug of expresso.

[felix]

The best tasting coffee is grown where the calcium, magnesium, and potassium are in sync within the soil. However, having grown up with the acidic tasting coffee bagged/canned by the major US vendors, the best tasting coffee really does not have enough "kick". So, the next time you get coffee from Jamica, Cuba, or Panama, mix it about 50-50 with some of the US stuff, or better yet, with some Costa Rican coffee which is quite acidic but extremely well tasting on its own except for the acid. The best tasting coffee I have ever made was 50-50 Cuban and Italian expresso, which is a lower acid coffee roasted quite dark to add the appropriate bitterness. ... felix

[crazy mark]

Ya'all are sick. Drink coffee? That's as bad as drinking cat urine. tried coffee once and I just about puked. Now I am picky about my milk. I can tell when the dairy changes feed. Mark

[Shepherd2]

I'm a big coffee drinker and I like the flavor of Columbian coffee. I bought some of Gevalia's high priced Columbian one time and was really disappointed with it. I tried all the brands available around here and settled on Folgers.

I bought a coffee maker a couple years that I really like. It is the kind that has the insulated pot instead of the normal glass pot. It doesn't have a heater in the base. The coffee goes into the insulated pot and stays good and warm for hours. With no heater it doesn't get strong and bitter in an hour or so. Lots of times I'll leave the house and not come back for hours and still have a good cup of coffee waiting . Also I don't have to worry about leaving an appliance plugged in and the coffee boiling away. It makes the coffee and shuts off.

[floodgate]

Like with wines: Chateau this, Chateau that.... If I remember my French, "chat" = "cat, "eau" = "water. "Chat-eau" = well, you get the idea....

floodgate

[Char-Gar]

I am addicted to good Colombian. The best I have tried is an organic Colombian from www.roastedbean.com. If your water sucks, use distilled or bottled water.

[Doughty]

Call me picky, but I think the stuff at the Exxon stations is better than the stuff at the Conoco. Sinclair can go either way.

[NVWalt]

Have you tried roasting your own green beans?. Total control and the varieties of green beans you get are very good. I like mixing a good Sumatra with a decent Kenyan and throw in some good Costa Rican. The possibilities are endless and roasting your own gives you nothing but good fresh coffee beans to work with.
Check out sweetmarias.com for a start, Pretty good info there.
And if your local roaster will sell you green beans you are in luck. Mine sells me his greens for 3 dollars a pound. Hard to beat that with a stick for good coffee and espresso....Walt

[azcoyhunter]

I love coffee

I can rember how grown up I felt when I had my first cup with my dad.

Now I love coffee, it makes life great.

Cold and snowy out, hounds trying to get warm by the camp fire, and I can smell the Coffee boiling, and it is great to sit, lesten to my hounds bawl, and slowly get feeling back into my hands/fingers.

Mc Donalds is the best fast food coffee, and Folgers is great.

never tried the whole bean thing.

Clint

[Shepherd2]

Mc Donalds reminds me of a survey I heard about last week. I don't recall who did the survey but Mc Donalds was first and Starbucks came in third. Don't remember who was second but it wasn't anyone I recognized.

I like McDonalds coffee myself. I've never had a cup of Starbucks. Heck, I've never even seen a Starbucks but I hear they're on every corner in the big cities. All we've got around here is small villages but with an interstate highway close by we do have a McDonalds. The coffee is good, the food well.................

[omgb]

No Starbucks huh? Tsk, tsk, you should feel fortunate. We have so many of those dang things here that frequently there will be one inside of a major super market and then outside at the edge of the parking lot; I kid you not. Two within 100 yards of each other.

You know, gifts are funny things. It was the gift of coffee that got this whole rant of mine going. The person who gave it to me meant to honor me and did actually. Unfortunately, the coffee is just too nasty for me to enjoy, but I did enjoy being thought of.

