Coffee - Your Current Brew

The Sam's Club we go to is 25 miles from our beach house. They rarely carry whole bean and the very few times I saw it there, it was Charbucks...no thanks.
Yeah, In SC at one time Sams Club was our only choice, then Costco opened. We have both here in NC coast but a 30 mile trek to the Myrtle Beach area has both clubs. A lot of everything in Sams Club is a let down if your looking for a higher quality product, really is a different cliental. Sams Club is about snack foods *LOL* But we do shop there at times. Their Frozen Flounder is sometimes better than Costco, my wife at times is able to get her wild caught trout or salmon at Sams club too. More or less sometimes Sams Club has a few items that Costco may not have but other than that, it turns me off, the isles and isles of snack foods, candy and other garbage.
Costco is a higher end store most times, though some exceptions. Still I think they are building a Costco near us and am thankful it isnt Sams Club.

I think at ONE TIME, we tried StarBucks, like I said, one time, yuk.
 
We have Aldi near our new home, but I much prefer Lidl which I had near me in SC.
Since moving to the coast in NC IN 2023 I just walked into my first Aldi in Wilmington NC (just over an hour away), there is a Whole Foods there too. We had time to kill between my CT and MRI scans and went shopping in Aldi. Funny you mention. I did one thing there that I never did. For the fun of it I picked up a small bag coffee beans, do not expect much and glad I didnt get more now, though I dont expect much, thanks for letting me know! *LOL*

I do watch what I eat but its hard to get past Aldi's "bakery" section when you haven't walked in one in over two years*LOL* I couldnt resist and being I am about to start a fight with cancer (it is going to be beat) I treated myself to a Choc Chip Cookie (awesome) and an Everything Bagel. But all their bakery stuff is good there I do resist and only bought because it's been so long. I resisted the big Pretzel *LOL* and the twists.

This is the Adli coffee I picked up for the heck of it. Just a "one off" for the heck of it.
The second photo is another Amazon coffee I bought along with the Amazon Dark Roast Incase we found that "Dark" we are talking about too bitter or strong. But the dark is good which I didnt know when I ordered it so picked up this medium roast to mix in IF the wet dark beans start clogging up the grinder.



View attachment 261573

Make no mistake, I expect nothing from the coffee photo below, I just wanted a back up to mix in and weaken the dark roast if needed. We dont do medium except to mix in if we try a nasty dark.

View attachment 261574
You must be thinking about Lidls bakery at the entrance to each store. Trader Joe's and Aldi source many products from the same suppliers as they are loosely connected.
 
You must be thinking about Lidls bakery at the entrance to each store. Trader Joe's and Aldi source many products from the same suppliers as they are loosely connected.
GEEZ!!!!!!
I corrected ALL the references from ALDI to LIDL in my post but it wont correct in your reply to me. YES, Lidl not ALDI... sometimes I scare myself when I see 4 or 5 mistakes referencing the wrong store 🤔 (never mind the spelling) *LOL* I REALLY am an "alert" person but do the dumbest things sometimes typing (self taught and it shows)

Interesting to know about Trader Joe's. We live in an abyss here on the NC side of the SC coastal area. It's amazing, all the new homes along the coast and no stores. Top 10 growing county in the USA and #1st or 2nd in the state. Yet, no stores or places to eat. 1000's of homes going in and built.

We have to always travel north or south to N Myrtle and Myrtle Beach. The stores will come, at least Costco ... and you know after that the area will explode... not so sure I want an explosion though.
 
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GEEZ!!!!!!
I corrected ALL the references from ALDI to LIDL in my post but it wont correct in your reply to me. YES, Lidl not ALDI... sometimes I scare myself when I see 4 or 5 mistakes referencing the wrong store 🤔 (never mind the spelling) *LOL* I REALLY am an "alert" person but do the dumbest things sometimes typing (self taught and it shows)

Interesting to know about Trader Joe's. We live in an abyss here on the NC side of the SC coastal area. It's amazing, all the new homes along the coast and no stores. Top 10 growing county in the USA and #1st or 2nd in the state. Yet, no stores or places to eat. 1000's of homes going in and built.

