. . . which is a sign that we should WAKE UP! , but it gives me an excuse to display my morning Joe. Of course the “day”, like all such days, is a marketing ploy. Nevertheless, it’s been widely reported that, if you patronize Krispy Kreme in the U.S., you can get a free 12-oz. regular coffee with your horrible “donut” (more akin to sugar-glazed styrofoam); or for only $1, they’ll sell you a mocha, latte, or iced coffee. Dunkin Donuts (which, I admit, I’ll occasionally enter for their double chocolate donuts) is giving away free medium dark-roast coffees. Caribou Coffee has free samples, and Kangaroo Express (is that Australian?) will sell you a cup for only one cent. Finally, McDonald’s is giving away a free small “coffee,” which they’ve been doing for a while; that offer ends today. Starbucks, the Satan of coffee houses, of course has not announced any freebies.
But I eschew this commercial dishwater: if you can see the bottom of the cup, don’t drink it! Make mine a latte with two shots of espresso, brewed in my office machine—a Briel Caffe Roma (a nice inexpensive but serviceable machine that produces a good crema on top)—made with beans freshly ground in my Breville Grinder. Below is setup (the flowery wallpaper around the machine was actually put up by my last cleaning lady, a fastidious and lovely Polish woman named Danuta, who didn’t want me to splatter coffee on the wall!:
Cheers!
The first thing I do when I get to my office around 6 a.m. is flip on the coffee machine. Within ten minutes I’m starting the required caffeination.
We do have a reader’s cat, Theo, who also drinks coffee, preferring espresso. You can see his confession of that bad habit at the Cat Confessions Contest. Below is a recent photo of the black Theo drinking black espresso. One of his staff, Laurie, swears that Theo eschews regular coffee (even with milk) and goes straight for espresso. In fact, he comes running when he hears the grinder begin pulverizing the beans!
Your turn: what do you drink, and how many cups a day? (this is the only one I have.) Do Canadian readers go to Tim Hortons?
I throw the Wegman’s beans in the Breville and 6 mins later I’ve got half a pot. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a bad cup of coffee, unless it was weak. As far as Canadians and Tim’s–yeah, some friends of mine in Guelph have been known to drink a double-double with their order of Timbits. But they’re far more likely to get the special beans from Planet Bean in Guelph and dump them into their Cuisinart.
I know just the place. I used to work in Guelph. However, for a break, we used to walk to the nearest Tim Hortons.
“Timbits”
That is just a horrible name for a food item.
Especially considering their size and shape.
I have one carafe of Colombian Supremo light roast every morning. I prefer McDonald’s over Tim Horton’s.
I seldom drink coffee now but when I do buy it, it’s either Ethiopisn Yirgacheffe or if I fancy something a bit stronger Veluto Nero from the Algerian Coffee Shop.
If, and it is rarely the case, I find myself near Mornington Crescent (usually arrived at by a successful Bidermeyer’s slip) I’ll pick up some Santos from the Camden Coffee Shop.
Are you English?
What’s the matter with you, man?
Enough of this foreign rubbish – in England we put the kettle on and make ourselves a proper cup of TEA.
Tea is okay as a warm restorative, but, face it, there’s not enough caffeine in it to do the job.
I’ll go for either (strong) coffee or (strong) tea — but not as a habit, strangely enough. I’ll take green beans and fry them in a popcorn (air) pumper to espresso-darkness… and pump it through an espresso maker.
But there are some people whose hair might get even more magnificently mad scientist-like if they were to imbibe the stronger stuff…
Apparently (after some Google ‘research’) it seems that tea leaves contain more caffeine than coffee beans. However, much of the caffeinated goodness is wastefully thrown away with the tea leaves.
TEA?!?
It’s purely habit, like Vegemite and Marmite. Coffee in the morning is a higher fitness peak.
NO: marmite is food of the gods -growls warningly – As for coffee – an espresso in the morning and maybe a flat white later if I need a boost.
Any food of which one says, “It’s better when you eat less of it” is deeply dubious. “Spread very thinly” is a warning sign!
I call Marmite “food” only out of deference to your opinion.
Perhaps there’s a cultural difference here, but I feel it is actually a good idea to be reminded to eat less, rather than more, food.
Shame I can’t edit a comment. It would prefer to have been written:
“Perhaps there’s a cultural difference here, but I feel it is actually a good idea to be reminded to eat less food”
Totally agree about Marmite (and Vegemite and any other sticky brown slimes). Quite possibly the most disgusting-tasting spreads ever invented. I can vouch that used engine oil tastes less bad.
