What’s the best coffee brand to buy?

Jim's Organic Sweet Love Levazza espresso (in the black can) Torrefazione (I think they ship from Italy) Julius Meinl

I think Gevalia really got it right with their mass market product. The Columbian is my go-to coffee.

I drink Café Bustello. It’s what my parents, aunts, & uncles drank while I was growing up.

All you need is one small cup in the morning, and you’re set, & ready to go. Wakes me up like nothing else, & it tastes really good.

This is Datalounge, soooo.....

Ah, yes, this is DL. So I recommend the now-defunct High Point. It was good enough for Lauren Bacall.

Starbucks is actually good to buy for home because it doesn’t have the bitter taste at home

Interesting, r6. I only drink coffee at home, and I have never had the issues with Starbucks coffee that the shriek!ers shriek! about. I think all coffee you get in places where they keep it in thermoses sucks, not just Starbucks. If I do get coffee in such a place, I get Americano.

Seattle's Best #'s 3 and 4 (owned or made by Starbucks but I like it better than any Starbucks blend except the Gold Coast stuff which I never see any more, so what good is that?)

Peet's -- I like to so much better than Starbucks.

I've been through Starbucks and the rest. La Colombe is my favorite.

Mayorga. Simply the best (for me) and I've tried just about all of them.

Aw Christ, now I gotta watch this number again!

Sanka.

R5: While the brand name is dead, it was and still is Folgers decaffeinated instant. I have some in my kitchen, dahling, and the flava IS marvelous!

Bur for caffeinated, I want a proper cup of coffee from a copper coffee pot!

r9 I prefer Peet's, too. Or I did before I started taking Ozempic for diabetes. Now all coffee tastes pretty much the same. I'm continuing to buy Peet's, however. I like Sumatra and Major Dickason's Blend.

I’m a convert to .. Nespresso. The machine and the pods. Sure, it whacked the crap out of my blood pressure. But wow is my house clean.

Maxwell House. It's good to the last.....drop.

Buy beans people, freshly ground. Go to Sahadi's. And if you don't know coffee at all in which case stick to Starbucks or McDonald's, or cafe bustelo cans and so on. I'm getting my friends bring me my next batch from Limuru.

r1 Two weeks ago a man raced ahead of us to order 500g of Julius Meinl coffee. I remarked lightly that he knew what he wanted, and he raved to us about how great the coffee is. As I am a coffee addict and sympathetic to fellow addicts I believe him and am eager to try the brand myself.

I used to buy beans and grind them myself, r18. Then at some point, it didn't seem to matter anymore, tastewise. Now I buy Peet's preground, and it tastes fine. Now, I'm taking some odd medication which seems to have made all coffee taste the same. Sucks.

I feel bad - but I honestly can’t break the Starbucks beans habit. It just seems to have a flavor and strength that others don’t. I’ve tried so many but always end up wanting Starbucks. La Colombe was good but not easily available for me. I wait until supermarket has a good sale on Starbucks and buy a bunch. I go through a 20 oz bag every week.

I wonder whether you'd like Peet's, r21. I was buying Starbucks' Pike Place or Sumatra, or Trader Joe's Cafe Pajaro, but I have liked Peet's more of late.

Pilassio French Roast. Nothing better.

R23, Google renders nothing with "Pilassio" in it.

I’ve tried Peet’s - a little bland and doesn’t seem as strong. I used to always get Peet’s when I went to San Francisco and it was ok (Now I get Blue Bottle). Worth trying again - they do have better prices at my supermarket. Thanks R22

r25 Hmmm...I can get Blue Bottle coffee from a guy with a cart at the college near my casa. I'll try it tomorrow, though I'm not fond of pre-brewed coffee, generally speaking. Thanks.

Starbucks espresso roast is good if your choices are more limited or if you’re not too effete...

Stumptown is really good - holler mountain blend.

Civet-poop coffee

Maxwell House Instant!

R20 If it is beginning to taste all the same, I agree it's not with taking all the trouble. And let's not even get into ways of making coffee.

Arguing Maxwell House v Starbucks is however not about coffee. It is about the success of their respective marketing campaigns for these mass market brands.

Pssst Coffee from Kroger

Another vote for Cafe Bustelo, even though Smucker's owns the brand.

For instant, Taster's Choice French Roast is the gold standard.

I never liked Maxwell House, and do not find it in any way comparable to the coffee I have made at home using Starbucks Coffee.

Seriously you guys know nothing about coffee. I'm outta here.

What is the best, healthiest decaffinated coffee?

