Thoughts on coffee
 

Have generational tastes changed?
Is medium roast mild? That's what my gevalia traditional roast is marked as.
I started drinking coffee in the 90's when the big thing was arabica (e.g. good Columbian) vs robusta (cafeteria coffee). Starbucks was just spreading out with its dark roast/french roast, and Trader Joe's had a wide selection of affordable single source arabica coffees ranging from acidic Columbian and Costa Rican to low acid Sumatran, Kona too. Most all were medium roast. I don't remember ever seeing a light roast. Do you?

I've been drinking Aldi's or Nescafe decaf with milk for the past ten or fifteen years and have not kept up with trends. Is dark roast (Starbucks type) the new normal for the people who turn up their noses at Folgers and Chock Full O Nuts? I think the coffee flavor is gone from dark roasts leaving just toast/char, but I don't have a very well developed palate.

What do you like? Have your tastes changed?

Gevalia traditional roast is one of two I brew from K-cups and drink. It's labeled "mild light roast". I'm not big on dark roasts, which pretty much rules out Starbucks as they burn all their coffee, IMO.

The other coffee I like, also in K-cups, is Kauai "Island Sunrise Mild Roast" , which is a premium Arabica Coffee from Hawaii.
-Keith

I agree on the Starbucks. I have been buying fresh roasted whole bean coffees for 40 yrs. I tried Gevalia and found it lacking, probably because it was pre ground and had gotten stale. I buy mostly varietals such as Tanzanian peaberry, Ethiopian harrar, etc. A few blends also. I am a fan of dark roasts. Espresso roasts, if done right, are my favorites. And I have NEVER followed trends. I like what I like.

I’m a Starbucks Caffe Verona guy. Black. The Keurig is one of the best inventions ever.

Like many, my coffee preferences have evolved, but the same can be said for food, wine, beer and liquor.

I should clarify. I buy Gevalia for two reasons. First its cheap. Second its drinkable. It isn't what I would call great coffee and its about as good as Amazon brand.

-Keith

Wh

Good coffee is grown on shady hillsides or in a field that receives only part sun. The beans grow much slower and absorb much more flavor from the cherry flesh that surrounds the bean. Cheap coffee is grown in full sun in fields; it grows much faster, but does not absorb as much flavor from the bean.

Most dark roast coffee is inferior beans because charring coffee to the point of dark roast eliminates the natural flavors and replaces it with charred notes. It makes sense to do this to inferior, less expensive beans, less flavorful beans.

Light roast coffee allows the natural flavors to shine and is mostly done on high quality beans for obvious reasons.

One more advantage to light roast = more caffeine. Caffeine is eliminated through the roasting process so dark coffee has less caffeine.

Although I had had it before and liked it, I bought the Gevalia trad roast because it was the only medium roast on the store shelf at the time, and luckily was priced below the big brands around it. It is ground pretty fine and loses its flavor soon after being opened. When that happens I switch it over from making it with the press pot to my little stove-top aluminum espresso pot to concentrate the flavor.

Back in my school days the coffee-head grad students would use the lab's reverse osmosis water for coffee. This was long before R.O. water got cheap. I didn't think we had bad tasting tap water and couldn't taste a difference.

Cheap is good for some things. Personally, I don't go cheap on a few things. Coffee is at the top of that list. I can't justify spending $30+/lb for Jamaica Blue Mountain or the civet coffee (never could remember the proper name for that) but I will spend $12 - 15/lb for high quality, small farm, fair traded beans from different parts of the world. And Ray, let me second the thought about Keurig! I use my own coffee in my machine with RO water. Superior taste due to my tap being heavily chlorinated, and no calcium buildup in the machine.

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:30 PM ----------

This depends on the source and the roaster. I learned from a roaster there is a fine line between dark and burnt. Properly roasted coffee has to come to a certain temperature to evaporate certain oils that can leave a sour taste to the coffee. A good roaster will watch his roast, checking it often for color, and stop the process before any charring can occur. That's the difference between mass producers and small batch (2 to 3 lbs) roasting. As I said, I pay more for this, but I'm paying for the expertise of the roaster. Caffeine is not a big consideration as it has little effect on me. I can, and sometimes do, drink a cup shortly before bed with no problem.

Yes! I got them to buy one at work, and have one at home. I supply the RO for everyone using the one at work, which is a bit of a pain.
-Keith

---------- Post added at 05:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:26 PM ----------

IMO, cheap beans would seem to be the Starbucks model.I'm a light roast drinker, but don't have enough coffee savvy to know how to buy good light roast coffee. Recommendations for mind-blowing light roast would be much appreciated.

-Keith

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

Try TJs Bay Blend. I drank that for years before I could afford to go all in.

I did enjoy that show. And I ordered some of the fancy stuff offered at outrageous prices from La Colombe online while the show was on the air. It was fantastic!! Now it's mostly commercial grade. Bought a few bags for my mom for Christmas for my mom. They were way cheaper, but also tasted like normal coffe. Also now you can find their nitro canned mocha in grocery stores. I definitely recommend that.

Anyway, I go for whole bean. Starbucks tastes way to strong/gritty for me. I buy Dunkin Donuts brand. Don't judge until you've tried it!!

The best coffee I ever had was 100% Kona from Kona. The place I used to mail order from apparently is now just a local coffee house.