OT: Calling Coffee Nerds

[Michael Cody]

Well after a lot of years of sticking to Kona coffee & blends, I want to adventure out some more for my morning cup.

Looking for some recommendations for a full bodied -- city roast coffee .. I drink it black by the way (is there any other way?)... maybe a hint of chocolate (bittersweet) flavor. I find the darker city roast level seems to bring that out in some coffees. I don't usually go cheap w/in reason. Life is too short for cheap beer, whiskey or coffee. 12-18$ a pound of whole bean is the average range I pay now for Kona from a farm in Hawaii. Internet ordering is expected unless you live in SW Michigan and have a local source.

I am brewing with an automatic drip (I know but then I am not the purist some are.. makes a pot quickly in the morning when I need it). I toyed with buying green and roasting myself, but it's to much like work. Grinding is my limit. I like espresso but it's to much like work before I go to work if you know what I mean... being a service tech, I sometimes plan my routes around the best coffee on the highway -- but really prefer to take my own.

Tried some Tanzanian Peaberry -- was ok but to light bodied for me. I don't get into the fruity tastes to much either so I avoid some of the other African coffees. Liked some Summatra stuff I bought but lost the link to my source and have not found again.

Anyways looking for recommendations for an everyday cup-a-joe fix.

[Jim DeLaney]

Two that I like are Gevalia's French Roast, and Trader Joe's Bay Blend.

The TJ's is much cheaper (about $8.00 for 24 oz.) but still has a nice, full body to it.

Gevalia is about $8.00 for 8 oz. I use a Melitta funnel and filter to make one cup at a time.

As for flavored coffees - I stay away from them. I've never tasted one that I've liked. Guess I just like the taste of the coffee itself too much.

[Lee DeRaud]

There are a couple of Trader Joe's locations in Michigan. Their Kona is in the $15-20/lb range, but at least it may be local. But if you like Kona, you might want to try their Kauai coffee: about 90% as good as Kona at about 50% the price.

[Jeff Caskie]

Internet ordering is expected unless you live in SW Michigan and have a local source.

I roast my own... but here are two popular internet sources to consider:

Intelligentsia (http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/store/coffee) (out of Chicago w/ a great reputation)

Sweet Marias (http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.roasted.html)

[John Hart]

Hey Mike,

I'm a Caribou Coffee fan...because I like how they do business and their coffee is excellent. Their RainForest Blend is my favorite. It is dark, and it is simple. http://www.cariboucoffee.com/shop/detail.asp?c=1&p=73

[Joe Pelonio]

If you have a Sam's Club I swear by their "Kauai" coffee, it runs $12 for 2.5 lbs whole bean there. They also carry it in Hazelnut there. At the company's website in Hawaii they sell it via mail but it's a higher price
plus shipping.

http://www.kauaicoffee.com/shop.asp

[Michael Cody]

If you have a Sam's Club I swear by their "Kauai" coffee, it runs $12 for 2.5 lbs whole bean there. They also carry it in Hazelnut there. At the company's website in Hawaii they sell it via mail but it's a higher price
plus shipping.



Acutally Kauai is what I am drinking at the moment. I bought it at Meijer here in Michigan. It's good stuff @ 7.99 for 1lb. Will have to check out Sam's!

The Kona I buy on the internet is from Mokis Farm (http://www.mokisfarm.com/cart/default.php) but the price is just now up to 20$ a pound in the last year -- w/shipping it's getting almost too pricey for me. (there is not being cheap, going for good taste, but my wallet does have limits)...

I been considering something more full bodied ... hence the call for Full City Roast which is darker than normal american roasts like Medium & New England, but not a full dark roast. I've had a few products that are like I want and while not flavored, I get a taste of bittersweet chocolate and other nutty type flavors from the heavier body & darker roast. Boy sounds like coffee nerds for sure eh? Sure goes good with a cheese danish or a asiago cheese bagel! Now if I can find what I want for less I will go that route but not at the cost of a good cup of coffee.

[Joe Pelonio]

Acutally Kauai is what I am drinking at the moment. I bought it at Meijer here in Michigan. It's good stuff @ 7.99 for 1lb. Will have to check out Sam's!


You might save enough just on the coffee to pay for the membership. I was dismayed one day when they had only the hazelnut, and an employee told me they had discontinued it, and that's all that was left. Next time we were there it was back, but in a new package. Turns out after some research that the people in Hawaii had gotten new packaging and were just shut down temporarily. I guess I'm a nut too.

