Coffee

DavidKuhnsSr

Starbucks comments got me thinking about my coffee tastes. I like coffee, but it has to be strong and hot. I can't stand the sort of tepid, weak brew I used to get in the Midwest.

I also think coffee ought to be cheap - the drink of the masses. I still remember 25 cent coffee, with free refills. I won't pay upwards of 3 bucks for a cup of coffee.

I prefer better coffee, too. We buy beans and grind them every day for our daily pot of coffee. But I can enjoy some pretty foul brews, too. Our church has a big stainless steel percolator that someone loads with Folgers or some other American classic out of a can, early Sunday morning. By noon, that stuff is well scorched and strong enough to float a horseshoe. It's just like the stuff I used to drink in the mess hall late on a long day of work. I guess it makes me nostalgic for the old days. There is a place for the classic cowboy coffee, too. Boil a pot over a campfire; throw in a handful of coffee grounds; let it simmer for 10 minutes or so; strain the grounds through your teeth while you warm your hands around an enameled steel cup. If you're squeamish, you pour a dash of cold water into the pot to settle the grounds.

I'll drink my coffee with cream, with sugar, or just black - but never with any flavored syrups. It should taste like coffee.

I don't know why I felt compelled to share that, but coffee is one of those things that has remained a constant throughout my life.

podkey

Oh no kidding Dave. My biggest mistake was not bringing my own to Minneapolis. The hotel coffee was beyond dreadful. I ended up going to Caribou Coffee and getting a "double depth charge" to go. It was much better and could actually mix it with the hotel coffee for something drinkable.

One of my friends brought a few essentials for our dinosaur dig in the Gobi Desert a few years ago. He brought Starbucks beans, a portable coffee grinder, and a french press (plus some hot sauce from home too for other things). Very popular guy.

I have brought some coffee with me on occasion too. In California they served Seattle's Best Coffee in the same hotel chain and it was OK in the strong brewed version, so I didn't need to bring my own ground beans there.

In New York City I had to sneak out the door and get a double expresso down the street to add to the hotel coffee to bring up the flavor profile.

Hey I can do cowboy coffee too that would float a horseshoe.

Oh and for me black (straight up ) coffee with no cream or sugar.

Oh and my coffee maker died so I now have Bonavita Coffeemaker that just does one thing, brews great coffee. No clocks bells or whistles but heats the water up to a steaming spurt and brews hot great coffee (near french press quality). Has one button , that's it.

manladdvm

Community coffee gets delivered to our residence in a set of 5-1 lb bricks. Darn good coffee for a great price. Dark French roast. Brewed in a Chemex. Dash of half and half. Cowboy coffee usually tasted better with some egg shells in it and a dash of salt. The stronger, the better. Haven't done cowboy coffee in a long time.

manladdvm

I will admit to enjoying a latte from SBUX every now and then.

DocSkippy

Totally a SBUX Sell Out here. I am hook, line, sinker in for the fresh roast (coffee not fancy drinks). Love the consistency and the daily interactions.

Caribou Coffee used to be in our area - but not any longer. They made a blend every October for Breast Cancer called "Amy's Blend" - it was a righteous tasting coffee not too strong not too light! All proceeds from this blend go to Breast Cancer Research.

Alas, there are no more Caribou Coffee locations in our area.

Cheers
Skip

podkey

No Starbucks within a few miles of where I stayed in Minneapolis but as you say Caribou makes some coffee with flavor.

Oh we have had a great local coffee roaster (Longbottom Coffee) that had an Italian roasted coffee that was the best. A friend of mine used it exclusively for his coffee cart until he sold the cart out to a bikini barista magnate (long story but true). Anyhoo it was great coffee beans. either my taste buds have changed or they don't roast it fresh and correctly often enough these days so I have switched to Seattle's Best for coffee beans these days.

I use to sometimes make cowboy coffee for the boss of our paleontology summer expeditions. First one up usually put the pot on the fire. I didn't drink coffee in those days (too young).

mikehikemike

Take the wire handle of a camping coffee pot and swing the pot in a circle a minute to centrifuge the grounds to the bottom. Make sure the handle is on tight....

shenry111

Good Morning! I'm way past being able to enjoy Folger's or Maxwell House. I usually have something like Starbuck's Verona at home. I like my coffee black and strong. I will make a big pot in the morning, and take a Thermos with me to work. I have a warming plate on my desk, so I have a hot cup going all day long. I also have a K-cup once in a while at home, usually in the evening when I'm too lazy to brew a pot. I'll drink coffee right up until I'm ready for bed.

I'm an Eagle scout. I have spent many a time around a campfire. I'm experienced with cowboy coffee in it's many forms and variations. I had forgotten about the egg shells, but have done that in the past. Seems like we also used to put salt in it.

I rarely buy coffee in a shop. Once maybe every other month at a SBUX, and there is a coffee brewer down the street from where I work. I'll stop in there about once a month for an Americano (espresso and water). I think that I'm going to have to invest in a French press.

podkey

French presses are great especially if you only drink a cup or two. The almost steam spurting bonavita is pretty darn close to french press quality and comes in either a 4 cup version on an 8 cup version. I put in a thermos full of water into the 8 cup bin and it comes to the 7 cup line makes almost a full thermos of coffee.

tenreps

I buy my coffee from Costco, Starbucks Brand the deep dark roast--nice and strong.

myallforjcbill

It has to be a nice quality dark roast, fresh ground and a pour over view. Black, the only way. Weak coffee, or as I call it, church coffee is a tragedy. So is burnt coffee. I generally import mine from Washington. Their beans are roasted in New Brunswick.