I Will/Won't Drink Any Coffee, Anytime

[Mister Moo]

The further I slid into home roasting, mokapots, home espresso and total coffee madness the more I find myself ordering tea when I am away from "safe" cups of java. It's not like a drink a lot of coffee - just a daily cup/shot or two (rarely three). I don't get headaches if I go caffeine-free for a few days.

I met a colleague at a (new to me) coffeehouse in Raleigh yesterday morning and was served a cappuccino that was (really) too rotten to drink. He bought. I sipped it down without frown or comment but I'd never go back there again. Personally, I'd much rather drink tea or nothing than bad coffee. I used to not care - now I do. No snobbery - just great coffee, good coffee or, short of that, tea or orange juice in the morning.

Do you have a cut-off point or are you in the "who cares" camp?

[Tombstone]

I love to drink coffee in the morning. I just started a new workout regiment that will now allow me to drink coffee:fl.

[Volt]

I will drink coffee any time any where for the most part. I'm not into the weird stuff that many drink. Large and black is my preference. No cinnamon, foam, skim any thing, swirls, etc. No flavors or smells other than rich coffee :) Not knocking them, just not how I roll. I usually drink all day and can take a cup to bed with me. 20 years of Naval training :D I have had to drink burnt coffee in the past, but at 0230 in the morning you drink what's available when your on watch.

As an aside - in my few stops at Starbucks, I have found their coffee to be extremely bitter and burnt tasting. 7-11 and Wawa sell decent enough coffee for me. I already have migraines and do go through caffeine withdrawal and get a migraine if I do not keep my caffeine intake up. Hmmm time to find a cup.

Maybe not up to "real" coffee standards.......

[Hardcz]

I'm about anytime any place for the most part. There is some coffee I'll shy away from.. sadly I'm forced to drink the swill at work till I get a french press in here...at least I make it with the "correct" amount of water and coffee grounds..... so it's at least somewhat bearable for the 8 hours I'm here...though nothing to a real cup of joe. Strangely I like the old time diner watered down coffee taste, brings me back to my youth sipping coffee with my grandpa. So I will drink some of that, seems like all the diners have the same watered down weak coffee that I remember.

[Volt]

It's called they re-use the grounds to save money

[Hardcz]

it's called I like it because my grandpa used to sneak me coffee when we went to diners and doughnut shops...

Damn Volt do you need more coffee for you to be nice again?

[King James]

I can drink coffee anytime, but don't know that I would drink ANY coffee. I have by no means an extremely refined palate, but can tell the difference between my home roast and mom's instant flavored crap. I cut off @ that point maybe.

[Hardcz]

It's called they re-use the grounds to save money

Quit crying.

Shortly, you will receive the freshest, tastiest coffee you've ever had. Roasted expressly for you. Enjoy.

Order Number : 2193
Placed : 01/07/2009 10:28:25 EDT

Ship To: Bill To:
Michael Melton Dan Lewis

[Mister Moo]

It's called they re-use the grounds to save moneyUSN coffee does not count.

[Volt]

USN coffee does not count.

Hehe, those 20 lb silver cans have kept many a Sailor awake and on watch over the decades! 30 cup percolator, yummy!

[gvarsity]

I will drink about anything depending on circumstances. In a case like that I would just dump honey in it ( I avoid white sugar) and think of it as a coffee soda. I like good beer, good wine, good food etc... My analogy for food is there is dining where you are eating good food and enjoying it vs. calorie consumption where you hardly notice what you are eating.

[MithShrike]

I'll drink tea over coffee on a regular basis. Coffee is an occasional thing for me. I occasionally hit the Starbucks by my B&M but I always get tea.

[Cigary]

I love good coffee and won't drink stale, old or caffeine coffee. Like cigars, I won't waste time on a dog rocket or something that won't satisfy my tastes and I don't think that is snobby. I have drank tea in some forms and actually started to really like it when the wife and I went on a Queen Mary 2 Cruise some years ago and went to the daily tea room,,,amazing! Scones, cakes, sandwiches all served with the best linens and silver which was quite a treat for Americans,,,if that wasn't a bit of snobbery then I don't know snobby,,,but it was great and we looked forward to "tea time" daily. Every time we cruise we now attend as it's the perfect break in the day.