Jacobs

Find a local coffee roaster in your neighborhood. Check the date of the beans. Grind your own. You'll never look back.

McCafe is excellent.

Nespresso is good, but now Nespresso machines accept Peets, Lavazza, and Starbucks capsules

For a proper cup of coffee, you need a proper copper coffee pot.

R41 is WORSE than STALIN!!!!

Buy from specialty roasters online.

Whatever.....as long as it's black.....

r41 ugh nothing worse than american drip coffee. that's a sin against coffee.

But it's a snappy little ditty, r45.

Waffle House dark roast coffee is delicious

Community Coffee Dark Roast (pre ground bag not kcups). It's everywhere here in the South (I'm a Northeast transplant) don't know how available it is elsewhere .

I make it in my Farberware percolator and this combo is so good, a rich, HOT, cup of coffee every morning.

this

Death Wish

r40 Thank you!

r49 I had some Don Francisco's Butterscotch Toffee coffee this morning!

[quote]Butterscotch Toffee coffee

Crime against nature. You should be forbidden from drinking coffee until you start drinking coffee.

I like Chock Full O' Nuts. Also, surprisingly, Dunkin Donuts Coffee from the market tastes great because you can make it stronger than what they serve in the shops. I used to like A&P coffee that I would grind at the store, but it's no longer an option where I live now.

Do you mean Earth, R54, since the A&P went out of business?

[quote]Butterscotch Toffee coffee

Flavored coffees are a crime against nature -- and taste.

Aldi's Light German Roast

Either cafe bustello (as mentioned above), or Best Choice Espresso Blend. Best Choice is a cheap generic brand, that I think is only local or regional to me. The fact that's it's cheap is a plus, but price really isn't why I buy it. I actually prefer it to anything else I've tried.

fyi,I don't care for any of their other coffees, just the the espresso blend.

So, on Tuesday I'm going to get a cup of Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia. At the actual Hacienda. . .

Gevalia! OMG why don’t you just stick your head in an oven

Jacobs from Germany - yes thank you! Though now I have a high end grinder drip I use Fairway Dark Columbian. If i could ever find Jacob’s whole beans in NYC I would switch back in minute.

Flavored coffee is crime against coffee. Agree! No matter what coffee you like. Get beans grind them just before beew. World of difference

I love Philz coffee! I buy the beans and grind them at home. I’ve even bought bags of the beans and shipped to friends and family on the East Coast. They love it too!

MJB, still the best/

Peets

I do not enjoy Philz, though I seem to be in the minority. Their coffees have a strange aftertaste and leave me with a headache. And I like strong coffee.

Although some coffee snobs hate all flavored coffees, I enjoy Dunkin‘ Donuts pumpkin coffee this time of year. And most high end coffees say things like “notes of citrus, caramel, and chocolate.” Those are flavors so what is the difference?

"Real v. artificial" is the answer to your disingenuous posturing, r66.

I’m sure R42 meant Worse than Juan Valdez...

I'm a commercial litigation attorney and I worked on a class action against several coffee manufacturers in the US a couple years back. For what it's worth, most packaged coffees in the marketplace are pretty fungible, as most manufacturers get their beans from the same sources (usually pre-roasted) and any taste differentials are normally more a function of the mind and not because there's really any appreciable difference in quality or taste. Most major US coffee manufacturers don't have their own roasting equipment or make their own blends. They're just picked up from one of a few distributors, packaged in whatever brand's bag, and shipped out to the grocery stores. I can't speak for foreign brands, just the American ones.

[quote]Most major US coffee manufacturers don't have their own roasting equipment or make their own blends. They're just picked up from one of a few distributors, packaged in whatever brand's bag, and shipped out to the grocery stores. I can't speak for foreign brands, just the American ones.

What about Peet's? Starbucks? McNulty's?

I buy the bulk decaf at Whole Foods and grind it there. One of the few that decafs using the Swiss Method.

R69, you just destroyed our whole thread.

R70 Starbuck's has their preferred distributors of beans, but yeah, their beans come from the same distributors as a lot of other American brands. I don't know about Peet's, and I don't recall them being mentioned at all (the case was specifically against the production line, not the brands themselves). If I recall, Peet's is a west-coast brand that was roasted roasted in-house initially. I would doubt that to be the case now though, given their market size; I believe they are now a national brand in most grocers. If they're producing that much product then it's being done by third parties. McNulty's I don't know.

Thank you, r73.