While we're on the subject of gifts .... did you know that legendary painter and sculptor Charles Russel has a nephew? He does indeed and that nephew's name is Vern. Vern fancies himself a painter just like his uncle. Unfortunately, he's most likely the only one who sees any similarity between the two. I find Vern's work to be right on par with that produced by "Paint By Number" kits in senior citizens centers. Now how do I know about Vern's work you might ask? Well as coincidence might have it, the same person who gave me the coffee also gave me a Vern. Yup, a genuine Vern. I can guaran-freeken-tee you that there isn't another like it any place else in the world. It is, to put it mildly, unique. Did you know that they made wallets out of duct tape? Yep, they sure do and I've got one too. Came from the same source as the genuine Vern. I could go on but I don't wish to bore anyone with further tales of uniqueness nor do I wish to incite and feelings of envy. I'd hate anyone to feel left out by all of this. The funny thing is, is that I honestly kinda like this stuff. It's so hokey that's it's kinda cool. I mean c'mon, I'll bet not one of you has a Vern or a wallet made out of tape.:mrgreen:

[wills]

we do have a McDonalds. The coffee is good, the food well.................

http://www.tabasco.com/images/content/tabasco_habanerosauce.gif

[MT Gianni]

No duct tape wallet, but I did score a 6-pac dvd's of the Red Green show from my folks a few weeks ago. Is that close? Gianni

[omgb]

Hooo Rahhh, if Tabasco can't fix it, it's beyond fix'n. Big Red from Avery Island LA, the soldiers friend and a pancea for field rations.

[No_1]

Nice! I miss that show...

Robert


No duct tape wallet, but I did score a 6-pac dvd's of the Red Green show from my folks a few weeks ago. Is that close? Gianni

[Rick N Bama]

Any of y'all ever drink syrup bucket coffee? Take the Fox Hounds out 'bout midnight, set yourself up on a hilltop & turn the hounds loose. Build up a fire and set the bucket filled with well water on to boil. After it gets to rolling take it off and toss in a handful of coffee along with an egg shell. Let it brew for a few minutes then drink the stuff so ya can stay awake listening to the sweet music of the hounds chasing a Fox.

Man that's living! Wish I could do it again sometime.

Rick

[Shepherd2]

I hope your syrup bucket coffee was better than the stuff we made on a South Vietnamese ship (ex US) I was assigned to back in the early 60s. There were 10 US officers and petty officers on board and no way to to brew coffee. Any sailor knows that the Navy runs on coffee. With no coffee pot or urn we took to "making" coffee in a steam kettle. These things are waist high kettles heated by steam, of course. The cooks would throw in whatever their recipe called for and then stir it with a canoe paddle. We would commandeer one of the kettles and get some water boiling hot. Then we'd put some coffee in cheesecloth and toss it in the water. We never did get a decent brew but it wasn't for lack of trying.

[Doughty]

Worse coffee ever, but still got drunk?

"Syrup can coffee" minus the egg shell, made in an old discarded aluminum beer can, with the top hacked off. I think they put some kind of lining in the beer can that throws the favor off.

[piwo]

I believe the Kirkland brand coffee, from Costco, is hard to beat.

Kirkland: that didn’t take long!

I’m the coffee guy at work. We have a small group that pitch in each month for good coffee, and we brew our own instead of drinking the garbage from the machine. Oh, we do have two starbucks stands that will gladly take mucho bucks for their coffee, but I drink the stuff all day, and I would spend my entire monthly check on starbucks. They took away all the machines to make the coffee, so each morning at 7:20AM, I am using three microwaves with thick pyrodex measuring bowls to boil (or near boil) 15 cups of water (one bowl is an eight cup’er). We bought a large coffee Bunn coffee basket, and already had the large carafe. So I merely pour the hot water over the grounds into the carafe, and there ya go. I have virtually every coffee making contraption around, and experimented with roasting my own beans recently (though I’ve not been able to really spend any time working on it to get it right). But I will try again at! That should establish my bona fide’s….