[Swampper]

I'll make an americano for the road before heading out, and drink tea or hot water at work.

If I'm running around town I will grab something at one of my trusted coffee shops. Starb*cks is off-limits.

[floydpink]

Ever since I made the mistake of scrolling down to the coffee forums I have been a different person regarding coffee.

i used to think Bustello was exotic coffee but now rarely find any coffee away from home I like and often prefer an iced green tea.

[Fumes]

My consumption has decreased significantly over the past decade -- from five or six cups a day to around two or three -- but I still try to have a cup of home roast, warm or cold, within arms reach at all times. Because you never know...

[tchariya]

I prepare my own three-shot latte in the mornings for the train ride. On weekends I will sip through a few expresso shots with some tiny bars of dark chocolate and/or choice cigar.

I stay clear from anyone else's mass produced espresso or coffee except for Vietnamese iced coffee or thai iced coffee.

[Mark]

Two stipulations:

Not Burned (Eliminates charbucks)
and
Espresso strength, coffee volume.

I find myself drinking italian espresso most of the time. Gosh the stuff is good in the percolator. :D

[alley00p]

I drink coffee all the time... even now out in my mini-mancave!

I take a cup from home for my drive to work. Once there, I steer clear of the coffee they make for meetings in one of those Bunn three burner coffe service things. I have a Senseo right now and use pods from Cafejo ( each pod is nitrogen sealed in it's own little package) when I want a cuppa at work.

I mainly like their Adrenline Explosion, Columbian Gold and Keynan pods the best. I'm planning on getting a french press for work soon. :D





:dance::dance::dance:

[Mister Moo]

I drink coffee all the time... I'm planning on getting a french press for work soon. :DYou're screwed. :D

[Hardcz]

You're screwed. :D

Hell no, he'll be "pressed"

Best idea you've had yet!

Dan

[muziq]

Since finding the coffee forums on this (these) cigar board(s), I've gone from *gladly* drinking any coffee put in front of me to *grudgingly* drinking the bad stuff when decorum demands. Military training teaches you to put up with any number of violations to the human palette and physique, not the least of which is @sstastic coffee. Office-based employment and client/customer relations professions also often require the swigging of swinish swill for the sake of sale and commerce. But doing so only makes me enjoy my good cups, my great coffeehouses, that much more.

I will admit that sometimes, Moo, I do opt for tea when I think I can get away with it and not raise eyebrows inappropriately. In my neck of the woods, hot tea is seen by some as a sissy drink, and having it in business discussions can actually be a detriment to closing the deal. In those cases, I'll go with the flow and ask for a Lone Star :r

[darb85]

There is a coffee shop here in TC that I like a lot, you just have to make sure the right person makes it. I like mine stronger than most, and they actually have a pot for me when I walk it. its sweet. I think i spend too much time there....

Did I mention the baristas are really cute?

[Cyclone]

While I'm not obsessed as some of my local BOTL, I really enjoy GOOD coffee...

What drives me crazy are those coffee "poseurs" in the coffee shops that take 50 words to put their coffee order in: " Half black/half white, 300F, half foam, skinny, caramel machiatto with a quarter twist of tangerine"

I'm thinking of getting into home roasting this year...

[ghostrider]

i've submitted myself to some of the most gawd awful swill around while out at sea. I've made it a point now to drink what I enjoy, which generally means what I roast and brew, NOT what gets served somewhere out in public. It's either water, or diet coke at restaurants.

Most of us wouldn't smoke a cremosa, even if gifted, why submit our taste buds to sub par coffee?

[Mister Moo]

While I'm not obsessed ... I'm thinking of getting into home roasting this year...You're screwed. :D

[Hardcz]

I'll be drinking french press now...

Thanks Volt!

[germantown rob]

I have had to reel myself back into check lately. Home roast, many friends I visit home roast so I have been feeling a bit privileged and was turning down coffee I had given to people because it was getting old. After my mother in law said to me "I save your coffee for special occasions because it is so good" I decided I was being a snob and drank some 5 week old home roast and it was good. I have paid for plenty of coffee I would not finish and plenty that was just passable and not to many great ones but I like coffee so I will keep trying and keep getting my roast out there so people know what it should taste like.

