[LeonardoDaBenz]

For the past few years, I just had to get away from instant coffee.

Because SWMBO and I had to get up fairly early to leave for work (both of us now retired), we had no time for decent brew. We did have a "Mr Coffee" but somehow it just didn't fullfill my dreams of what a good cuppa should be. And I won't ever go to *bucks just on principle.

SO, I got myself a nice heavy walled french press and burr grinder. Did some more research on good coffee beans (HAS to be freshly ground) but not stupid expensive.

Settled on a brand called Kicking Horse. They have various roasts-dark, medium, light and several variations within those levels.

MAIN point of this thread:

I use two air-tight canisters to keep the beans fresh BUT one holds 1 lb of beans and the other holds 1/2lb. I alternate between dark and medium roasts with those two cans.

One variation I've been using for a few months is MIXING those two roasts when I get near the bottom of the 1/2 lb and about midway through the 1 lb'r.

What a delightful change--a third roast has been discovered 😁

What's your story?

 

[PickyPrincess]

I'm not too fancy when it comes to coffee. This Christmas, I got a new coffee maker; it's a Keurig, and it has a frother. I don't use the K Cup styled coffees but instead I have the reusable basket and I use whatever coffee I want to. I love the frother and will never be without one again. 😁

I try to stay away from caffeine as much as possible, so I stick to whatever I can find that is a light roast yet decaf. It is hard to find that combination, that's for sure.

I've not used a burr grinder before. Still, I did upgrade my little coffee/spice grinder recently to something more sophisticated. It was exciting to find that people weren't fibbing when they said your grinder plays a significant role in the quality of your coffee.

 

[Wooleybooger]

I like French Market coffee and chicory and had it on Subscribe & Save with Amazon for quite a while. I've cut that off because of cost and going with a major brand. We'll see on that. I still use a Mr. Coffee to brew it. At work before I retired it was whatever was in the Bunn coffee machine and I got so used to it that it starting tasting almost like hot water.

 

[Steve-o]

We're relatively serious about coffee in this house.

Most of the coffee we drink comes from a company in town and a local roaster that gets the beans from plantations owned and operated by their family in Honduras. Since we drink enough coffee here we mix a medium-roast blend with a Colombian decaf the coffee company recommends, 50/50. Most of that is ground fresh daily (in a Baratza burr grinder) and goes through a Bonavita drip coffeemaker and thermal carafe each morning.

There's usually another 12-16 ounces stashed away that I use for pourovers when I feel like a pick-me-up. That's ground fresh too and goes through a Melitta pourover filter. That coffee usually comes from a different local coffee company just for the change of pace so it's often different brands, varieties, and roasts, and that usually is fully caffeinated (to get a better sense of the flavor).

 

[LeonardoDaBenz]

That's one thing I really like is the mix and match. Either 50-50 or 75-25 etc. A surprise in every cup 😁

 

[Two knots]

We have a stainless steel French press that is awesome…we also grind our own coffee…
we keep the beans in the fridge…I like strong coffee with milk. We also have a Italian 6 cup Bialetti coffee pot …we also use it for regular coffee as well, it makes 2 cups of excellent Delicious regular coffee…

 

[Colbyt]

Breakfast coffee is always straight black and brewed with a $10 Wally World drip coffee maker.

Last year while doing an over winter project at a rental house and after pricing coffee at the coffee shop around the corner from it, I broke down and bought a single cup Hamilton Beach coffee maker.

It has a brew basket and uses loose coffee not pods so It is far more economical. Mine brews up to 16 ounces of coffee at one go.If I had the counter space I would keep both machines as this one makes a great cup of french vanilla using a medium roast coffee.One can cut down and use paper filters with it but that is not required.

If I were still working outside the home this would be my only machine for brew and go.

 

[Old Gnome]

Our son-in-law is a very talented (won contests) barista. He and our daughter are much more knowledgeable about coffee than I am, though I have consumed coffee in every state and country I have ever visited (including Italy). My wife has also worked as a Barista and makes a terrific latte.

My current weekend go-to is an Americano with espresso from our Breville. I also have a DeLonghi machine in my office that use during the week to make "espresso" with Easy Serve Espresso pods (finely ground coffee encase in filter paper - it looks like an espresso 'puck'). That coffee is about halfway between a true espresso and an automatic drip; that makes it suitable for a workday in an environment where I am missing a sink and a microwave.

 

[LeonardoDaBenz]

we keep the beans in the fridge…

Probably not a good idea. Nowhere have I found that idea, rather do NOT store in the fridge (or freezer)

Proper Coffee Storage

www.seriouscoffee.com