Crosswords0 min ago
Are you a coffee 'snob'?
91 Answers
If there's one thing I cannot thole it's sub-standard coffee.
The worst of the lot is that milky vomit they serve up in 'builder' cafes.
Starbucks are a fraud - rarely have I had a decent coffee from them, and they their 'fair-trade' policy is dubious.
The best of the high street coffee bars IMO is Cafe Nero: good quality, decent strength, forgeable loyalty cards - it's genius siting a couple of their branches for the tired traveller in Heathrow and Gatwick.
My setup here at home is: Gaggia espresso machine (permanently set up with the 'double' espresso holder), microwave to warm the milk, and Taylors Hot Lava Java - strength 6 :-)
So - back to my question, are you a coffee connoisseur, do you have a decent set-up or do you just bung a spoonfull of Maxwell house into a mug, slop water onto it and glug?
The worst of the lot is that milky vomit they serve up in 'builder' cafes.
Starbucks are a fraud - rarely have I had a decent coffee from them, and they their 'fair-trade' policy is dubious.
The best of the high street coffee bars IMO is Cafe Nero: good quality, decent strength, forgeable loyalty cards - it's genius siting a couple of their branches for the tired traveller in Heathrow and Gatwick.
My setup here at home is: Gaggia espresso machine (permanently set up with the 'double' espresso holder), microwave to warm the milk, and Taylors Hot Lava Java - strength 6 :-)
So - back to my question, are you a coffee connoisseur, do you have a decent set-up or do you just bung a spoonfull of Maxwell house into a mug, slop water onto it and glug?
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Here in the U.S. where, I suspect, coffee drinking is more universal (you no, that Boston Tea Party thingy) everyone seems to have their own recipes and 'rituals'. Here, in the western U.S. there are numerous "local" coffee shops, but a variety of Columbian coffee seems to be the favorite. We go out of our way to find a Caribou Coffee shop. It's a Minneapolis, Minnesota based small corporation and seems to control quality reasonably well.
I have found that since Starbucks instituted one standard grind (Pike Place) that you can count on at each outlet, I'm more likely to buy that if no Caribou's is available. Starbucks can be sounted on to serve hot coffee, which is a good thing, no?
Having grown up in the south I've never been able to shake the cream (real, thick, fresh from the cow cream thank you, (none of that fake stuff in fancy little sealed cardborad cups)) and several spoons of sugar habit, but it works well for the Columbian grinds.
Snob... well, yes if there's any Jamaica Blue Mountain to be had... terribly expensive, only available a short time each year but worth the cost and wait... (Try a cup stirred with a wooden spoon that's been dipped in dark chocolate)...
I have found that since Starbucks instituted one standard grind (Pike Place) that you can count on at each outlet, I'm more likely to buy that if no Caribou's is available. Starbucks can be sounted on to serve hot coffee, which is a good thing, no?
Having grown up in the south I've never been able to shake the cream (real, thick, fresh from the cow cream thank you, (none of that fake stuff in fancy little sealed cardborad cups)) and several spoons of sugar habit, but it works well for the Columbian grinds.
Snob... well, yes if there's any Jamaica Blue Mountain to be had... terribly expensive, only available a short time each year but worth the cost and wait... (Try a cup stirred with a wooden spoon that's been dipped in dark chocolate)...
Kenko Really Rich for instant coffee. I have a Bosch coffee maker at home, and a filter coffee machine at work, but my migraines increased, so I had to go back to the Kenko.
I had a coffee in Cafe Nero yesterday, it was bloody horrible. it needed about 15 sugars and a pint of milk to make is drinkable. I left half of it.. bleuuuurgh.
I had a coffee in Cafe Nero yesterday, it was bloody horrible. it needed about 15 sugars and a pint of milk to make is drinkable. I left half of it.. bleuuuurgh.
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I love a good coffee, but I rarely have ground coffee as mr ask doesn't like strong coffee and I do. I liked the ground Java coffee beans and I still have a small cafetiere on occasions. I would love to have a proper Gaggia machine. So I have to make do with Kenco Columbian coffee. Cafe Nero is nice and Costa coffee isn't bad, Starbucks is cr%p. I don't mind how much is costs as long as it's a good tasting coffee.
There are some decent smaller, locally owned shops, Answerprancer... Dunn Brothers can always be counted on. For our coffee made at home, we buy the beans (never ground), as I mentioned, primarily from Caribou Coffee... Always Caribou Blend... a darker Columbian blend. We buy 10 pounds at a time since it's quite a hike to town from here on the ranch...
Our older Cusinart coffee maker gave up the ghost recently and on the advice of a friend bought a Bosch... remains to be seen if were still gonna be friends...
Our older Cusinart coffee maker gave up the ghost recently and on the advice of a friend bought a Bosch... remains to be seen if were still gonna be friends...
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