If all else fails I just drink Bourbon!

[drob]

I WILL NOT, under any circumstances, drink coffee from a gas station, convenience store, etc. I will NEVER drink coffee from a can (pre-ground) again. No Dunkin Donut coffee, no Tarbucks. If I am between roasts, I can get pre-roasted that is satisfactory from Central Market.

Oh, and Dan, please tell me you don't have crumpet's with your tea.

[King James]

I got gas station coffee last year, two times. It will never happen again. I can't really describe the taste, but it was nowhere near hazelnut or french vanilla. Why I would get this flavored coffee imitation, I don't know. I was almost too embarrassed to admit it. I was desperate for caffeine and had no time to stop anywhere else. Next time I will get a red bull or something. I am proud to say that since beginning home roasting I have yet to have another cup of gas station junk.

[hotreds]

Smells wonderful, tastes like krap.

[groogs]

I was a drink whatever I can get, but now that I have a Moka Pot and have tasted great coffee, I am slowly going to I will drink what is good and only what is good. Thanks for the push Richard (Tzaddi).

[DocLogic77]

If it has caffeine I will drink it. I might not want to drink it...but I will drink it.

[Sr Mike]

Count me in as a coffee snob, if it is not fresh roasted from a friend or my own home, I will stay clear of the stuff. The last time I had a cup of joe from McCrappy's, holy cow was that like drinking dirt. Not worth the waste of money.

[omowasu]

If it has caffeine I will drink it. I might not want to drink it...but I will drink it.

If I really need a coffee (or caffeine), Ill drink a cup of office slop if I need to. But I wont enjoy it. Ill probably choke down the last half and long for a cup of home-brewed, fresh ground java...

I have started taking home-brewed in the car on the way to work nowadays, which keeps me away from the office coffee - for a while, at least!

[TheManWithNoName]

What drives me crazy are those coffee "poseurs" in the coffee shops that take 50 words to put their coffee order in: " Half black/half white, 300F, half foam, skinny, caramel machiatto with a quarter twist of tangerine"

That's exactly how I feel. I like my coffee black and strong. I don't like being stuck behind these people in line, because their order takes about 7x longer than mine to order and fill, and I don't like how they claim to enjoy coffee. Whatever that drink is, it's not coffee anymore. The exception is people who use a small amount of cream or something respectable like that. I don't mean to be bitter [coffee pun?], but it does get annoying.

I agree that the few times I've ordered at Starbucks the coffee tastes badly burnt. I don't know what that's about, because when I make their brand of coffee at home it tastes good.

[tobii3]

I will drink it all of course.

I will drink it on a horse.

I will drink it from a pouch.

I will drink it on a couch.

Would I like it in my cup?

I will reply "Fill 'er up".

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[688sonarmen]

i've submitted myself to some of the most gawd awful swill around while out at sea. I've made it a point now to drink what I enjoy, which generally means what I roast and brew, NOT what gets served somewhere out in public. It's either water, or diet coke at restaurants.

Most of us wouldn't smoke a cremosa, even if gifted, why submit our taste buds to sub par coffee?

I agree we usually get the huge 5 gallon cans of hills brothers and somone will always throw away the lid so it goes stale. If we are lucky we get the premeasured bags of crapwell house. Now you would think that could not be f'ed up until some master chief comes around and throws 2 in the pot cause he likes his muddy water, but that is usually rare since it takes an act of god to get any chief to brew a pot:fu

[robofan]

I used to drink anything anywhere anytime but since I have fallen down the coffee slope this is no longer true. If I go out for breakfast I will drink whatever swill the breakfast place is serving otherwise I only drink coffee at home. I know the barista and he knows how I like it. :r The only other exception is if I'm out at a top quality restaurant for dinner I will have an after dinner espresso or cappuccino.

