COFFEE PSA - IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO MY WIFE AND I

[chief38]

I have in the past posted a few coffee threads and while we normally drink coffee only in the morning, we do truly savor 8 cups between us. For us, IT HAS TO BE fresh brewed in either an electric percolator or a stove top stainless Percolator. When we entertain, we do brew another pot for guests after dinner.

Over the last few decades we have only bought 8 o'clock brand Columbian Peaks as it is GREAT! We still love it but over the last year or so the price has drastically increased. Not only did it sky-rocket, but from time to time it has also been difficult to find.

About a month ago during our weekly trip to Costco, we looked at the coffee isle a bit more seriously. In the past we used to buy Kirkland Columbian coffee in the brown can and it is excellent as well - the problem we had with it is that it is a very fine grind and no mater what kind of filter is used, coffee grinds muddy up the coffee and so we stopped buying it many years ago. We did recently spot another Kirkland coffee that said medium grind and so we bought a bag. Not only was it a few bucks/bag less but the amount Kirkland puts in is 33% more! OK - enough about economics, the proof is in the taste right?!

We started drinking the new to us Kirkland medium grind about 4 weeks ago (gave it time before posting this review) and I have to say it is in our opinion the Kirkland is every bit as good as the 8 o'clock coffee. That's a bold statement for me to make too! Every so slightly different, but just as good.

YES - I am aware we can buy most coffee as beans and grind it at home but that is something we have tried and quite honestly, we find no real advantage or taste differential. In a blind taste test, neither my wife or I could detect the difference with 8 o'clock Columbian Peaks brand, beans vs ground. I get the whole rigamarole about grinding coffee fresh each morning, however if we can not discern any difference, why bother! Just another thing to do, clean, and take up counter space.

So this is a PSA to all the Forum's coffee lovers out there who demand great coffee. Try a bag of the Kirkland medium grind Arabica coffee, enjoy the savings and let me know what you think. Not only is it readily available at Costco & a great price, it is awesome coffee!!

 

[Baxter6551]

I buy the Kirkland Colombian whole bean and grind it myself. I’m also a former 8 o’clock drinker (original blend). I saw 8 o’clock whole bean at BJs so I’m trying a bag. I do like the fresh ground taste and by grinding your own beans you can control the size of the grinds if that is an issue for your coffee pot. I’m the only coffee drinker in the house and use the Keurig little metal filter gizmo that replaces the pods. Use the pods for the variety for company.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My wife and I are coffee drinkers also. In 2004 I switched to Decafe all day long to help with Blood pressure issues. We prefer the Drip method of brewing, Think Bunn or MR. COFFEE. I have found several stove top Drip Brewers at garage sales over the years, usually around $5. I always have three on hand: A Primary, a Back-up, and a gift for others.

The modern finer grinds of the "13-ounce pounds" leak lots of fine sediment in the pot. The small Bunn paper filter catches most of this and fits the 1950's coffee makers too.

I buy my filters at a restaurant supply (GFS), by the 500, they run about 60 to 75% cheaper that at the grocery store! We use a little over 1000 a year. I try to keep 1000 filters and 10 pounds of each type of coffee in the pantry at all times.

Ivan

Ivan

 

[wuluf]

Also from Costco, we get the San Francisco coffee brand French Roast. Whole bean, runs about 15.00 for 3 lbs. We like our coffee strong and drink it all day. My wife calls restaurant coffee " warm brown water!"

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 

[JohnRippert]

I drink about one 5 or 6oz cup of coffee a day, always in the afternoon after my post lunch nap. Normally it just gets blasted through my Mr Coffee Jr but occasionally I will brew up a few cups in my old clear Pyrex percolator. I don't mind paying extra for a good Jamaica Blue Mountain blend or similar because I buy whole bean. I put about half a pound in my stainless steel vacuum sealed container and the rest in the freezer well sealed. I grind as I go and a pound of coffee lasts me about 6 months.

 

[schutz5]

Thanks for the PSA!
Costco also stocks an excellent ground coffee packaged in a gold bag. Not all store locations carry it.
Ranges from $23 to $25 per bag.
Excellent stuff.
Sorry I don't have the name off the top of my head.

 

[smoothshooter]

I have tried several times over the years to learn to like coffee, and failed, even after doctoring it up with cream and sugar so that it looks like chocolate milk.
I personally don’t know how people drink the stuff.

 

[Rule3]

We have been buying Costco whole bean for years and grind it at home.


You do know that you can buy the whole bean and grind it IN THE STORE anyway you want. The grinder is after the check out.

