Favorite Coffee

[Zirael]

Hi there!  

I'm a beginner coffee-lover, so I collect opinions on the best coffee brands. Yeap, I know that it's a matter of taste, nevertheless feel free to share your favorite coffee brand. Either beans or ground coffee, whatever.  

I tried about 20-25 different coffee packs and I'm just looking for something new. If you know uncommon recipes of coffee, you're welcome too!  

As for me, my favorite coffee is Lavazza. I don't like bitter coffee, so this one with fruit and honey flavor tastes good for me. 

[eugenep]

I know a lot of people on this forum buy from Sweet Marias - green coffee beans 

 

I did try that seller but I found their beans to be smaller (therefore likely less ripe when picked), less chaff when roasted, and looking more processed. 

 

There this yucky acidity or unpleasant taste also. My beans from that seller are from Africa and Indonesia - e.g., Kenya etc - and its supposed to be the higher priced beans on that website. 

 

My favorite is from Invalsa still and will be going back to buying from them. Their beans are larger (more ripe when picked), more chaff when roasted, less processed. 

 

The taste is really good with great flavor and no detectable unpleasantness. 

 

 

[kayb]

Having never gotten in to my ow coffee roasting, I bought my beans for years from Cafe Brazil in Dallas. They stopped carrying my choice, so I looked elsewhere. Currently I'm buying from Rozark Hills, a small, niche roaster in Rosebud, Arkansas, in the central Arkansas mountains. I'm presently sampling my way through their wares and at present, a Sumatran is my favorite. Their prices are good and their shipping is quick.

 

 

[paulraphael]

The best I've had is from Coffee Mob in Brooklyn. The owner's a friend and in my opinion a brilliant roaster. Or maybe we just like the same flavor profiles. In the same league and more famous is Equator Coffee in San Francisco. If you buy from either company, take the time to get your brewing technique just right. And make sure you have a decent grinder. These coffees are expensive, and it's a waste to treat them like supermarket coffee.

 

I only make these coffees on weekends and occasions. It's more money than I want to spend on a daily drug, and more effort than I want to spend on a workday morning.

[lindag]

Since I got my new burr grinder, I've been trying a whole range of coffee beans.

I know some of you do your own roasting or buy from a nearby roaster but that is not an option here.

What I did find was a wonderful dark roast bean that I like very much.

Raven's Brew Wicked Wolf.

If you buy your beans you should definitely give this brand a try.

[scubadoo97]

Been buying green beans from Coffee Bean Corral recently.  They also sell pre roasted beans 

[scubadoo97]

Out in the pool house at the moment roasting a batch of Mexican  La Laja washed beans

[OliviaCollin]

my favorite coffee is a classic homemade cappuccino. I love making it myself because I get to control every little detail. I grind fresh beans, pull a shot of espresso with my trusty machine, steam some velvety milk to perfection, and then pour it all together to create a creamy and indulgent cup of pure happiness. It's like a little slice of coffee heaven right in my kitchen!

[weinoo]

I've said it before, and let me say it again: George Howell.

 

Intellegentsia is owned by Peet's, which in turn is owned by a giant holding company.

 

Blue Bottle is owned by Nestle, in turn owned by Black Rock, et al.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with giant, multinational organizations, but I prefer to spend my money, when I can, elsewhere.

[Katie Meadow]

 

23 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I've said it before, and let me say it again: George Howell.

 

Intellegentsia is owned by Peet's, which in turn is owned by a giant holding company.

 

Blue Bottle is owned by Nestle, in turn owned by Black Rock, et al.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with giant, multinational organizations, but I prefer to spend my money, when I can, elsewhere.

What are your favorites from George Howell? Also, how much coffee do your order at a time? Do you store more than 12 oz of beans at a time in that vac canister?

[weinoo]

13 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

What are your favorites from George Howell? Also, how much coffee do your order at a time? Do you store more than 12 oz of beans at a time in that vac canister?

 

It varies, and also depends on the pricing. I like their Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees a lot. And moving out of Africa...

 

Currently, I have the Mexican Miramar,  El Salvador Montecarlos Gesha, and the small farmer lots from Guatemala (all the Guatemalans are good).  They do have some crazy expensive coffees, but the most I'll go for is one of the Peruvian special roasts, which currently clocks in at a silly $58/lb.!.  I also buy the Alchemy for espresso...it works great

 

I always order enough to qualify for free shipping; as the coffee has gotten much more expensive, that's easy. Generally, my order is in the 1.5 - 2 lb. range. Almost enough for 2 weeks, and if I time it right, I get a shipment as soon as coffee is running out.  If they roast and ship on a Monday, it arrives no later than Wednesday.

