Definitely the Starbucks model. Dusty Ol Man is right that there is a fine line, and of course there is always subjective taste. I find any beans roasted to the point of being oily unpalatable (and also fouls up the grinder).

I am lucky enough to live in a city that has a great local roasting culture. Most of what I buy is roasted here in Portland (Stumptown, Blue Kangaroo) and probably not available nationally. Trader Joe's "Wake Up" blend is my go to for reasonably priced but flavorful coffee.

Good tip on the oily=too far. Thanks

Mostly I drink brewed-at-home Eight O'clock brand 100% Columbian, but I'll try other brands too. When I used to travel to Puerto Rico on a regular basis for work, I was a fan of the local Cafe Yaucono brand.

I rarely drink coffee out, predating COVID by many years. Not averse to joining a friend now and then for coffee. Our local coffee place is Jittery Joe's, that's pretty good. I'll venture into a Starbucks only if there is no other choice (bitter, poorly-prepared, overpriced coffee), but I'll shut my yap if I'm with a friend that really wants to go to a Starbucks.

My wife and I are both coffee junkies and will only buy whole beans which we grind ourselves. We have even gone so far as buying green beans and roasted our own, blending several different types and roasting strategies.
Honestly, from a time and price perspective, the best store beans we've found are Sam's Club Members Mark French Roast and Breakfast Blend beans which we mix evenly before grinding.

If you've never watched it, 'Dangerous Grounds' was a very entertaining and educational TV series that was showcased on I think either Nat Geo or Travel channel several years ago. The show follows coffee guru Todd Carmichael as he travels the world in search of the perfectly grown coffee bean. Not sure if it's streaming anywhere but worth a watch if you find it.

Well put.

-Keith

---------- Post added at 10:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------

With all the whole bean fanatics here, I'm thinking I should give grinding a try. Can a blender be used, or is it necessary to buy a grinder?

I drink two cups per day, but only recently began drinking it black to get eliminate the fat and reduce the calories in my daily diet. Without the cream, I find the differences in quality vastly more noticeable.

-Keith

Whole bean FTW! Light, dark, whatever you’re in the mood for. As long as it’s freshly ground and of good quality, it’s great. I know there’s debate on caffeine levels depending on roast but I believe the common school of thought is that light has more as it is denser than dark as the coffee expands during roasting. Caffein melts around 455F which is above the typical roasting temps from what I gather. All in all, I think the difference is negligible and really depends on the bean and its caffeine content.

I haven't jumped here though I'm something of a coffee snob, my Peet's Coffee is, I think, only available on the west coast of the US. I do like the dark roast - but they are never burnt, just full of flavor. And I do get beans, grind each morning so very fresh. If you use a blender, unless it has a small jar that can be used on it, you're going to waste most of it coating the container. An actual grinder can also be used for spices, nuts etc so not a waste even if you decide to not use it for coffee. But it's so easy, why not? Not a big investment, I have a very basic one similar to this one Amazon.com, I just add the beans (same amount as you'd use for ground coffee) , run it until the sound indicates that it is pretty much done (20-30 seconds or so), and dump the grounds into the filter. One can go much fancier, I have not seen the need. I totally agree with drinking it black, no sugar. Bad coffee needs adulterants, good coffee doesn't particularly. (Well, very good but very strong coffee such as espresso can benefit from some milk, I do like cappuccino etc., but for lower-strength "Americano" go with the pure essence)

I've been buying whole beans and brewing my own for over 15 years now.
I never buy a cup except sometimes when eating out.
It never tastes as good.
Guatemalan and Sumatran are my favorites.
As a general rule I try other Central and South American brands, and find them to be pretty good.
But, I still go back.

I use a 30ml measuring spoon filled to slightly heaping - probably about 35 ml in 10 cups of water.
I believe that gives us a medium-strong brew.
We use catchment, so we use rainwater.
We each drink 2 large mugs every morning, drinking all the pot.
Never drink it any other time.
If I miss my morning coffee, I will experience mild withdrawals.

I buy medium to medium-dark roast.
As a general rule the darker the roast - the stronger the coffee.
And, the strengths from roasting and from the quantity brewed are different.
Both have to be considered in deciding the brewing.

EDT:
I have drunk black coffee ever since starting as a teenager.
I'm on my second coffee grinder used in this period.
The finer it's ground the stronger it'll be.
Find a grind you like, and duplicate it all the time.
You'll know when you've ground it wrong.

If you grind it too finely it will clog a paper coffee filter. But espresso calls for a fine grind.

Stovetop espresso pots work well if you don't have much counter space for a big machine.

That's a common method in the DR. My buddy spent some time there and when he got back that's the only way we'd drink it. Still have one but don't use it...I'm going to break it out! When we were in CR recently we learned that they like to make their coffee with a chorreador which is a cotton sieve and stand. The sad irony about CR coffee as well as that from Guatemala (I spent some time there and met a crazy Australian roasting coffee in a small building with an ancient brass roaster that took up the whole room) is that the locals all drink Nescafe. All the good coffee is exported to the states and the locals either don't have access to or can't afford the good stuff. Was really depressing.

Chorreador:
Attachment 156581

Size of roaster manned by cracked-out Australian in Guatemala:
Attachment 156582
I went back to this pic I randomly found on the net as the guy in gray actually looked like the Australian I had met. Turns out, there's a really cool story behind it:
Coffee roaster ‘piece of history’ in Yacolt - The Columbian
And here is the coffee he sells...available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pull+caff...f=nb_sb_noss_1