[davearob]

I got my intrduction to good coffee about 18 years ago when a small coffee shop which roasted its own beans open up in the town I live in. The owners were determine to provide only the best coffee, espresso etc...Before I tried theirs I was only an occasional drinker. After my first espresso there I was hooked I couldn't believe how rich and flavorful it was. I then began to be educated in the wide variety of flavors from the different growing regions.

About four years ago the owners retired and sold the business. For the first little bit the coffee was still outstanding but then began to lose quality. This shop has a wide variety of beans. Now they only roast once a week and pour the fresh into a tub which has old beans already in it. They have taken a great coffee shop and made it mediocre. The only time I can get consistent good beans is if I am there while they are roasting and take what ever I can get that is freshly roasted. I keep trying their coffee every once in a while and usually end up being very disappointed and pouring it out.

Needless to say though I have learnt to make great coffee at home with a french press and moka pot. I have a lower end expresso machine that I hope to replace with a Rancilio Silvia some day, but the expresso from it is still better than most places make. So back to mister Moo point I think you are right it is best to order tea....at least in my town.

[Mister Moo]

...It is best to order tea....at least in my town.Shameful situation with Vancouver only spitting distance away. But lets face facts - until the chinook winds finally blow down, folks from Edmonton and Saskatoon all the way to Halifax (which is everyone downwind of Alberta feedlots) have little to cheer them up except icefishing, indoor rodeo, record plywood production and - fer heaven's sake - a decent cup of hot coffee. Tim Horton's is not enough - you deserve better.

You need to roast your own. Can we talk? Can we talk? :dance:

[davearob]

You need to roast your own. Can we talk? Can we talk? :dance:

Your right about Timmies. I personally don't care for it but you should see the line ups at the drive through. I just can't understand why they would sit in line up for over twenty minutes for a cup of average coffee. I live in Red Deer a long way from feed lot alley. thank god that only exists in a small part of the province. I have thought about roasting my own. I read about hot air popcorn makers and the bbq method but I don't have a bbq (strange for living in Alberta).

[icantbejon]

Hehe, those 20 lb silver cans have kept many a Sailor awake and on watch over the decades! 30 cup percolator, yummy!

This machine saves lives.....it's true.

[Mister Moo]

.. I have thought about roasting my own. I read about hot air popcorn makers and the bbq method but I don't have a bbq (strange for living in Alberta).Consider the SCCO - simple to make, inexpensive, easy to use, highly reliable, a pound in 20 minutes. I used one for years with nary a problem.

[germantown rob]

Consider the SCCO - simple to make, inexpensive, easy to use, highly reliable, a pound in 20 minutes. I used one for years with nary a problem.


Roasting is as simple as a skillet on the burner or camp stove outside, or get fancy and get a stovetop popper with a hand crank, or a heat gun and a bowl, or a pan in the oven.

[Snake Hips]

I've gotten into good coffee since the coffee forum here, but I find I can still put up with gnarly drip-pot juice. They drink Maxwell House at work and my mom drinks her Folger's (about as high-end as she can go on food stamps I guess), and I'll drink it and be satisfied. I don't find it disgusting, bitter or repulsive in any form, just not nearly as good as my Peet's or Juan Valdez out of the French press.

[Barney'sFunGirl]

Well, I can't say I'm as far down the path as Mister Moo, but in the Barney household the past couple of days have been traumatic. I woke up Sunday morning to find that our nice burr coffee grinder was inoperable beyond repair. Now, for some reason Fayetteville, NC does not have a store that sells a burr coffee grinder and so for the past two mornings I have been forced to drink coffee from a certain unnamed fast food restaurant because we have no ground coffee in the house. So, my answer to the original question is yes, if I am forced to in extreme circumstances. Since we must order a bona fide coffee grinder from the internet I ground some beans at the grocery store today so I would at least have some semblance of good coffee in the morning. Oh, the humanity!
p.s. any good recommendations for a place to order one from?

[Rckt]

Consider the SCCO - simple to make, inexpensive, easy to use, highly reliable, a pound in 20 minutes. I used one for years with nary a problem.

I've been using mine for well over three years. I think I'm getting ready to replace the stir-crazy soon because the cord connector is loose (and exposed :al) but other than that it's by far the best roasting form I've found for under $500.


And by the way - HI DAN!

