POLL: favorite coffee?

Cappuccino - all sorts

[ 09-22-2001: Message edited by: MacPino ]

Peet's Coffee.

Hands down.

Jacobs Kr�nung

The coffee in my area (western New England, pretty much sucks) to get a descent cup of coffee I have to go to Dunkin Donuts other wise I have to get it at "corporate" Starbucks. Which defeats the purpose of "going out to get a cup of coffee" The coffee places around my area are just not as good as the coffee shops in the west coast ie, Seattle, any where in Oregon, Cape Cod.
Javanet Cafe is pretty good, Northampton ma And they have imacs available with internet connection. But that is 45 minutes away, and parking is a hassle.
I am still looking for a descent place to get a cup of coffee

I get up around 5 am and brew some Chock Full O' Nuts

Then once the Caffienne and sugar kick in I work out for about 45 minutes.

After work I also have some coffee, then I work out from about 6 pm to 8 pm.

Mike

I'm from the Seattle-area and love to drink coffee. When I go out, I usually goto the local StarBucks store and order a cup of Caff� Mocha. This is my favorite. My second choice will be the Seattle Best, IF there is no StarBucks store around.

At home, I tried a couple of different brand; from Safeway to MillStone. Those regular store-brand coffee (e.g Safeway) doesn't taste good at all. I do prefer those French Roast, Espresso, and Irish Creme.

Kenneth

i only drink Luwak coffee. JK

I am currently experimenting with a number of coffees packaged by Percol (they have Columbian, Nicaraguan, Guatemalan, and interesting Peruvian/Mexican blends).

What I like in particular is the fact that these are "FairTrade coffees". The coffee trade is certainly not one of the most progressive forms of world trade and so I encourage anyone to give a fairtrade coffee a try.

Check these links out: www.fairtrade.com or www.fairtrade.org.uk

Hot Java Lava is pretty handy for getting you started in the morning. on the other hand, if you prefer something with a side effect similar to PCP, may i suggest you try Rocket Fuel. that stuff is in a league of it's own. sheesh...

anyway, a few cans of Red Bull and a bottle of Stolichnaya is far better!

There are a few bean people who make a "Fog Lifter" not sure exactly what the blend is, but it's what I like. Smooth, flavorful, makes great espresso, can kick in the teeth, though. Yum.

Al Van Houtte Irish Cream, very strong. Unlike most English Canadian I like my coffee strong; here it is one scoop for every 15 cups of coffee.

And my favorite chain is Second Cup, with a lot of whipped cream!!

The Breakfast Blend from Starbuck's is fantastic. I don't care what anyone says, but Starbucks kicks some butt. One of my favorites is Cafe de Monde from New Orleans. It's a mix of strong coffee and chicory... mmmmmmmm....

Lavazza, from my local grocery, and rats, I'm out. Outta milk, too...::grumble::

I load up on Starbuck's Christmas Blend every December. When that runs out sometime in February I bounce between 5 or 6 other Starbuck's blends. Kenya AA is a fav, and also Guatamala Antigua.

I brew a pot in the morning, then pour what ever is left over ice when I get home from work.

ICED.
iced cappuchino, iced coffee, iced latte.
ICED RULES.
(starbucks does it pretty well, too)

Thanks for those links! I think I'll check their coffee out!
....oops, I can't buy coffee in bulk (152lbs sack) I don't drink that much.. I would have to find a vender that sells it. I'll check bread & circus they should have it

Yes, I had to dodge the 152lb sacks too! I love coffee but I'm not quite that addicted yet, although I have friends who lobby companies to produce espresso in IV bags

I'm enjoying the Guatemalan quite a bit now, a subtle but beautifully smooth flavour. No lost teeth though. I save that for the espresso that Percol also produces in a Fairtrade bag. Unfortunately I think the Percol stuff is only sold in the UK. Let me know what zippy stuff you turn up in the US.

I can't stand the taste of coffee. I can't even eat mocha ice cream. I just can't get past that bitter coffee taste.