(Hey, I don’t go around eating the stuff, just that eating ones sandwiches in the middle of car overhauls tends to give one an occasional taste…)
If Marmite is food of the gods, no wonder I’m an atheist! Seriously, that stuff tastes like ass.
Try it with mashed up hard-boiled egg in sandwiches instead of mayo.
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I’ll save that one for when I’m scrounging for food as a survivor in a Road-like global apocalypse.
You call yourself BilBy and you eat Marmite? How is this possible? I’m feeling lied to here, you cannot be Australian at all.
Which would that be? Darjeeling? Oolong? Assam? Ceylon?
Anything EXCEPT EARL GREY!
I used to dislike Earl Grey & then one day 2 years ago, I had a sudden craving for it & now drink it every day.
Hot?
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I do occasionally imagine Picard saying that but mostly when I order it in restaurants or drive throughs. 🙂
coffeebeanfeast?
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I drink one pot of Columbian coffee each morning. I used to drink three pots a day, until I started having health problems from it. Also, I did the math, and it turned out I was drinking half a lethal dose of caffeine, so I’ve cut back.
But the lethal dose depends on you consuming it all at once. Spread throughout the day, even three pots shouldn’t be anywhere near the lethal dose. Caffeine gets metabolized pretty quickly.
I wish I had your caffeine super powers! I manage one cup of coffee in the morning; anything more and I get heart palpitations. I’ve noticed recently that I’m getting a racing heart (strong enough to shake my back & the last one I counted was 134 bpm while lying down) at night & that’s most likely due to the coffee, plus a glass of diet coke and a couple large mugs of earl grey tea during the day and a non drowsy allergy pill.
Yeah, one cup in the morning to get me going, and that’s all I can take. I used to drink 4 or 5 cups a day in grad school and had panic attacks (only partly due to the coffee, I’m sure). I do love the taste of coffee…mmm…coffee. I agree with you on Marmite, too. It does taste like ass (or so I’m told 🙂 )
Yes Canadians go to Timmy’s. They even have darkroast now. It’s not bad. I must admit we now have our ‘Meeting of the Mindless'(6 old retired foggies solving the world’s problems at 10:30, Sunday mornings!) at McCafe. The coffee is better and cheaper. The latter being the most important feature.
Seattle’s Best for me, though my current cup has some Gevalia mixed in. My first cup of the day doesn’t have to be gourmet, as it is strictly medicinal.
When I went to Stockholm for my post-doc (1981), my first trans-Atlantic flight, hoplessly jet-lagged and still without sleep, I went in to the lab, which was having afternoon coffee.
They handed me a cup and, since I’d been drinking midwestern coffee at that time, I recoiled. I still remember my mentor’s comment: “Oh, where you come from, coffee is a drink. Here, it is a medicine.”
Just recently tried Seattle’s Best (dark) – good stuff and it makes regular appearances in my Canis Lupus mug (may The Great Ceiling Cat forgive me).
An Out-of-Coffee-Error in the morning is about the worst thing to happen!
1 big cup in the morning, another mid morning and the last one after lunch!
And for pleasure: Die Kaffee-Kantate von J.S.Bach
https ://www. youtube. com/ watch? v=YC5KpmK6oOs
I was about to post the Kantata too! A lovely piece.
If someone were to invent a time machine, one thing I’d like to do is go to Zimmerman’s in Leipzig around 1730 and enjoy drinking kaffee while listening to Bach perform his own music.
Ei wie schmeckt der Coffee süße…
A beautiful little aria, the whole Kantate is about coffee addiction. 🙂
Yet another stop on my time maschine visit list, section music.
I really do wonder why the father is so upset: Because coffee was costly and she was drinking away his money, or because she had to go to the coffee house, getting in who knows what company?
I think it was the price of coffee, and it was drunk very sweet at the time as well. Sugar was a luxury too.
I know from the history of coffee houses in Hamburg that they were strictly off limits for women. And then one of them opened a room for women *gasp* everyone was shocked! Shocked! I tell you!
I do go to Tim Horton once in a while. Anyway their’s barely a few Dunkin Donuts left. Beside Tim their’s Starbuck and also Van Houtte. I have to admit that I like Tim Horton because of a beautiful song by Gordon Downie “Vancouver divorce” where the lyrics says “sittin’ at the Horton so you know this is important”. One of the great canadian singer solo or with his band The Tragically Hip.
Tim’s is a regular stop for me but not as often as when I was on the road for work…. they placed Tim’s strategically to coincide with your need for a coffee and a pee break.
Visiting my Canadian relative, we went to Tim Horton’s. Looking out its window, I see the Timmy’s on the other side of the road. My relative thinks that’s normal.