We have to always travel north or south to N Myrtle and Myrtle Beach. The stores will come, at least Costco ... and you know after that the area will explode... not so sure I want an explosion though.
Similar to the situation where our beach house is... Avalon,NJ. Older homes being torn down all over being replaced by monstrous, new multi-million dollar homes. Interesting to watch. There's one demolition company that begins work at 0830 and by 1700 hrs., a home is leveled with a completely empty, cleared lot surrounded by a plywood barrier/fence. Few months later...gigantic new home, much taller due to building code changes from Sandy.
Grocery stores are few and far between and it's Shop-Rite or Acme. No Trader Joe's and likely never will be.
 
Similar to the situation where our beach house is... Avalon,NJ. ...
Nice location!
I was born, raised, spent most my adult life on the South Shore of Nassau County Long Island.
Father had me on the Great South Bay fishing since I almost started walking. Bought my own first boat around 18 years old. Used 18 foot, I/O, then onto my friends parents 18 foot Sea Ray, then a center console, then new 87 SeaRay MidCabin to our ultimate 268 Sea Ray Sundancer 1988 bought it used one year old at the time. Sold it a year later and got smart to buy a house instead. Returned to boating some years later with a small SeaRay. Been everywhere in the Ocean with all of them. Out Jones Inlet to outside of NY Harbor and off the Jersey Highlands to the Cholera Banks Blue fishing. Never had GPS, or radio beacon. Always just a compass and charts.
Miss those days and the wild parties with our friends and their boats on the Great South Bay. I love electronics but the analog days were pretty good and exciting. Much of everything now is sterile.

That was then, 20 years later a divorce sadly, Remarried and moved to SC, new life, my son moved down with me, and my wife's daughter. Both doing well off on their own with their families here. Still, I miss those Long Island days but it got so crazy up there Im glad we bailed when we did. Ok, Im off topic. Living life to it fullest has always been a passion for me. Glad I did it all, sure would have done a few things differently. Now at 68 in another thread in here is my journey beating cancer. Which my doctor says will be considered a cure in 6 months, mostly likely long term side effects but all manageable. I say these things for younger people in here. Enjoy and take care of yourself, (another passion of mine of the last 2+ decades) because before you know it, you will wonder where the time went. Now in what most likely will be our final destination in the coastal NC area. It's real nice, no complaints.
(ok, rant over, back to coffee, sorry)
 
Gents, I must share.
Again as mentioned before, we use coffee in two different ways. One is purely utilitarian (work days) the other is to enjoy.

I am always looking for ways to combine as much of the two as possible, and I have found different way to do that over the years. I wanted to share the recent finding as I believe its an amazing machine at its price point. I have really considered this brand as just another gimmick or cheap consumer junk, and ultimately much of it is is... But I am impressed by this little guy: Maker/Grinder

Its a single serve grind and brew machine, that actually works for under $300! Its $99 at WM.
Has a Burr grinding system that pops out and is easy clean, decent sized reservoir that does not attach using a vertical track system (meaning you can get the reservoir off the machine without pulling it out from under your cabinets), permanent filter that works well and takes seconds to empty and clean in between cups, usual charcoal filter pod, will do beans or grinds, programable and so far it has been pretty reliable.

The machine does measure accurately per serving size (this is hard to find at this price), grinding then dropping the right amount of beans into the filter consistently. Its easy to clean and just overall requires minimal input from the user to get great results reliably.

*The machine has thrown an error code one time and did not drop correctly, this resulted from it running out of beans in the middle of a large grind (16oz). Should not have happened, but it did and it was easy to remediate. I removed the reservoir, along with the filter bucket and the grinder parts, dry brushed it all, turned the machine upside down to makes sure all of the grinds and beans were out of the grinder area. Then I refilled everything and it worked fine, this all took maybe 6 minutes to complete...