But my girlfriend is a big coffee drinker. She likes Dunn Bros., a local Twin Cities chain; and Starbucks -- as much as it pains her to go the corporate route, she admits that their coffee is among the best.

.

Right, scaught, I'm in. Coffee- second only to cheese in my world.
I used to manage a cafe called Ocean Coffee Roasters in RI. Bad job for me. All the free coffee I wanted. One can see where that leads.
So, I got the chance to sample pretty much everything.
I'll admit it, I love Starbucks. Love it.
I always go for darker roasted coffees. One of those screw ups that came down the genetic pike to me was the complete inability to taste bitterness. I've got no clue what that sensation is. This, of course, makes really dark roasts palatable for me.
I always drink black coffee.
Favorites are Starbucks Yukon, French Roasts and Vienna. Little tidbit: Darker the roast, less caffine. Caffine is incredibly volatile- it gets burned out in longer roasts. So, a french or espresso roast has about i/3rd the caffine as a standard American or cinnamon roast.
Absolute favorite coffee is the Anniversary Blend (there is an aged something in there that gives this lightly smokey smoothness). After that, I start for the Arabian Mocha Java and Arabian Sanani.
Over the last year or so, I've been experimenting with Chai- I mix a standard Japanese Green tea with a very black tea- throw in some cardamom, cinnimon, nutmeg, clove, ginger. Sometimes I'll latte it, always with honey.
I've also been screwing around with mideastern styles of coffeemaking. Little brass pot, dark rasted coffee ground to the consistency of baby powder. Add honey and cardomom and boil the beejebus out of it. You dont even bother to filter it. Now, from everything I know about coffee, you NEVER boil it (unless you're perking, which I also like). Coffee should never go above 140 degrees. But this requires boiling. It takes a decent amount of time to do, but the end result is delicious. I use a dark roast because it also seems to me that that concentration of coffee and caffine will kill ya.

I take coffee when hiking, too. Hell, I am going primitive, not uncivilized. A little tip from an Outward Bound instructor I had- VERY course grind on the coffee, dump it into about 3/4 the amount of water you need, heat until the water shimmers (should be about 140, anyway). Then you dump cold water in and it makes all of the grinds sink to the bottom. You take the coffee off the top! One of the greates pleasures of my life is good hot coffee on a fall morning looking out over some magnificent White Mountain vista, say from the Last Chance Spring site on the side of Mt Baldface.
Oooo, I SO want to be at my desk right now. I've just got myself ALL worked up.
I gotta go get me a chai.
Ooo. Right. I found this prepackaged Swedish kaffe at my local Heaven for Swedes who Like Pastry (and really, does anyone know one that doesn't), The Crown Bakery in Worcester, MA. It is called Zoegas (http://www.zoegas.se/) and it is incredible. Remember those Swedes prefer stronger coffee, so the flavor, while very smooth, is pretty kicking. Try it if you can find it. You Minnesotans shouldn't have any problems locating it.

[ 09-24-2001: Message edited by: maxelson ]

I also love the chicory/coffe combo, but I am having a hard time finding a good one. The commercial ones are OK in a pinch, but ultimately unsatisfying. In addition to the one mentioned up top, any other suggestions? Can I just get chicory, roast it and add it to my grind? Howdya do that?

Yes.

Anyone with a Peet's within 20 miles owes it to him/herself to try them.

I used to frequent the (many) Starbucks in the bay area, but I will now go out of my way to find a Peet's.

There's also CoffeeAM.com. They have a good organic selection.


Amen.

Now, I hear an awful lot of Starbucks bashing. Am I missing something? The coffee is excellent, nothing wrong with the service and there are lots of stores (which, as far as I am concerned, just makes things convenient for me). Why do people dislike them so? Is it just the big corporate thing? Ahh, these guys started out with A store 30 years back. They've built it. Seriously, what is the issue with Starbucks?