Especially in Ontario you can almost see one Tim Horton’s from another.
Unfortunately that about coincides with my need for a pee break these days!!
It’s funny when I try to explain that Canadians use Tim Horton’s this way to my NZ relatives who are accustomed to public washrooms all over the place.
Sadly, I usually feel guilty and by another beverage & the process continues until I break the cycle by arriving wherever it is I need to be.
Do you reverse the toilet rolls when you stop at Tim Horton’s?
If they are the kind that I can access then yes. If they are hard to get to or locked, then no.
I’ve been doing it constantly at my physio’s office and they would easily know it is me because I’ve been the only patient in yet they never say anything. 🙂
Monmouth Guatamelan Finca La Flor del Rosario,
Baratza encore grinder,
Fino kettle
Hario V60 pour over…
Wakes me up!
Sadly, it is mostly vacuum freeze to keep the quality (of both coffee and me) up during work.
Two cups in the mornings, two in the afternoons, tea in between. Coffee should be black as sin and hot as hell, tea is varying for taste.
On holidays I splurge in espresso!
Never freeze or even refrigerate beans. Keep in an air-tight container. If you use them up slowly, buy smaller quantities fresh.
Civilised people drink tea. In my case usually two cups a day.
What you mean is that you drink tea, and you’re better than the barbarians who drink coffee!!!
Absolutely, darlings. I drink several cups of the finest tea, imported from the colonies, made in a teapot and poured into fine English bone china teacups. Unfortunately I had to let the butler go after he crashed the Bentley.
You need to work in a bowler hat to that story.
I laughed so hard at this my monocle popped out!
I also drink coffee but prefer tea, it’s so much more relaxing.
You and me both. One of life’s simple pleasures…. a hot cup of tea in the morning before anything else.
Ditto: tea — & lots of it.
Although I am Canadian, when I do drink coffee, it most certainly isn’t that dreadful swill from Tim’s.
[Gee, I hope my passport doesn’t get revoked for that].
Dark roasted kenyan beans in a french press every morning. A nice double espresso after lunch. I have learned to accept my addiction.
The reason double-doubles are so popular is because even loyal Timmies customers can’t stand the taste of their coffee.
Latte? You have time to fool around with milk? Take a tip from Theo.
In highschool, an AirForce colonel down the street and I shared an enthusiasm for antique cars. (I didn’t learn till his funeral that he was attached to the Joint Chiefs, on Curtis LeMay’s staff.) His wife was a great lady with a quiet poise/dignity. One weekend I went down to see him and they were having coffee on the back porch. I’ll always remember the exchange.
“Would you care for coffee, John?” I accepted. “And would you care for cream or sugar?” I declined. “Good, then you’re welcome to come back for coffee again.”
I can drink coffee without sugar, but prefer two teaspoons if available. I’d gnaw off an arm rather than drink coffee without milk. It’s just too bitter otherwise.
I stopped taking milk in my coffee at university — my room was too far from a fridge (only one per five floors) and it didn’t keep well on the windowsill, except in winter.
And ai stopped taking sugar when a colleague at work decided that I should cut down, and got me one without from the vending machine. So, of course, I had to drink it just to show her…
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I find that coffee made well with good quality beans does not need cream or sugar.
My beans these days come from Byron Bay in Oz which is about half an hour from my place.
Last night I ran out of beer so made a couple of small lattes with a shot if sake.
I only bought the sake for cooking as I thank it tastes like metho but the coffees weren’t bad.
I also made coffee ice cream where the beans are simmered in the custard and then strained out.
Sublime.
ooh… That coffee ice cream sounds sublime. What a great idea; thanks for posting it!
(The dedication — nay, the connoisseurship of most everyone on this thread is formidable. I feel so impressed).
oops: that should’ve been “*does* sound sublime” (i.e., agreement rather than parroting)
Theo is also, apparently, a fan of the rather splendid “Walking Dead” graphic novels. A fine exemplar of sequential art, if I may be so bold.
Both Starbucks and Peet’s occasionally have beans from Sulawesi, but very pricey.
At the office we have a Breville k-cup machine so we can put out a variety of coffees and teas for people to choose from. Absurdly expensive compared to brewing a pot at a time, but Costco keeps it down to about 50 cents a dose. We’ve tried many, and our current fave is the Costco brand Pacific [something] dark roast.
