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Litzner
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:37 pm

If you have to get a "big brand" coffee try Folgers Black Silk, its not half bad.
 
whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:39 pm

OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee. It is somewhere between light and medium roasted. I haven't drunk any yet, but I'll let you guys know how it tastes.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:41 pm

ludi wrote:
Doesn't pressurize, though. The brew time of a Keurig is wrong without the pressurization, and IME the grounds tend to be under-extracted. I've thought it would be fun to design a reusable K-cup that relies on silicone seals top and bottom, but never had the right business connections to make it happen.

Our Keurig came with this adapter thing that you put into the machine (removing the one that's there to puncture disposable cups) that totally seals it and so it's pressurized.

There's also this thing that is basically what you describe.

whm1974 wrote:
OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee. It is somewhere between light and medium roasted. I haven't drunk any yet, but I'll let you guys know how it tastes.

I'm not a coffee snob (hey I drink Keurig coffee, so I can't be) but I wouldn't feed instant coffee to my dog let alone put it in my body. :lol:
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whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:45 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
ludi wrote:
Doesn't pressurize, though. The brew time of a Keurig is wrong without the pressurization, and IME the grounds tend to be under-extracted. I've thought it would be fun to design a reusable K-cup that relies on silicone seals top and bottom, but never had the right business connections to make it happen.

Our Keurig came with this adapter thing that you put into the machine (removing the one that's there to puncture disposable cups) that totally seals it and so it's pressurized.

There's also this thing that is basically what you describe.

whm1974 wrote:
OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee. It is somewhere between light and medium roasted. I haven't drunk any yet, but I'll let you guys know how it tastes.

I'm not a coffee snob (hey I drink Keurig coffee, so I can't be) but I wouldn't feed instant coffee to my dog let alone put it in my body. :lol:

BAHHH!!! I'll try it myself.
 
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 4:31 pm

whm1974 wrote:
OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee. It is somewhere between light and medium roasted. I haven't drunk any yet, but I'll let you guys know how it tastes.

Ewww.
 
whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 4:34 pm

Buub wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee. It is somewhere between light and medium roasted. I haven't drunk any yet, but I'll let you guys know how it tastes.

Ewww.

Well I had to add two packets of Stevia to the coffee to make it palatable. I'm thinking that I should have brought Folgers instead but they only had it in dark roast.
 
Redocbew
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 4:56 pm

Isn't Stevia exactly the kind of artificial sweetener you'd be avoiding by not drinking soda?
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whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 5:17 pm

Redocbew wrote:
Isn't Stevia exactly the kind of artificial sweetener you'd be avoiding by not drinking soda?

It is not an artificial sweeter:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
And tastes just fine in coffee.
 
Chrispy_
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 5:40 pm

In Italy, Nescafé is popular, but the barista nation knows it's not even close to what coffee should be, so they just call Nescafé a "coffee-flavoured drink" in the same way that some cheese products are of such awful quality cheese-and-chemical mixes that they cannot be legally labelled as "cheese", so they are called "cheese-flavoured snacks".

Regardless, if the Nescafé helps keep you off the soda, then who cares; It may not be the nicest stuff but you gotta start somewhere. On a positive note, if you can get used to Nescafé you'll really appreciate proper coffee when you start drinking that instead.
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:06 pm

whm1974 wrote:
OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee.

Does instant coffee still exist?
 
whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:10 pm

Yan wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee.

Does instant coffee still exist?

Yes and plenty of it is still being sold.
 
llisandro
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:11 pm

whm1974 wrote:
Redocbew wrote:
Isn't Stevia exactly the kind of artificial sweetener you'd be avoiding by not drinking soda?

It is not an artificial sweeter:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
And tastes just fine in coffee.

