Coffee. What are you drinking and what would you recommend?

Although I drink coffee on most days, I do not know a lot about it and would like to further my understanding and would like to get some 'good' stuff to try out. I used to just drink Foldgers, and don't actually dislike it but when I'd run out of coffee I'd pick up something new each time when grocery shopping. I tried the normal stuff, the 8 o'clock brand, Dunkin Donuts, Seattle's Best, etc. Right now I've been drinking Gevalia and love the smell and taste, I just bought a second bag of it when getting groceries last night and am not disappointed (sipping on some now). I don't know what about it is exactly different from the other stuff, but it just smells good and tastes good as well.

I know @Martin-D is a coffee person, what about others?  Should I get a french press or grind my own beans? I just want a good, strong coffee. I always sweeten mine with (real) honey and a splash of milk, if it matters.

Hazelnut Coffee tastes heavenly.

The one by Old Town white coffee, think it's a local brand, not too sure.

I have little to no taste - just enough to know to spit out instant, I guess - but my poison of choice has been San Francisco Bay Breakfast Blend for a while since they're one of the cheapest ones for Keurig.


Barring that, the Green Mountain breakfast blend is pretty good, too.


Add in three Splenda/other cancer sweetener and good to go.

I have a Nespresso machine which is excellent albeit expensive to run.

Yeah, that's not coffee, that's just a fancy milkshake.

Picked up some Blue Mountain when we were in Jamacia - still have a bit of that left, and it's been pretty damn terrific.  I'll likely find myself ordering more soon when I run out.  Outside of that, I never had much of a preference as far as branding went - just plain black was fine by me.

When I started drinking coffee I had an apartment in a neighborhood that was primarily Puerto Rican so the end result was a white boy who to this day still buys primarily cheap dark roast Latin espresso at home: Cafe Caribe, Cafe Rico Rico, Cafe Bustelo are my brands of choice. Black, no milk or sugar.

I used to love the hazelnut ice coffee at the Chock Full O' Nuts coffee shops but they've all closed so I've been forced to substitute Dunkin Donuts hazelnut ice coffee.  Also black, no milk, no sugar.

I do like Coffee, and I do like Tea (of course I am British!).

My favorate drink is coca cola though!

Even with a Keurig and Tassimo available, I find myself at Tim Hortons several times a day.

The coffee at 7/11 happens to be amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone.

I drink Starbucks and I must say, its the most overpriced, over-roasted, burnt-tasting bitter shite that is best enjoyed pouring it down the nearest drain.

MannDude said:

Although I drink coffee on most days, I do not know a lot about it and would like to further my understanding and would like to get some 'good' stuff to try out. I used to just drink Foldgers, and don't actually dislike it but when I'd run out of coffee I'd pick up something new each time when grocery shopping. I tried the normal stuff, the 8 o'clock brand, Dunkin Donuts, Seattle's Best, etc. Right now I've been drinking Gevalia and love the smell and taste, I just bought a second bag of it when getting groceries last night and am not disappointed (sipping on some now). I don't know what about it is exactly different from the other stuff, but it just smells good and tastes good as well.

I know @Martin-D is a coffee person, what about others?  Should I get a french press or grind my own beans? I just want a good, strong coffee. I always sweeten mine with (real) honey and a splash of milk, if it matters.

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Gevalia is a premium Swedish brand.

 

ZOÉGAs is another 'big' Swedish brand.

My favourites are "Blue Java", if you want it a little lighter (i.e. less bitter) taste, or "Mollbergs Blandning" (Mollberg's mix) which is very dark.

 

Generally I want coffee made from "High-grown Arabica" beans.

 

The simple secret to a good cup is just to BREW ground coffee with ONE TOO MANY spoons.

I like my coffee like I like my women, imported from Latin America and served in large cups.

Ok here comes a load off from my local coffee shop: Joe Bella  (maybe give them a call and have them send you a pound)

1. Do not keep your beans for a long time. There is natural Carbon Dioxide in the beans, and over time they leave the coffee, thus making it not as pleasurable. 
2. Your straight coffee maker SUCKS, get a french press (if you are getting good beans) and fill the container with your grounds. Add water until all the grounds are covered. Wait 30 seconds, and then fill up the rest of the way (or to your choosing).
3. Find local coffee shops, generally they are much better then the big brands, and they provide a much better bean for your area. 
4. Starbucks is not good coffee, please don't insult me. As such, if you do get a good coffee, don't cover it up with milk or other stuff. A good cup of Joe will taste great just by itself.
5. If you do find a local coffee shop, ask if they do pour overs. Pour overs taste wonderful and are above the taste level of a french press, you really can taste things such as chocolate or blueberries in your coffee, it is magical.
6. Personally I like to change my beans out with a new type each go around, as such ask your barista for a good bean of his/her choice. If they have any actual experience they will pick you a great bean that they have on stock. Usually these are newer and seasonal. 