Sure, occasionally I’ll have a Tim Horton’s coffee, but only from a specific store. As a side note, I remember watching a conference on sleeping research from The Science Network (I believe it’s still available) where some scientist said he found a positive correlation between the rise of Starbucks’s shares and an increase in sleep deprivation. So, I guess, blame Netflix for Starbucks doing so well. : )
I have drunk coffee in Venezuela and Colombia. I have not found coffee to match here in the USA. I’ve bought and ground Colombian and Venezuelan beans and not been impressed. I have given up and just make a pot of whatever in the morning. I drink it black, although I could drink Colombian and Venezuelan coffee with sugar, or with milk and sugar.
I’ve been living mainly on canned coffee (not a big thing in the US as far as I know, but widespread here in Asia and not always terrible; cheap, easy, and not undrinkable were sufficient for me) for awhile, but recently finally got with the program and started making my own good coffee.
I got myself an Aeropress, and Hario Mini-Mill grinder, and I get beans from a local (here in Bangkok) coffee shop where they roast their own blends in the shop. And they roast them to perfection (unlike the charcoal you get at Starbucks if you get their espresso or other dark blends). I usually just stick with their house blend, but occasionally try some of the specialty beans they get on occasion.
The Aeropress kicks out something very close to espresso in about 30 seconds (add the water, stir for 10 seconds, sit for 10 seconds, press for 10 seconds), so I basically make a double-shot “latte” (microwave-warmed milk, rather than steamed, since I have no way of steaming) with it. 2-3 cups gets me through a typical school day with a functional brain (teaching up to 6 hours of 3 different grades of high school biology on a given day).
Good stuff. And given their ease of use and portability, the Aeropress and Mini-mill are among the best purchases I’ve ever made. 😀
Never formed a coffee or tea habit. Mostly drink water. I do occasionally drink coffee, and when I do it is definitely for medicinal purposes, and I like plenty of cream and sugar to help the medicine go down. Melted coffee ice cream is about right.
I have on occasion had a cup of coffee (it’s free) at the gym I use when I am having trouble staying awake while I should be exercising. It usually tastes like a well used ash tray smells, and gives me a touch of heartburn.
If I really feel the need for a bit of stimulation, and these days that is pretty common, I’ll grab either a 5 hour energy shot or a VPX Bang. Of all the energy drinks I’ve tried those two are the only ones that have any noticable efficacy for me. Care is needed with Bang if you have never used it. The first time or two might have you thinking about running to the emergency room.
I tried 5 hr energy a few times. I noticed almost no effect. It doesn’t have much caffeine and I’m not sure the accompanying cocktail of vitamins could really be considered a stimulant. Placebo?
You have obviously simply never encountered well-made coffee. 🙂 It is…”celestial” doesn’t do it justice, but comes close. What Jerry described above sounds excellent, but I usually go for a dark roast with a shot of hazelnut. Black (no cream, milk, etc).
5 hr energy works a bit too well on me, and I suppose it is because of the other things in it besides caffeine. I found that just downing half of it does the trick without the side effects. And it sure does work for me as advertised.
I am confident it is not placebo. It defintely picks me up, and for hours, but not necessarily 5 hours. I have tested these things fairly extensively :), and for me it works as advertised. Very noticable increase in alertness (no more drifting off), not just kept awake but alert, and no crash, sugar or otherwise. First time users will usually experience a niacin flush within a few minutes after first use, which migh alarm them if they are not aware of what is happening. Also, if I go for a stretch using it regularly there is a noticable drop in efficacy. So I try hard not to.
On coffee, I have no doubt you are correct. I’ve found that the finest examples of most anything you can think of are almost always pretty damn good. It is more by chance than conscious choice that I never formed a coffee drinking habit.
You’re doing it wrong – water is for the gym, coffee is for the times you are using water now. 😉
I love my AeroPress, which makes great coffee: faux espresso, but good enough for me and my wife. I am catching up with Voltaire, who when chastised by a doctor for drinking so much “slow, steady poison” allegedly replied, “Yes, it must be a slow poison, as it has been poisoning me for over seventy years.”
I have a standard drip coffeemaker into which I put freshly ground beans and filtered water every morning. I make half a carafe, up to the “6 cup” mark. I drink it with a teeny bit of milk. My home coffee is at least as good (to my taste) as the local coffee shops. Starbucks always tastes burned to me. Sometimes at work, I’ll pop a cup into the Keurig—which I had to reboot last week!
First time I drank coffee, I experienced severe cramping and vomiting. I can’t even stand the smell of the stuff, much less drink it. The only time I have it in my home is for house guests. Strangely enough, I have no problem “getting started” in the morning.
Is the issue with Krispy Kreme that you just don’t like raised donuts? They also make the heavier cake donuts.
