I’m actually immune to caffeine, but, I do like coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon,then I switch back to coffee for the evening.
I need a mug of something hot in my hand while I work or I end up fidgeting too much and don’t get any work done. A mug in my hand ensures I don’t bend all my paper clips until they snap, or break all my pens.
@OnionSoup I feel the same about caffeine. The best coffee I’ve ever had was from one of those Keurig things (from, of all places, the car dealer’s break room) so I would have been tempted by today’s deal if I was more into it. Plus I like the minimal effort I put into hot tea (two sugar packets max [sometimes Stevia] and nothing else); no guessing games with sugar and creamer amounts.
@callow I set my coffee for about 15 minutes before my alarm. That way it’s ready by the time I get up, especially since I usually hit the snooze 2-3 times.
#1 is price, #2 is taste. I’m not much of a coffee snob, but I do avoid Folgers, Maxwell House, etc., in favor of more “premium” coffee. Lavazza is my favorite, but Gevalia is also pretty good and usually cheaper. The McDonald’s brand coffee is also surprisingly good and fairly cheap.
When it comes to coffee, it is imperative that they leave enough room in the cup (about 4-5” in an 8oz cup) for the cream and sugar… basically, I like a little coffee with my cream and sugar and a shot or two of espresso if available… but then I require a lot more sugar and a flavored creamer… The effects of espresso… awesome!!! The taste… not so much!
I would say taste, but that wouldn’t be true based on how often I brew it the regular way and how often I don’t use a French press. So “ease of preparation”
Terroir
Origin (Country and Farm)
Roast Profile (Roast is more than just how dark or light)
Tasting Notes
Date Roasted
99% of the time single origin > blend
Brew method
How long ago it was brewed
And while I do drink crappy (most restaurant brew) I refuse to call it coffee
Medium or dark roast. Freshness of the brew. Taste.
Hot…Black… I prefer private owned coffee shops… chains if No other option. Home I grind beans, do French press, pour over, drip, and looking at vacuum/siphon coffee pots… Yea a little obsessed but hey it’s either that, or “meh” at midnight, or "Vinyl " …
@moonhat Ok, I’ve tried Swift coffee and Voila coffee so far. Ordered some from Sudden Coffee, but they were backordered. Of the flavors I’ve tried so far, I’ve liked Swift’s Kenya the best, but all were relatively good, and I could see preferring other flavors/companies as a matter of preference. Can’t see drinking this routinely because of the price.
Also, I can’t make any confident statements about my own ability to taste or smell things critically. I’m not all that discerning. For my own coffee, I roast green beans on the stove, and get them – errr, brown. At least some of the beans crack… first or second, couldn’t say with confidence. Sometimes a cup tastes better than other times. I do tend to like things a little lighter, usually.
@moonhat Not the way I do it
Someday I’ll buy one of those home roasters. Meanwhile, it’s just lots of stirring on the stove top.
I have a kind of hard time getting the beans hot enough to crack without getting them really dark. I think some kind of hot air circulation machine would make better, more consistent coffee. I do still like the results though, and it’s cheap. s’like $40-50 for 5 pounds of beans. And they usually come out ok, at least by my standards.
I definitely prefer to spend a little more for better-tasting coffee, but I don’t go crazy with it. I’ve found Gevalia’s light roast is at my sweet spot of taste and price. Occasionally I’ll pick up a pound from a local roaster, but that’s more of a conscience thing, 'cause, honestly, I’m not a huge fan of either of them. One tends to over roast and keeps their beans on the shelf way too long, and the other is pretty good, but insufferably snobbish.
I buy whole bean and have an inexpensive burr ginder, because I find a freshly-ground mediocre coffee preferable to stale top-dollar stuff.
When I’m out, though, my only real requirement is that it meets two of three criteria: hot, fresh, caffeinated.
The funny part of this is that I was a full-time barista for several years. I guess I learned enough about coffee in that time to realize that it’s almost entirely subjective, and that most experts are just treating their opinions as incontrovertible facts.
My wife and I have considered opening a coffee shop before. If we do, it’ll be called “Regular Joe,” and snobbery will be discouraged on both sides of the counter.
Caffeine.
What’s important to me is that I don’t have to smell or taste it. Blech
The roast; light for the weekend, medium for the weekday except Monday, dark for Monday (and extra dark after a vacation).
@hchavers It’s not extra stromg, it’s voodoo strong for after the vacation!
@hchavers @rtjhnstn Did y’all know that the darker the roast, the less caffeine the bean has?
https://www.turntablekitchen.com/recipes/how-to-make-coffee-light-roast-vs-dark-roast/
@mehvid1 @rtjhnstn Don’t spoil my joke with facts!
@hchavers @mehvid1 @rtjhnstn I didn’t know that! Very interesting, thank you!
Taste. I’m more of a hot tea person but I’d be thrilled to find a good tasting coffee.
@JT954 I drink anything hot… When I’m at work.
I’m actually immune to caffeine, but, I do like coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon,then I switch back to coffee for the evening.
I need a mug of something hot in my hand while I work or I end up fidgeting too much and don’t get any work done. A mug in my hand ensures I don’t bend all my paper clips until they snap, or break all my pens.
