If you're going to try coffee for the social aspect of it, why don't you drink what the people you're with are drinking? Really. Get a cup, go to the break room and pour a cup from the community pot. Go from there.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
#1 drink in the world

everyone drinks it

even little kids in Mexico drink coffee

-----------------------------------------------------

I hate it. Only drank it in the Army if I was hungry or freezing then full of sugar.

But Ive made many gallons of it in my lifetime for my daddy. We are in Baton Rouge so we always had Community Coffee Dark Roast

My experiences:

1. Water makes a difference. Good quality water is important. I use a filtered pitcher to get water for my coffee.
2. The are many, many types/origins of coffee. Taste varies significantly. I have GERD & I favor low acidic coffees - Sumatra & Papua New Guinea.
3. Fresh ground beans are better. I use a Burr Grinder & have found it gives a more consistent grind.
4. I use a Mr. Coffee & a thermal carafe. While the coffee is brewing, I'll put hot water into the carafe (preheats it so the coffee stays hotter longer).
5. I add some heavy cream to my coffee instead of milk & sugar, works best with my reflux.

YMMV

start with instant. taster's choice freeze dried. drink it black. every morning. get used to it.

Starbucks tastes burned. Mcdonalds is good. Wafflehouse is good. Folgers is good. Maxwell house is good. Sugar and cream is for girls.

I would just stick with lemon water if I were you.

quote:

Originally posted by bonfire:

What is everyone's thoughts on the reusable Keurig cups with using your own coffee? My thought was that I can buy beans from the store in small quantities and get a good varity that way but not sure if the delivery method is good.

I have tried the use-your-own-coffee adapters for Keurig. I found them to be a royal pain in the ass, and the coffee was just not as good as the K-cups that we get from Costco.

We buy the Kirkland Signature house brand, the "Pacific Bold" flavor. I lurk until the sale comes around, five bucks off per carton, then I buy several at the sale price of $31.95 for a carton of 120 K-cups. Just under twenty-seven cents each, for a very good mug of coffee.

Even if I miss the sale, at the regular price of $36.95 / carton it's still less than thirty-one cents / serving. A lot less than a store-bought cup of coffee, and much better, too.

I use Peet's Major Dickason's Dark Roast in a French press, and I grind my own beans. I like strong, flavorful, black coffee though; so as a new coffee drinker may want to try a medium or even light roast to start out with.

French press. Black.

Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds if you're on the fly.

And yes BRC is the shit.

I always considered my own love of coffee to be sort of a "dirty little addiction to be mildly ashamed of."
So I can't really relate to someone wanting to get into coffee. You either drink it, and immediately recognize that you like it, and want to try more of it" or you just don't get it.

I never met a cup of coffee that I didn't like.
But having said that, some is better than others.
My opinions:
Starbuck's is among "the worst". And I have even tried it from the home-office shop in Seattle. Totally overrated.

7-11 is really pretty good and seems to have some of the highest caffeine content.

Lot's of good brands to try from grocery store: Gevalia, Peet's, Dunkin Donuts...all good with no "standout". Just a variety.

Lot's of good local roasters with various varieties.

The absolute top: A local Utah/Idaho chain that does their own roasting called "Beans & Brews". You can order online. I like the "House Blend". I am drinking it right now.
http://shop.beansandbrews.com/Shop/All-Coffee-A-Z
I like coffee that can be brewed very strong (in a French press) without becoming bitter.

I also have a South American import store near me that carries a Brazilian brand called Pilao. It is also right at the top, but is very finely ground so it must be perked in a percolator with a fine filter (unless you are OK with sludge).

I didn't read every single post in detail, and this may have been mentioned and I missed it.

Once you open or grind coffee, it begins the process of going stale. You cant buy a bag of coffee and expect to take a year to go through it. That is the reason I won't drink coffee at my mother's house, because there's no telling how long it's been there. It always tastes stale to me.

I'm ok with it taking a little over a month to go through an opened container, but you can tell the freshness difference when you open a new can, which is why it was recommended earlier to grind your own. Whole beans remain fresher much longer.

Oh yea, one more thing Jittery Joes has some of the best coffee out there. Not sure how far out of Athens they've grown, but it's light years better than Starbucks.

We drink a LOT of coffee. I started back in 1955 when I went in the army. Wife (German) started about that age, too.

Our choice of coffee comes from price club.

100% Colombian, Supremo Bean, Dark Roast, Fine Grind. Buy it in 3 lb cans. Don't remember exactly how long we have been drinking this brand, but a long time. Before that we drank 8 O-clock brand but it got too hard to find as the stores here quit handling it, and driving 20 miles to find it was not worth it.

Don't know what brand the army provided, but it was good coffee. Or, maybe it was because it was all that was available. Well, not really. The snack bars sold coffee that was not bad but no idea what brand.

I worked in company and battalion HQs and always had a coffee pot working.

Probably not for a "coffee virgin", but my wife and I enjoy "Death Wish" Coffee. It's a bit pricy, but with a subscription, I get a 5 pound bag, delivered, for about $70. A very strong, high caffeine coffee, with a surprisingly smooth taste. I enjoy it black, she'll put in a non-dairy creamer. I grind whole beans per pot, and use a drip coffee maker. What doesn't get consumed in the mornings, I keep in a carafe in the refrigerator.

This isn't terrible instant coffee (Nescafe Classico is though) and can be nicely foo-foo'd up with cream and sugar if you like. Nescafe Original might be hard to find locally though. It's intended for the Latin market and quite popular in Latin countries. You know it would have to be at least okay, what with all the Latin coffees available to them.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by bonfire:

What is everyone's thoughts on the reusable Keurig cups with using your own coffee? My thought was that I can buy beans from the store in small quantities and get a good varity that way but not sure if the delivery method is good.

I have tried the use-your-own-coffee adapters for Keurig. I found them to be a royal pain in the ass, and the coffee was just not as good as the K-cups that we get from Costco.

I have one of the Keurig brand DIY cups. It takes some trial & error depending on the grind of the coffee. Definitely seems that it makes a weaker cup than the regular k-cups.

My brother-in-law had brought me some coffee from Costa Rica, so I experimented with it until it made a decent cup. Had to tighten the lid on the DIY cup until it was fully locked, or you'd get lots of grounds in your cup.

Rac way,ractrac are good for me.
Statbuts are shit so is mc donalds.
Last 20/30 years I have a quart each morning from rac way as it went to an owner operator a year ago.

For some real "high test" coffee, look for grinds packaged in the Cuban areas of Miami, Fla.

A couple of cups will get your motor running.

If you live east of the Mississippi and you have a Fresh Market near by, you can sample a lot of different fresh ground coffee. Start with light or medium roast. As you build your tolerances to it, darker and French roast become nice.

Then one day you will find yourself in the French Quarter at the Cafe Du Monde eating Beignets and drinking Chicory coffee! Wondering where your life went wrong.....

Waffle House. Best there is.

Seattle’s best. The only coffee I could drink.”Java vanilla “. 4 scoops vanilla ice cream, splash of coffee in a blender. Yum