We used to buy the Kirkland “roasted by starbucks” and mix 5% hazelbutt to the mix and it was good. You couldn’t really taste the hazelbutt, but it gave the cup a good aroma and a slight intangible to the taste. Not bad at all, but at $9 for 2lbs, we went through lots of coffee per month and our budget started to suffer. Enter the Costco Kirkland 100% Columbian Coffee, Supremo Bean, Dark Roast, Fine Grind. @ $8 for THREE lbs, this was the ticket and truth be told, EVERYONE in our club likes it better then the other. And while not a requirement to be able to stand a spoon up in it, coffee is a terrible thing to waste. If not brewed to the correct strength, you really don’t know if it’s any good. @95% of the people I know make their coffee SO weak as to be a waste of good beans. Might as well buy the cheapest crap on the planet if you’re going to drink it so weak. Ironically, the cheapest stuff I found (above) is also among the BEST I’ve found, so I’m a pretty happy camper.

A word about the flavored coffee’s. Hazelnut, and other flavored coffee’s are not really meant to be brewed alone I don’t think. They are much better as a small amount blended (definitely no more then 20% at the high end) to a rich tasting coffee. And, if you don’t like ANY sweet in our coffee, they ARE NOT meant for you. Hazelnut specifically is like cinnamon: As a kid you NEVER would have had cinnamon toast alone, it was SUGAR and cinnamon. The sugar releases the flavor of the cinnamon and takes the bitter/harsh bite out. Same with hazelnut, it requires a little sweet to make it palatable.

Koffeemaster General

[omgb]

Worst coffee ever? No doubt about it, it's the instant that came in field rations. When this was brewed with water in which purification tabs had been added, it created a brew that would gag a maggot. But, it was coffee, sort of so we drank it.

[Kraschenbirn]

Best "Worst coffee ever"

Early 1968, LZ Evans, RVN: stumbling out of the flight ops hooch at 4AM, washing down a stale peanut butter sandwich with a canteen cup of something the same color and consistency as the bucket of JP4 you used for scrubbing down your M-60s the night before...

Acid-bitter, and oily, it was still coffee and the choice was either drink it or go without.

[libbyman]

If coffee tasted like it smells, I would drink it all the time. But I have never tasted
any coffee that stands up to that.

The same with beer. If the beer co. could make beer taste the same as it does at the brewery, I would be a loyal customer. I have been to 10 brewerys and
NONE of the beer, away from the brewery, tastes as good as at the brewery.

Just my thoughts on this snowey day.

Ken in nw Mt.

[PatMarlin]

I've got a twist on coffee you prolly never hear of...

I found out over the years that I'm sensitive to coffee with a high acidic content, which is most all of your off the shelf brands of coffee.

I only drink 2-3 cups a day and for years I had the urge to go pee like I had prostate problems, which is what we thought it was, but it wasn't. It was the damn coffee. I started to put 2 and 2 together one day, stopped the regular coffee, and my problem stopped.

I order an organic (I'm a Californian after all :mrgreen:) low acid coffee from a roaster over on the coast, and it's about $7 lb shipped when I order 5 pounds, and it's awesome. No problems, but the minute I drink Folgers or something like that it nails me every time.

Coffee is also one of the highest sources of anti-oxcidants andB vitamins and is good for you, specially the heavy stuff contary to what everyone's been told.

[Pilgrim]

Forget the coffee makers, pots, boilers, expresso machines etc. We've got one of those really fancy ones that makes all kinds from espresso to whatever. It sits forlornly, unused for maybe 2 years now.

Go buy a French Press (I know, I hate the name as well). You put freshly ground coffee in the press, pour in hot/boiling water on top of the grounds, stir it so all the grounds are wetted, and in a couple of minutes you push down on a very fine screen that separates the coffee grounds from the coffee. Our press makes two really large cups of coffee. If you want more, then you have to make more fresh. It is easily the best coffee you will ever drink regardless of brand. Now, if you want the "bestest" coffee, you have to start with the best beans. Out here in Washington, you can buy a coffee called KIVU at Fred Meyers. Try it. I forget what its called at Albertsons, but the same guy makes both of 'em...same coffee.