 

[lihpster]

I have many ways to make coffee. One is a pour over gadget that uses filters and makes a cup of drip coffee, right in the cup. With my Jetboil to heat water. it fits in small spaces. One of those places was the saddlebags of my motorcycle.
I was on a poker run once that took place on a rainy day with the temperature in the high thirties. One of the guys on the run was a well known coffee snob. Always buying exotic coffees and the most expensive machines to process it. Due to an accident, we were stuck in traffic for about an hour, waiting for the road to open. Me, I dug into the bags and began making me and my buddy some coffee. Mr. Coffee Snob comes over and begins lamenting the fact that he can't get to the Starbucks which is about 10 minutes past the wreck. I offered to make him a cup and he looked at my kit and said a somewhat less polite version of No thanks.
After about 1/2 an hour, I'm making myself a second cup, and one for a cute girl, who was stuck in traffic with all these bikers and looked a little scared of us. She seemed to calm down after I gave her the cup.
Mr. Coffee Snob comes up and sheepishly asks if I will make him a cup. I tell him to get me some water and we're on. He does, I make the coffee and give it to him. He took a sip and his eyes got big. "This is good coffee!" Seems he learned from his folks that "regular" coffee was a terribly horrible beverage and had never tried any coffee but gourmet stuff. Of course the rain and cold made it that much better, but he was surprised at the quality of coffee. I wound up having a 15 minute conversation with him, told him where to get the gear I was using and how to use it. He now buys his coffee at the grocery store and uses the pour over method at home even.
Try different things. You might not know what you're missing.

 

[pmanton]

You coffee drinkers are so very lucky. I used to drink it by the potfulls. Some years back I had to cut down. Today, alas I can no longer even drink a single cup. I am seriously jealous of you coffee drinkers.

 

[Chuck24]

Whatever the IHOP serves

 

[Rustyt1953]

I am the sole coffee drinker in this house. I have found what works for me.

I chose wisely.

 

[walkin jack]

Chief, I admire your insistence on and appreciation of good coffee. We also take our coffee seriously. During cold weather we have our usual full pot at breakfast and we keep the pot hot all day. In summer we usually don't drink it after breakfast. We will have a cup or two of CFoN decaff after dinner if we have desert. Same great taste.

Our tastes are not like a lot of peoples. We don't like the bitter and burnt taste in coffee (like Starbucks). We like it rich and smooth. Our daughter put us on to what is now our favorite coffee. It's a New York brand "Chock Full of Nuts. Can't account for the name because it doesn't have any nuts in it. But it is very very good Rich and smooth.
Stores up here don't stock it so Miss Pam orders it on line...by the case.

Several years ago we received a Kurig as a gift. We don't use it much but it does come in handy on occasion. I found a great flavorful coffee in K-cup called Lone Star Blend. Only one store around here stocks it but it's the only coffee we use in the Kurig. I do use it for green tea and hot chocolate though.

Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

[waffles]

For a long time I did the Vietnamese coffee thing and loved it, but while camping I'd always do folgers instant to cut down on carried weight. Along the way Icame to enjoy that, and now I'm just a full on folgers instant man. I love it when something in life can be cheap and simple.

 

[pharmer]

I buy 10 lbs of Gold Star "Kona" every 8 months or so. Says on the bag "World's Best Coffee", maybe not but it's good and puts lead in the pencil. Costs maybe $1 a day which is way better than anything bu the side of the road. I grind enough beans for a week at a time, too much trouble doing it daily, especially since I set up the machine the night before. Joe

 

[Sistema1927]

The wife and I share an 8-cup pot each morning. Our current favorite is "Adobe Morning" from the Piñon Coffee Shop here in Albuquerque. When we run low I ask the wife to pick up some "Adobe Mud".

 

[Bald1]

I love coffee and I love bourbon. We usually bought whatever coffee was on sale. Usually Chuck full of Nuts. I simply added a little extra if it wasn’t strong enough. I had a revelation a couple months ago. I told my wife, I don’t drink cheap bourbon and I’m not drinking cheap coffee anymore. I’m going to find what I like best and that will be my go to coffee for now on. She’s not too picky because she drinks ice coffee. Well after months of experimenting ( I thought 8 o’clock might win out) it became clear that more money did not equal better taste. We have settled on Wegmans store brand French roast. My dream of becoming a coffee snob is dead.

 

[Bro. Dave]

Fresh ground for every pot and brewed in a Moccamaster. Definitely worth the cost. I buy whole bean from T3 Roasters in Tulsa Ok which is owned by a young man and wife I've known for years. The young owner was my late son's best friend, who generously credits me for being the one who got him hooked on good coffee.

Life is definitely too short to drink bad coffee!

 

[oldbrownhat]

Well, I'll be danged. ladder13 just posted this earlier today:

FWIW, I'm a "fresh ground from whole beans and made in French press" guy, but whatever floats yer boat. No quibble about the importance of the morning brew, even if some of it is "just in your head."

 

[swsig]

Geez, I guess I'm the exception on the Forum. I just grab whatever random K-cup I can find lying around, dump it in the Keurig machine, push the button, and I'm good.