Did I say buy your beans local, huh, if I didn't I really mean it. 

--Mun

switsys said:

Gevalia is a premium Swedish brand.


ZOÉGAs is another 'big' Swedish brand.


My favourites are "Blue Java", if you want it a little lighter (i.e. less bitter) taste, or "Mollbergs Blandning" (Mollberg's mix) which is very dark.


Generally I want coffee made from "High-grown Arabica" beans.


The simple secret to a good cup is just to BREW ground coffee with ONE TOO MANY spoons.

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Gevalia a premium brand? Guess it depends on who you ask.


Like many other things each coffee brand is different and will taste different depending on the machine it was brewed in and what type of water used.


If I brew a pot of Gevalia at home it tastes "meh" but if I drink it at my wifes parents house it tastes "ok" because the water is different.


So, one brand doesn't have to be "better" then another since the water makes such big difference.

mikho said:

Gevalia a premium brand? Guess it depends on who you ask.


Like many other things each coffee brand is different and will taste different depending on the machine it was brewed in and what type of water used.


If I brew a pot of Gevalia at home it tastes "meh" but if I drink it at my wifes parents house it tastes "ok" because the water is different.


So, one brand doesn't have to be "better" then another since the water makes such big difference.

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I think Gevalia tastes like meh however you brew/boil/press it, and with whatever water you use.


Nevertheless it is a 'premium brand'.


My personal favourite used to be Maxwell House, which is an American brand BTW.


Nowadays it doesn't taste well at all, they've switched beans totally I think.

[SIZE=13.63636302948px]Gevalia isn't premium coffee. [/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]When I was in Sweden, it was sold right alongside other middle of the road supermarket brands. [/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]It being "[/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]premium" is [/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]a mythos that owner Kraft Foods (the same company that owns Maxwell House) is [/SIZE]trying to create to increase sales in the US. You know, it's from Europe, so it must be better!

Dylan said:

[SIZE=13.63636302948px]Gevalia isn't premium coffee. [/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]When I was in Sweden, it was sold right alongside other middle of the road supermarket brands. [/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]It being "[/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]premium" is [/SIZE][SIZE=13.63636302948px]a mythos that owner Kraft Foods (the same company that owns Maxwell House) is [/SIZE]trying to create to increase sales. You know, it's from Europe, so it must be better!

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I agree, it's not premium coffee. But (at least earlier, before Kraft Foods) it WAS a premium brand, just like MH.

I'm Swedish - I don't drink it at all.

Lately, I have been brewing Dunkin' Donuts™ coffee at home and find it quite enjoyable. 

Dylan said:

Gevalia isn't premium coffee. When I was in Sweden, it was sold right alongside other middle of the road supermarket brands. It being "premium" is a mythos that owner Kraft Foods (the same company that owns Maxwell House) is trying to create to increase sales in the US. You know, it's from Europe, so it must be better!

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Agree with you on this, any brand sold by the million in the local grocery store is not a 'premium' brand to me.


After I bought my Jura coffee machine I switched to whole beans. Best thing I ever done when it comes to coffee. I usually drink from the Lavazza brands now but enjoy the occasional Zoegas Skånerost when I feel like it.

Coffee...who cares how it tastes?  How is that relevant?  It's like asking which color of syringe you prefer for your drug of choice 

I like my coffee like I like my women: tall, dark, black, and bitter.  OK, that's not true - my wife is a normal-heighted ginger who is actually a pretty sunny person.  But that's how I like my coffee.

How do I take my coffee?  

By the quart.

I like Starbucks - pretty much all flavors.  I buy bags of the pre-ground and make it in an old-fashioned coffee maker.  When I go there, it's a Venti Americano which is pretty much a big cup of black coffee.

I think coffee tasting is 90% pretension.  There's really only two kinds - the dark, bitter kind and the non-bitter restaurant kind.  I don't like non-bitter coffee like Dunkin Donuts and most restaurants serve - it tastes weak, though the caffeine is probably the same level.  Here in the Pacific NW there are a million indy coffee shops but honestly I don't get coffee out much and they sell Starbucks in bags at the store, so...

People who say "oh, my indy coffee shop is SO much better than Starbucks" are generally pretentious hipster idiots.