The coffee roaster that makes KIVU used to make Starbucks coffee for them. Starbucks went cheap and tried to jack his price down. He said no and Starbucks went elsewhere. In less than a month Starbucks was back to this guy trying to get his coffee again. By then he was in business for hisself. He won't send coffee buyers to Columbia because of the risk of kidnapping. He usually goes down himself, selects the very best beans, and then roasts it. If the beans he receives here in the states are not what he selected, he refuses to buy them. He gets what he pays for for sure. Anyway, for those in the NW, try KIVU. I can't help the rest of ya'll re: selection except to say buy the beans, and grind them yourself in a small grinder. We've been using the same Black 'n Decker grinder for at least 15 years now, maybe longer. Prolly cost us $10 when new. FWIW...Pilgrim

[piwo]

Go buy a French Press (I know, I hate the name as well).

Got three of em.......

[waksupi]

Worse coffee ever, but still got drunk?

"Syrup can coffee" minus the egg shell, made in an old discarded aluminum beer can, with the top hacked off. I think they put some kind of lining in the beer can that throws the favor off.

Vic, I think I've had coffee at that restaurant!

[Blackwater]

I'm with Pilgrim on the French press, and yes, I hate the name too. My buddy and coworker at the shop introduced me to this, and though put off by the "French" moniker, I tasted out of respect for him and his good grace to make it for me. DANG! That stuff's GOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD! Smmmmmooooooooth, too! Less acidity and bitterness than I've found anywhere else.

Now Jack's a leather wearing biker (very nicely customized Victory V-Twin that'll run like a scalded dawg), and so's his buddy Peter, who comes in regularly for a visit. When Peter comes, they'll typically take off to the little coffee shop owned by a mutual friend, called (ugh!) "Cafe Latte." Now a coupla' bikers just can't frequent a place called "Cafe Latte," but the coffee's so dang good they just started calling it the "Rusty Nail," so they can still feel macho. They took me once, and I was hooked!

So far, I'm not gittin' "swishy" drinkin' all this fancy coffee from French doo dads, so I'll keep at it unless and until.

Really good coffee's a real treat, ain't it?

The wierd thing about coffee is that you tend to get used to whatever you drink. When I first went aboard ship in the Navy, I just HATED that bitter, super strong coffee they made. After a couple of weeks, I was aclimated, and when I got back to America again, I couldn't drink Maxwell House, my former preference. Ain't it funny how that works?

[Blackwater]

Oh yeah! Almost forgot. Rick N Bama, you really know how to make coffee of ANY type taste GREAT! I think it's the music of the dawgs.

[Rick N Bama]

Oh yeah! Almost forgot. Rick N Bama, you really know how to make coffee of ANY type taste GREAT! I think it's the music of the dawgs.

Yep you're right and it's been way too many years since I've heard that sound. My dear old departed Uncle was the Foxhunter in the family & I relish the many nights I spent out on the hilltop with him & my cousin. My parents & brother never understood what I got from that.

To keep this thread from taking a whole new direction, I'll say that I learned to appreciate good Coffee from those nights:)

Rick

FWIW, I don't think I've ever heard of a hound ever catching the Fox:)

Rick

[Four Fingers of Death]

Believe it or not virtually no Australians drank coffee on a regular basis when I was growing up. Some little Italian shops sold coffe beans, etc, but the only coffe that was available in the shops was Bushell's Turkish Coffee. It came ground in a glass jar with a metal screw top lid. We used to cook it on the stovetop in a small saucepan. The only other option was also Bushells and was a syrup called Coffee and Chicory d it had a picture of a smiling Turk on the front. I think the Turkish connection was a left over from WW1 (we punched on royally with the Turks and no doubt, bought some of their culture home).

Coffee only became popular when I was a teenager when Nestle's (prononced Nes lay by every one else in the worl, but pronounced ness el's by Aussie). Nestle's is still the most popular instant coffee in Australia by a huge margin and it tastes pretty good if served strong. I am not at all interested in drinking any other brand of instant, they are generally dreadful.

