I drank Folger's for years but recently switched to Maxwell House and find I enjoy it at home. Outside? Don't know where they get them, but are a couple of restaurants here in Vegas that serve pretty decent coffee. Starbuck's? Sorry too expensive and not all that great. There was once a gourmet coffee shop here that had its own coffee kiln and had some truly awesome custom mixes. Really miss it.
Dunkin Donuts coffee is my fav. Too pricey, but I wait til it goes on sale and stock up. None better IMO.
Peet's. Major Dickason's blend. All else is (*)(*)(*)(*). Black. You don't (*)(*)(*)(*) up coffee by adding (*)(*)(*)(*) to it. http://www.peets.com/coffee/feature...-signature-blends/major-dickason-s-blend.html
My everyday coffee is Newman's Fair Trade in the K-cup. It's just good, and I can drink it and afford it. My favorite coffees are Kona and Blue Mountain. Both are above most other coffees.
Only a few brands to choose from in my small town so I always end up with Maxwell House. It's good enough I suppose. Green Mountain coffee isn't bad either but it's hit or miss whether I can find it around here. Subway has it but only in the morning and I rarely eat there.
I usually buy the cheapest jar of instant coffee the super market has to offer.When traveling its who ever is most convenient,usually McDonalds as they are open 24/7 although when in the southern states i like Waffle House coffee
Instant... really? Never understood how anybody drinks that stuff. Do you at least heat up the water or make it straight outta the hot water tap like my Aunt Lorene used to do? (Welcome to the forum, BTW )
This stuff is less than $4 at Walmart. Maybe it's floor sweepings from the place that makes cafebustelo... 'cause it's actually very good coffee!
Might as well, huh? At least you miss that nasty foam on the top by chewing it dry. Have you ever tried snorting it? Gets to the brain quicker.
I only drink instant while camping. I can't stand the stuff, but it has enough caffeine to keep from getting withdrawal symptoms. For some reason, soft drinks don't have enough caffeine to do that.
I'm not a huge fan of coffee - use it as a caffeine vehicle from time to time at work. I love my tea though. I buy T2 tea and use an infuser. I love chamomile tea so much. Have a cup with fresh honey each night before I sleep. Have some creme brulee tea as well. And your standard black teas.
I don't smoke, gamble and drink about half a dozen standard alcoholic beverages a month but my vice is a good coffee. Places like Starbucks and Gloria Jean et al are the fast food of coffee houses. I might duck into a Starbucks when desperate when in Thailand. No Starbucks etc in Laos, thank goodness. Unbeknown to many people, Laos produces some of the finest coffee in the world. Arabica is kept mainly for domestic consumption while Robusta is usually sent across the border into Thailand to the Nestle factories for instant coffee. The major cities are dotted with independently owned cafes who serve locally produced coffee. One that I like in Vientiane one can choose your roast and grind, then it's ground on the spot for you. I love their medium roast organic Arabica. We are still paying around two bucks for a cappuccino and a little less for an espresso. No fancy additives in my coffee thanks. Just a tall robust black coffee with a dash of warmed milk and no sugar. Our espresso machine at home is the most used kitchen appliance. I can't remember the last time I drank instant. It seems the French got something right.
My secret pleasure, Damascus Arabic Blend, Camel cigarettes and a piece of stem ginger. Surprisingly the proper Camels are harder to get than the coffee in the UK. The rest of the time its mugs of tea, what else would a working class socialist drink in the UK!
Hard to find great coffee these days, for the brands like folgers and Maxwell house, apparently have moved to low quality beans to cut costs over the years. So, folgers and Maxwell house today taste differently than they did 30 years ago. I have to buy what is available at the grocers here, and bought starbucks, Sumatra until the stores stopped carrying that brand for it was too expensive here for most coffee drinkers I guess. I bought starbucks expresso for my cappuchino, but if I am drinking just coffee, I have to have it black. I want to taste the coffee, for I like the taste of it,without the crème or sugar. I had a friend to bring me back some Blue Mountain coffee from the islands once, and that stuff spoiled me. I guess it was the best coffee I have ever had. I would love to try that expensive bean that the civets crap out, but here in the backwoods of the south, you cannot find it, and I wouldn't pay the price it costs anyways. I bought a bag of dunkin donuts coffee last week, and its ok, better than folgers or Maxwell house. But I need to find a source locally for starbucks. I like all of their different roasts and beans. I once watched a guy get some hot tea, and the man put sugar and cream in his hot tea. I felt like slapping him out of his chair. Out of curiosity, I later tried it, just to say I had tried it. I had to spit it out fast. And I like hot tea, occasionally, with a bit of lemon, no sugar. I once had some of that Japanese green tea, used by zen monks, and I think it had speed in it. Now I know how they keep from dropping off to sleep in those long meditations. LOL. This stuff was finely powdered and they just whisked it into the hot water. After the second cup, it was, blast off!!!
At home I use my beloved Italian traditional "moka" to make a strong black Italian coffee [in Italy you buy the dust of coffee to put it in this magic machine]. When I'm not at home I drink espresso. In the morning I can add a bit of milk to it. Here in my home land I cannot evaluate starbucks since it's not present here. I confess I'm quite curious about that coffee chain.
Fine Ass Coffee Discovered this little gem while exploring Oahu last year; just stumbled across it the storefront. They are a fine chocolatier primarily, (try their Fine Ass Fire Balls!), but their coffee is top notch.
I buy the "cafe du Monde" from New Orleans. I have tried several other brands in the last several years since my local warehouse store stopped selling the French roast I liked but haven't found anything else that comes close, including the "regular" coffee at Starbucks. The Cafe du Monde has chicory in it, which is soothing. I also use a one-person French coffee press, which eliminates oxidation and bitterness from that, and pour my coffee directly into a mug half full of heated whole milk. In my opinion the coffee generally available in the US has gone down substantially in quality, and one is now at the mercy of the honesty of specialty vendors for help in finding decent coffee. I think that includes Starbucks as well as the vast majority of chain and small average local restaurants. I seldom order coffee when I go out anymore--tea is a safer bet.
Starbucks doesn't meet a great success in Italy [and think that the creator of Starbucks though to that business after a trip to Milan in 1983, so if Starbucks exists it's like the inspiration that guy got here ...]. I'm just on Starbucks site, looking for their store. Searching for Milan, Italy, I find Starbucks in Switzerland! Typing Turin, Italy, I see Starbucks shops in France ... Typing Rome, Italy, the site tells me: Italy is a Starbucks free country.
Why should Europe even want Starbucks!!! Just about any little corner cafe can produce coffee and thousand times better.
They have pretty good equipment--just about every coffee tech is used. The ones I have been in are glassed in like storefronts and are very light and airy. The tables are close enough together to facilitate chatting with other customers, and they always have shakers with cinnemon, nutmeg, and cocoa in them that people can add to their coffees, as well as the various sugar packets...maybe honey as well, I can't remember. Usually people sit in there with their computers which they work on intently while drinking their coffee. You can usually chat with travelers from other areas that have stopped in for a break. For some reason it's intellectually stimulating to be in one, and I don't think it's just the coffee. Coffee shops have been around in Europe forever, at least in France, where Sartre hung out in one constantly. Another European amenity that finally hit our shores, like decent bread and fresh herbs and spices.
