Starbucks: The next battle in the coffee war

MarketWatch ^ | March 9, 2012, 1:23 p.m. EST | By MarketWatch

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)

[P.O.E.]

I gave up caffeine once for Lent. After about a week, I was getting dizzy spells - it sure is a drug. I survived, though, and really enjoyed a cup of coffee with a sausage omelette when it was all over.

[My hearts in London - Everett]

Marked for later reading.

[Chickensoup]

I grind my own beans too. I will have to try yours. I find I can mix darker beans in with the 8 oclock and have very tastey and strong brew. and I am a decaf drinker.

[Doe Eyes]

Starbucks coffee tastes like crap. Will never use a product by Starbucks even if it becomes the only coffee product or maker in the world. Bunch of queer bastards.

I think the coffee's pretty good. Can you expand a bit about the "queer bastards" you seem fixated on?

[hedgetrimmer]

Wait at the door of a Starbucks and sell your card for a discount. You’ll find a buyer.

Take the money and run to Verve coffee roasters. Never look at Starbucks again.

[hedgetrimmer]

Great for traveling.

[CatherineofAragon]

"I love Starbucks also but unfortunately where I live there is nothing but Dunkin which tastes like hot water to me so I have espresso like coffee in am. and I’m good to go....

Oh, my. Someone isn't making Dunkin Donuts right. I personally have never liked Starbucks coffee, but not because it's strong---because it's bitter and burnt tasting. Two different things. My husband makes the coffee, and he brews up Dunkin that is so strong it can almost walk out the door on its own. Pure coffee heaven. :)

[CatherineofAragon]

"A few years back there was a blinded taste test on coffee—McDonalds won. A coffee for #1 dollar, and it ain’t bad."

I heard about that, and it made me want to try McDonald's coffee, which I did. But they make it so weak, you can't tell what it tastes like!

[Tanniker Smith]

If Lent hadn't happened during midwinter recess, I wouldn't have attempted it. I gave up caffeine in college once, back when I only drank tea, and mocked "decaf tea" as "why bother?". I was stumbling around for two days, but I remember waking up the third morning (maybe the fourth) feeling totally different.

I didn't get the same results the following year when I succumbed to decaf, because it isn't totally caffeine-free. Actually, this year I've had only one cup of decaf coffee and I woke up the following morning with such a headache the following morning. I wonder if actually was decaf.

[hedgetrimmer]

First you brew your own. Then you grind your own.The next step in your coffee addiction.

[Chickensoup]

First you brew your own. Then you grind your own.The next step in your coffee addiction.

_______________________

No addict here, I only drink decaf.

That is quite the site though...no perolaters I noticed.

Too declasse I imagine. Great strong coffee though.

[hedgetrimmer]

They sell decaf beans, so you could roast them if you want to.

They also say percolators can make good coffee and have a place especially when you need to brew a large quantity of coffee.

[thecodont]

Don’t you love a cooking process with the word “crack” in it? :0)

(Yeah, I’m thinking of coffee roasting and candy making!)

[Chickensoup]

I am so proud that I bought a grinder which I love. a hamelton beach custom grind

http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-80365-Hands-Free-Platinum/dp/B000FBYRMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331433083&sr=8-1

I am not ready to jump into roasting. There are just some things others should do. but I bet it makes the house smell good.

[hedgetrimmer]

It can easily burn! Roasters can and do give off smoke.

There are several websites that have instructions on how to roast using hair dryers, popcorn poppers,etc.

[MediaMole]

That looks like a combination of a French Press and an ingenuiTEA teapot.

[FreeAtlanta]

I love the Ingeni. I have several and used them to make tea for customers when I had my shop.

This is like a French press in that you let the coffee mix with the water, but it is actually faster and cleaner than Frenching. It is like a big syringe and the pressure brings out flavors similar to Espresso.

French pressing tastes great, but is messy to clean up. I hate how the grinds get caught behind the wire filter. I didn’t mind the silt, but most customers hated that.

I didn’t know about the Aeropress until a few months ago. In my shop, I used drip from a great Bunn System, Americano’s from espresso machine, French Pressing and Chem-Ex.

ChemEx had become my favorite individual cup, before I was shown the Aeropress. The coffee tastes great and cleanup is a snap. You just go to the trash, unscrew the bottom, then push the syringe down to pop the coffee and filter into the trash. Next, you rinse it in the sink and you are done.

[Lancey Howard]

The Walmart near me has those giant tubs of Folgers on sale now for $7.49, including House Blend, Breakfast Blend, Decaf, and Columbian. That’s at least twenty full pots of coffee for the price of three or four cups of homo-hugging Starbucks coffee.