[Lensjockie]

Anytime, any place except when it really hot outside and then it's iced coffee for the most part. There are some coffees i do shy away from (Turkish).
The crap they serve at work forces me to bring in my beans , grinder and a fench press.
After several years inthe Pacific Northwest and Europe (thank to the US Army) I now to my demise know the difference between brewed water and a real cup of java.
If it is a grab and go situation Dunkin or WaWa will do just fine, especially when cold from riding the scoot.
Volt can attest to the fact that when your cold even a burnt cup of watever will do.
That being said if I do breakdown and spend 4-5 bucks on a cup of coffee I have no qualms about taking back to the "barista" and have them remake it. If it comes out like crap again, I just don't go back.

[Lensjockie]

Go to the walley mart and pick up the Black and Decker coffee grinder.
Does the job. Nothing fancy, but you can set how coarse you like the grounds.

[Mister Moo]

I've been using mine for well over three years. I think I'm getting ready to replace the stir-crazy soon because the cord connector is loose (and exposed :al) but other than that it's by far the best roasting form I've found for under $500.


And by the way - HI DAN!Hello there postwhore. I hope the coffee is pungent and the cigars are snappy over in your neighborhood. What a nice end to the day from hell. Raney. WTH. :)

[robofan]

If I go out for breakfast I will drink whatever swill the breakfast place is serving otherwise I only drink coffee at home.

I have to amend this part of my previous reply. Tonight I felt like having breakfast for dinner so I went to the local breakfast joint. I ordered coffee with my food and noticed that they had a dual commercial Bunn coffee maker. One side regular one side decaf, usually not to bad. The waitress brought me a cup and it was weak and tasteless. I mentioned that to her so she brewed a fresh pot and brought me another cup again weak and tasteless. Not wanting to make an issue out of it I said it was fine and just drank water with my breakfast.

About half way through the meal it dawns on me that I have been drinking coffee exclusively from a moka pot for the last month and a half. Compared to the moka pot a commercial drip machine has now become undrinkable for me.

So I will no longer drink whatever swill the breakfast place is serving. The moka pot has forever spoiled me.

[Mister Moo]

...Compared to the moka pot a commercial drip machine has now become undrinkable for me.

So I will no longer drink whatever swill the breakfast place is serving. The moka pot has forever spoiled me.This sounds so coffee-snob but I completely relate. It is VERY hard to backslide from good cigars and good coffee. I will sometimes get gas station 20-oz'ers when traveling but it's medicine - a caffeine dose, not drinking coffee.

The worst of commercial drip, fortunately for me, seems as always to be the heavy robusta content. The stuff tastes like ass but it WILL keep you awake.

[JE3146]

This sounds so coffee-snob but I completely relate. It is VERY hard to backslide from good cigars and good coffee. I will sometimes get gas station 20-oz'ers when traveling but it's medicine - a caffeine dose, not drinking coffee.

The worst of commercial drip, fortunately for me, seems as always to be the heavy robusta content. The stuff tastes like ass but it WILL keep you awake.

I'd just assume go with a soda or redbull over that :D

[TanithT]

My requirements are simple and practical, as to do otherwise causes the oils to oxidize and radically changes the flavor profile.

1. Must have been roasted in the last 1-7 days, and the end range of that is really pushing it. Past a week, throw it in the garbage please. I will be able to taste the fail and I won't want any. The scary thing is that it is rare for coffee to reach the endpoint of consumption in any of the big chains before this time, and it usually hangs around on the shelf for many months.

2. Must have been ground no more than 30 seconds before the hot water hits it. Pre-grinding is made of fail, and it tastes flat and sour. Don't do this or I'm not drinking it.

There are a few other tips like keeping the temperature of the water consistent, making sure the grind is clean, using 30 lbs of pressure on the tamp, cleaning the filters religiously, keeping the draw time between 18 and 25 seconds, etc. But if a place is gonna screw it up bad, it's usually with the lack of freshness in roast or grind.

And that's why I roast my own and rarely drink coffee away from home unless I see it being ground and brewed.

[adampc22]

:dance:tea tea tea tea tea tea gin opps tea tea tea :dance::dance::dance: