Coffee Lovers

[B0WIE]

I go back and forth all the time between brands.  Of late I've been drinking Community Coffee Cafe Special.  Just a great all-day everyday cup.

As far as corporate buyouts go, it seems like something is always lost in the transition.  The world seems to be tripping over itself to make everything bigger bigger bigger. 

My favorite indie brewery, Lagunitas, sold a large part of the company to Anheiser a number of years ago. While the quality didn't really change, the things I loved about them sure did. When they were independent they made new variations all the time. Just random, quirky stuff and some of them were truly amazing.. It was really fun to try them all out. I still have some of the rare bottles with cool labels. Now, they just produce a few things in large qualities and I can't remember the last time I bought Lagunitas.

[Queequeg]

Sad to hear about Pete's. They were a backup of mine. I've not been particularly been impressed by anything Kuerig so I'm not too excited with the buy out. I'm scratching my head as to how Pete's was worth billions though.

the following is from Wiki:
As of 2025, Peet's operates over 250 retail locations in 13 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. In 2018, Peet's expanded to China, opening a location in Shanghai.[34]

Peet's coffee is sold in 14,000 grocery stores, universities, and wholesalers across the United States. They had over a dozen coffeebar locations in Chicago and Boston as well as 23 in the Washington D.C. area at that time.
And that's just in the US of A.
Internationally, JDE Peet's N.V. is a Dutch multinational coffee and tea company headquartered in Amsterdam. The company owns over 50 beverage brands, mostly of coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

[Silence Dogood]

My favorite indie brewery, Lagunitas, sold a large part of the company to Anheiser a number of years ago. While the quality didn't really change, the things I loved about them sure did. When they were independent they made new variations all the time. Just random, quirky stuff and some of them were truly amazing.. It was really fun to try them all out. I still have some of the rare bottles with cool labels. Now, they just produce a few things in large qualities and I can't remember the last time I bought Lagunitas.

They used to have a beer (maybe still do) that was called Little Sumpin' Sumpin' (cool and creative name that I might've misspelled).  It was an IPA and although I don't really like IPA beer, I did like that one.  We took an RV trip through California back in the summer of 2014 and that beer was all over the place during our stops.  Fun memories.  California is such a ridiculously beautiful state. 

[Silence Dogood]

Yesterday after work I stopped by the big WM Supercenter for some groceries.  Our store is actually pretty nice.  At any rate, I needed some coffee and opted for a huge bag of Eight O'clock Colombian.  It's just a great everyday cup of coffee.  Perfectly nutty with a hint of chocolatey overtones.  Nothing fancy, but then again, neither am I. 
 

[Silence Dogood]

Another thing... Has anyone else noticed that the FIRST cup of coffee of the day is far superior to all the other cups that come after? 

I just thought of that this AM when my second cup was somewhat of a letdown.  During the week I usually only have one cup of coffee in the AM on my drive to work, but on weekends I drink several during my kitchen computer time.

[B0WIE]

Another thing... Has anyone else noticed that the FIRST cup of coffee of the day is far superior to all the other cups that come after? 

I just thought of that this AM when my second cup was somewhat of a letdown.  During the week I usually only have one cup of coffee in the AM on my drive to work, but on weekends I drink several during my kitchen computer time.

Definitely. The aromas are quite fragile so that's why whole bean and grinding right before brewing makes a big difference. Oxidation takes a toll on the flavor. I get the 2lb bags for economy, but will vacuum seal whatever isn't going to get used in the first week or so. My wife and I both notice the difference and I regularly take guesses at how fresh the beans or the brew are, just to see if it's in my head or not.

Some enthusiasts have tried to sell me on roasting my own beans, and I'm sure that's great, but grinding whole bean is about as far as I'm willing to take it. I don't love coffee enough to fuss with the roasting. I will home brew beer but, with as little as I drink, that's not a regular thing.

[Silence Dogood]

Definitely. The aromas are quite fragile so that's why whole bean and grinding right before brewing makes a big difference. Oxidation takes a toll on the flavor. I get the 2lb bags for economy, but will vacuum seal whatever isn't going to get used in the first week or so. My wife and I both notice the difference and I regularly take guesses at how fresh the beans or the brew are, just to see if it's in my head or not.

Some enthusiasts have tried to sell me on roasting my own beans, and I'm sure that's great, but grinding whole bean is about as far as I'm willing to take it. I don't love coffee enough to fuss with the roasting. I will home brew beer but, with as little as I drink, that's not a regular thing.