[soapbox]
Sure, stevia is not technically an "artificial sweetener," but it's bad for you in the same way that all low-calorie sweeteners are bad for you. This body of literature is fraught with a lot of problems (when "research" is paid for by Coke, what do you think the "findings" are going to be?), but I think it's safe to say that the medical profession's current stance is that low-calorie sweeteners should be used very carefully, as there's an increasing body of work that suggests they might be no better than sugar, and in some cases, maybe even worse when it comes to weight loss. Problem being in that faking out taste buds is cool and all, but we're finding that the same GPCRs that are involved in taste reception in the tongue are also involved in sensing sugar concentration in your blood, and messing with that is bad. There are a couple of studies suggesting diet sodas increase risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, too.

And low-cal sweeteners might bring along a host of other problems. An example from a high-tier journal persons who drank 4+ cans of diet soda/day were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Scary stuff.

[/soapbox]

on a helpful note, Peruvian coffee is delicious. (less acidic). Cold-brew also extracts less acid (making it easier to get better-tasting brews out of crappier coffee in my experience), and you can make it REALLY strong. Also, Turks add a bit of salt to coffee, and this helps cut bitterness, enabling you to add a bit less sweetener. :wink:
 
whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:15 pm

llisandro wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
Redocbew wrote:
Isn't Stevia exactly the kind of artificial sweetener you'd be avoiding by not drinking soda?

It is not an artificial sweeter:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
And tastes just fine in coffee.

[soapbox]
Sure, stevia is not technically an "artificial sweetener," but it's bad for you in the same way that all low-calorie sweeteners are bad for you. This body of literature is fraught with a lot of problems (when "research" is paid for by Coke, what do you think the "findings" are going to be?), but I think it's safe to say that the medical profession's current stance is that low-calorie sweeteners should be used very carefully, as there's an increasing body of work that suggests they might be no better than sugar, and in some cases, maybe even worse when it comes to weight loss. Problem being in that faking out taste buds is cool and all, but we're finding that the same GPCRs that are involved in taste reception in the tongue are also involved in sensing sugar concentration in your blood, and messing with that is bad. There are a couple of studies suggesting diet sodas increase risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, too.

And low-cal sweeteners might bring along a host of other problems. An example from a high-tier journal persons who drank 4+ cans of diet soda/day were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Scary stuff.

[/soapbox]

on a helpful note, Peruvian coffee is delicious. (less acidic). Cold-brew also extracts less acid (making it easier to get better-tasting brews out of crappier coffee in my experience), and you can make it REALLY strong. Also, Turks add a bit of salt to coffee, and this helps cut bitterness, enabling you to add a bit less sweetener. :wink:

I think I'll look at the actual research on Stevia thank you very much.
 
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:58 pm

whm1974 wrote:
Buub wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
OK I went to the Family dollar about a block from groups and brought some Nescafe Taster's Choice House Blend instant coffee. It is somewhere between light and medium roasted. I haven't drunk any yet, but I'll let you guys know how it tastes.

Ewww.

Well I had to add two packets of Stevia to the coffee to make it palatable. I'm thinking that I should have brought Folgers instead but they only had it in dark roast.

Folgers? Also ewww. Did you not read this thread? :lol:
 
whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:03 pm

Buub wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
Buub wrote:
Ewww.

Well I had to add two packets of Stevia to the coffee to make it palatable. I'm thinking that I should have brought Folgers instead but they only had it in dark roast.

Folgers? Also ewww. Did you not read this thread? :lol:

The last time I had a fresh brewed cup of Folgers coffee, it tasted decent.
 
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:10 pm

superjawes wrote:
K-Cup: San Francisco Bay. I like these because they're partially biodegradable, ad the Breakfast Blend is pretty good.


Oh god, personal preferences are so widely varied - I think SFB K-cups are bitter and almost tasteless (probably from lack of pressurization, thanks for the tip ludi), and noone "recycles" or composts them anyway. Costco's Kirkland Signature Breakfast blend are probably my favorite K-cup, but I've said many times that hoping to get good coffee out of such a simple setup is basically a waste of energy. As someone mentioned, K-cup is for a lazy fix in an emergency.