[Jim Becker]

I've been using Peet's Espresso blend for about a year now. More expensive due to shipping than something local, but it's been consistant and fresh.

[Rich Konopka]

Michael,

If you really want to kick up your cup of coffee a bit. Try dumping your DRIP Coffee maker for a Keurig (http://www.keurig.com). I switched earlier this year and I have not looked back. It is the best cup of coffee. There are many suppliers of coffee (http://www.keurig.com/coffeetea.asp?mscsid=MWJGHCGLCMW78PQCFGDC18E1H9FTE KF1) for the Keurig.

Because I work from home I found myself going out at buying cups of Joe and it was adding up. Now I get a perfect cup of coffee in less than a minute.

Anyone else a Keurig fanantic?

[Mark Pruitt]

Mike, if you go to gevalia.com you can usually find some specials where they give a free gift for joining. Either a coffeemaker, a ceramic airtight storage container, or something else, sometimes a couple of mugs included as well. You can tell them how frequently or infrequently to deliver, and you have choices of multiple blends including flavors and "normal" coffees, as well as tea (if there is a tea lover in the family). Their Dark Roast is my favorite because it's, well, dark.;) I get it in whole bean and grind only as I use it.

[Jack Dickey]

Yawl can keep all yur funky coffees .. As much as I run thru my IV , too pricey ..
For the best Coffee Pot get a Bunn ...

[Don Baer]

My wife gets Gevalina and we also get "Moose Munch" from Harry & Davids. We buy it in the store but thy do have a web site at HarrAndDavid.com

[Tim Morton]

If you can kind a "good" kenyan" coffee bean you will really like it...very pungent. But not all Kenyan beans have that taste.

[John Shuk]

I'm a big fan of Stew Leonard's. Don't know if they ship but most people love the coffee at my house. Starbuck Cafe Estima is outstanding. Especially when french pressed.
I find that both a good coffee maker and the right filters. Make a big difference. I use only melitta filters at this point. We bought them once and when we ran out and used the storebrand filters wifey and I were trying to figure out why the coffee was so crappy. Filters could help with bitterness problems.

[Brian Hale]

I got gevalia for several years and was real happy with it. That is until i found Black Raven and Snicker-Snicker. You haven't lived till you've had these 2 blends, either straight up or 50/50 mix.

The Black Raven is a bold blend that you can make as strong as you want without it getting bitter and it's got a real low acid content.

The Snicker-Snicker has a hint of nutty choclate and the kind of aroma that will get the neighbors attention. Both come from Baltimore Coffee.

http://www.baltcoffee.com/catalog/

Their website isn't the eaiest to navigate so.....

Black Raven http://www.baltcoffee.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_4/products_id/1293


Snicker-Snicker http://www.baltcoffee.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_5/products_id/535

Brian :)

[Michael Cody]

Michael,

If you really want to kick up your cup of coffee a bit. Try dumping your DRIP Coffee maker for a Keurig (http://www.keurig.com). I switched earlier this year and I have not looked back. It is the best cup of coffee. There are many suppliers of coffee (http://www.keurig.com/coffeetea.asp?mscsid=MWJGHCGLCMW78PQCFGDC18E1H9FTE KF1) for the Keurig.

Because I work from home I found myself going out at buying cups of Joe and it was adding up. Now I get a perfect cup of coffee in less than a minute.

Anyone else a Keurig fanantic?

I have an older BUNN unit w/SS guts... Keep it clean and it makes great coffee fast. It gets the water HOT and I use std BUNN tall filters. The Melitta's overflow on occasion. Also since my base cup is a SS 24oz insulated mug (even at home) not sure a single cup maker is a choice here. I drink one sometimes 1.5, before leaving for work, take one with me, drink one when I get home and usually one w/dinner. If I happen to work from home, it can be 3 full pots in day of code writing. While I have seen the Keung and it's slick but I wonder on the cost for that volume. I am going take some of the suggestions here and do some experimentation.. might cost me a little, but it's worth it I think.

One item of note, since I am service-level 2 tech I sample coffee at dozen's places all around SW & SE Michigan... I've come to really like Millstone Breakfast Blend. Other Millstone stuff I don't like, but that one I do. So I might add this into the mix. It's reasonable and coffee review (http://www.coffeereview.com/review.cfm?ID=54) gave it a good review. Not exactly what I want - a little on the light side, but good coffee on the average.

I am going to hit all these links over the weekend, I will be posting some results in a couple or 3 weeks as it seems this is a very popular OT subject... do some ROI calc's if you seem drift.