Your favorite supermarket coffee?

[preslove]

So much fail in this picture.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

If you go big box another vote for Kirkland Columbian. Good stuff.

Eight o clock is awesome but a bit pricy. I usually just buy whatever 100% columbian is on sale.

Just picked up a brick of bustello never tried it before.

 

[rudeguy]

So much fail in this picture.

can't expect anything else from a lurker

 

[Markbnj]

This. Seriously. Most people don't know they are drinking robusta blends. No wonder people don't like coffee. Even if you do buy 100% arabica beans, its over-roasted, or stale, or simply not the best quality.

And the blade grinder completely ruins anychance of making a good cup of coffee. My personal minimum standard for a burr grinder is anything by Baratza. But first and foremost the beans are the most important thing. And clean equipment. Good coffee can be ruined by unclean equipment.

And not to mention, most brewers don't brew at the proper temperature anyways to extract the best flavor from the bean. 195-200 F is identified by the SCAA (specialty coffee association of america) to be the ideal brewing temperatures, which a walmart coffee maker will not achieve.

/end rant, sorry

Yes, because, you know, when the word "supermarket" is in the title, it has to be another "How do I brew the canonical best possible cup of coffee?" thread.

I absolutely love coffee. I drink eight cups a day. I think Dunkin' Donuts has pretty good coffee. I think Starbucks is caffeinated drilling mud. I would only care about the temperature of the brewer if it was producing cold coffee or setting my formica countertop alight. I don't care if it was roasted with a blowtorch by a welder on his lunch break. The only kind of french press I was ever interested in is nsfw.

Think that about covers it.

 

[surfsatwerk]

I want to hear more about this "french press" of yours.

 

[JM Aggie08]

You don't know coffee until you've hand picked the beans from the droppings of a civet in Indonesia - letting it's digestive system being the only warmth that ever caresses the beans before grinding - and then grinding it with a tooth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex exactly 42 seconds before French pressing it with water taken from an subterranean Icelandic river 12 miles beneath the earth's surface.

/bigger snob

It helps to vigorously masturbate throughout the entire process; really adds to the false sense of superiority :thumbsup:

 

[CA19100]

wait...I thought this was about supermarket coffee?

Amazon is fair game?

Hey, in Seattle, Amazon is my supermarket.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Burr Grinder
beat up old Mr Coffee Drip Brew with thermal Carafe
Weekdays, 2 pots a day, pot 1 I put in thermos and take to work, pot 2 fiance drinks during the day at home.
Weekends or day if I work from home, 3 or 4 pots a day.

I've been hopelessly addicted to "Coffee Bean Direct" from amazon for the last couple of months. 5 pound bags run for like 35-50 bucks depending on the blend. I've tried several of them, thus far and all have been great.

I'm usually a purist (no sugar, cream, or additives of any kind to my coffee!), but, I'll admit that I really love the Caramel Coffee from Coffee Bean Direct. It's essentially a good proper coffee, with a very subtle taste of Caramel.

Otherwise, World Market is my #2 preference , I love their sumatra.

When I hit Costco, I often pick up a package of their coffee. The best I've had from them is the "Magnum Exotics" Jamaican blue mountain coffee. Otherwise their house brand breakfast blend is not at all bad.

When it's on sale, sometimes I buy Dunkin Donuts coffee at the Grocery Store. It's quite tasty.

Back when I was more broke, I tended to drink a lot of Hills Brothers. Their whole bean has a great taste, and usually fits the budget pretty well. I actually prefer it over most of the 8 Oclock or other "semi-premium" brands.

 

[Ksyder]

Yes, because, you know, when the word "supermarket" is in the title, it has to be another "How do I brew the canonical best possible cup of coffee?" thread.

I absolutely love coffee. I drink eight cups a day. I think Dunkin' Donuts has pretty good coffee. I think Starbucks is caffeinated drilling mud. I would only care about the temperature of the brewer if it was producing cold coffee or setting my formica countertop alight. I don't care if it was roasted with a blowtorch by a welder on his lunch break. The only kind of french press I was ever interested in is nsfw.

Think that about covers it.

I bet if I started a thread saying 'What is the best computer I can buy at Best Buy' there would be people saying, why would you buy it from there when you can do much better building it yourself.

Its the same thing with coffee. Companies are in the business of making a profit, so that means lower quality coffee, or coffee that sits on the shelf for too long. Just like pc manufacturers skimp on psu's, or use a low amount of ram, or chintzy motherboard, or whatever.

If someone asks for my favorite supermarket coffee, I have to assume that they care enough about coffee that I'm going to give them my honest opinion.

Which is, buy green coffee from sweet marias, and roast it yourself. Which is not for everyone. But, its why I have no favorite supermarket coffee. Although its not expensive, I'd say I pay about $7 a pound including shipping since I'm not paying the supermarket markup.

To answer the op, since I didn't really do that, try some 8 o'clock coffee. At least its 100% arabica and not dark roasted.

 

[Megatomic]

I love 8 o'clock coffee. Get it in the huge bag, whole bean of course.

I have tried every damn brand I can find and always come back to this. The only exception is the house brand at Target's Expresso. That's good shit.

Damn it...now I'm going to Target tonight.

