Coffee Lovers

[Caleb]

I'm in the Mid Cities (Euless). There are two Albertsons in my city, as well as in the other surrounding cities.

[Walkerman]

I'm a coffee lightweight.  I use a Keurig maker, and whatever coffee is less expensive.  But then, I put creamer in it so what the hey.  And I limit myself to one cup in the morning.  That's it.  Once in a very rare while, when it cold or raining on a weekend, I'll have an afternoon cup, which I take black.  I simply drank too much coffee in my younger days (either worked swing or graveyard shifts).  Now it's time to mellow out.  I just opened a bag of Starbuck's Blonde blend.  I'll try it black this weekend.

[rockstar_not]

Stopped at Albertson's to get the Java Delight special - 8.99/lb at our Albertson's.  Then thought I would give the Wal-Mart Great Value, but they only had pre-ground.  Ended up buying a 12 oz pack of Eight o-Clock French Roast for $5.48 at Wal-Mart.  Interesting that either the Eight-o-Clock 'normal' or Columbian was an 11 oz bag.

[Danny]

Yea, the Walmart Columbian is pre ground, so we use our CUISINART with a paper filter.

[Caleb]

I get all my coffee already ground.  Tried grinding years ago and always ruined the beans.

[Walkerman]

Grind?  I'm supposed to grind the beans before I use them.  I wonder if that's why my joe tastes so weak.

[vacapicker]

Grind?  I'm supposed to grind the beans before I use them.  I wonder if that's why my joe tastes so weak.

LOL...........I worked with an old timer that took the coffee pot and threw the whole beans in and boiled the water...........gawd it was bad! 

[Burntreynolds]

Costco's Kirkland beans, best bang for the buck!

[Danny]

  OK, that's it, the WalMart coffee is out a here. It's not consistent and this last can is awful. Back to my "Ruta Maya" whole beans. We still have a large bag left and I'm brewing some up right now.

[Strings4Him]

 OK, that's it, the WalMart coffee is out a here. It's not consistent and this last can is awful. Back to my "Ruta Maya" whole beans. We still have a large bag left and I'm brewing some up right now.

Life's too short to drink bad coffee!!   

[noyage]

Costco's Kirkland beans, best bang for the buck!

We get the BJ's equivalent - Columbian.  Grind them and use one of these percolators:



Hits the spot esp on days like today.  Only 1/3 done removing 36" of snow from the driveway...

[Caleb]

I've noticed inconsistency in some of my favorite brands too. Keeps me trying other things.

[prof_stack]

If you want better tasting coffee, get a better grinder!  The grinder IS more important than the brewing machine.

How about a new Pharos hand-grinder for $250 (made in USA) or a Zassenhaus hand-grinder (Germany) for $90.  Both are burr grinders with amazing consistency of grinds.

Toss out that whirley-blade cheapo that heats the beans and pulls away the aroma from the cup and leaves you with rocks and dust for the grind.



Don't gasp at the prices.  The newest coffee geek hand-grinder (HG-1) has 81mm burrs and a $900 price tag.  It's getting rave reviews.  I'll stick with the Zassenhaus.

[noyage]

If you want better tasting coffee, get a better grinder!  The grinder IS more important than the brewing machine.

How about a new Pharos hand-grinder for $250 (made in USA) or a Zassenhaus hand-grinder (Germany) for $90.  Both are burr grinders with amazing consistency of grinds.

Toss out that whirley-blade cheapo that heats the beans and pulls away the aroma from the cup and leaves you with rocks and dust for the grind.

Don't gasp at the prices.  The newest coffee geek hand-grinder (HG-1) has 81mm burrs and a $900 price tag.  It's getting rave reviews.  I'll stick with the Zassenhaus.

That Pharos is beautiful.  I have the whirley-blade cheapo thing and it's better than the pre-ground but I imagine those hand-grinders kick it up another notch.

[Caleb]

If you want better tasting coffee, get a better grinder!  The grinder IS more important than the brewing machine.

How about a new Pharos hand-grinder for $250 (made in USA) or a Zassenhaus hand-grinder (Germany) for $90.  Both are burr grinders with amazing consistency of grinds.

Toss out that whirley-blade cheapo that heats the beans and pulls away the aroma from the cup and leaves you with rocks and dust for the grind.



Don't gasp at the prices.  The newest coffee geek hand-grinder (HG-1) has 81mm burrs and a $900 price tag.  It's getting rave reviews.  I'll stick with the Zassenhaus.

I really like the idea and style of the one on the right (German?).  I'd like to learn more about these.  Looked on Amazon and there appears to be many cheapos on the market. 

[Hooked]

Like guitars, some of y'all are a cut waaay above me in coffee. Grew up drinking stove top perked or dripped Community Coffee (& chickory) in New Orleans. Dad made it strong enough to stand up the spoon. 21 Army years later, we tend toward the BJ's Kona during the week and then I'll grind up an Indonesian blend when I can find it, Sulawesi or New Guinea Peaberry from Starbucks is my usual.

As with the rest of the Forum - this is a great bunch of folks!

[prof_stack]

I really like the idea and style of the one on the right (German?).  I'd like to learn more about these.  Looked on Amazon and there appears to be many cheapos on the market.

Yes, there are many cheap grinders out there. 

Yeah, that's my Zassenhaus on the right, and it grinds for espresso very, very well.

Zassenhaus grinders come in two varieties today, their made in China line and their made in Germany top line.  sweetmaria.com has some of their better grinders.  I buy a lot of green beans for roasting from them.

Also, check out the LIDO hand-grinders from the same company (OphanEspresso) that makes the PHAROS.  They are located in Idaho and make their stuff right there.

OR, you could check eBay for used ones, some of which are older but still very good.

[Caleb]

Yes, there are many cheap grinders out there.  

Yeah, that's my Zassenhaus on the right, and it grinds for espresso very, very well.

Zassenhaus grinders come in two varieties today, their made in China line and their made in Germany top line.  sweetmaria.com has some of their better grinders.  I buy a lot of green beans for roasting from them.

Also, check out the LIDO hand-grinders from the same company (OphanEspresso) that makes the PHAROS.  They are located in Idaho and make their stuff right there.

OR, you could check eBay for used ones, some of which are older but still very good.

Thanks for the info.  I'm a grinder novice.  Had one of those top-loading bean-burners years ago and threw it away after a couple tries.  So all my coffee comes already ground, but I've sensed for a while (now thanks to this thread) that I'm missing out.  I have a question:  You say the German grinds well for espresso.  That's great since I brew espresso sometimes.  But can I also grind regular coffee too?  More specifically for my old stovetop perc?

[prof_stack]

Thanks for the info.  I'm a grinder novice.  Had one of those top-loading bean-burners years ago and threw it away after a couple tries.  So all my coffee comes already ground, but I've sensed for a while (now thanks to this thread) that I'm missing out.  I have a question:  You say the German grinds well for espresso.  That's great since I brew espresso sometimes.  But can I also grind regular coffee too?  More specifically for my old stovetop perc?

Yes, the hand-grinder are easily and quickly adjustable to other (more coarse) types of grinds. 

BUT, if you brew a lot of coffee each day, you might get tired of all the hand-grinding.  7g for a single shot espresso is 30 turns.  Multiply that up for 50g or so for a full pot.  That would get old rather quickly. 

If that be the case, you can get a decent cheap electric burr grinder for less than $120 or so.  If you want to up the ante, the sky is the limit.

[JOYCEfromNS]

Can someone provide the Pros & Cons of a Coffee Press vs an everyday filtered coffe maker