Coffee Lovers

[StringPicker6]

Well, it's 5:57am and I'm currently brewing some coffee with chaga. I was able to find it at Whole Foods (AKA "whole paycheck").  I'm looking forward to trying this!

[StringPicker6]

I'm liking the chaga mushroom powder a lot!

[B0WIE]

I'm liking the chaga mushroom powder a lot!

Cool to hear! How does it strike you? Or, do you find yourself having a hard time describing it like I do?

[StringPicker6]

It's a nice added flavor that's mild but satisfying. I can't really explain it, either, but I've been drinking it for a week and it's nice!

[Silence Dogood]

A friend gave me a bag of some mushroom "coffee" and I couldn't even muster up the will to try it.  The whole idea just seemed too strange to me.  I should've at least tried one cup. 

[StringPicker6]

I just mixed a spoonful of the mushroom powder into the coffee grinds. It adds a nice mild flavor.

[B0WIE]

A friend gave me a bag of some mushroom "coffee" and I couldn't even muster up the will to try it.  The whole idea just seemed too strange to me.  I should've at least tried one cup. 

I thought the same until I thought about how drinking juice from rotting leaves (tea) and pits (coffee "beans") is normalized, then mushrooms made a lot more sense.

[Silence Dogood]

I thought the same until I thought about how drinking juice from rotting leaves (tea) and pits (coffee "beans") is normalized, then mushrooms made a lot more sense.

That makes sense!  Lots of the stuff we eat and drink is like this, but our consumption has been so far removed from the process that there is a serious mental disconnect.  As an example, packaged meat in the supermarket.  We have all gotten so used to unwrapping it and cooking it up that it's easy to forget that it's part of a dead (not just dead but slaughtered) animal.  I wonder how many people would still eat meat if they had to kill their own food?  Even though I grew up in the country and hunted and fished all through my boyhood, that's been many years ago and it would take me a while to get used to it again. I sometimes wonder if I'd even be able to. 

[247hoopsfan]

Just got back last night from a week vacation in the California Sierra foothills. We were staying with my wife's sister and husband and they only had a Keurig so we brought up some K-Cups.  They are OK, 8but I much prefer fresh grounds, and ground some San Francisco Bay French Roast this morning.  It's the local roast that Costco sells here in the Bay Area. Strong, dark and full flavored.    

[B0WIE]

That makes sense!  Lots of the stuff we eat and drink is like this, but our consumption has been so far removed from the process that there is a serious mental disconnect.  As an example, packaged meat in the supermarket.  We have all gotten so used to unwrapping it and cooking it up that it's easy to forget that it's part of a dead (not just dead but slaughtered) animal.  I wonder how many people would still eat meat if they had to kill their own food?  Even though I grew up in the country and hunted and fished all through my boyhood, that's been many years ago and it would take me a while to get used to it again. I sometimes wonder if I'd even be able to. 

That's something I think about a lot. I'm super-compassionate toward animals but I cannot maintain health eating veg/vegan (I've tried). So, I only buy meats that have been either free range or naturally caught. Same for my pets' food. My wife doesn't really care but she respects my wishes on this one. For me, it's not so much the animal dying (animals eat each other all the time) but I want it to be able to walk around and live semi-normally while it's raised, giving eggs, milk, etc.

Just got back last night from a week vacation in the California Sierra foothills. We were staying with my wife's sister and husband and they only had a Keurig so we brought up some K-Cups.  They are OK, 8but I much prefer fresh grounds, and ground some San Francisco Bay French Roast this morning.  It's the local roast that Costco sells here in the Bay Area. Strong, dark and full flavored.    

Same. The cups remind me of being traveling so the flavors sometimes bring about good memories, but at home nothing beats fresh ground. I'm actually about to head to costco right now to get more coffee. That SF Bay French actually makes it's way to my local costco here in Phoenix and it's pretty nice. We've been hooked on the Lavazza Espresso lately, though seeing it go up 1/3 in price in 2 years is painful. :(

[Strings4Him]

Can't believe I started this thread 13 years ago!  Where has 13 years gone?

[StringPicker6]

I guess coffee really DOES keep you awake!

[B0WIE]

I have been REALLY into coffee lately. I think I'm going through metabolic changes or something because, in the last 3 months after being in an auto accident, I've lost my sweet-tooth, coffee dramatically elevates my mood and energy, and I'm back to fasting in the morning (skipping b-fast and having lunch late). Maybe my body is regulating recovery or something but I used to drink half a cup per day. Now, it's about 3 cups.

[247hoopsfan]

Bowie, so osorry to hear about your accident, hope you are OK.
Did you end up selling your Brazilian Flying Eagle?  I just put a set of EXP mediums on my D10 after having Elixirs on it for a while Wow does that thing sing, and the overtones are amazing.

[Queequeg]

 It's 3:00am and I drink at least 3 cups/day, so ya think there might be some connection?
I am not all that particular about the brew as long as it's bold and fresh. If it's been sitting on the warmer for hours I don't want that. It just tastes burnt to me.
Black coffee; no cream, no sugar.
In a nice mug. I don't like those porcelain China cups.

 

[Silence Dogood]

I was driving around over the weekend with a friend and saw the SBUX sign and suddenly an espresso sounded really good.  I'd not been there in years and ended up getting one of those caramel drinks on ice.  It was great, but for the price I don't see how people stop there daily. 

I don't do sugar in black coffee but don't mind sweetening up an espresso drink now and then. 

[StringPicker6]

Starbucks does make tasty coffee.  I just don't go there because I don't really like the company.

[Silence Dogood]

Starbucks does make tasty coffee.  I just don't go there because I don't really like the company.

I feel the same about the company.  Not a fan but I wanted some espresso and they had some.

[Queequeg]

Starbucks does make tasty coffee.  I just don't go there because I don't really like the company.

They've been going through some changes. No idea where they'll come out or land.
Inflation has negatively impacted their store traffic. Boycotts, strikes, union activity, new CEO. Their stock is down about 25% since 2021.
I generally only go there when I'm in the airport (which is less often these days). And then it's just plain black coffee.
Why people will pay $8 or $10 for a drink is beyond me.   But to each his/her own.

[Silence Dogood]

I haven't followed the saga of SBUX closely and don't know what's happening there. 

I used to be hung up on trying to find companies that shared my values, but not so much anymore since that's gotten almost impossible anyway.  If a company is openly anti to what I believe in, I'll try and avoid them.  But if I need (or just really want) their product or service, then that's just the world we live in and life goes on. 

When I began to see the "fight" I was in went pretty much unnoticed and was waged almost solely in my own head, it all began to seem a little silly.  The world is going the way it's going, whether I like it or not.

I also noticed something else and this pertains to coffee directly.  Lots of coffee sold in my local stores claims to be "veteran-owned."  Ok.  But dig a bit deeper and you'll sometimes find it's not as small town/apple pie as you might think either.  It also dawned on me one day that I don't owe any company my business just because the owners once served in the military.