Here's my problem with Starbucks:

They are this huge growing corporation that is homogenizing all of America (and soon the World) by selling an addictive substance and replacing local culture with corporate culture and charging ridiculous prices for a cup of Joe.

Why does there have to be a Starbucks on every corner, why can't there be some independant local coffee houses around? Right?

But on the other hand I do like their coffee, because I prefer mine strong, and I do like to hang out and read or work or whatever. So I don't really hate them. Just wish there could be more independent coffee places around.

Starbucks is trying to get into the Australian market but as most Aussies drink Italian coffee (or at least in the cities) Starbucks hasn't got a hope.

IMHO the best coffee in the world comes from Lavazza - I suppose USA-based people will need to find a specialty dellie that does loads of euro food. And style of coffee - I prefer caffe latte or machiatto.

.

Yeah... my main complaint with Starbucks is in its agressive/predatory business strategy and in concentrating on the sale of an image. They're okay places to hang out if you must, and and in many cases may be the best option available, but when given a choice, I will prefer to go to local/smaller shops.

And honestly, I'm not a huge fan of their coffee. The Light Note is okay, as is the Breakfast Blend. I have often encountered hit-or-miss quality in the brewing, particularly at certain locations. At any rate, they all pale in comparison to Peet's. (Incidentally, Peet's just went public a few months ago. It will be interesting to see how or if they change...)

A couple of interesting links:
http://www.tao.ca/water/naomi/starbucks.html http://www.salon.com/business/featu...suit/index.html http://www.seattleweekly.com/featur...da-berger.shtml

I'm not a coffee drinker yet. I guess I'm too young to like it.

I do like Starbucks Hot Chocolate though...

Off-topic segment:

She go to the Dunn Bros on the corner of Grand and Snelling, perchance? My wife occasionally hangs out there with a friend of hers.

On-topic segment:

Like CaseCom, I'm not much of a coffee drinker. However, my dad swears by Gevalia in all their varieties. Coffee by subscription -- the true addict's dream.

G Barnett

Does Kahlua count?

Iced Cap from Tim Hortons is very good.

I guess the Starbucks in and around my area are not suffering from over... everything yet. Again, Starbucks has two appeals for me- the coffee quality has not suffered IMO (and, believe me, if I get a bad java- I am MOST DEFINITELY speaking up. Coffee is 97% profit- there is NO NEED for ANYONE to EVER get a bad coffee) and, hell, I got a soft spot for anything named for anything from Moby Dick (my work computer is named Pequod, my Newton is Quequeg, my PowerBooks have all been named Ahab, my OS X server is Mr. Stubbs with the second drive named Pip... this theme is continued with pets. My wife is hard at work on a bit of artwork for the new house- it will be a pub sign with a white sperm whale on it and lettered "The Spouter Inn". It is common for me to hand dinner to my wife and say "Clam or Cod?" Yah. I know. Obsessive. But, hell. It's Melville... not crack).
I am, however lucky to have lots of indie java pits around. I also scope them wherever I go. Anyone in the Providence area? The essential Joe shack is the Coffee Exchange on Wickendon. Excellent coffee and the wildlife is... let's just say you can sit there all night without a book and not be bored. When visiting the folks on the Cape, I hit the Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans. In Worcester it is the Tatunuck Bookseller- kicking cafe with a really nice bookstore attached. In RI, Ocean Coffee Roasters used to be one of the best- until it was bought out by Downeast Coffee. When I lived in Maine, I used to hit a pretty cool cafe in Halowell (near Augusta). I can't remember the name, but it sat right next door to a brewpub called "The Liberal Cup" which was, irony of all, right across the street from the Maine Republican Headquarters. Hee-hee.
If I had the capital, I would definitely find some seaside New England town near a college and open a java/ read/ 'net shop. I know the idea is unoriginal, but jeez, it'd be fun.