I'm with you in that I can't be bothered to learn another skill like coffee-roasting.  There are specialists for that and I'm ok with it.  I do sometimes buy whole beans and grind them in my Vitamix blender.  It works great, and yes, the home-ground beans are far superior to the already-ground variety.

[William2]

I don't drink specialty coffees. I went shopping today and bought our usual brand. It has gone up $7 since about 2 weeks ago. And the other brands have increased also. I wonder what's up.

[Silence Dogood]

I don't drink specialty coffees. I went shopping today and bought our usual brand. It has gone up $7 since about 2 weeks ago. And the other brands have increased also. I wonder what's up.

What's up is the horrible economy.  Our grocery bill is flat out insane.  I went to the market yesterday and bought mostly fresh foods (veggies, fruits) and it was still insanely high.  Staying out of the aisles usually helps, but not so much anymore. 

[Queequeg]

I don't drink specialty coffees. I went shopping today and bought our usual brand. It has gone up $7 since about 2 weeks ago. And the other brands have increased also. I wonder what's up.

Just depending on where your 'usual brand' was grown, roasted and canned, there's currently a 50% tariff on products from Brazil, and a 10% tariff from Columbia.
Perhaps it's time to check out that Hawaiian coffee again(?)
Maybe I should switch to warm milk. 

[William2]

Just depending on where your 'usual brand' was grown, roasted and canned, there's currently a 50% tariff on products from Brazil, and a 10% tariff from Columbia.
Perhaps it's time to check out that Hawaiian coffee again(?)
Maybe I should switch to warm milk. 

LOL!!!

[Silence Dogood]

I sent one of my sons to the market the other day for some Colombian roast and he came back with Espresso. 
  

So last night I stopped and scored a bag of Community Coffee Colombian.  Community was the brand that got me into daily coffee-drinking back in the day. Still very good stuff.  Just a basic cup of coffee that hits the spot. 

[StringPicker6]

And a great brand from New Orleans!

[Queequeg]

It's that very special time of year again, folks.
(I'm not talking about Bring Your Pet Zebra To Work Day)

National Coffee Day 2025: Free drinks at Dunkin', Smoothie King and more
Large and small coffee chains nationwide are celebrating National Coffee Day on Monday with free cups of joe and other deals.

This year is especially important as chains try to reel in consumers who have been cutting back on discretionary spending.

Coffee prices have jumped which can be concerning for the roughly 66% of American adults who drink a cup every day, according to the National Coffee Association (NCA). Retail coffee prices in the United States rose nearly 21% in August compared to the same month last year — the largest annual jump since October 1997, according to the Consumer Price Index.

Ninety-nine percent of coffee consumed in the United States is imported, according to the NCA. Brazil is the top source of US coffee imports, and is also one of the most heavily tariffed countries at 50%.

[Silence Dogood]

It's that very special time of year again, folks.
(I'm not talking about Bring Your Pet Zebra To Work Day)

National Coffee Day 2025: Free drinks at Dunkin', Smoothie King and more
Large and small coffee chains nationwide are celebrating National Coffee Day on Monday with free cups of joe and other deals.

This year is especially important as chains try to reel in consumers who have been cutting back on discretionary spending.

Coffee prices have jumped which can be concerning for the roughly 66% of American adults who drink a cup every day, according to the National Coffee Association (NCA). Retail coffee prices in the United States rose nearly 21% in August compared to the same month last year — the largest annual jump since October 1997, according to the Consumer Price Index.

Ninety-nine percent of coffee consumed in the United States is imported, according to the NCA. Brazil is the top source of US coffee imports, and is also one of the most heavily tariffed countries at 50%.

I was late to the party on this and wish I could've gotten in on it, especially a free smoothie.  Back in the day around here we had a chain called Jamba Juice that was really great.  Inside the local Whole Foods Market (which I don't go into very often) they had one.  It was always fun to get a drink and do some shopping.

[Strings4Him]

I've been enjoying some fine Sumatran coffee prepared via pour over.  Really good.

[B0WIE]

Our coffee grinder broke (along with everything else in this house apparently) so we've been using an antique hand-crank grinder we had on the shelf for decoration. And, it's funny how working for something makes you appreciate it more. I notice we've both been commenting on the aroma of the coffee and how smooth it tastes. There was a lot less of that when we just pressed two buttons.