What's your favorite coffee??

I have to say the Starbucks Pike Place roast is my go-to. But I love Kenyan coffee for the flavor, has to be served black. If I'm out or traveling I honestly like Dunkin' for a decent cup.

Seattle's Best #4

Just a warning wrote: A teammate of mine in college used to pee and spit in the coffee machines when we would travel. The little ones in the room. So keep that in mind. After seeing that BS, I will never use one of those things...

I hope this is a joke. Why would someone do this?

Not sure if anyone mentioned this one yet or not, but I am a huge fan of Seattle's Best, Level 5. It's rich, strong and inexpensive. In fact, only one tablespoon of ground coffee per cup of water is needed, which makes it essentially half the price of the other similarly priced products (2 tablespoons per cup).

To the guys having trouble with the roasting machines, try the "dog bowl" method.

I bought a 10 dollar heat gun. I already had a stainless mixing bowl and metal mixing spoon. I find that 6 ounces of coffee at a time is perfect for my 1200W heat gun. I initially started with 4 ounces of coffee, but it would roast too quickly and be a bit harsh and thin. 10+ ounces roasts too slowly and I lost a lot of character. The off-the-shelf roasters are really only better for doing a larger volume and the popcorn poppers are really not ideal, other than it is easier than stirring.

It is very easy to experiment with different roast styles by trying different distances between the heat gun and the beans and different amounts of beans until you find the roast process that works best for you. It also of course varies from one type of green bean to another, but is mostly on size.

With 6 ounces, I keep the heat gun about 3-4 inches from the beans and stir continuously and vigorously. I hit first crack in about 9 minutes and second begins after about 12 minutes total.

When I hit the roast I want, I pour onto a cookie sheet to allow rapid cooling.

no point wrote:

Just a warning wrote: A teammate of mine in college used to pee and spit in the coffee machines when we would travel. The little ones in the room. So keep that in mind. After seeing that BS, I will never use one of those things...

I hope this is a joke. Why would someone do this?

Only a psychopath would do that. I bet Just a warning could provide some crazy stories about that guy.

I drink la colombe in Philly though I'm partial to a good cup of counter culture. They are probably the most accessible in the northeast of the good roasts/beans.

Anyone who drinks starbucks, peets, etc. should go to a place that knows what they're doing and have a cup of coffee there. You'll realize what people are talking about. No one is making up these flavor notes of citrus and nuttiness. Nor are they particularly attuned to it. 99% of the coffee in the US is utter garbage. It's over roasted , it's stale and it's brewed way too hot. It's also no less expensive. I typically pay 12 dollars for a 12 Oz bag of good beans from counter culture which is often times cheaper than the shit they sell at starbucks.

The best stuff is well sourced too. They can tell you where it's from, the farmer and area. Signs of a good coffee are (1) roast date (2) source.

A french press, a scale and a bag of good beans can make a cup that will be 99% of those you can get around town.

I personally don't even drink coffee at my in laws, etc. because they serve folgers or something else. It's flavorless, bitter and gross. It's not even really caffeinated either.

Anyone saying to roast their own, you can get the same flavor and aroma, if not better, from a bag of the good stuff. I regularly pick up a bag of beans roasted two days before I buy it.

Since the OP is from Chicago, I second the notion of Metropolis, specifically the La Cordillera blend. From Intelligentsia I only reliably enjoy the house blend, which can be had for $11 or less for a 12oz bag at Mariano's (metropolis cost is about the same). I've had many Intellgentsia varieties but aside from the House, I think Tres Santos was my favorite (I can't remember if that was Costa Rican or El Salvadorian).

There are also an abundance of smaller roasters like Dark Matter, BowTruss, Ipsento, and Gaslight. I'm not sure if Buzz roasts their own, but great coffee and espresso to be had there. I also should not leave out La Colombe (which was mentioned), I've had great coffee from there. Of those I've only brewed Gaslight at home, though I was just given some Bowtruss and when I modify the ratios I have high hopes because their storefront cup is excellent.

