Coffee, yes or no?

[Fire Me Boy!]

Since my college days, I've not been much of a coffee drinker. Of course, back then I'd make coffee with H2-Joe (caffeinated water).

But lately I've been very interested in cold brew coffee, as it significantly diminishes the acidity and bitterness and brings out more of the coffee's subtle flavors that get lost with hot brew. I made a gallon of cold brew concentrate, and I've really been enjoying it these last few days.

So I'm interested in your take on coffee.

Do you like it?

Hot or cold?

What brands and strengths do you like?

Do you take cream or sugar?

Are you a cup a day coffee kind of person or a pot a day kind of person?

How do you feel about Starbuck's?

Have you tried McDonald's premium coffees, which I hear are notably better than Starbuck's?

What about Dunkin' Donuts' coffee?

When did you start drinking coffee?

Do you ever add any adult beverages to your coffee?

Do you only drink it on weekends?

How do you feel about decaffeinated coffee?

[loochy]

Coffee tastes like poop.

Coffee smells like poop.

[KC native]

I like it hot.

Drink it black if they are good beans (only thing I buy at central market is coffee beans bcuz teh selection). If you use good beans, then no creamer or sugar required.

Not a starbucks fan but will drink it.

Never had Duncan and McDonald's suck.

**** decaff

I usually drink coffee during the work week.

Started drinking in my mid 20's.

Never add booze.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by loochy

Coffee tastes like poop.

Coffee smells like poop.

You eat poop.

[Fire Me Boy!]

If anyone's interested, America's Test Kitchen's coffee taste test (medium roast):

In a blind tasting, 21 Cook’s Illustrated staff members tasted seven whole-bean medium-roast coffees from a list of top-selling national brands compiled by the Chicago-based market research firm SymphonyIRI Group. We sampled the coffees without milk or sweeteners. Coffee Analysts, an independent laboratory in Burlington, Vermont, analyzed each coffee to obtain its Agtron rating (a measure of roast darkness), the number of defective green “quaker” beans, pH level, and moisture content (the ideal target is between 0.5 percent and 3 percent). Prices were paid in Boston-area supermarkets.

Co-winners:

Peet’s Coffee Café Domingo
By far the darkest roast in the lineup, this sample came across as “extremely smooth” and “bold-tasting,” with a “stronger finish” than other samples. It tied for the smallest number of defective beans and had low *acidity and optimal moisture. Its “rich,” “chocolate,” and “toast” flavors make it the perfect brew for those who want a break—but not too much of one—from ultradark French roasts.

Millstone Breakfast Blend
This “satiny” coffee was “lemony” and “very *enjoyable,” with a “slightly nutty aftertaste.” It “hit the middle of the road” for “acidity, earthiness, and complexity.” As with our winner, lab results showed low acidity, few defective beans, and ideal moisture. It’s a good choice for those who enjoy brighter, livelier medium-roast flavors.

Recommended with Reservations

Caribou Coffee Daybreak
Some tasters were able to detect a “slight berry taste” with “black tea–like” undertones in this coffee. For others, it was “flat,” “bland,” and “not very distinctive.” “Smells nutty but no taste,” is how one taster put it. The lab results indicated extremely low moisture in the beans, which almost certainly weakened the brew.

Starbucks Blonde Veranda Blend
The “approachable” taste of this offering from the dark-roast giant of coffee companies “goes down pretty smooth,” though some thought it “*one-*dimensional,” like “cardboard.” Said one taster: “It doesn’t have that weight-on-your-tongue feeling that I like in coffee.” Lab tests confirmed the problems, *finding low moisture and some defective beans.

Green Mountain Coffee Our Blend
This sample had “a little dried fruit toward the finish but that’s it,” as one taster put it. Though “robust upfront,” it finished with an overly “flat, lemony” taste. Lab results supported these impressions, showing relatively high acidity and not much moisture, which limited its extraction.

Not Recommended

Dunkin’ Donuts Original
This medium-roast stalwart, the lightest roast in our tasting, was so “sharp and bright and very acidic” that it had one taster pleading, “I need milk!” Another deemed it an “acid bomb”; lab tests confirmed that this was the most acidic coffee we tasted. A high *number of defective beans gave it weird “cherry/almond” off-tastes.

Eight O’Clock Coffee Original
Our least favorite coffee was “sour” and “dirty-*tasting—like socks,” with a “fermented taste.” This brew was also “slightly metallic,” “like coffee you’d get at a diner.” With the highest number of defective beans of all the coffees we sampled, it tasted “sweetly acidic”; the fermented flavor likely came from its high level of moisture.