Apologies R72 haha It wasn't my intention. But my job does give me a great deal of insight into the workings of many industries (much of which isn't known to the public). I myself actually no longer buy "designer" branded beans specifically because of the info I discovered in that case. I found out it's basically all the same thing. I actually buy a lot of generic (or at least lower cost) products now (skin care, certain food items, household products, etc.) after finding out that major, well-known brands are made in the same facilities as the cheaper alternatives and use the same ingredients and processes. However, that's not to say there is no difference whatsoever between brands. Each brand likely has specifications that third parties must follow contractually for various blends (Starbucks could specify roasting at a certain temp for a certain length and another brand would specify another set of standards). But in the end, the beans all come from the same place and are usually pre-roasted in some factory somewhere. IIRC, 80% of brands on grocery store shelves are made by one particularly large American coffee producer/distributor (which the public knows nothing about). The one brand I know of that is still small and does their own production is Cameron's (although this was a few years ago so that could have changed). But I believe it's a regional brand and not mass-marketed across the US.

Goffee.

I love a burnt café con leche from the bodega on 7th and C - circa 1995. And maybe a lard cookie to round it out.

When you drink bullet proof coffee, it matters not what coffee you use.

Lavazza Gran Aroma

This is is another fucking marketing thread.

Dude, you need to pay us for this info, cheapskate.

Bustelo! Terrific coffee at half the cost of the wannabe hip brands.

Peets

I don’t need more caffeine, I’m active enough, thank you!

Then don't drink "bulletproof" coffee, r78.

I like "Country Cock" coffee. it has a big rooster on the bag. It's available from country roasters in Illinois.

Coffee lawyer @ r69, I wrote to Peet's about your assertions, and here is what they told me about the coffee they sell in supermarkets pre-ground:

[quote]Thank you for your e-mail! The coffee found in grocery stores and Amazon are roasted and packaged in the very same facility as the beans we make available on Peets.com and in our coffeebars. You'll be happy to learn that Peet's has exclusive partnerships with coffee farms around the world and we never have product sitting around. We have rigorous standards when it comes to freshness, (for instance, we don't roast coffee for orders placed on Peets.com until the order has been submitted). You can view more information about our sourcing here:

Blue Mountain

Walmart sells an organic Sumatra blend. It's good!

Peets (Major Dickason's)

Illy Espresso Roast

Porto Rico Kenya AA French Roast, if you're in NYC

I bought Seaport Coffee at Walmart because I liked the graphic and found I liked the taste. When I searched it online to find a good picture, I learned that Seaport Coffee is run by Fertittas.

What is Fertitta's, r90?

I’m with R37: Jacobs is the best blend in the world. And I’m partial to Luziane because of the chicory (family roots in New Orleans).

I lived in Geneva in my 20s and visited with friends in Annecy and Paris quite often; from my early 30s I traveled around the world as a businessman into the 00s. Starbucks French roast usually seems over-roasted to me, both in DC and now in SF.

Yamosototukaki from Japan, at 200.00 a pound it's something I spring on once a year, usually around the holidays.

Another vote for Peet's.

My go to is their Uzuri African Blend.

Eight O' Clock Coffee. It's been around for years, and it's STILL great.

Fertittas include Tilman Fertitta, whom you might have seen on Billion Dollar Buyer. He owns the Houston Rockets.

Galveston used to be a mob town with gambling (ZZ Top - "Balinese"). It was reputedly run by the Maceos and Ferittas who were linked to the mob in New Orleans. I am not a historian, just a Houstonian with family in Galveston County.

OMG r94 ....... I have two ☕ cups of Uzuri every morning to get revved up for a busy day of foraging !

I mix Bustelo with Kirkland decaf since I don't seem to metabolize caffeine as well as I used to. Kirkland makes the only decent budget decaf I've had.

R86 thanks for that insight and your diligence. And just to be clear, no brand, including Peet's, was a defendant in that particular case, only third-party businesses that would supply specific brands ( I realize my initial post wasn't clear on that, apologies). I don't have any specific knowledge regarding Peet's line of production, and even if I did I couldn't share it. The part about roasting only within demand is comforting, and with a brand like Peet's I could see that given their company profile (although what a nightmare that would be logistically, props to them). And they're coffee is damned good.

What about Trader Joe’s coffees? Are they any good?

I like TJ's Cafe Pajaro a lot, r100.

Okay, which Peets do you coffee snobs recommend if you like mild coffee? I hate Starbucks --too bitter. Have always enjoyed Dunkin's breakfast blend. But would like to try Peets for freshness..