Well, I had no idea that coffee could be such a hot topic on a Mac user form!
My preference is the new Folgers Whole bean coffe. Specifcly the French Vanilla flavor. I used to buy the Millstone but the Folgers is only $3 a lb. That's half the price for better coffee! Well, I may not be as soffisticated coffee drinker, but I'm happy with it.

when i buy coffee at the store, i usually go with starbucks cause its the best i can find on the shelf at krogers. when i go out for a coffee, i usually will go with a more independent than starbucks but i won't not go into a starbucks (despite all the political gentrification hullabaloo, which i suppose has some merit).

the best coffee ive had ever was at some place in berkeley california. i dont remember the name, but the kid behind the cappucino machine had this bear ear hood thing on, and basically he looked like a moron. but he made me the greatest latte ive ever had, hands down. he even swirled the milk around on top and made this little heart shaped pattern type thing that ive never seen anyone do before. it looked cool, and tasted amazing. i went back to the same place to get another one later in the night, but my bear ear'd mystery latte maker was gone, and somehow the latte wasnt as good. he was a magic man i tell you.

maxelson LOL!

What a good topic. First off,

CaseCom: Dunn Bros. is good, but when you and your girlfriend are in south Mpls, how about Urban Bean, on Bryant St.?

simonjames: We get Lavazza in grocery stores here, and it's my favorite too.

maxelson [again]: Used to live in Providence, loved both Coffee Exchange, tho' it was even better (smaller) at its old Wickenden digs up the street (the new one doesn't have the intimacy of the old one) and Ocean Coffee Roasters (I think I remember some small caf� across from Brown's SciLi off of Thayer St). Up in Cambridge Caf� Pam-pompous, n�e Pamplona, is pretty good (despite the 'tude), and I used to hang out at the 1369's Central Square address.

As for what's wrong with Starbucks: I think their coffee is good. But it irritates me that I can stand on a corner in Astor Square here and see three Starbucks in three blocks, and to know that there is another around the corner on Broadway, another a block further on Second Avenue, three more up by Union Square (that's six blocks away), etc. You can sit in one Starbucks and look out onto another. Now why is that? The Starbucks at Union Square used to have competition from a Pasqua's coffee house in much nicer digs just to the east, and now Starbucks has bought them out. What bugs me is that the old Pasqua's has put a lot of thought into making a great inside/outside space for their coffee house, something I've never seen any Starbucks do. Instead, every Starbucks I see is just like the other ones, and this unending sameness in decor, furnishings and prices STINKS.

Still, I like their coffee. Fortunately, there's lots of other good coffee in the world.

T

Red Bull.

Yeah, it's not coffee, but it does the job if you need waking up.

Besides, coffee doesn't work as well with vodka when you are out and about...

As for why people don't like Starbucks... I would think it's because people are trained from day one now to dislike success. My problem with them (and most of the other "gourmet" coffees) is the price - why would anyone pay that much for coffee?? The same people who would drop 3 bucks on a 6 oz. latte bitch when gas goes over $1.50/gallon. And coffee isn't taxed!

Chiming in from the Coffee Consumption Capital of the Planet

Seriously, for some reason Finland keeps topping the charts, with about 12.82 Kg per capita yearly intake. Must be all this hacking and stuff combined with the long, dark winter.

Anyway, Mexican Organic and Fairtrade by Simon Levert, by the names of Dynamico and Benefico, done in a presso pan, are quite nice, preferably a bit on the strong side (scandinavian) with milk.

