Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1206:57 PM
Coffee is pretty much a mainstay in my life and has been for years. I generally have 1 or 2 cups in the morning and a cup in the evening after dinner. If for some reason I don't have coffee at my normal times, I get the caffeine withdrawl headache. Just wondering how many Coffee drinkers we have here.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1207:00 PM
Make a pot of coffee every morning. Its says its a 12 cup Mr. Coffee. So I guess its only me drinking from it and its mostly gone by 12 noon. Must be this living at work thing that I drink so much of it, cause its close by.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1207:10 PM
Retired truck driver here, so you can guess what my consumption used to be. Now, I'm down to about 3 or 4 cups a day, but make a ritual of it, starting with grinding my coffee beans fresh every morning. I'm a Green Mountain Vermont Blend, type of guy.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1207:44 PM
I got to have one or two in the morning to get my brain kickstarted, other than that I try to I keep away from it. If I have any more than that I spend the day hunting for loo's, not always easy in my job out on the bike all day. Its even worse now as the latest trick there doing in London is putting pay turnstiles in the public loo's, 50p to have a piss, bloody cheek.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1208:02 PM
When I was in the military I didn't drink coffee because I saw it as one of those things mostly "lifers" or old guys did
But then when I got out and went to college afterwards, Starbucks was just blowing up here in Seattle and all my college mates were drinking coffee during class breaks and so I started drinking coffee to compensate for lack of sleep from studying and work, and it turned out I liked the taste.
I gave up all caffeine for a couple of years to see if it helped with some health problems but after determining it made no difference I went back to drinking coffee and tea because I love the taste.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1208:30 PM
Swilled the "lifer juice" for twenty years in the Navy, cup permanent part of my left hand. Started drinking it at age 12. Wanted to be like dad, was told had to drink it black. They thought I would be dissuaded by the taste. Turned out I'm as stubborn as a mule. Still drink it black. Love the smell of fresh coffee first thing in the morning.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1208:35 PM
I don't drink much during the heat of the summer, but otherwise 2-4 a day. Love having our Keurig, makes great coffee (if you buy the right coffee, of course) and no waste. 1 cream, 1 sugar OR black. There's no in-between.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1208:38 PM
Originally Posted By: Raw Kryptonite
I don't drink much during the heat of the summer, but otherwise 2-4 a day. Love having our Keurig, makes great coffee (if you buy the right coffee, of course) and no waste. 1 cream, 1 sugar OR black. There's no in-between.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1209:45 PM
I have about 4 cups a day. I actually stopped drinking coffee for a while a couple of years ago. Unfortunately it REALLY messed up my sleep, without the chemical up/down that my body was used to I was only getting a few hours of sleep a night, so back to coffee it was. Other than that didn't have any pounding headaches, etc that a lot of people report when trying to quit.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1210:00 PM
I like my Aeropress, it cost me about $40 and makes at least as good a cup of coffee as high end coffee machines, including the $10000+ Clover machine.
When made properly, as in not having burned the natural sugars out and causing it to become acidic, coffee is actually naturally semi sweet and there's no real need to add milk or sweeteners. I find a good strong well made black coffee tastes almost like a mocha.
I also do the herb - not that one - but yerba matè, this can be wicked powerful as far as caffeine content depending on how its' prepared.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/15/1210:35 PM
I use a percolator for my multi-cup brews. For single cups, I bring the water to just the edge of a boil in a small pan on the stove top, then throw the ground coffee in. Stir for 30 seconds, then pour into a #2 Melitta drip cone.
Usually it's only sugar, though I do enjoy a good black cup. Cream is rare.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1212:18 AM
Had to stop drinking coffee at work, coffee and the BS combined to create heartburn that had a blast radius. Once I stopped drinking coffee at work I just got out of the habit of drinking it at home too. I still drink way too much tea.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1212:32 AM
Never drank coffee until the military when I had 9 months of school training (of course you had to be awake and alert in class). So one guy in my class brought a coffee maker and I started drinking several cups each day just to stay awake. Now I just usually have one 16oz in the morning and I'm good to go; but I still use quite a bit of sugar/cream (can't stand it black)
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1204:53 AM
Originally Posted By: NH2112
I'd rather smell a fart than someone's coffee breath.
What if the fart came from some 300 lbs guy who just had Mexican food and the coffee breath came from a nicely brewed caramel macchiato? Would you still pick the fart?
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1206:09 AM
I drink 5-6 cups per day. Also have no trouble sleeping even if I drink coffee late in the evening. I just love the stuff.
When I just came to China there was almost no coffee available. Had to smuggle the ground coffee from home. OK, there were a few Starbucks but calling that coffee would be like calling Budweiser 'beer'.
Nowadays there's a lot of good coffee though - Ikea sells ground coffee and whole beans, and via Taobao I can order most other brands including Lavazza, Illy etc.
In my office there are six other staunch coffee drinkers - I've weaned them off tea and taught them to drink the real stuff!
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1208:53 AM
Here in Western Canada most of our coffee is bitter except for Tim Hortons. $18.. for 2 lbs fine grind.
You yanks make a far better coffee...I think it't the chickory that you put in it to make it taste mellow.
I go down to Wahington state once a month to gas up and buy stuff at the Dollar Store. i usually buy 5 bottles of SunnyD orange juice 1,5 gal for $1 each. it's $2.69 here.
Any suggestions for a nice mellow coffee? Ground or bean.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1212:39 PM
I have a serious coffee addiction. I usually drink two or three cups of capuccino in the morning and one or two espresso's in the evening. That's the max I limited myself to, otherwise my headaches during the weekend would be unbearable.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1202:08 PM
Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Originally Posted By: NH2112
I'd rather smell a fart than someone's coffee breath.