@OnionSoup I feel the same about caffeine. The best coffee I’ve ever had was from one of those Keurig things (from, of all places, the car dealer’s break room) so I would have been tempted by today’s deal if I was more into it. Plus I like the minimal effort I put into hot tea (two sugar packets max [sometimes Stevia] and nothing else); no guessing games with sugar and creamer amounts.
Timer. I don’t get out of bed until the coffee is brewed.
@callow I set my coffee for about 15 minutes before my alarm. That way it’s ready by the time I get up, especially since I usually hit the snooze 2-3 times.
@cpierce Ditto! Except for the snooze. If I know the coffee is ready I get right up.
#1 is price, #2 is taste. I’m not much of a coffee snob, but I do avoid Folgers, Maxwell House, etc., in favor of more “premium” coffee. Lavazza is my favorite, but Gevalia is also pretty good and usually cheaper. The McDonald’s brand coffee is also surprisingly good and fairly cheap.
Why isn’t “Being able to listen to my music while it brews” an option? Obvious marketing oversight
You left out hot and brown.
@cranky1950 heheh
/giphy hot and brown
@moonhat Nah Nah Nah
More like this
@cranky1950
/giphy black and bitter
When it comes to coffee, it is imperative that they leave enough room in the cup (about 4-5” in an 8oz cup) for the cream and sugar… basically, I like a little coffee with my cream and sugar and a shot or two of espresso if available… but then I require a lot more sugar and a flavored creamer… The effects of espresso… awesome!!! The taste… not so much!
OWLS! TOWELS! JOWLS! AWESOME!
@mediocrebot OWLS??? Where?!?
@mediocrebot In stead of owls, shoudn’t bowels be one of the words?
Coffee does make you go.
@leti1111 @mediocrebot
There are owls here in the forum. I know there is a user here who actually has some owl DNA.
I would say taste, but that wouldn’t be true based on how often I brew it the regular way and how often I don’t use a French press. So “ease of preparation”
Terroir
Origin (Country and Farm)
Roast Profile (Roast is more than just how dark or light)
Tasting Notes
Date Roasted
99% of the time single origin > blend
Brew method
How long ago it was brewed
And while I do drink crappy (most restaurant brew) I refuse to call it coffee
i’d be in on this if it were a docking station-speaker-coffee maker.
Medium or dark roast. Freshness of the brew. Taste.
Hot…Black… I prefer private owned coffee shops… chains if No other option. Home I grind beans, do French press, pour over, drip, and looking at vacuum/siphon coffee pots… Yea a little obsessed but hey it’s either that, or “meh” at midnight, or "Vinyl " …
Sure, you say that taste is the most important quality, but would you pay $3 for a cup of instant coffee?
I’ve been trying out some expensive instant coffee and it’s actually good. Tastes like what I make at home.
@InnocuousFarmer do tell
@moonhat Ok, I’ve tried Swift coffee and Voila coffee so far. Ordered some from Sudden Coffee, but they were backordered. Of the flavors I’ve tried so far, I’ve liked Swift’s Kenya the best, but all were relatively good, and I could see preferring other flavors/companies as a matter of preference. Can’t see drinking this routinely because of the price.
Also, I can’t make any confident statements about my own ability to taste or smell things critically. I’m not all that discerning. For my own coffee, I roast green beans on the stove, and get them – errr, brown. At least some of the beans crack… first or second, couldn’t say with confidence. Sometimes a cup tastes better than other times. I do tend to like things a little lighter, usually.
@InnocuousFarmer the face that you roast your own coffee beans is pretty impressive!
@moonhat Not the way I do it
Someday I’ll buy one of those home roasters. Meanwhile, it’s just lots of stirring on the stove top.
I have a kind of hard time getting the beans hot enough to crack without getting them really dark. I think some kind of hot air circulation machine would make better, more consistent coffee. I do still like the results though, and it’s cheap. s’like $40-50 for 5 pounds of beans. And they usually come out ok, at least by my standards.
Most important factor: It has to be organically grown, as I don’t deal well with the chemicals. After that: roast, region it came from, and freshness.
I definitely prefer to spend a little more for better-tasting coffee, but I don’t go crazy with it. I’ve found Gevalia’s light roast is at my sweet spot of taste and price. Occasionally I’ll pick up a pound from a local roaster, but that’s more of a conscience thing, 'cause, honestly, I’m not a huge fan of either of them. One tends to over roast and keeps their beans on the shelf way too long, and the other is pretty good, but insufferably snobbish.
I buy whole bean and have an inexpensive burr ginder, because I find a freshly-ground mediocre coffee preferable to stale top-dollar stuff.
When I’m out, though, my only real requirement is that it meets two of three criteria: hot, fresh, caffeinated.
The funny part of this is that I was a full-time barista for several years. I guess I learned enough about coffee in that time to realize that it’s almost entirely subjective, and that most experts are just treating their opinions as incontrovertible facts.
My wife and I have considered opening a coffee shop before. If we do, it’ll be called “Regular Joe,” and snobbery will be discouraged on both sides of the counter.
I put enough crap in it that the coffee only needs to be decent but I want it NOW.