IRRC it will do 8, 10, 12, 14, 16oz servings (14oz is perfect for a 20oz YETI rambler with cream and sugar BTW)

In the end, now instead of K-cups during the work week, I have been again enjoying fresh ground coffee that is ready in 5 minutes with minimal input from me. I added one to our kitchen at work, and a coworker has added one to his morning line up as well!

I figured this could help someone improve their morning utilitarian cup of coffee!
 
My apologies. Not knocking anyone's choice. Just sour on stale. No one wants old beans! Sorry.
OR no one wants stale grounds in a capsule, well except maybe George Clooney as he will say anything positive for $. I will honestly/gladly say if you want truly fresh/quality whole bean buy green and roast it yourself. Next best thing is to bulk buy (less per lb/shipping) from a reputable online roaster that only does roast/ship to order. There are a handful of quality commercial roasters that have reasonable prices, not the gouging many do, now pushing up to $4/oz in some instances.
 
OR no one wants stale grounds in a capsule, well except maybe George Clooney as he will say anything positive for $. I will honestly/gladly say if you want truly fresh/quality whole bean buy green and roast it yourself. Next best thing is to bulk buy (less per lb/shipping) from a reputable online roaster that only does roast/ship to order. There are a handful of quality commercial roasters that have reasonable prices, not the gouging many do, now pushing up to $4/oz in some instances.
Agree. The only way Nespresso tastes close to OK is C02 displacing air. But you are absolutely correct.
 
Natures Promise Breakfast Blend. I'm old school. Dump in boiling water and filter.
That’s “medium school.”

Old school “Cowboy Coffee” is to bring water to a boil, let grounds steep for four minutes, then pour a little cold water on top to settle the grounds. I don’t even do that, just pour it off slowly.

For reasons unknown to me, that coffee retains taste longer in a thermos than other brewing methods, so that what we do if we want to keep it long time.

This is what got me hooked. There are no cowboys in New England but it still works here. Maybe we should call it Sailor’s Coffee.

 
That’s “medium school.”

Old school “Cowboy Coffee” is to bring water to a boil, let grounds steep for four minutes, then pour a little cold water on top to settle the grounds. I don’t even do that, just pour it off slowly.

For reasons unknown to me, that coffee retains taste longer in a thermos than other brewing methods, so that what we do if we want to keep it long time.

This is what got me hooked. There are no cowboys in New England but it still works here. Maybe we should call it Sailor’s Coffee.


Cowboy coffee, like cold brewed coffee is lower acid. A plus in my world.
 
Gents, I must share.
Again as mentioned before, we use coffee in two different ways. One is purely utilitarian (work days) the other is to enjoy.

I am always looking for ways to combine as much of the two as possible, and I have found different way to do that over the years. I wanted to share the recent finding as I believe its an amazing machine at its price point. I have really considered this brand as just another gimmick or cheap consumer junk, and ultimately much of it is is... But I am impressed by this little guy: Maker/Grinder

Its a single serve grind and brew machine, that actually works for under $300! Its $99 at WM.
Has a Burr grinding system that pops out and is easy clean, decent sized reservoir that does not attach using a vertical track system (meaning you can get the reservoir off the machine without pulling it out from under your cabinets), permanent filter that works well and takes seconds to empty and clean in between cups, usual charcoal filter pod, will do beans or grinds, programable and so far it has been pretty reliable.

The machine does measure accurately per serving size (this is hard to find at this price), grinding then dropping the right amount of beans into the filter consistently. Its easy to clean and just overall requires minimal input from the user to get great results reliably.

*The machine has thrown an error code one time and did not drop correctly, this resulted from it running out of beans in the middle of a large grind (16oz). Should not have happened, but it did and it was easy to remediate. I removed the reservoir, along with the filter bucket and the grinder parts, dry brushed it all, turned the machine upside down to makes sure all of the grinds and beans were out of the grinder area. Then I refilled everything and it worked fine, this all took maybe 6 minutes to complete...

IRRC it will do 8, 10, 12, 14, 16oz servings (14oz is perfect for a 20oz YETI rambler with cream and sugar BTW)

In the end, now instead of K-cups during the work week, I have been again enjoying fresh ground coffee that is ready in 5 minutes with minimal input from me. I added one to our kitchen at work, and a coworker has added one to his morning line up as well!

