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Need recommendations for good coffee - whole bean
Free Republic ^ | 10/21/12 | Self

Posted on 10/21/2012 7:26:51 PM PDT by randita

Eight O'Clock whole bean coffee has been my mainstay for years. Lately, it has been horrible. I can hardly drink it any more. Wonder why it's gotten so awful. Other family members have concurred.

I'm looking for recommendations on some other brands to try that would be similar to what Eight O'Clock used to be in a similar price range.

I'm not extremely picky but since I usually only have one cup of coffee per day, I would like it to be very good.

I live in a rural area so don't have the luxury of bopping into a gourmet coffee shop on a regular basis, unfortunately.

Thanks for your input.


TOPICS: Food
KEYWORDS: 8oclock; coffee; coffeewholebean; eightoclock; wholebeancoffee
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To: rabidralph
Seattle’s Best is very good but they got bought by Star Bucks and I only see them at Subway sandwich shops.

Here in the Portland, Oregon area, Safeway grocery stores carry Seattle's Best coffee.

81 posted on 10/21/2012 9:31:23 PM PDT by Isabel C.
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To: randita

Trader Joes has a lot of very good whole bean coffees, if you have them in your area.

For a ground coffee I recently tried some Folgers Gormet Supreme dark blend and I was really surpised. It was very good, medium dark with lots of flavor, but not bitter. Shortly after I saw where it won a blind taste competition, so it’s not just me.


82 posted on 10/21/2012 10:08:51 PM PDT by Hugin ("Most times a man'll tell you his bad intentions, if you listen and let yourself hear."---Open Range)
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To: A_Tradition_Continues

“Depending on your location I might suggest “Community Coffee”. My preference is the Breakfast Blend.”

My active, 86 year-old mother attributes much of her longevity and health to it ;-). In her later years she’s switched from the regular blend to Breakfast Blend and periodically sends it to us here in Phoenix.


83 posted on 10/21/2012 10:14:23 PM PDT by Magic Fingers (Political correctness mutates in order to remain virulent.)
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To: freemama

Caribou Coffee is terrorist coffee.

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/070810-539764-tea-with-terrorists-.htm

I buy green beans from sweet Maria’s and roast my own. Easy peasy.


84 posted on 10/21/2012 10:23:17 PM PDT by bluetick (If you're going to err, err on the side of liberty.)
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To: rwh; Magnatron

How ? What do you do ? I must admit I’ve never heard of this before.


85 posted on 10/21/2012 10:30:03 PM PDT by onona (If it is to be, it begins with me.)
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To: randita

I’m not a coffee drinker, but hubby is. He loves Britt. Everyone he makes it for loves it too. Buys it online.


86 posted on 10/21/2012 11:12:57 PM PDT by June2
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To: randita

http://www.vervecoffeeroasters.com/

http://store.bluebottlecoffee.com/

IMO a couple of the best, at this point in time.


87 posted on 10/21/2012 11:15:27 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer
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To: martin_fierro

You haven’t tried Verve?

They aren’t all the way there, but they are certainly trying!


88 posted on 10/21/2012 11:17:46 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer
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To: randita

I know them all and the best whole bean coffee today is Costco’s whole bean Columbian. It costs about ten dollars for a big bag and is superior to all of the Starbuck’s whole beans coffee’s which cost more for a smaller bag. I keep my bag in the freezer between brews.


89 posted on 10/22/2012 2:58:32 AM PDT by AdaGray
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To: randita

I got some Eight O’Clock regular whole bean recently and it was bad, but I think their French Roast is still surprisingly good. And vacuum-sealed whole beans like that is the way to go unless you’re willing to invest in craft beans.


90 posted on 10/22/2012 3:22:19 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: randita

http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/

We’ve been brewing their coffee for years.

There are quite a few choices.

Enjoy!


91 posted on 10/22/2012 3:34:33 AM PDT by Peter W. Kessler (Dirt is for racing... asphalt is for getting there.)
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To: ladyjane

I highly prefer the metal filters vs the paper ones. Paper absorbs the flavor and also breaks down, so you have little pieces of paper in your coffee.


