Obligatory Bean Post

My daughter, an coffee aficionado/snob, highly recommends Caribou Coffee.They are out of Minnesota and can be found in the midwest.

1) My understanding is that Dunkin Donuts buys the same beans Starbucks does.
2) I don't know what Starbucks does to their coffee, but they seem to like to make their coffee bitter.
3) However, Dunkin Donuts is blue collar, and Starbucks is yuppie, and image trumps reality.

You can find Caribou Coffee in the South, too. Pretty good stuff. And I need to put in a plug here for my favorite, Summit Coffee in Davidson, NC(www.summitcoffee.com). You can order their beans online. I lived off that stuff all four years of undergrad and it is some really good stuff.

John, I can't believe you don't already know about this:

http://www.rangercoffee.com/

Ranger up.

I say go with 8 O'Clock brand. It's smooth and readily available.

However, I'll take coffee however I can get it. I am a caffeine fiend.

GregS

I like Gevalia http://www.gevalia.com/ for beans from particular parts of the world. Just by changing the soil and growing conditions you change the end flavor. They do a fair job of describing things to you, and I like trying new things. Of course, they want to get you hooked into their Club, but they do stick by their cancelation policy, so you can get in and out quick. Kona coffee I'm told has to be tried, and I like Kenyan.

Strong and black.

You need to be able to stand a spoon up in it without any cream or sugar to be a really good cup of coffee...

Or you could go with some Ted Nugent "Nuge Java"...

Ok finally something I can comment on...

I agree, and am not a "fan of starbucks either".

The coffee is extremely acidic, and tastes bitter. This can be from overprocessing coffee beans. I spoke with a coffee bean impoter at one time, and they did tell me that Starbucks, over roasts the beans. They roast them 3 times the recommended amount.

Some folks love over roasted coffee, in fact most middle eatern countries love the taste...

I like a smooth blended coffee....

I would recommend going to a local coffee house, and sniffing beans.....and yes I am very serious about this. smell, you can sense what is going to be too bitter and acidic for your own taste. also i might reccomend using a french press, or an old fashioned percolator to brew coffee.

good luck

check out Community Coffee Dark Roast...good stuff from the Bayou.

www.communitycoffee.com

Starbucks (AKA Charbucks) and Peets roast to a full French or very dark roast. The undesirable quality you likely taste is from stale dark roasted beans.

I home roast my own beans, and they are two weeks out of the roaster they taste stale.

Everybody's do.

A roast is at its prime two to three days after the roaster. At our home we usually finish a batch before the roasted beans are 6 days old.

Blends are important, make no mistake about it. Roasting profile is also important. A heavy hand, or too long at temperature, or too slow a cool-down can kill all flavor, especially when you do dark French or Italizn style roasts.

If your local coffee guy cannot tell you when the beans were roasted to the day, you're getting stale crap-in-a-cup.

I've bene told by Starbucks people that they have roasters in many countries, and frankly, I believe it.

I'll bet Dunkin DOnuts roasts their coffee someplace in or around BeanTown, and deliver to their retailers in recored time.

The retailers are likely trained to brew it fresh and not not use stale stuff.

It's all pride in product, I tell ya.

Caribou Coffee is money! Get it every time I fly into Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Can't get the stuff out here though.

Lots of great suggestions, but I think Bullnav wins the thread with "Nuge Java."

Ha!

I am a huge fan of Gevalia, their varietals are almost as much fun to try out as the different varieties of scotch.

I have found some of the best whole bean I've ever had to be Jamaican Blue Mountain, and from the slopes of Kilamanjaro in Africa.

Bucks County Coffee is the best I've found in PA. I think the house blend is best if you buy whole beans and grind them yourself and drink it black. You can also order online:
http://www.buckscountycoffee.com/

College who's a coffeeholic showed me the advantages of fresh grinding beans at the time of brewing. Can't stand canned ground coffee anymore. Google Purple Mountain and Coal Creek coffees. Colorado and Wyoming local roasters. Strong but good according to tastes. Starbucks has different grades/blends from mild to extra bold. Of course, more bold grades could taste burned. Duh? Personal taste. Don't like mild and extra is, well, TOO coffee. I look at black coffee like a paint tint base. The tint base determines the quality of the finished color. Same for coffee. Basic black coffee is the basis for the "finished taste" adding only a creamer, not flavored type, necessarily. I prefer Starbucks medium such as House Blend, ground at brew and watching the mix. Took a while to get the right taste. Yes, it's always personal preference. If you buy Starbucks fancy stuff, you get whatever they mix in so, yes, it could taste burnt if you're not used to that strong a mix. Don't judge Starbucks beans by their counter mixes. My two cents, guys...

here in Ohio, definitely caribou.
Yes, I think starbucks burns their beans!

Great coffee out of Colorado - Rocky Mountain Coffee, Fraser, CO. http://www.rockymountainroastery.com/

Ditto on Starbucks, the McSwill of coffees!

hmmm these Rocky Mountain blends are quite useful.

You guys like talking about coffee huh?

Starbucks is overpriced and overrated.
Ive tried it multiple times at multiple places ranging from bookstores to airports to starbucks stores. Weak. I guess Ive been spoiled by drinking coffee in New Orleans for 25+ years. I second VFRMarine's recommendation for Community coffee. That and CDM are both old school (80+ years for Community and 105 years for CDM) and I highly recommend that y'all give em a try.

A 58-year-old ex-grunt here, who was weaned on Dark Roast Community Coffee.

Having spent my youth on various military bases, I have tried some of the various coffees mentioned here, and other, more pedestrian coffees, and found them all lacking.

Therefore, I also second the nomination of Community coffee, brewed strong, and drank black. It will be, at least, an unforgettable experience, and at most, the most glorious coffee experience ever!!!

GO ARMY!!!