Why do people buy expensive coffee?

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
Question: My friend bought an expensive bag of mixed coffee beans from all around the world. I drank a cup and it's the smoothest and best coffee I have ever had. He, on the other hand, adds flavored creamer and tons of sugar.

Question: Why do people buy expensive coffee, then add tons of creamer and sugar? High-quality coffee is for straight-black coffee drinkers like me.

I'm so mad.


Horse hooey! I add cream and sugar and you can DEFINITELY tell the difference in the quality of the coffee just as much as when you leave it black! Its not like the cream and sugar masks ANYTHING, it just adds to it and perfects it. My preference is a super-dark roast (so dark the beans just sweat with oil), fine ground just before brewing, brewed strong in a cone shaped filter coffeepot, served in a big mug with a tsp of sugar and a shot of heavy cream (or half-and-half, but whole milk will do in a pinch).

On the other hand, I can also drink coffee right out of the mess hall brewer on a Navy ship without turning my nose up.



Now people that add hazelnut, vanilla, pecan, or other flavors to coffee... that's just girl coffee. ;-)

 

[Hermann]

Quality coffee is one of life's little pleasures. My everyday coffee is 8 O'Clock Columbian or Regular Red Bag. But in my stash of coffee right now are TJ's Costa Rican and Columbian Supremo(VG BTW) My GF;s boss brought me back some Hawaiian(not Kona) and it was very good. I like variety and rarely buy the same coffee twice in a row. I Have a conical burr grinder and grind it fresh every pot.

 

[Popinski]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
I'm with you on this, Pop.
I drink coffee black, and appreciate the difference between mediocre and really good coffee.
If you load the coffee up with sugar and creamer, you simply disguise the flavor of the coffee, and a really good blend is wasted upon you.
Originally Posted By: brandini
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
I'm with you on this, Pop.
I drink coffee black, and appreciate the difference between mediocre and really good coffee.
If you load the coffee up with sugar and creamer, you simply disguise the flavor of the coffee, and a really good blend is wasted upon you.

+1

Also some people just don't want to realize there are differences, same thing goes for motor oil, and people add [censored] even to that.


YES!! I actually have friends on BITOG!!!!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
YES!! I actually have friends on BITOG!!!!

I hope you're joking

As for me, I like a little bit of milk and sugar in my coffee. I can still easily tell the difference between bad and good coffee, and I can thoroughly appreciate the latter. It's also about how you make it. Good grinds brewed poorly still equals bad coffee, milk or no milk.

Now, let me not tell you about my habit of adding coke to Maker's Mark or adding cumin to my Darjeeling tea. That may make you really mad.

 

[Popinski]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Popinski
YES!! I actually have friends on BITOG!!!!

I hope you're joking

As for me, I like a little bit of milk and sugar in my coffee. I can still easily tell the difference between bad and good coffee, and I can thoroughly appreciate the latter. It's also about how you make it. Good grinds brewed poorly still equals bad coffee, milk or no milk.

Now, let me not tell you about my habit of adding coke to Maker's Mark or adding cumin to my Darjeeling tea. That may make you really mad.

Speaking of alcohol, some guy at the store wanted to mix Coke with his Jack Daniels SINGLE BARREL! The world we live in!!

 

[crinkles]

I bought a beautiful locally grown coffee (within 50 miles of my house) the other day. It was $12 for a ground baggie of half a pound. Beautiful blend. I use an italian stovetop espresso that uses steam to force the water through the grinds, between two steel filters. I foam hot milk - as good as shop bought coffee.

http://www.estatecoffee.com.au/

 

[Klutch9]

As for Starbucks, I hardly ever buy anything other than plain ol' coffee there. I won't buy the expensive 'specialty' drinks simply out of principal - there is no reason they need to be that expensive. The plain coffee, on the other hand, is priced right where Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, etc. prices their coffee, so that works for me.

The 'Verona' dark coffee at Starbucks, while nearly impossible to find on brew there nowadays, is one of my favorite coffees. I like it with a touch of half-and-half. If I'm drinking coffee at home, I'll either drink it black, or put a little heavy whipping cream in it.

 

[andrewg]

In the last twenty years the coffee industry in the U.S. has changed dramatically (thanks to Starbucks and such). I fell in line for a while a started to become 'advanced' enough in my coffee tastes to actually purchase expensive espresso machines and coffee beans from around the world. One day I woke up and decided what a silly and almost pretentious joke it all had become when I had a simple cup of regular, cheap, coffee at a Denny's one day. It was good....and it didn't cost me more than pocket change.
I never looked back....dropped the snobbery...and have since enjoyed having a plain old American styled cup of joe.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
I fell in line for a while a started to become 'advanced' enough in my coffee tastes to actually purchase expensive espresso machines and coffee beans from around the world. One day I woke up and decided what a silly and almost pretentious joke it all had become when I had a simple cup of regular, cheap, coffee at a Denny's one day. It was good....and it didn't cost me more than pocket change.