As far as raised donuts go, I actually quite like KK, especially if you get one right off the “assembly line”. Most other raised donuts I’ve had were on the dry side. KK’s are always moist and smooshy.
But I live in deprivation, as KK pulled out of my state a few years ago.
Jerry, I certainly hope that you have had the chance to sample a freshly glazed Krispy Kreme literally hot out of the grease at a Krispy Kreme store. Unless you have, please reserve judgment. A Krispy Kreme eaten from a box anywhere else isn’t worth it.
I have. They’re better than the cold ones but still insubstantial and too sugary. Give me an artisanal donut any day, esp. from Voodoo Donuts in Portland!
I can’t argue with that. We are lucky to have artisanal donuts available from Ike and Jane here in Athens, GA. Great, now I’ve got all manner of donuts on my mind…
There are some foods that are not what they call themselves, and are not high quality, but are still very enjoyable when the mood is right. Taco Bell is not Mexican food, Dominoes is not pizza, etc. But sometimes, at 2am, or while watching football, they are perfect. Krispy Kreme is similar.
I have walked away more than once from Voodoo Doughnuts w/o purchasing because of the huge line out the door. Maybe I should muster up more patience next time to see what I’ve been missing.
What you’ve been missing most is the maple bacon donut, covered with a maple glaze and two strips of bacon. It is HEAVEN!
Oh!My!Goddess! Thanks for the tip, Professor! : )
Well, I just had to break out my espresso machine to honor the day. It is brewing right now.
Only once at work did they have me make coffee. Turns out they not only liked to see the bottom of the cup, with their coffee you could see through the whole pot.
They complained. Bitterly. They never let me make coffee again.
Sounds like you played that well! No more coffee making.
I have a Tim’s card and I can use an app on my phone as well. I have it auto renew so I am often under the delusion that my coffee and tea is free.
I feel like a Philistine after reading other people’s coffee habits. My everyday coffee at work is Folger’s, black, made in a cheap Black and Decker drip coffee machine. Depending on who bought the coffee most recently, the Folger’s can get downgraded to Food Club or Master Chef. We’re down to one pot a day split between two of us.
On weekends at the house, my wife and I have a Keurig, and I’ll sometimes splurge with a bit of Irish cream. The brand right now is Donut Shop Coffee, but it’s usually whatever whole beans we can find at Ross, ground ourselves and put into the little mini baskets that fit the Keurig.
We have an espresso machine that we’ll break out maybe once or twice a year for an after dinner drink.
Coffee – currently I have Seattle’s Best (dark) and Caribou Coffee (medium) in the cupboard.
Braun grinder and Cuisinart drip (gasp!) coffee-maker.
2 cups in the morning, another 1 or 2 at 4PM mountain time.
Sometimes tea after lunch – since I live in the PRB (the People’s Republic of Boulder) – it is, of course, Celetial Seasonings. 😉
I drink five or six double espressos per day, sometimes more. I use a Gaggia Achille. That’s a real lever espresso machine, for those who don’t know. For reason opaque to me, Gaggia has stopped making it, so I’m not sure what I’ll do if (when) it wears out. Oh, and I grind the beans fresh for each batch, with a Gaggia MDF.
The coffees I use include Lavazza Gran Reserva, Danesi Caffe Espresso, Trinidad Coffee Espresso, and several others.
Oh, and despite what some of you may think is excessive caffeine, I fall asleep within a couple of minutes after my head hits the pillow at night.
I’m afraid my regular brew is made with home-filled K-cups. When i need extra crispy, I make it in a french press, using the regular drip grind. It doesn’t filter out 100 percent of the grounds, so you get a bit of crunch at the bottom.
I haven’t tasted anything better than french press coffee. You can also froth milk in it. You use cold milk, put the froth in the cup befor the coffee, and the coffee heats it.
Yes, well my second favorite coffee maker, after the espresso machine above, is French press — I have two of them and use them to make larger quantities of coffee for dinner if I have some guests. And occasionally just to have a supply so I don’t have to fiddle with the espresso maker for a few hours…
I like an Americano or a nice foamy cappuccino. But my absolute favorite is afe con leche from a real Cuban restaurant. The Cubans are to coffee what the Belgians are to chocolate. You can’t indulge too much, it’s rocket fuel and it has a whole bunch of sugar, but every once in a while, Que Bueno!
Coffee is poison.
1 cup on rising in the morning of Guayaki Yerba Mate http://guayaki.com/
and 1 cup later in the morning. No dulling buzz, no damaged stomach lining, general alertness. I usually
add a bit of soy milk but no sugar.