Start with Trader Joe's beans. If you like something, great - you have a cheap coffee habit. If not, work your way up until you're ordering your own custom-roasted beans from San Francisco or somewhere. Grind fresh every day - it takes 30 seconds. Pour as much freshly made coffee or espresso as you can into a thermal like a Contego. Drink the rest right away! Try coconut creamer if you don't like black coffee.
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whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:14 pm

MOSFET wrote:
superjawes wrote:
K-Cup: San Francisco Bay. I like these because they're partially biodegradable, ad the Breakfast Blend is pretty good.


Oh god, personal preferences are so widely varied - I think SFB K-cups are bitter and almost tasteless (probably from lack of pressurization, thanks for the tip ludi), and noone "recycles" or composts them anyway. Costco's Kirkland Signature Breakfast blend are probably my favorite K-cup, but I've said many times that hoping to get good coffee out of such a simple setup is basically a waste of energy. As someone mentioned, K-cup is for a lazy fix in an emergency.

Start with Trader Joe's beans. If you like something, great - you have a cheap coffee habit. If not, work your way up until you're ordering your own custom-roasted beans from San Francisco or somewhere. Grind fresh every day - it takes 30 seconds. Pour as much freshly made coffee or espresso as you can into a thermal like a Contego. Drink the rest right away! Try coconut creamer if you don't like black coffee.

I have to try coconut creamer if I can find it.
 
DPete27
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Tue Nov 28, 2017 11:55 pm

Buub wrote:
Folgers? Did you not read this thread? :lol:

Haha, my thoughts exactly. Multiple people have recommended avoiding foldgers and Maxwell house, and he sets that as his target purchase. Then buys instant coffee.

Here's my opinion, if you're going to try something for the first time (or to get accustomed to liking something that's a bit of an acquired taste) DO NOT SKIMP OUT. your first experience will likely shape your long term view/preference toward coffee. Always give yourself the best chance of liking it. You can always scale back later.
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 12:01 am

Man, you don't even need to splurge to get something MILES better than instant coffee. Literally, buy a 1lb. bag of beans at the store for 8 bucks or 10 bucks or whatever it is where you live, grind them at the store (unless you have a grinder at home which is great and use it), and use a drip machine. You'll be infinitely more happy than with that instant garbage.
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:04 am

Peet's tends to be my favorite brand. I especially like their Major Dickason's Blend. I tend to switch it up though and go with Green Mountain Coffee's Dark Magic and Nantucket Blend.
 
jihadjoe
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:16 am

Starbucks actually has a far more diverse selection of beans than what they make their in-store coffee with. I picked up a medium roast Colombia that works quite well with a french press.
 
Aether
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:13 am

whm1974 wrote:
The last time I had a fresh brewed cup of Folgers coffee, it tasted decent.


If Folgers takes OK to you, there's no sense in seeking out more expensive options. There are two types of coffee beans, arabica and robusto. Arabica tastes much better, but robusto is much easier to grow. (Arabica plants are much more picky about their environment.) Coffee brands like Folgers are made using largely robusto beans, so they are much cheaper. FWIW, if some recent articles that I have read are correct, we may all be drinking robusto coffee in another decade or so. According to the articles (which I am too lazy to look up to link), the suitable growing regions for arabica beans keeps shrinking due to climate change. Unless new strains are developed that are more tolerant of different growing conditions, we may all have to get used to Folgers-like coffee. Meh.
 
bthylafh
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:21 am

I wouldn't say "favorite" necessarily, but it's good enough and the price is right, and I can't be bothered to find something I like more: 8 O'clock Coffee Colombian Peaks. Generally I buy whole beans and use them to make cold brew.

Basic recipe:
Using Hario Skerton manual grinder, make two full loads of the bottom container. Coarse-ish grind, usually 2.5 rotations from cinched down all the way. Dump grounds into a fine mesh bag*, shake bag above sink to reduce small debris. Put bag into a 2L pitcher and fill with water. Shake pitcher a bit to get the bag good and soaked. Let sit 12-18 hours, remove bag, fill pitcher rest of way with water and store in refrigerator.

You can drink at this strength or cut it with 1 part water to 1 part coffee, or whatever. I prefer the latter so I don't crash mid-morning.


* mine was advertised as being a nut-milk bag.
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Aether
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:28 am

Regarding K-cup pods, the advantage is that you make the coffee right when you want it. When you make coffee, it starts oxidizing as soon as it finishes brewing. The more it oxidizes, the less complex the flavor, so I don't like coffee that has been sitting around for more than a short time. While pod coffee is certainly not as good as coffee made using a French press, I still think is can be quite good. An 8-oz cup made using a French roast pod with filtered water in a coffee maker whose heating coil has not been fouled with mineral buildup tastes very good to me.
 
Aether
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:36 am

Oxidation is also the reason that pre-ground coffee is not nearly as good as coffee made from beans that you ground that day. Once you expose the surface of the grounds to air, they start oxidizing and losing flavor. Sealed pods slow this process way down, so I think they are better than coffee brewed from beans ground more than a day ago. Coffee made with freshly ground beans in a French press tastes better, but I don't have the patience to go through that process every morning.

Someone mentioned environmental impact of pods, which is a legitimate gripe, but I am going to conveniently ignore this. :)
 
bthylafh
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 9:06 am

SWMBO found a source of "environmentally friendly" K-cups for her workplace's coffee machine. I can't evaluate the truth of this, but these pods seem to be made from paper and some kind of biodegradable plastic:

https://www.cameronscoffee.com/filtered-single-serve
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biffzinker
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 9:31 am

DancinJack wrote:
You K-Cup people disgust me. Not only is the coffee that generally emerges from those things awful, but those cups are amazingly bad for the environment. I'm not trying to take this into R+P or an environmental discussion, but not only can you have better coffee (without much more effort) and you can save the world a tiny bit too. C'mon, you're better than that.

Just find some good beans that you can buy near you that you like and stick to 'em. There are likely a ton of options at the grocery that will work, and I imagine you can find a local-ish roaster that makes their own stuff.

Trying out Cameron's Specialty Coffee Highlander Grog or San Francisco Bay Coffee Company is another favorite, and 100% eco friendly coffee pods (compostable.)
https://www.cameronscoffee.com/highland ... ffee-12-ct
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Usacomp2k3
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 9:45 am

I do like with the Keurig you can control the brew temperature (around a 10 degree window, IIRC). I have mine at the coldest setting so I can drink it right away versus having to let it wait. I drink it black with a very slight dash of sugar. I also admittedly don't have super refined tastes, I haven't turned down many coffee's.

Regarding instant, there is a time & place, and that place is normally out camping. Can't be the convenience.
 
whm1974
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:36 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
I do like with the Keurig you can control the brew temperature (around a 10 degree window, IIRC). I have mine at the coldest setting so I can drink it right away versus having to let it wait. I drink it black with a very slight dash of sugar. I also admittedly don't have super refined tastes, I haven't turned down many coffee's.

Regarding instant, there is a time & place, and that place is normally out camping. Can't be the convenience.

Well for me the convenience is being able to have a cup or two in the morning without drinking too much as I would if I brewed a whole 10 cup pot.
By the way, I found a pound of dark cocoa powered in my pantry from nuts.com that I brought two or three years ago and never opened the bag. I put a small teaspoon of it in my instant coffee and it tasted pretty good.
 
Redocbew
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Re: Your favorite brand of coffee?

Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:43 pm

For some reason the fact that you had random cocoa powder stashed away, and that you bought it from nuts.com cracks me up.

If you want some seriously bad ass cocoa powder, then look no further.

https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/ ... p-919/pd-s
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