I also like brewed coffee and when we use a plunger at home (what you guys call a French Press, aussies wouldn't buy it if you called it a french press). While I stay at my SILs place when my wife gets treatment we use her expresso machine. I use three heaped spoons per cup, I like it pretty strong. I have it with Splenda and cream. When I am by myself at home I like to use my old Italian stovetop percolator, but my son keeps using it and burns the bum out of it.

I have been buying ground coffe from Aldi until recently, they have three varities, Arabian, Brazilian and Columbian. I used to buy one of each and work our way through them (my son drinks expresso only until it comes out of his ears). I store the open packs in the freezer with a clothes peg on them. Recently I started grinding my own beans and I think that is better, but it's hard to tell.

I try and restrict it to 2-3 cups a day, because I have atrial fibrillation (wonky pulse, races and misses beats, etc). They have Nestle's De Caf' and now De Caf' beans are available.

Gotta be good, gotta be strong, gotta be smooth!

I drink about 50% tea as well, usually have one full speed a day and a few de caf as well.

I also drink a lot of water at Doctor's direction. I use a few old wine bottles with screw caps and drink 2-3 a day. Naturally I pee like a racehorse. You should see me when I introduce beer to the equation :D
Micl

[No_1]

Insert the coil with your mouse, click a button next to the coffee type of your choice, click the coffee cup to drink then click the word "APRI". http://www.cartoline.it/pics/_zoom_flash.htm?immagine=scherzi_150404_01.swf

[Doughty]

Waksupi,

I'm sure you have. Usually the coffee's alot better and I've always liked the decor.

[jkingrph]

I grew up in N Louisiana, generally there the coffee is strong, and the further south you go in the state the stronger it gets. Needless to say I like mine so strong a spoon stands unattended( if you add anything, although I prefer mine black). I generally like the French roast .

[Ranch Dog]

I'm a big coffee drinker and will drink just about anything. When I started the Levergun Postal Match, a fellow in Puerto Rico started sending me a bunch of 1# bags of Yaucono coffee (http://www.yaucono.com/) to award in the drawings. This is some good stuff that will make you want to get up and head to the woods! He always includes a 1# for my use and it has become the official coffee of my levergun deer camp.

http://www.gunloads.com/fam/ranchdogmolds/PM/Prizes/Yaucono.jpg

[sundog]

jkingrph, the medium and dark roast Community coffee is purdy good stuff. SIL's family is in Baton Rouge. I ocassionally get gifted some.

[Hackleback]

Eight O' Clock Columbian (in the brown bag) is quite good and a bargan when compared to other whole bean coffee's

[Ivantherussian03]

Yeah, well- I love my coffee too. I order beans in 25 pound bags, from Jersey I think., and they ship UPS free to the Lower 48. It is Pete's Coffee 1-888-BEANS-11. I order once a year or so, break up bag into smaller portions, and vaccum seal them, then freeze. 61 dollars = 25 bag of decent whole beans; it is economical too.

I have three coffee presses, and the replaces parts ready to go, which is new screens. One for camping, and one at each place I reside. I thought we should make an agreement to CALL OUR FRENCH PRESS devices just COFFEE PRESS devices. i think it sounds better anyway:-D

[JSH]

I have been buying ground coffe from Aldi until recently, they have three varities, Arabian, Brazilian and Columbian.

I'll be darned Mick, didn't have a clue there were Aldi's on the other side of the pond!
I am suprised that others have not found the coffes at Aldi's, or mentioned it here. I tried the Arabian, it was ok, but there Columbian runs a strong second to Hill Bros, Columbian here. I have ground my own in the past. I got started on Hill Bros at a casino sevral years back. I had to know what the hell knda coffe it was, Hill bros columbian they said. One of the folks there said the secret was to use two pouches rather than one per pot. I stopped and got some and have been hooked every since then. I ran across the Aldi columbian before christmas here, first I ever saw of it. I thought, hmm, have been pleased with most of their goods i will give it a try. Pretty good stuff, imho.
I am also one of the thoughts that coffe is a flavor and should need no cream or sugar if fixed properly.
I have to draw the line at the comment on Scotch though. A good friend of mine gave me a tumbler with a bit in it to try. Said it was some his dad had and was "good" stuff. Well I would just as soon sipohon diesel and drink half of it to have any more to do with Scotch. I was told it was an aquired taste, after yer taste buds have melted off I guess.
Bourbon, know that is a differnt story. I have been known to drop a fair chunk of change on so small batch bourbons. I have developed another liking and that is for good Kentucky corn likker. I don't know what all the huff is about if you drink it with some sense and respect, other wise it will sneal up on you. I am about out and need to hit up my source. Talk about smoooooooooooooth, them boys know there stuff.
Jeff