It may be poison to you but it’s manna to me. I have no buzz, no stomach problems, etc. And from what I hear of mate, the South Americans drink it for the buzz! At any rate, your pronouncement is personal, not general. If coffee is poison, so is aspirin.
Do you use a bombilla? I always liked the social aspect of sharing it (less the sanitary aspects). Terere is great in the summer, too. But coffee roolz the roost.
Coffee is okay, in the form of a cappuccino, preferably with sugar, but as I said above tea is infinitely more comforting.
But I do like the smell of coffee. A guy I worked with had a drip machine at work, and at my request he would leave the grounds (is that what you call them?) in my bin. Very nice.
A half hour ago, I went to Dunkin Donuts and declined the free coffee (dark roast only) and ordered a medium coffee. When I went to leave and pick up the cup of coffee, my thumb went right through the styrofoam. Coffee went everywhere – the counter, floor, my shorts, legs and sandals. It’s a good thing they don’t serve it hot.
I quite like Starbucks.
I’ll get my coat.
Lol. (me too…shhh)
I don’t like coffee or tea, and caffeine doesn’t like me, so I stick to water and OJ (and pomegranates while they last – my tree had a good crop this year).
A long time ago, two of my geology professors shared a drip machine and cleaned it regularly with HCl to remove the lime scale. The coffee was a horrid-smelling black fluid sprinkled with bits of crumbled metal. They enjoyed this elixir daily for more than a decade. When I was in graduate school, some of my fellow students boiled instant coffee in an electric hot pot until it resembled used motor oil and called it “real man’s coffee”.
Maybe geologists just aren’t very good at appreciating coffee.
Geologist here — and one who had the misfortune to develop a taste for French Market coffee with chickory while in Houston. The stuff isn’t available up here in the NE, and regular coffee now tastes “wrong” to me, so I end up smuggling in tins of FM when I’m out of state (Luzianne or Community or Cafe du Monde will do in a pinch, but aren’t as good.)
I roast green beans from Sweet Maria’s in a FreshRoast SR500. This is the secret to great coffee, fresh roasted beans. After a couple days, I grind them and use a cotton tea filter to soak the coffee in hot water, 180-200 degrees, in a stainless steel mug for 3-4 minutes. I then microwave a half cup of milk for 30 seconds to add to the mug. I make three of these per day, with the second being half-caf and the third all decaf.
I usually make my own espresso drink at home- 2oz espresso, 2oz steamed milk, sucralose (because I don’t really need the strait sugar). The beans are Kona, ground with nutmeg, cinnamon and unsweetened chocolate. And today made with a tiny glass cat next to it.
http://imgur.com/C27hM80
I drink two 8 ounce cups of coffee a day (one cup a day is WAY too few, and three cups a day is WAY too many), usually drip-brewed medium-strong by the cup through Dunkin’ Donuts Original ground beans onto a dollop of evaporated milk (no sweetener). Every day that starts with those two cups in the AM ends WAY better for me than any day that starts with only one cup or no cups or three+ cups ends up for me.
I started drinking coffee in college-with plenty of cream and sugar to make it palatable-in an attempt to cram for finals. Unfortunately (or not), at that age my metabolism was so fast that it did not keep me awake. Nowadays, I can get palpitations after a large cup. At work I learned to drink it mornings and black. In Hawaii, McDonald’s started using Kona coffee so I went there to support the local economy and still prefer it to other fast food coffees (don’t think they use Kona any more; at least they don’t advertise it). Starbucks’ standard coffee tastes and smells like burnt caramel and is highly acidic. In contrast, their lattes are so light on coffee flavor that I started to ask for triple shots before giving it up as a bad deal and going back to McDonald’s-which then came up with McCafe and mixed coffee drinks with more coffee taste Starbucks. Now working at a place with Keurig coffeemakers and prefer Newman’s Own to the Starbucks cups. However, still go to McDonald’s for a good plain coffee.
Starbuck’s lattes are really coffee milkshakes!
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Peet’s – usually something from the Americas – fresh ground in a french press – black as night – 500ml in the morning. Good to go all day.
I always get to these comments late because of my location in British Columbia. I feel pity for all younger individuals on this thread who have trouble tolerating caffeine. I am in my 86th year,as healthy as a horse, and an Englishman who abhors tea. I have several cups of dark roast black unsweetened coffee every day, made by my wife from Fair Trade Salt Spring Island beans. The nearest Tims is about 150kms away, but if we ever feel like coffee on the road there are plenty of small places for excellent coffee along the way.