Back when I first got into coffee, Gevalia's Columbia roast was the best I could find, and it's still pretty good. The kind sold at the grocery store isn't as good as the mail order coffee, but it's okay.

Then Folger's briefly had a gourmet line with a dark roast that was just as good. I'm blanking on the name but they stopped making it 5-6 years ago, and now have Gourmet Supreme Dark Roast -- not as good but perfectly acceptable for everyday morning coffee.

Nowadays I get decaf Starbucks Vienna roast when I'm making a large batch of chilled coffee for iced lattes in the summer, Lavazza Crema e Gusto for hot winter coffee, and sometimes the ground stuff you can get at Olive Garden, because it's the only coffee I've ever had that tastes good black. Lavazza espresso roast if I want espresso, but our machine went tits up so we haven't made that in a while.

Peet's fan here, r102, but I've never had one of their light roasts. Are you going to be buying it in the supermarket or ordering/buying at a Peet's store? Among the medium roasts, I see Brazil Minas Naturais at the supermarket most of the time. The others I'm not familiar with.

My favorites are both dark roasts, Sumatra and Major Dickason's Blend.

Oh, and Starbucks chilled dark roast premade coffee is pretty great. Their home products are world's better than what they make at the store.

Those of you who hate Starbucks' coffee, do you buy it and make it at home? Is it just the ready-to-drink coffee you buy in-store that you hate?

"This isn't Yemeni, it's Sulawesi!" - R18

I love Sulawesi (Celebes). McNulty's is my favorite place to get it (New Yorkers, you are so lucky). Starbucks has it every few years, but not so often you can count on it. Because it's so expensive, I buy Peet's Sumatra or Major Dickason's most of the time.

Isn't Folgers the Official Coffee of the Datalounge? Or is it that coffee made from beans some Indonesian ocelot shits out?

^^ civet cat

I hate Starbucks for more than their shitty coffee. Their pretentious and phony social consciousness pisses me off when they can't even be bothered to hire competent people to certify their sources. They bought from a coffee farm that uses slaves, in Brazil, and are now trying to blame the contractor in country.

Sorry, bitches. Live by the word and die by it.

Coffee is dying, worldwide. Most of what's coming to us is warehouse shit in the cheaper brands. The higher cost stuff is still available, but in dwindling supply. It's only a matter of time before it completely collapses.

Death Wish

Peet's is my regular coffee, and if you are trying beans, many people love Major Dickason, as mentioned above. Each winter Peet's creates a Holiday blend, and last year it was particularly delicious.

The very best coffee I have ever had was a Kona peaberry (best beans), medium roasted, from a small Big Island farm. Unfortunately, that farmer retired after developing Alzheimers (tmi) but Kona coffee is smooth and delicious.

[quote]Isn't Folgers the Official Coffee of the Datalounge?

It's not the Official Coffee of MY Datalounge.

So, I just bought some Hacienda Alsacia using a Caturra/Catuai Varietal bean from the Starbucks farm in Costa Rica. And at $14.30 for 250 g, the most expensive coffee I've ever purchased. Yea good coffee, I'm even drinking it black, unlike most coffee that I use some milk. It's earthy, and tastes like what coffee should taste like, if that makes sense.

And this Starbucks location has the best view I've ever seen in a Starbucks

I've done two coffee tours before, so didn't do the tour here.

R14, I had no idea that the Andrews Sisters were so.. uh... unattractive. I guess I just assumed that they were good looking. Ouch.

But they could really sing and seeing as how they were a singing group they still have it over the non-singing bims of today.

Cafe Bustello

Medalia D'Oro

Brown Gold

That is all you know and all you need to know.

Surprised by how many Café Bustelo mentions there are. I thought it was the cheapest, shittiest coffee I ever tasted. It reminded me of burnt deli coffee. Maybe it's time to give it another try.

Lavazza is good in a pinch. You can find the black espresso can readily available. And yes, Julius Meinl: If you're in NY, that's what they serve at Café Sabarsky along with their perfect little desserts.

r4, I want to bear your children. That's my favorite commercial of all time!

R37 Jakob’s is the Starbuck’s of Germany . Or, more precisely, Starbuck’s is the Jakob’s of America. In the 1970s and 1980s, I used to trot over to the Jakobs Kafee-Depot like everyone else and by my kilo of coffee and sip a fresh cup. Familiar? Sure, they just beat Starbucks by a decade or so. Unlike Starbuck’s, it isn’t burnt tasting.

Of the big German Depot brands, Tschibo and Eduscho were also good, but still in the Starbuck’s realm.