[DLCTEX]

I don't drink coffee, but I have a coffee story. When I was at Ft. Sill the cook would have a KP come in early and make the coffee. This was a big no no, but worked for him until a KP remembered his mother putting a pinch of salt in her coffe pot to take the bitterness out. He looked at that 50 cup pot and thought a cupfull of salt would be about right. Happened to be the IG inspection was that morning, and the first cup went to the IG inspector. The cook tried to pass the blame on to the KP and things just got worse for him. I worked for a boy's home near Lake Charles, La. and the cajun cook made chickory coffee that my wife would cut 50% with water to be able to drink it. DALE:-D

[Buckshot]

............I really learned to drink coffee in the Navy. Up until that point I really didn't drink it much but I sure liked the way it smelled perking! As a kid we'd go stay at grandpa and grandmas out in the county sometimes on rare weekends or for a week during the summer.

My grandfather was a heavy equipment operator for the county of San Bernardino and back then in the late 50's almost all the roads in the desert at the towns they connected were graded dirt, except for US 66 and US 99 and a few other major ones. On Monday at about 0400 he'd go out and fill the canvas desert bags hanging on the front of his county pickup.

I can smell the kitchen right now. I'd get up and head in there and grandma would have eggs cooking in the bacon grease and a big hammered aluminum percolator going on the stove. Man that smelled SO good! She'd also cut the toast diagonally from corner to corner and we thought that was real special :-)

When we were little my folks didn't let us have coffee but grandpa would give us a sip out of his fat crockery mug and get a disapproving look from grandma. He put so much suger in it that's all you could taste.

So anyway I learned to drink it in the Navy. Black. Naturally made underway with distilled water and maybe a touch of boiler de-scaler. Usually in the fireroom or engineroom with a couple pinches of salt in the urn. The big urn on the messdecks, usually late at night would have a batch that was fairly old as the night bakers were busy making weevily bread so you'd pour a half cup and then add a half cup of hot water, otherwise you needed a knife and fork.

I never did learn to like it with suger or creamer and most the guys just used suger if anything. Most of us carried our keys on brass signal flag clips snapped on belt loops, as the patch pockets on seafarer dungerees made'm tough to get, and I've seen many guys unsnap their keys and twirl'em around in their coffee to stir it. Or seen them stir it with ball point pins, marlinspikes, or those little baby cresent wrenches some guys carried on thier belts.

Ha, just looked at the clock and the coffee I'm sipping now I made at 6 when I got here and it's 2330 now. When I'm at home off work I may make a pot of coffee. The maker cuts off the warmer after an hour so after that it's pour a cup and stick it in the microwave for 60 seconds. I'm pretty neanderthal about coffee I suppose. We took my daughter, son in law and his folks out to eat one time and my daughter Christian suggested we all go downtown to the Coffee Bean and Tea Co.

I told her the day I spend $4.50 for a cup of coffee is the day you can commit me, but she said she was paying so I went with'em. I stayed outside and had a smoke and told my wife Donna to don't experiment on me and just get a cup of the house roast, black. A couple of guys here put so much crap in their coffee it looks like like plaster of paris. Donna likes flavored coffee and if that's what's in the pot I'll drink it, otherwise I just make regular coffee and use whatever regular coffee she's bought at the store.

We haul Starbucks and one day when I came in there was a stack of it against the wall. Bill the terminal manager said we could each take 2 cases (48lbs) so I was a big hero for awile. It was in those 1 lb plastic bag things with the breather valve on'em. I was handing them out to the neighbors and relatives.

...................Buckshot