I'm getting by perfectly fine on an $80 Mr. Coffee pump espresso machine. A can of decent espresso coffee will cost you about $6. Figure you can get 20 cups out it, that's still pocket change, IMO, for a really good cup of coffee, but I do see your point.

 

[rslifkin]

I prefer decent coffee (doesn't have to be super-expensive), but usually add just a splash of milk. Never much, and no sugar though. Black coffee is ok, but tends to bother my stomach if I drink too much of it straight.

 

[Popinski]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
As for Starbucks, I hardly ever buy anything other than plain ol' coffee there. I won't buy the expensive 'specialty' drinks simply out of principal - there is no reason they need to be that expensive. The plain coffee, on the other hand, is priced right where Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, etc. prices their coffee, so that works for me.

The 'Verona' dark coffee at Starbucks, while nearly impossible to find on brew there nowadays, is one of my favorite coffees. I like it with a touch of half-and-half. If I'm drinking coffee at home, I'll either drink it black, or put a little heavy whipping cream in it.


I'm going to tell everyone the truth. I love the taste of straight-black Starbucks coffee. It really makes my day better....but the price... geez.

 

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
As for Starbucks, I hardly ever buy anything other than plain ol' coffee there. I won't buy the expensive 'specialty' drinks simply out of principal - there is no reason they need to be that expensive. The plain coffee, on the other hand, is priced right where Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, etc. prices their coffee, so that works for me.


Same here, plus I'd add the convenience factor. I pop in, use my re-loadable gift card, and pop out in just a few seconds at the counter. The coffee itself is OK (and WAY better than convenience stores, Dunkin, McDonalds, etc.), but I can brew better myself for less money per cup using beans from a local roaster. I stop at $tarbucks more when I'm travelling than I do when I'm at home. I don't like Espresso, Cappucino, or any of that fluff. Just plain old GOOD quality BREWED coffee.

Actually, I have a secret liking for the scorched flavor of perked coffee, so long as its made from fresh grounds. Even better when brewed over a campfire in an old beat-to-heck aluminum camp percolator.

 

[PandaBear]

A lot of people have overloaded taste buds from the overloaded restaurant food they eat, so they like the $7 "coffee" for the overloaded sugar and cream.

I can taste the difference between good and not so good coffee (black) but I will only pay up to a certain amount. Actually I have a preference of type and origin of the beans instead of the price of the coffee sold. I'd not call Starbuck overpriced poison for their beans or their plain coffee, but all those frothed milk and syrup? I've stopped buying that since my trip to Puerto Rico.

Never had any expensive equipment at home either, my preferred way is with a kettle of hot water, microwave oven, and metal strainer.

 

[Stewart Fan]

Originally Posted By: Popinski


Speaking of alcohol, some guy at the store wanted to mix Coke with his Jack Daniels SINGLE BARREL! The world we live in!!


You say that like JDSB is a nectar of the gods. There isn't a bottle of anything JD makes thats worth tasting. I'd be willing to bet the spritz the neighborhood stray leaves on my tires tastes better than JD.

I buy my dad a bottle of JDSB for his birthday every year. I hit the store right as they're closing to be sure none of my friends see me buying that swill.

 

[greenaccord02]

Obviously you haven't had the Tennessee honey yet. I'm no Jack D. fanboy myself (too sweet for a 'burb), but that's some fine liquor.

 

[PostalBound]

I am a sugar and half/half coffee drinker myself and can definitely tell the difference between good and bad coffee. I have starbucks, 8'oclock, Blue Mountain, and Seattle's best in the cabinet now. A fresh burr-ground cup in the morning starts the day off right.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: PostalBound
Seattle's best


^^Best I`ve tried so far!

 

[sciphi]

I don't get the expensive coffee drinks either. Give me a good cup of coffee with a splash of milk or half and half. No sugar. Black coffee and my stomach aren't friends.

There's a difference between cheap coffee and more expensive ones. I do appreciate it, even buffered with the milk.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: PostalBound
Seattle's best


^^Best I`ve tried so far!


Seattle's Best is owned by Starbucks, and roasted in their Kent facility. The original SBC are these guys: http://tvicr.com/

 

[Rand]

I bought This (66#bag)

Its about 7.25/lb after roasting weight loss.

I roast it up to a nice dark medium. just short of french where the oils start sweating. (about 10-15seconds into second crack + some roaster coast)
or a full city+ roast if you are into that terminology.

Its pretty amazing stuff. I am the guy who brings coffee for the holidays lol. Everyone asks me are you bringing coffee to *insert holiday here*

Then they laugh at me using a manual pourover.. they dont get that their 9 dollar 15 year old mr coffee does not make good coffee.. but they drink the coffee and come back for seconds