What if the fart came from some 300 lbs guy who just had Mexican food and the coffee breath came from a nicely brewed caramel macchiato? Would you still pick the fart?
Would it still smell like coffee? I'd pick the fart if it did. As long as it wasn't one of those farts that leaves an oily film on everything. I'd probably rather choke back the coffee-nausea instead.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1203:33 PM
I drink 1 large travel mug every day and that's it. Needs to be the flavored coffee because I've become a Keurig snob. Used to be only Dunkin Donut FR but not it's only Keurig and I can't drink DD.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1204:31 PM
Originally Posted By: gbarclay
Here in Western Canada most of our coffee is bitter except for Tim Hortons. $18.. for 2 lbs fine grind.
You yanks make a far better coffee...I think it't the chickory that you put in it to make it taste mellow.
I go down to Wahington state once a month to gas up and buy stuff at the Dollar Store. i usually buy 5 bottles of SunnyD orange juice 1,5 gal for $1 each. it's $2.69 here.
Any suggestions for a nice mellow coffee? Ground or bean.
Tried star bucks once. Yuk. Bitter as hell.
Coffee shouldn't be bitter (or smelly) unless its burnt, either by using water that's too hot and/or if the water takes too long getting through the layer of coffee grounds due to the coffee maker being overloaded or the wrong ground size used.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1206:20 PM
I'll add that, while I'm not a fan, all the Starbucks I've had the U.S. has been decent. They would have never gotten so popular otherwise.
The problem is, few businesses of any kind seem to know what they're doing in this region, and few consumers seem to know how things are supposed to be.
That's why our local Starbucks mostly serve horrible coffee and often make you wait a long time for it to boot.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1206:55 PM
Meh, I stopped buying coffee at Starbucks when it finally dawned on me how dumb it was to spend 4 bucks for a cup of coffee. I like the coffee at McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts just fine and it costs half the price or more compared to Starbucks.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1207:36 PM
Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Meh, I stopped buying coffee at Starbucks when it finally dawned on me how dumb it was to spend 4 bucks for a cup of coffee. I like the coffee at McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts just fine and it costs half the price or more compared to Starbucks.
I've gone one step further and prepare it myself, its even cheaper and turns out better than all but the best coffee houses.
Of course you have to spend some cash up front on a good machine or press though, and maybe a good burr grinder if you grind the beans yourself.
Over time you save a lot of money, especially since you can get good results out of even cheap generic coffee with a good setup and you know what you're doing.
This morning I made myself two STRONG cup with my press. They tasted exactly like it had a whole bunch of sugar and cream in it even though it was blacker than Darth Vader, and it smelled like tea or hot chocolate not oily burnt crap. Homebrew FTW!
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1207:43 PM
Originally Posted By: Crane Hunter
This morning I made myself two STRONG cup with my press. They tasted exactly like it had a whole bunch of sugar and cream in it even though it was blacker than Darth Vader, and it smelled like tea or hot chocolate not oily burnt crap. Homebrew FTW!
Ooh, that does sound good. I make coffee at work all the time but never at home. I should look into getting a good press.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1208:23 PM
I've got a Bodum French press and an Aeropress, the French press is great for loose leaf tea but the Aeropress makes MUCH better coffee with a lot less mess afterwards.
There are all sorts of videos on Youtube on different Aeropress methods, I don't do anything fancy though.
The only downsides to the Aeropress are that it makes only one cup at a time (albeit quickly) and that they're not very "fuel efficient", as in they use a lot of grounds to make each cup, mind you that cup probably gives you more of a buzz than a couple of cups of regular coffee.
As a bonus, since properly made coffee is not acidic, it totally doesn't upset your stomache.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1208:43 PM
Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Meh, I stopped buying coffee at Starbucks when it finally dawned on me how dumb it was to spend 4 bucks for a cup of coffee. I like the coffee at McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts just fine and it costs half the price or more compared to Starbucks.
I've been trying some of the Dunkin ground coffees for my home brewing. I prefer Original over Dark, for the most part. I'm not usually a fan of flavored coffees, but I might give one a shot next time.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/16/1209:22 PM
I prefer a local place to Starbucks, but I'm the same way. I'd rather use my Keurig. About once a month or two I do like to get a big girlie "coffee", but too many cal's to do it more often than that. LOL
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/17/1201:25 PM
I find it funny when people go to all the trouble and spend loads of money on machines and expensive coffee when at the end of the day it all tastes the same as the instant stuff from a jar - bitter!
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/17/1204:03 PM
Originally Posted By: MaceUK33
ALL coffee is bitter that's why people put sugar and milk in it to disguise the taste!
I would watch the person's behavior when they add a cream or sugar. Pour them up a cup of a quality brew and watch. Some will start adding stuff before they even taste the cup.
Habit, perhaps built on years of covering bad coffee.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/17/1206:23 PM
It's not just coffee, but most teas will taste and sometimes smell bad if burnt or oversteeped.
Yerba Matè and green teas in particular are nasty if not prepared well.
Adding sweetener to a properly prepared plain coffee would make it disgustingly sweet, almost like adding sugar to a mocha, and cream would be redundant.
Re: Poll: Coffee....gotta have it or don't care? - 11/17/1207:14 PM
Originally Posted By: Crane Hunter
It's not just coffee, but most teas will taste and sometimes smell bad if burnt or oversteeped.
Yerba Matè and green teas in particular are nasty if not prepared well.
Adding sweetener to a properly prepared plain coffee would make it disgustingly sweet, almost like adding sugar to a mocha, and cream would be redundant.
Just a little cream... to soothe the soul.
But no sugaer, not a grain, not even the hint of a grain. The coffee shouldn't even know there is sugar in the same room.