92 posted on 10/22/2012 3:35:28 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: randita
Before you change coffees (assuming you still have some Eight O'Clock coffee lying around) watch Alton Brown's "Good Eats" episode on coffee. It's on YouTube in parts. I'd tweek your preparation methods first and see if that improves the taste of your coffee.

If it indeed turns out to be the coffee, I'd find a shop that sells whole beans and buy a variety until you find one you really like.

93 posted on 10/22/2012 3:59:28 AM PDT by Oratam
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To: randita
I would like it to be very good.

There are many excellent brands, blends, roast, and grinds of coffee available.

I suggest that you carefully consider your brewing method. One cup a day presents a serious brewing problem. I would suggest you look into cold brewing as well as finding a new brand. An inexpensive French press would work well for cold brewing. For my taste, a French press is the finest way to brew coffee but I've never tried it for one cup.

94 posted on 10/22/2012 6:42:12 AM PDT by MosesKnows (Love many, Trust few, and always paddle your own canoe)
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To: bluetick

Aww. Now I have to switch coffee! Dang.


95 posted on 10/22/2012 7:01:03 AM PDT by freemama
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To: driftdiver

I put the paper filter in a gold filter. I know some people use only the gold filter but I find little bits of the coffee grounds come through and settle on the bottom. Agree about the taste of paper from some filters, especially the brown ones. Terrible. I get no paper taste from the ones I use.

I’m currently eyeing a hand grinder made with a ceramic burrs. Expensive though. It would be handy if the power goes out. I don’t want to have to take a hammer to beans just to get a coffee fix.


96 posted on 10/22/2012 7:40:06 AM PDT by ladyjane
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To: onona
Roasting your own is quick and incredibly easy. You'll generally only take about 15 minutes to roast a batch. I roast about once a week, but I have a larger capacity roaster:

Photobucket

My roaster costs some bucks, but you can roast coffee with as little as a hand popcorn popper. A small air roaster will run you about $120.00. You can see one at:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/coffee-roasters/air-roasters/sr300.html

Roasting your own allows you to roast the beans to the level YOU want. Most store and coffee shop stuff (especially Starbucks) has the life roasted out of the beans. Coffee also is very volatile. After initial off-gassing, coffee begins to stale within a couple of days.

I like Sweet Marias because they have small lot coffee that you can't generally find elsewhere. You'll find coffee from just about any coffee region in the world there. Also, the prices are VERY good. You can roast some pretty exotic stuff for about the same price you'll buy Maxwell House at from your local grocery store.

A good place to start would be to take a look at a basic tutorial. You'll find a good one at:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.php

Good luck! You'll find this a great hobby!

97 posted on 10/22/2012 7:40:12 AM PDT by Magnatron
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To: Salgak

Cafe Duran is our main coffee in Panama. I love it. (They also produce other things…teas, etc.)

As an aside, our families were great friends from my mother’s early days. In my generation, their families sent their children to the Canal Zone schools where we continued our friendships. What a wonderful unpretencious family.

I remember going to their factory, a block away from where I live, to purchase Duran Coffee right from the oven so to speak. And there was Paul Duran, our generation who now ran the factory, in his jeans in the middle of his workers helping out. But that is the Duran family.

(Unfortunately, we lost Paul in a plane crash sometime back. What a lose to all of us.)


98 posted on 10/22/2012 8:42:22 AM PDT by GatĂșn(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)
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To: Salgak

lose = loss.

Sorry.

By the way, the Duran factory is not 1 but 4 blocks away from where I live. It just seems like 1 block away.


99 posted on 10/22/2012 8:58:34 AM PDT by GatĂșn(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)
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To: MosesKnows

Actually, I brew 4 cups, but only drink one myself. Rest of the family also has a cup each.

My drip pot is clean and our water is pristine - filtered lake water in a rural area.

I’m going to start trying a new brand. Some of those recommended here.

I also may try a Cremex or just use the French press all the time. Maybe it’s the drip method that’s just not cutting it for me.


100 posted on 10/22/2012 9:31:52 AM PDT by randita
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