It all really depends what you like out of your coffee. I like light roasts because they have more caffeine and the fruity flavors appeal. Those citing Yirgacheffe are speaking my language--always good. And a Sidamo can be quite nice as well.

To the poster that mentioned Panera, I love their espresso roast for making cold press (I just let mine sit in a French Press for 12 hours).

Lastly, Tim Horton's is the Dunkin Donuts of Canada, not the Starbucks.

Kenneth Davids wrote:

Lastly, Tim Horton's is the Dunkin Donuts of Canada, not the Starbucks.

I stand corrected. This is indeed the better point of reference.

Does running or cycling attract more coffee snobs?

Iced Coffee

As a consumer beverage, iced coffee still lags behind every other consumer soft drink; including iced tea, hot coffee, bottled water, and even energy drinks. Only 10 percent of iced coffee consumption occurs in the U.S.; most of the rest (86 percent) happens in Asian countries, which have a longer tradition of chilling the beverage. Only 20 percent of Americans drink iced coffee, compared with 83 percent who consume hot coffee.

However, its popularity in the states has grown over the last couple of years. In 2009, iced coffee accounted for 19 percent of coffee-based menu items; by the beginning of 2013, its share had risen to 24 percent. Young people, in particular, flock to the drink: 38 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 24 drink iced coffee, far higher than the national average and any other demographic.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/18522-when-did-iced-coffee-start-and-why-is-it-more-expensive-a-complete-guide-to-your

I'm from Melbourne, Australia were they actually serve good coffee. The US is a wasteland of bad coffee. However, Blue Bootle is damn good. Find it in LA, SF, and NYC.

I visited a decent coffee place in LA that actually boasted in their marketing that they had an Aussie barista. The coffee in OZ is amazing.

p.s. Starbucks is the MacDonalds of coffee.

kalita wrote:

How are you monitoring your roasts? Through sight and smell? I made the jump into roasting by getting a small drum roaster and using roasting software (artisan) to monitor temperature to try to get consistent roasts. Can you modify the popper to fit some temperature probes?

I use the Poppery II popcorn popper. I monitor by sight. It's as good as my $160 FreshRoast roaster and roasts a lot more at one time. I can roast about 6 ounces versus only 1.5-2 ounces with the FreshRoast. You can adjust the temperature somewhat by adding more beans (traps the heat and makes it hotter). The downside is that otherwise you can't adjust temperature.

It is possible to take the Poppery II apart and add a thermostat to control temperature and fan speed. It's beyond my electrical skills, but you can find schematics at coffee forums. I don't know if you can add a temperature probe.

state wrote:

Kenneth Davids wrote:

Lastly, Tim Horton's is the Dunkin Donuts of Canada, not the Starbucks.

I stand corrected. This is indeed the better point of reference.

Does running or cycling attract more coffee snobs?

I think cycling attracts more coffee snobs but it would be hard to say. I actually don't consider myself a snob so much as a mild enthusiast. I'll drink whatever is offered me and my daily bean I tend to come by cheap. I do try to get more recently roasted beans, but I don't even have my own grinder, though maybe for Christmas.

Also, while I'm not a Starbucks guy for the most part, I'd say the McDonald's of coffee would actually be more like 7-11 but I suppose it lacks the pervasiveness and honestly their Colombian and Brazilian Bold are not bad. You should check out McDonald's in Vienna. The only one I want to had a McCafe side as large as the adjoining Mickey D's and offerings out the wazoo (and more extensive desserts). I think they should do more of this regionalization, might help sales.

Anyway, Starbucks is the Chipotle of coffee, with the signature burnt coffee equal to lime and cilantro everywhere.

Ruta Maya. Organic, shade grown. Buy it by the Kilo, from Mexico. Available at Costco (though they were out last time I went so I had to buy direct from the Ruta Maya website). Very consistently good coffee. I've been buying it for 5+ years now; I think I've had one bag in that time that was over roasted/too oily. With other brands I find the roast quality varies a ton from bag to bag.

I use a Capresso Burr grinder and a Bonavita brewer. Pretty great coffee, every damn day.

Coffee is just like women, once you go black you never go back.