J

OK, so as this seems to be the ONLY discussion going on here in the lounge, and I am not particularly busy (only so much you can do while watching a Quicksilver run through a looping extended hardware test), I'm in again.
Timo- yeo, that's the Ocean Coffee across from the Brown SciLi. I sub managed that one on occasion. My shop was in Warren, RI. Nice place. Regulars were the lifeblood of the joint and, jeez, they were fun.
After reading all the posts about Starbucks, I guess I can see people's ire. It's like what happens to all the mom and pop little bookstores when B & N and Borders come to town. I shop at those, too (but it does not preclude me from hitting smaller indie bookstores- I do not discriminate when it comes to bookstores). I'll probably keep going to Starbucks (I don't usually buy "foofy drinks", though- too expensive and I've got my own cap machine at home- a real good one- got it as a wedding gift) because they make great coffee and it is consistant. I know I'll always get a good cup.
I remember going to my aunt Mable's house (we always called her far mor- Swedish for father's mother. Yeah, she was technically a great aunt, but the name stuck). The place always smelled of Scandanavian pastry and perked coffee. One of the homiest smells going. The smell of brewing coffee is home to me. I lived for a couple of years at 66th and 1st in NYC. Downstairs was a guy who had a tiny java joint and he did al his own roasting- imported beans himself. The smells were incredible. I always know when he was serving his French Roasted Columbian Narino- very distinct aroma in the roaster. I also always knew when he burned a batch (aside from the swearing, there was this acrid ordor of good beans gone wrong). That little store covered up all of the ugly smells that would otherwise be hanging around and is one of my very positive memories of NYC.

Wow, I am actually getting psyched up about coffee houses. There is one in my neighborhood that I've never tried, and I think I need to check it out now. Actually, there's two in my neighborhood, but one is a Starbucks. I just gotta give the other guy a chance first, that's all.

Although if that Starbucks has an Airport network, it's all over. I could see a coffee house turning into my personal office really easily. It's next to impossible for me to get any personal work done at home, so that may be just the ticket for me.

Thanks to everyone for giving me some enthusiasm!!

Man, do I have bad associations with Dunn Bros. You see, I went to college at Macalester, just across the street from Dunn Bros.

The horrid burnt-toast smell of coffee wafting across the street onto campus made me sick every morning. Just made me want to vomit. And that was on the days that I wasn't stumbling home at 8 am, all bleary-eyed and hung-over...

.

Start Now:
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."

C'mon. WHAT is COOLER than THAT?! No, no, don't answer. I got it: Nuthin'. Life in a nutshell.
Observation upon first reading of MD: Melvile has a sense of humor... who knew?

Yes I agree that is an awesome quote, I'm just afraid that you typed it from memory. Please tell me that it's not like that ... it is isn't it?

Max, you ever read Billy Budd? There are a lot of different ways to interpret it but to me it almost felt like the Gospel in allegory. For that reason it also reminds me of The Idiot by Dostoyevsky. Melville, Dostoyevsky... ya gotta love them dead white males.

Forgot to mention my favorite coffee - Xando's - just about whatever they have brewed. Starbucks moved in down the street from them too but they haven't really hurt them all that much. And when Starbuck's opened a shop up the road from here Xando's moved in across the street. I guess two can play at that game.

[ 09-30-2001: Message edited by: roger_ramjet ]

You have to been in italy to know what really good coffee is. Anyway, make sure it includes at least some Arabica - which Jacobs Kr�nung most definitely does not.


developer

French roast, espresso grind in a "cone-bottom" Melitta style brewcup.
Flat bottom(Mr.Coffee) brewcups make the coffee bitter.
Sundays it gets some Amaretto coffee-mate(and sometimes a half-shot of Wild Turkey), otherwise black.

Z

My top three favorite coffees are:

Jamaca Blue Mountain Estate
Kenya AA
Kona

The brand isn't nearly as important as the bean. A small batch roaster with top quality beans from africa/indonesia beats Starbucks anyday. I'm also not fond of central/south american cofees. No Juan Valdez coffes for me thanks.

It is, indeed like that. Direct from the Penguin text. NOthing has been changed, all names are wholly represented and protect no one. Its Melville, word for word...in all its majestic Nantucket Sleighride glory! Tried out truly.

Rog- Yes- read it, but now I am going to read it again with your interpretation in mind. Melville- he da man.
I saw an incredible production of The Idiot about 10 years back at Trinity Rep in Providence. The set was unforgettable. It was so dark and dank- like Mrs Habersham (Haversham?) but slightly less dusty.