Coffee snobs weigh-inBest coffee and best place to buy coffee?

[lykaon78]

So I made a New Year's resolution to save $2-3/day and make my own coffee to take to work on my 45 minute commute. At this point I've saved roughly $50 with this simple change.

I'm wanting to branch out. I've been doing Chock Full o'Nuts but thats getting old.

What should I be buying and where should I buy it from?

Edit: Sorry about the thread title fail.

 

[lxskllr]

I like Eight O'Clock French roast ground right before brewing. Not the best, but great bang/buck. I quit buying coffee shop beans years ago. I was paying big money for hit/miss quality.

 

[lykaon78]

I like Eight O'Clock French roast ground right before brewing. Not the best, but great bang/buck. I quit buying coffee shop beans years ago. I was paying big money for hit/miss quality.

Grinding before brewing matter much?

 

[sjwaste]

For drip or perc, I like Green Mountain Dark Magic Espresso Blend. It's a dark roast, though, which is my preference - do you prefer dark or light/city?

 

[lxskllr]

Grinding before brewing matter much?

It's always better, but how much better depends on how well the ground coffee was kept. I think the oils in ground coffee break down faster, and makes it taste less fresh. Grinding isn't essential, but imo it's worth the effort if you really like coffee.

For bog standard store coffee, Maxwell House dark roast isn't bad. It's not an espresso roast like many darks are; more like a French roast, and better than their French roast variety. Otherwise, I'm not really familiar with higher end pre-grounds. If I'm spending money, I pretty much always get whole bean, and usually Eight O'Clock. Unfortunately, with SuperFreshs' demise, I can't get the good deals I once did. That was their house brand.

 

[hellod9]

Freshness matters. Buy beans that were roasted less than one week ago.

Grinding within 60 seconds of brewing helps. (Crazy, huh?)

Also, pourover brewing is the best way to go...especially if you like the ritual of it. (Takes 2 minutes of hand pouring, per cup of coffee). I use the Hario V60 every day. It makes delicious coffee. Mmmm.

 

[child of wonder]

50/50 mix of Dunkin Donuts original blend and Caribou House Blend Decaf treats me pretty well.

 

[DesiPower]

I love Starbucks Sumatra!

 

[Away]

Caribou Costa Rica is one of my favorites.

 

[sjwaste]

I miss Caribou - the actual shops, I mean. Easily the best coffee chain out there.

 

[Vic Vega]

 

[Brainonska511]

I usually just order from Green Mountain and grind what I need just before I brew it.

 

[lykaon78]

For drip or perc, I like Green Mountain Dark Magic Espresso Blend. It's a dark roast, though, which is my preference - do you prefer dark or light/city?

I guess light.

If it helps I've always thought Starbucks was too strong and Tim Horton's is my favorite coffee.

On my honeymoon my wife and I visited the Blue Mountain coffee plantations in Jamaica. That was some outstanding coffee. Too bad its like $40 pound.

 

[billyb0b]

Illy

 

[OlafSicky]

I like mixing a few beans to make my own blend, Sumatra is good, try french roast if you like dard you can also experiment with the amount of coffe. Grind your own beans right before you make the coffee after a week or two you won't be able to drink the stuff they sell

 

[manimal]

Great tasting coffee on the cheap can be had with Bustello. I like brewing Bustello with a stove top Moka.

 

[seepy83]

Best Coffee? Blue Mountain
Where to buy? Jamaica

 

[KMFJD]

Best Coffee? Blue Mountain
Where to buy? Jamaica

This man speaks the truth

 

[manly]

Great tasting coffee on the cheap can be had with Bustello. I like brewing Bustello with a stove top Moka.

Cuban-style Cafe Bustelo and Pilon Espresso are both affordably priced on Amazon.com .

 

[Ns1]

buy from a local roaster to get max freshness

i buy my beans whole from a local roaster, ~$13/lb. they roast the day i pick up.

 

[foghorn67]

Peet's, Caribou.
I enjoy other brands. But those two are the best, IMO.

 

[Crusty]

I've been making drip with an Ethiopian harrar medium roast lately but it's a bit too bright for me.

I make my espresso with a dark roast blend from a shop down the street. It has Colombia Excelso Monserrate, Ethiopia Harrar, Brazil Barbieri, and Honduras San Marcos in it and it makes by far the best espresso I've had out of my machine.

 

[caddlad]

I more cheap than a snob, in that I like good coffee but hate to pay a premium for it.
I've been hitting up Amazon 5lb bags of Coffeebean Direct French Roast or Expresso Roast. Get a small grinder (i have a Mr. Coffee) and grind fresh every morning.
Pretty good for $7 +/- a lb with a sub and free shipping.

 

[zinfamous]

Here you go:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/21/111121fa_fact_sanneh

This article informs just about all current coffee snobs that:

1--they aren't nearly as snobby as they could be
2--they really don't know anything about coffee (yet)

:awe:

 

[preslove]

For "best" you're going to have to buy from a local roaster or get an expensive coffee shipped. Intellgentsia ships quick, recently roasted beans: http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/products/coffee

But, look for a local roaster. If you live in an area with any hipness at all, you probably have one around you.

Of course, if you want to go FULL SNOB(!) you can get a flat bottom popcorn popper or coffee roaster, order from sweet maria's (http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php) and roast your own beans, then grind before brewing. That's just about the height of snobiness, without spending 5 figures on an espresso maker.