Coffee

[BouncingSoul]

How can something smell so good but taste so bad? I don't know but I have to teach myself to love it ... Getting up early sucks!

Anyway, I live in a small town so there is no Starbucks for me, so I need to make my own. Anyone have a recommendation on a good machine and a good type of coffee? One that doesn't taste too much like black death? Or if they all taste the same (which I suspect) a good recipe of stuff to mix in to hide the taste?

Thanks

 

[Electronic Punk]

I hate instant coffee, but the Tasimo stuff tastes great, I am sure there is something similar over there!

 

[fitz]

starbucks isn't really all that great coffee (IMO)

in all honesty, it might be better for you to just get some cheap coffee and drown the taste in sugar and flavored creamers..

If you truly enjoy coffee, I'd prefer a good press pot with some Intelligentsia beans that you grind just before brewing with a good conical burr grinder.. the press pot are fairly inexpensive ($15-20 USD for a travel press pot), good Intelligentsia beans can go from $15-25/pound.. a good quality burr grinder will set you back a couple hundred however.. not worth going all out if you don't like the taste of coffee to begin with though

 

[BouncingSoul]

I've tried forever to enjoy it, I remember as a kid trying and hating it. I thought it must just be something adults like. But I'm adult-ish now, and I still hate it. It reminds me of the Lewis Black routine where he said Nyquil comes in 2 colors, red and green. Its the only thing on the planet that tastes like red and green. I swear coffee tastes how one would imagine black tastes like.

As far Starbucks, I don't like it, its grossly overpriced but if you get the sickeningly sweet ones its good. Granted its like drinking a warm milkshake but if you need to stay awake there is nothing better. Of course I'd need to sell a kidney to afford the stuff at the way I consume caffine.

I'm sort of kicking myself for not jumping on that woot.com single cup brewer from the other night. It was $10 and used some of those crazy pods. My thinking was that I wouldn't be able to find the pods here, now I see they are basically everywhere, oh well.

 

[Perris Calderon]

funny, I didn't start drinking coffee till I became an entertainer trying to drive home 200 miles away at 4 in the morning

the trick to "enjoying" coffee is the same as "enjoying" working out, you make dealing with the bitterness part of the fun...this is the same thing as cognac

btw

try using green tea instead of coffee. a healthier choice, it should wake you just the same and it's easier to "get used to"

 

[dreamliner77]

MMMM, I love me a good cup of coffee and Starbucks is crap. Basically any coffee pot you get at Target or such is good. BUY GOOD BEANS. If you are really ready for an investment, try a Keurig machine.

 

[Evil Marge]

I used to love coffee and hated tea but since being ill I can't stand the taste of coffee anymore. These day's I like nothing better than a lovely cuppa tea.

 

[LeeJend]

I don't know why but coffee beans (especially starbicks branded) have been going to crap the last year or two. There is nothing left for homebrewing I can gag down.

The last decent blend was Starbucks Komodo Dragon. I have not bought any this year so I can't guarantee if it is still any good. The star bucks breakfast blend and christmas blend are undrinkable this year.

I've recently tried columbian and kona blend beans fresh ground from the supermarket but again, they taste like crap. I don't know what they were selling as kona beans but they were never within 2000 miles of Hawaii.

You can buy Starbucks mail order if you want. Avoid the Starbucks beans in the supermarkets. They taste like crap, probably last years repackaged.

Something to try. I have found some of the bigger chain gas stations wth coffee bars have some surprisingly good coffee. Racetrack is one I like. Try some of the local ones there (if they have any of the fancy newer gas stations).

Buy whole beans and grind them yourself for less bitterness and more flavor.

PS Marge - it may not be you. I have given up on hot coffee and my wife switched to green tea. Like I said above good coffee seems to have disappeared this year.

 

[fitz]

i enjoy a good cuppa tea as well..

as for beans - if you like a richer/darker roast, you can try Caribou Obsidian, or buy some from Intelligentsia - some of the best around..

 

[Aprox]

I avoid the whole coffee thing by just drinking Monster energy drinks. I know they will probably kill me, but they taste a whole hell of a lot better than coffee and wake me up post haste.

 

[Arniestan1]

I have a Bunn coffee maker. And with price in mind, I think Folgers Black Silk is great. The Bunn isn't that cheap, but makes coffee fast and is easy to clean.

 

[Johnny]

I love coffee ... Starbucks is the best ..

 

[epk]

coffee lover here too :>

mm, if i had to pick one...





oh, as for machines.. segafredo and saeco are two of the most famous.. but i think if you buy a decent brand, you wont have much trouble

mm.. well, are you takin it with sugar? hard to say how to make it taste good for you.. unless it was really bad coffee you were having

 

[Steevo]

Good coffee, made right tastes just like it smells. But it costs, $13 a pound for Kona blend is the cheapest coffee I have liked, fine grind at home, stored in a ceramic canister with a silicone seal. made in a good Bunn I bought years ago, only filtered water goes in. I prefer a 80% Kona blend, but that is about $30 pound, a friend bought me back a few pounds last time they went. Now I order it straight from the roaster.

Six heaping table spoons for a pot.

Never use soap to clean anything but the pot, and then rinse it a few times and use vinegar and water to wipe it down, then run a couple pots of water through it to clean out any bad taste.

I keep saying im going to use some IT funds to buy me a good maker and coffee at work.