I figured this could help someone improve their morning utilitarian cup of coffee!
I don't know. This guy James Hoffman who is likely the biggest coffee content creator on YT has a vastly different opinion on that machine.
 
I don't know. This guy James Hoffman who is likely the biggest coffee content creator on YT has a vastly different opinion on that machine.

I agree with many of the items he mentioned, and still made the purchase. Honestly he is pointing out the obvious... but then also giving some inaccurate (or sort of blanket statements) that are very much scenario based. He should focus on price point and purpose a bit more to keep the metrics even. I mean of course the machine will not have a higher end Burr grinding system, nor will that grinder be adjustable! Nor do you wanna mess with that on a utilitarian coffee morning... I think the targeted consumer here is one that is trying to get away from K-cups for health reasons or whatever reason, that's how I consider this machine.

He mentions how the grounds land in the basket, one can argue that more surface area is exposed this way vs. your grounds already being in one big pile all compressed together by the time the water hits them, but he also forgets to mention that the shape of the lid on the filter basket swirls the water around the sides of the basket. Then (knowing this kind of grinder and brew system work best for medium to dark roast) he brews an EXTRA LIGHT bean! One that is "even lighter" than a commercial light roast.

Like I said, its a 100 dollar coffee machine that is amazing at its price point! I think of, a K-cup in the morning or a fresh ground cup of 8 O'clock that's done in 5 minutes.. Its a simple choice for me. It looks as though many people in this thread drink "whatever is on sale" or they are happy with store brand coffees of the unknown, K-cups, and so on. I think its a good crowd that could appreciate a machine like this for $100, if we were in a barista forum I would have talked about our BOSCH or others.

(BTW I do NOT recommend the BOSCH TPU 800 series... The GUI is nice, but that's where it ends for me.)
 
I agree with many of the items he mentioned, and still made the purchase. Honestly he is pointing out the obvious... but then also giving some inaccurate (or sort of blanket statements) that are very much scenario based. He should focus on price point and purpose a bit more to keep the metrics even. I mean of course the machine will not have a higher end Burr grinding system, nor will that grinder be adjustable! Nor do you wanna mess with that on a utilitarian coffee morning... I think the targeted consumer here is one that is trying to get away from K-cups for health reasons or whatever reason, that's how I consider this machine.

He mentions how the grounds land in the basket, one can argue that more surface area is exposed this way vs. your grounds already being in one big pile all compressed together by the time the water hits them, but he also forgets to mention that the shape of the lid on the filter basket swirls the water around the sides of the basket. Then (knowing this kind of grinder and brew system work best for medium to dark roast) he brews an EXTRA LIGHT bean! One that is "even lighter" than a commercial light roast.

Like I said, its a 100 dollar coffee machine that is amazing at its price point! I think of, a K-cup in the morning or a fresh ground cup of 8 O'clock that's done in 5 minutes.. Its a simple choice for me. It looks as though many people in this thread drink "whatever is on sale" or they are happy with store brand coffees of the unknown, K-cups, and so on. I think its a good crowd that could appreciate a machine like this for $100, if we were in a barista forum I would have talked about our BOSCH or others.

(BTW I do NOT recommend the BOSCH TPU 800 series... The GUI is nice, but that's where it ends for me.)
I use a basic Krupps grinder. Simple design. Sturdy German engineering. A gift from my old girlfriend.

My coffee must be good quality. Life's too short. Seven days a week. You can do it brah.

A cold brewed batch lasts me several days. Into the thermos. Off to work.

I enjoy reading about the different prefences around here. You can tell who mailed it in with low effort. :giggle:
 
I'm sorry that it didn't meet your expectations. I find the valve really helps with crema extraction and therefore it takes longer to brew.
I’m not angry or sad I bought them

The brew is quite smooth so I didn’t mean to be overly harsh

But that explains why it struggles with a lungo

I will adapt and live happily haha haha
 
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