Thread: Coffee reviews

I am getting ready to order some coffee. Lets see your thoughts or reviews of your favorite cofee

Local roaster. Collectivo. Used to be Alterra

Interesting....We have a single cup brewer made by the Mars Company called Flavia, and the coffee is Alterra. All of their brew varieties are terrific.

Originally Posted by JTmke

Local roaster. Collectivo. Used to be Alterra

I come from Naples (city of coffe maker in Italy) among many brand i prefer Passalacqua, very good. 2nd place for Illy that alternate with Passalacqua

I know reviewing a Starbucks product in a "coffee" thread would be darn near sacrilegious, so I will not. But I will point out something I found out in my local KS Starbucks that floored me... and if true, might be worth mentioning here.

I was in Seattle - went to the "original" Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - loved it.

Came back to KS - went to the billionth Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - hated it.


I expressed my feelings to the barista claiming that maybe it was nothing more than the ambiance of the original Starbucks that make the roast taste good. She claimed that they modified roasts as per regional tastes.

As a marketer - that floored me.

Just throwing it out there. Not sure if other roasters do that as well or not.

Originally Posted by earcutter

I know reviewing a Starbucks product in a "coffee" thread would be darn near sacrilegious, so I will not. But I will point out something I found out in my local KS Starbucks that floored me... and if true, might be worth mentioning here.

I was in Seattle - went to the "original" Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - loved it.

Came back to KS - went to the billionth Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - hated it.


I expressed my feelings to the barista claiming that maybe it was nothing more than the ambiance of the original Starbucks that make the roast taste good. She claimed that they modified roasts as per regional tastes.

As a marketer - that floored me.

Just throwing it out there. Not sure if other roasters do that as well or not.

Well, apparently you need to move to Seattle since you have Pacific Northwest tastebuds. As for me, I shun Starbucks with a religious fervor. I know they may have modified their over roasted flavor some but I just find them, while fueling the desire for good coffee, determined to want to be the old USSR of coffee/tea and anything else they can put their brand on. And yes, products are adjusted for regional tastes. Years ago I was driving cross country and had a breakdown and stayed at a motel for several days. Had a long discussion with a prepared meats salesman. He told me of all the different varieties of a single brand hot dog adjusted for the different areas of the country. A New York dog served at a ball park in some parts of the South would most likely have more "heat" to it than one in a Northern state.

I buy my coffee beans from a small coffee place. I use an antique Spong No 1 grinder. I grind enough for my K cup coffee maker. I will never go back to ground coffee. I tried the Beans at a local Large grocery store. They smelled great but NO FLAVOR! I also have a Lavaza small coffee pot. Need a bigger one. I think its for expresso.

Originally Posted by earcutter

I know reviewing a Starbucks product in a "coffee" thread would be darn near sacrilegious, so I will not. But I will point out something I found out in my local KS Starbucks that floored me... and if true, might be worth mentioning here.

I was in Seattle - went to the "original" Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - loved it.

Came back to KS - went to the billionth Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - hated it.


I expressed my feelings to the barista claiming that maybe it was nothing more than the ambiance of the original Starbucks that make the roast taste good. She claimed that they modified roasts as per regional tastes.

As a marketer - that floored me.

Just throwing it out there. Not sure if other roasters do that as well or not.

If the coffee actually tasted "bad" it was probably stale. They do not put roast dates on their product.

One big negative moving from the Twin Cities to Racine was not having a Dunn Bros. shop nearby. All Dunn Bros. coffees sold were less than four days old. A coffee needs about three days to "outgas" and be drinkable.

I have found a local roaster here (Wilson's) and their products have been good to very good so I am a happier camper to date.

I sometimes get a Alterra/Collectivo product called "Black and Tan" which does mean light and dark roasts. It makes a good espresso and also drip coffee.

Dave

Originally Posted by earcutter

I was in Seattle - went to the "original" Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - loved it.

Came back to KS - went to the billionth Starbucks - had their Pike Place Roast - hated it.

I sometimes buy a pound of Pike Place Roast here in South FL. Sometimes their 'House Blend.' Always beans and I grind them myself. I like both of those blends well enough. I also buy Peets House Blend, or Major Dickinson's Blend. All of these are 'alright' but not really favorites in the true sense of the word. They are what works, at a price I can afford, rather that coffees I'd highly recommend.

Thirty years ago I was living in Montclair NJ and there was a place on Church St, or was it Avenue ....... called 'Beans,' where some upscale shops were. I fell in love with a blend called Mocha Java, which has nothing to do with chocolate BTW. I'm sometimes able to find MJ around here, always beans, I never buy ground coffee, but it doesn't seem to taste as good as I remember it back in the '80s.

As far as Starbucks modifying their blends to suit regional tastes ....... I find that difficult to believe. It seems to me that it would require more diversity in sorting it all out than it would be worth. I could see them pushing specific flavors, varieties in one local as opposed to another, but not varieties of the same blend, such as Pike Peak, from one region to another. Just IMHO.

Originally Posted by kratos86

I come from Naples (city of coffe maker in Italy) among many brand i prefer Passalacqua, very good. 2nd place for Illy that alternate with Passalacqua

i haven't written that i drink only espresso coffee