Coffee

[Iago]

I like Maxwell House, Yuban or Chock Full o Nuts.

I just can't believe the snobbishness around here. As if the coffee you drink is a measure of your class, worth as a person, and intellectual ability.  Barf, retch!!

[BachQ]

I just can't believe the snobbishness around here. As if the coffee you drink is a measure of your class, worth as a person, and intellectual ability.  Barf, retch!!

Or ......... People just want the best tasting coffee .........

[toledobass]

I'm not drinking much coffee these days but one of my friends is part of the third-wave coffee movement.  The coffee he's brewed for me is the best I've ever had.  He roasts to order and it's always a treat to get stuff from him.  He can tell you everything about the beans you want to know.   It's also fair trade coffee.  Knowing some of the prices we pay for a cup of coffee and that the farmers are paid so little that they can't even afford basic neccesities of life makes it important for me to support.

Allan

[head-case]

I like Maxwell House, Yuban or Chock Full o Nuts.

I just can't believe the snobbishness around here. As if the coffee you drink is a measure of your class, worth as a person, and intellectual ability.  Barf, retch!!

Yes, just like the snobs that insist on listening to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra instead of just listening to Brittany Spears like the rest of us...

[Bogey]

BUMP! 

Just brewing some coffee that was given to us by our friend that has a coffee farm in Guatemala.  Excellent stuff.  The beans are  bit smaller that the ones that we usually buy and it has a bit of a smoky flavor to it that sets it apart from others we have tried.

[Scarpia]

That was me, head-case.  I see I got a little zinger in on Iago.  Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Anyway, I buy whole beans and grind them before use.  Used to get them from Peets but couldn't justify the expense.  Now I get what look like freshly roasted beans from my supermarket.

[Bogey]

That was me, head-case.  I see I got a little zinger in on Iago.  Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Anyway, I buy whole beans and grind them before use.  Used to get them from Peets but couldn't justify the expense.  Now I get what look like freshly roasted beans from my supermarket.

What do you look for that dictates freshness?

[Scarpia]

What do you look for that dictates freshness?

Roasting tends to bring some oil to the surface of the beans.  If they look dry they are probably not very freshly roasted.  I recently ran out of beans and picked some A&P brand coffee beans and they were very dry looking and the taste definitely lacked something.  Also, an expiration date which is a few months in the future, suggesting they don't expect to have them hanging around for years.   Usually I shop for coffee at Whole Foods and their store brand is quite acceptable.

[Bogey]

Roasting tends to bring some oil to the surface of the beans.  If they look dry they are probably not very freshly roasted.  I recently ran out of beans and picked some A&P brand coffee beans and they were very dry looking and the taste definitely lacked something.  Also, an expiration date which is a few months in the future, suggesting they don't expect to have them hanging around for years.   Usually I shop for coffee at Whole Foods and their store brand is quite acceptable.

Thanks for the tips!

[Bogey]

Any truth to the fact that if you keep your coffee beans in the freezer that they stay fresher?

[bhodges]

I've found that keeping beans in the freezer seems to make them last longer, but I haven't done an "A/B test" to really confirm if that's true.  Also, I don't usually have beans around long enough to lose much flavor, since I love coffee and drink a good bit of it.   

--Bruce

[Franco]

Any truth to the fact that if you keep your coffee beans in the freezer that they stay fresher?

To a degree, yes - but I would not leave them there for more than a few months.  Putting ground coffee in the freezer is not a good idea. 

I am somewhat of a coffee geek.  I roast green beans and drink espresso almost exclusively.  Freshly roasted beans are more crucial for espresso than brewing regular coffee, but for my thermos that I bring to work I use Major Dickason's Blend® from Peets Coffee supply made in a Chemex coffee maker.

[Scarpia]

Any truth to the fact that if you keep your coffee beans in the freezer that they stay fresher?

Some say freezing is better, but I keep them at room temperature in a air-tight container and I don't notice any degradation over a few weeks that I have the beans.  The most sensible tip is to store it the way it is stored at the supermarket, because they have the know-how and the incentive to keep food fresh.  The biggest gain comes from getting whole bean coffee and grinding yourself, because it starts to go stale a lot faster after it has been ground.

[Bogey]

Thanks!  We keep ours frozen, but our beans rarely reach the two week mark before they are gone.  The beans from Guatemala are the ones I am mostly worried about as we want to stretch them a bit.   

Major Dickason's Blend® from Peets Coffee is one of my "go-to" market coffees that I usually buy once a month.  We also enjoy the Dunkin' Doughnut beans.  Starbuck beans vary.  There are a few we enjoy, but not one I have done hand springs over.

[Bogey]

Speaking of Peets Coffee, where are you Joe DiMaggio David Ross?

[Brahmsian]

For the first time in my life, started drinking coffee black (about a week and a half ago).  Cut out the sugar and milk.

Well, I've cut out processed sugar completely from my diet, and just getting it from natural foods.

Enjoying the coffee even more!! 

Once you go black, you'll never go back!

[TheGSMoeller]

For the first time in my life, started drinking coffee black (about a week and a half ago).  Cut out the sugar and milk.

Well, I've cut out processed sugar completely from my diet, and just getting it from natural foods.

Enjoying the coffee even more!! 

Once you go black, you'll never go back!

Been drinking black coffee for longer than I can remember, that's where the real flavor is. What kind have you been brewing?

[Brahmsian]

Been drinking black coffee for longer than I can remember, that's where the real flavor is. What kind have you been brewing?

Mostly medium, medium-dark to dark blends.

[Ken B]

Mostly medium, medium-dark to dark blends.

Anyone in Michigan should try Bigby coffee. They have it at Wal-Mart for less than at Bigby.

[EigenUser]

For the first time in my life, started drinking coffee black (about a week and a half ago).  Cut out the sugar and milk.

Well, I've cut out processed sugar completely from my diet, and just getting it from natural foods.

Enjoying the coffee even more!! 

Once you go black, you'll never go back!

I love black coffee. I have tried coffee with cream and/or sugar a few times, and I thought it tasted horrible. That being said, I generally prefer lighter blends, but I'll take anything.

The only time I add milk is with iced coffee (no sugar) and I think the only reason is to give it a more appealing color (I add just enough to remove the "blackness"). For some reason, black coffee and ice cubes really doesn't look appetizing to me at all.