Coffee! One of my favorite topics. When I first discovered the french press I thought I was in heaven . . . until the day I discovered the Chemex filter. There is no finer coffee than the labor intensive process of drip brewing through the Chemex filter each morning. The beans are typically single origin from colectivo.com out of Milwaukee. The Colombian beans are always great, but I enjoy the Sulawesi Toraja when available, anything from Central America, and especially beans from Kenya and Ethiopia. I grind them as finely as my inexpensive but dependable Krups grinder will grind, place the fine grounds into the filter which is placed into the top of the Chemex decanter, and then begin the 40 minute process of manually pouring boiling water over the grounds until the decanter is full. My whole family is addicted.
That is some serious coffee dedication – the coffee gods smile upon you!
I don’t drink coffee. I couldn’t even if I wanted to; Theo takes it all! But I adore the smell of black coffee.
I love coffee, but I’m not overly fond of what it does to me. Still, after reading the headline, I decided that today is a great day for a once-every-week-or-three cup. And thoroughly enjoyed it…and I’ll put up with whatever hyperactivity it instills later this morning!
I see a couple others also do the Aeropress thing — and I can’t sing its praises high enough. It’s perfect for single cups at a time (all I’m interested in drinking)…and, as I’ve recently discovered, it lends itself to a great deal of variation in technique. Indeed, there’re even barista competitions using the tool. It’s perfect for both regular drinkers (because it makes damned good coffee) and those who only make coffee once in a blue moon — and especially the latter since it’s cheap and easy to use and doesn’t take much space and, oh-by-the-way, makes a damned good cup of coffee.
I’ve adopted an inverted method. I use an heaping scoop of beans in the hand grinder on a super-fine grind and 175°F water. I wet the grounds with just enough water to make a sludge, let sit for 42 seconds, add water to the top of the (still inverted) chamber, let sit for another 42 seconds, and then press as hard and fast as possible through two filters (that I’ve pre-soaked with boiling water) into a thermos that I’ve pre-warmed with boiling water. The result is a very rich and flavorful cup of coffee. It’s not as thick as espresso, but it’s about as flavorful — very reminiscent of chocolate with a very high (90%+) cacao content.
Best of all, the equipment is small and portable and inexpensive. You just need a way to heat water to the desired temperature, which, in a pinch, can be done with anything that’ll boil water and a thermometer.
For beans, I just get the most interesting ones (generally a blend) at Whole Paycheck…I tried and didn’t care for those at one highly-praised local roastery and haven’t yet had the chance to try others. I’d love to order beans from House of Coffee on Noriega Street in San Francisco, where my parents have bought coffee from since before I was born…but a pound is simply too much, and would go bad long before I made it through it all.
Once it’s not ludicrously hot here — and that appears to be right now, as of yesterday, when the high was about 90°F with a low just below 70°F with a similar forecast for the foreseeable future — I’ll start making tea most mornings to have a pleasant warm drink to start the morning, and one that doesn’t make me feel like an hyped-up crackhead.
Equipment links for those interested:
The press:
http://smile.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK
The grinder:
http://smile.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Mill-Slim-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY
The water heater (with temperature settings, perfect for different types of tea and coffee brews and what-not):
http://smile.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPK-17-PerfecTemp-1-7-Liter-Stainless/dp/B003KYSLNQ
And this is the best place in the whole world to buy tea from:
http://www.strandtea.com/
Cheers,
b&
Ugh…didn’t realize that Amazon links would embed. Sorry ’bout that!
b&
The inverted method — thanks for the good idea I had not thought of! It starts running through too quickly before I can get the plunger attached otherwise. I tried this method this morning and it was much more flavorful.
My pleasure! I discovered it after a bit of Googling…there’s a lot out there, including textual instructions and videos, about the best way to make a cup of coffee with an Aeropress. Definitely worth a bit of time to see what options there are, what the competition winners do, and to get ideas for what you want to experiment with. For example, another common technique that gives better results than the package instructions is to use the regular upright method but to pour the water very slowly, and possibly in stages with varying steep times between pours.
Water temperature and grind size also play a big role. You probably don’t want your water over 180°F, with 175°F being the general favorite (but a few, especially amongst those who favor the upright method, still go for boiling or near-boiling).
Enjoy!
b&
Jerry, that’s admirable that you make it into your office at 6 AM. I can’t function in any capacity at that hour, regardless of caffeine intake. Then again, I’ve always been a night owl.
I’m a night owl too. It’s when my brain really works. I hate it because in the working world, it’s easy to appear lazy. Fortunately, IT folk tend to shun morning hours as well so I blend in.
Same goes for Software Engineering. The thing is, when I am actually up during the early hours of the day, I always find it quite enjoyable. It’s the getting up part that is terrible.