 

Pretty sure I have the 1 lb. canisters, and they'll hold a 12 oz. bag emptied in, and an 8 oz. bag atop, smushed down a bit.

Edited November 29, 2023 by weinoo (log)

[Katie Meadow]

22 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

It varies, and also depends on the pricing. I like their Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees a lot. And moving out of Africa...

 

Currently, I have the Mexican Miramar,  El Salvador Montecarlos Gesha, and the small farmer lots from Guatemala (all the Guatemalans are good).  They do have some crazy expensive coffees, but the most I'll go for is one of the Peruvian special roasts, which currently clocks in at a silly $58/lb.!.  I also buy the Alchemy for espresso...it works great

 

I always order enough to qualify for free shipping; as the coffee has gotten much more expensive, that's easy. Generally, my order is in the 1.5 - 2 lb. range. Almost enough for 2 weeks, and if I time it right, I get a shipment as soon as coffee is running out.  If they roast and ship on a Monday, it arrives no later than Wednesday.

 

Pretty sure I have the 1 lb. canisters, and they'll hold a 12 oz. bag emptied in, and an 8 oz. bag atop, smushed down a bit.

Thanks. More questions, bear with me! I'm really asking because I am trying to put together a gift of canisters and coffee for my hard-to-shop-for husband. He usually gets a dark French roast and brews it pretty strong in a variety of methods.  I drink minimal amounts of coffee, perhaps a cup two times a week. My husband drinks a couple of cups every day.

 

Let's say I order two 12 oz bags of "moderately" priced coffee (enough to qualify for $50 free shipping; do you think it will stay fresh in these canisters for at least three to four weeks? That is just a wild guess as to how long he takes to go through it. I am making the assumption that Sig Eater and you both drink coffee daily, so our shipment would last a little longer than yours, based on a shipment of 1.5 to 2 lbs. I'm bad at math and far too lazy to really keep track of how fast he goes through it. Thanks again for the help!

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

Let's say I order two 12 oz bags of "moderately" priced coffee (enough to qualify for $50 free shipping; do you think it will stay fresh in these canisters for at least three to four weeks? That is just a wild guess as to how long he takes to go through it. I am making the assumption that Sig Eater and you both drink coffee daily, so our shipment would last a little longer than yours, based on a shipment of 1.5 to 2 lbs. I'm bad at math and far too lazy to really keep track of how fast he goes through it. Thanks again for the help!

 

 

That will be fine! It's a nice gift - why not try a medium roast coffee along with one of the darker roasts they offer?  Even if he doesn't really like the medium roast, it can easily be blended with the darker roast to get something of a profile of coffee he likes.

[Katie Meadow]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

That will be fine! It's a nice gift - why not try a medium roast coffee along with one of the darker roasts they offer?  Even if he doesn't really like the medium roast, it can easily be blended with the darker roast to get something of a profile of coffee he likes.

Yes, that's what I was thinking, one of each. Believe me, at $30+ a pop he'll drink it and like it.

 

 

 

 

 

[AAQuesada]

I have to say that I disagree with the whole don't keep coffee in the freezer thing. I have been doing it for years and in the minute or two it takes me to scoop out some beans then back to the freezer it doesn't have time to develop condensation. My feeling was and is that it works and keeps it closer to peek, of course 1 lb of coffee doesn't last more than 2 weeks around here anyway (& that's just with me drinking). YMMV

[Katie Meadow]

On 11/29/2023 at 3:16 PM, weinoo said:

 

That will be fine! It's a nice gift - why not try a medium roast coffee along with one of the darker roasts they offer?  Even if he doesn't really like the medium roast, it can easily be blended with the darker roast to get something of a profile of coffee he likes.

Shout out to George Howell and @weinoo! Gift of coffees was a hit. I bought two med roasts, an Ethiopian and a Guatemalan, and one dark roast from Costa Rica. We broke out the Guatemalan for breakfast this morning....delicious made in the French press. Sadly I'm on a restricted coffee regimen, so I love the change from my  husband;s habitual default of French roast Peets, which is very strong and no longer has the thrill that it once did when it came on the scene a million years ago..

 

Also a source of awe was the vacuum canister, now the home of the Guatemalan beans. My husband finds that little whoosh of air to be very satisfying. In the last few years he's upped his game with a nice burr grinder and a couple of new coffee making contraptions, but hasn't tried any different beans. Of course he went to the GH site and was, unsurprisingly, amazed at some of the pricier options. Hey, it's a gift!

 

\

[lindag]

I ordered the Guatemalan Doma. 

[lindag]

It seems that @weino is an Influencer.

[weinoo]

4 hours ago, lindag said:

It seems that @weino is an Influencer.

 

I have a very, very strict demographic.