Eight O'Clock works well for me also. The new African Plains variety is pretty good.

 

[Juddog]

I usually just buy in 2.5 lb increments from BJ's wholesale club.

 

[Ksyder]

The reason brewing temperature is important is because the hot water acts as a solvent, and so you will have the best flavor within a certain range of temperatures, which is generally accepted to be near boiling.

brewing tips

 

[DAPUNISHER]

It has to be expresso to taste right. So anyone thinking they will just throw it in the drip maker will fail. Do it as directed and this stuff far exceeds its pricing tier in quality. They use this at a little Cuban cafe in Orlando and it is the best.

 

[Crono]

I bet if I started a thread saying 'What is the best computer I can buy at Best Buy' there would be people saying, why would you buy it from there when you can do much better building it yourself.

Its the same thing with coffee.

Except many of us who build our own computers are not entirely opposed to buying computers from Best Buy. It's all about value - I've more than once purchased a full assembled laptop or desktop from Best Buy or Micro Center simply because of a good deal, or for someone else. Even more so from Dell. These "people" who are saying "why would you buy it from there when you can do much better building it yourself" would equally be annoying, especially when a forum full of computer enthusiasts already know very well that we can do better building them ourselves.

I've built more computers than I've purchased prebuilt, but thay doesn't mean I'll go into a thread where someone specifically asks for something like supermarket coffee recommendations in order to save money and recommend going all-out in a probably more expensive route. I'm not opposed to suggesting fancier single-origin coffees with the best preparation techniques and equipment, but not at the expense of actually answering the question.

 

[Ksyder]

I'm not opposed to suggesting fancier single-origin coffees with the best preparation techniques and equipment, but not at the expense of actually answering the question.

Right. someone above made me realize I didn't answer the question in the o.p.

It was 4 am and I was in a hurry and just started my usual spiel about coffee. I did address the possible cheaper alternative in a post above. eight o clock coffee would be worth trying, as mentioned numerous times in this thread.

But as i also said, roasting your own can be cheaper in the long run as well. It just takes some equipment and learning curve. Or in my case a pan and a high btu gas stove.

 

[rudeguy]

The reason brewing temperature is important is because the hot water acts as a solvent, and so you will have the best flavor within a certain range of temperatures, which is generally accepted to be near boiling.

brewing tips

I actually prefer the temp a bit lower. It makes it more flavorful (for me at least). I like strong coffee and cold coffee seems stronger to me.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i like trader joe's dark roast whole beans - $4.99/13 oz. the next step up in quality from tj is my local cafe - sumatra or sulawesi for $12/lb.

 

[allisolm]

Eight o clock is awesome but a bit pricy.

I buy Eight O'clock The Original whole beans and thankfully Publix grocery chain puts it on BOGO sale frequently. Makes it about $4/lb.

 

[lxskllr]

Glossing over the thread, it looks like 8 O'Clock is the clear winner.

 

[Malfeas]

Tully's coffee. About every three months it goes on sale for about 5 to 6$ per pound, I stock up and buy several months worth. It is usually around 12$ per pound.

 

[W.C. Nimoy]

Starbucks whole bean, dark roast, but lately more their lighter house blend.

Been through the local ONLY snob thing, buying the freshest roasted single origin ethiopian etc. using a vacuum/siphon pot, $200 burr grinder thing. It can be great, but I also found it to be less consistent- one week they'll recommend something completely mind blowing delicious, untouchable by big brands, then the next time buying the exact same ones, but comparatively disappointing for the same price vs. generally inferior but predictable starbucks/dd etc.

I've found grinding it yourself & using quality water to be the non negotiable factors for me, but just because of brewing & cleaning convenience, volume flexibility, price, availability, shopping convenience, I stick with supermarket brands & a more pedestrian auto drip machine using only quality grinder & water. And I would never tell anyone theirs is "not coffee, just brown water" just because our priorities & preferences aren't the same. If were that big of a snob, I'd just identify supermarket coffee as a topic I'm not interested in instead of getting in here & getting mad about others choice of coffee. Stop talking about brown water!

 

[rudeguy]

Glossing over the thread, it looks like 8 O'Clock is the clear winner.

by far

Archer Farms is good, but more expensive and not an every day drinker. I won't admit to how much I've spent trying different coffees (hint: I'm a moron) but 8 o'clock is the best for every day drinking.

 

[lxskllr]

I won't admit to how much I've spent trying different coffees (hint: I'm a moron) but 8 o'clock is the best for every day drinking.

That's my problem. I've been burned too many times over the years buying expensive "gourmet" coffees. There's certainly better coffee than 8 O'Clock, but I don't feel like trying all the duds to find it, and I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay the premium to get it often.

 

[OutHouse]

Although its not expensive, I'd say I pay about $7 a pound including shipping since I'm not paying the supermarket markup

Yea you are paying a lot more than the supermarkets markup plus you gotta roast it.

 

[preslove]

Yea you are paying a lot more than the supermarkets markup plus you gotta roast it.

Around me, high quality supermarket brands are around $7 per 12 ounce bag of whole beans. I get Archer brands at target on sale for a little less some times, but mostly get my supermarket's house brand for around $7 per 12oz. Dunken and starbucks brands are often a bit more.