My preference is Ruta Maya dark roast (from Chiapas, Mexico and roasted here in Austin: www dot rutamaya dot net). They treat their growers well, too.
I keep the beans whole and grind them right before I brew. I use a fancy shmancy coffee press called an Aero press. The whole process takes about 5 minutes, most of it waiting for my Gehea kettle to whistle.
Gevalia is my favorite coffee, especially their low-acid grinds! I LOVED Stockholm roast but alas! I can’t get it anymore.
Usually only one or two cups and made with an Aeropress, a terrific manual coffee maker (but only makes one cup at a time). When I need more coffee (for guests or my wife) then I have to plan ahead and usually make cold brewed coffee (12 hours to brew). The end result is a delicious concentrate to which you add water and then heat in the microwave, unless you’re making iced coffee.
I love hot beverages in general – coffee, tea, cocoa. I had to switch to decaf b/c of heart flutters like some others noted, and that was very sad at first b/c not as yummy. At our house we mostly do individual cups (unless we have company, then break out the big drip coffee maker). I use a small french press, the aeropress, or sometimes expresso machine. My husband uses a gold-tone tea filter that sits inside the mug, puts in the ground coffee and pours water over, stirs a bit, then allows it to filter through. I also love coffee shops and get double-shot, 8 oz lattes. I will confess that I usually do sweeten, but have been trying to learn to enjoy un-sweetened and un-milked — somehow it feels like a moral failing to add stuff. So there’s my coffee report.
Bah! Heart flutters! Think of them as happy butterflies in your chest.
The worst was getting tunnel vision while working on something with a peer at my desk. I didn’t want to freak him out so I had to feign that everything was normal.
Oh dear, Diana. Hopefully you got that checked out.
No I never did. I realized I had had a large instead of medium coffee and that’s what did it. I really should avoid caffeine but I try just to moderate it.
I don’t drink coffee at all because it gives me palpitations and withdrawal migraines. I drink tea now because when I went to decaf I realised I’d only been drinking it for the drugs.
I have coffee maybe once a week. Cream, no sugar. Occasionally, I have it like dessert with condensed milk!
I also find it very interesting to make Turkish coffee using a jezve.
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Turkish-Coffee
I suppose Nescafé instant ☕️ doesn’t really cut it around here, then?
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Burn your tongue, heretic scum!
b&
Instant here. Too lazy for anything else.
I went to Peru in 1964 and was served Nescafe instant. My student who has been working in Peru tells me this is still the case, at least out in the boonies.
In Colombia I would order a “tinto grande”, a large cup of black coffee. Jet black, taste like good coffee smells, no bitterness or acidity. I’m told that in Spain tinto gets you the house red wine.
At the house in Venezuela, we used whatever coffee was available from the supermercado. We would put it in a coffee sock and pour boiling water through it. I would get a cup black, then the guys would blend it with powdered whole milk and sugar. It wasn’t quite as good as the Colombian, but pretty close. I never had bad coffee in Venezxuela, just some better than others.
I’m late to this conversation but i wonder why people hate Starbucks so much. “The Satan of coffee houses”? Really? I can get a tall (12 oz) fresh brewed coffee for $1.75 ($1.65 if i bring my own cup) and free refills with my Starbucks card. (Without card refills are 50 cents.) The baristas always seem friendly and i understand they get health insurance. Why the hate?
They burn their beans, and then cover up the horrific mangling of the roast with all sorts of sugary non-coffee adulterations.
If you like that sort of thing, great…but it has as much to do with coffee as Velveeta does with cheese.
b&
In the early days before they conquered the world they were great, when they made real espresso, fresh-ground. But they have since automated the whole procedure and turn out a mediocre, adulterated product. I only have Starbucks when I’m traveling and have no other options.
At my campus Starbucks there is a constant line 20 deep all day, and their prices are higher than normal. If I’m desperate, I’ll get a cup from Dunkin Donuts, it’s about the same.
Melbourne, where I live, has one of the most obsessive coffee cultures in the world. Starbucks has not done well, many closed down and few remain. Real coffee drinkers disdain their offerings, but my 18 year old daughter loves it. It’s not really coffee though.
Every morning I grind the appropriate amount of my personal bean blend (50% Guatamala 3/4 roast, 25% Kenya AA 3/4 roast, 25% Ethiopian double roast)from the Perfect Cup in the Adelaide Centrally Market, and make a plunger of coffee. I give two mugs full to my husband while he reads the newspapers, and drink one cup myself. I agree that the best part is smelling the beans while grinding them.
Yay! It’s the Jerry Coyne the Cat mug!
Sub