[Donger]

Do you like it? Yes.

Hot or cold? Hot.

What brands and strengths do you like? Tully's French, Extra Bold.

Do you take cream or sugar? Both.

Are you a cup a day coffee kind of person or a pot a day kind of person? Cup.

How do you feel about Starbuck's? I'd like to burn them all to the ground.

Have you tried McDonald's premium coffees, which I hear are notably better than Starbuck's? No.

What about Dunkin' Donuts' coffee? Never had it.

When did you start drinking coffee? When I was in high school.

Do you ever add any adult beverages to your coffee? No.

Do you only drink it on weekends? No.

How do you feel about decaffeinated coffee? Anathema.

[Cannibal]

Yes.

We grind the beans in the morning and brew enough for 2 cups each. I have my coffee home with sugar free creamer, usually hazelnut or French vanilla.

At work I power down a couple of cups black as I don't care to waste the time with the creamer.

[Molitoth]

Coffee snobs are going to hate me but I enjoy Any kind of coffee, as long as it has some of this in it:

[Donger]

Ugh, flavored creamer...

[Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

Coffee snobs are going to hate me but I enjoy Any kind of coffee, as long as it has some of this in it:

All of those look awesome. But I don't want the sugar they contain.

[Fish]

Good creamer can make just about any coffee drinkable. Only really good coffee, can I drink without cream.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Predarat

Do you like it?
Hot or cold?
Hot - cold 'coffee' is like calling hot dogs BBQ

Why do you think it's not coffee? Just because that's not how you like it? To stick with your analogy, it's actually more like saying hot dogs that aren't fired on a grill aren't hot dogs. It's all the same stuff - coffee grounds and water - just prepared differently.

I think it could be argued that cold-brewed coffee actually tastes more like real coffee than hot. The reason is that traditional hot-brew methods destroy flavor compounds.

Once I make my cold-brew concentrate, I'll fill my cup with ice, add one packet of Splenda, fill about 2/3 with concentrate and top with milk or half-and-half. It's very tasty, and infinitely more refreshing than hot coffee, if you ask me.

[Amnorix]

I never drank coffee until law school. Didn't really like it. Learned to like it, however, as I really needed it at the time. Now, of course, I have a low-key addiction so without caffeine I get the typical headaches.

Hot or cold: Yep, I do both.

I have two cups a day at work, one medium size on weekends, typically. I will drink more in the evening socially.

I'm a DD (Dunkin' Donuts) guy. DD dominates in New England. I don't care much for Starbucks. Too strong. I have no problem with the McDonald's coffee now. It used to be complete swill, but now it's basically fine. Not great, but not bad either.

I take it black, but with extra sugar. It's too bitter without it.

I definitely do mixed drinks involving coffee. Irish Coffee and such are great, and I keep Bailey's Irish Cream on hand for those that want it at my place.

Somewhat unusually, I don't drink it in the mornings. In the morning I have tea, and then I have my coffee in the early afternoon. If I don't have it, I'm junk by 3:00...

I have NO idea what the point of decaf coffee is. I like coffee just fine, but I drink it for the caffeine, not because I think it's so unbelievably delicious.

[TLO]

Do you like it? - Do I like what?

Hot or cold? - I'm fine right now.

What brands and strengths do you like? - I like Mt Dew. Code Red strength.

Do you take cream or sugar? - I usually buy it.

Are you a cup a day coffee kind of person or a pot a day kind of person? - **** YOU

How do you feel about Starbuck's? - Hipster hangout

Have you tried McDonald's premium coffees, which I hear are notably better than Starbuck's? - Stop asking me these personal questions.

What about Dunkin' Donuts' coffee? - GO **** YOURSELF

When did you start drinking coffee? Am I being detained?

Do you ever add any adult beverages to your coffee? - Am I free to go?

Do you only drink it on weekends? -

How do you feel about decaffeinated coffee? - Stop making food threads fatty.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by KC native

You eat poop.

only when it does not taste or smell like coffee

[Amnorix]

My old man lived on coffee and beer. He drank coffee with breakfast, with lunch, with dinner, and had it on his regular breaks at work. I could never really understand that. I actually don't like coffee with food. I find that it tends to ruin the taste of whatever I'm eating, unless it's something that goes well with coffee (tiramisu is one fine example).