Coffee

[mattl]

I'm trying to wean myself off K cups.  Been spending $45 every 6 weeks, feel that is too much, plus all the non-recyclable plastic just goes in the trash. To that end I've replaced the good old Cuisinart coffee maker I've been using for close to 20 years -I think I've gone through 4 of them over the years - with an SCA certified OXO 9 cup brewer. It;s certified to brew at the ideal temp and does not have a keep warm heater to "burn" the coffee but a double insulated SS carafe.

 

Now the question- I only use Swiss Water Decaf, I prefer a medium roast. My brand of choice is Peet's medium roast K cups, but have no idea what type of ground or bean coffee would be similar.  I bought some Peet's dark roast but it seems bitter to me. Tried the gold standard of coffee to water and found it much too strong for my tastes, cut it back by 1/3 and it was more to my liking. Have not had luck finding Peet's Medium roast decaf in a bag.

 

Based on all that I'm open to recommendations. Was looking at San Fransisco Bay on AZ, they offer a medium roast, anyone use it? I hate being stuck with bag after bag of coffee I don't like as I only drink 2 mugs a day.

 

[ea56]

Matt, if you only drink 2 mugs of coffee a day why not just use a one cup Melitta pour over drip filter right on top of your mug for your daily coffee and save the coffee maker for when you have company? You can brew a perfect cup of coffee just to your liking this way.

I gave up coffee myself over 2 years ago due to severe acid reflux. But when I still was drinking coffee I drank it black and liked a strong cup of medium roast coffee. I like my coffee to taste the way it used to back before plastic coffee cans. I found that Maxwell House Colombian coffee tasted just like a good cup of coffee from the 50’s or 60’s. I was never one for expensive coffee, but I would occasionally buy fresh beans and grind it myself, mostly Colombian sometimes French Roast.

I never liked any coffee that was brewed in a Keurig. Since you drink Decaf I don’t have a clue who makes a decent tasting decaf, but I’d be inclined to think you’d need to buy fresh whole bean coffee and grind it yourself to get a really good cup of decaf coffee. I always think of Sanka when I hear decaf and that was terrible tasting coffee.

Eddie

 

[wayupnorth]

I have an old GE coffee maker and I put 4 small scoops of coffee in the basket and it works for me, 2 mugs of coffee I like, plain old Makwell House. Dont like those spiced up crap at all.

 

[mattl]

Eddie, I too drank Maxwell House for decades but for me a few years ago I could never get it to taste right. Went through a lot of different coffees, but none really hit the spot. Most of the decaf coffee I tried had a bad aftertaste I attribute to the paint stripper chemicals use to strip the caffeine. Swiss Water method does not have that problem for me, I have yet to try CO2 decaf coffee, I have a bag of CO2 decaf tea and it is good. I too have lived with reflux for 30+ years, but decaf does not bother me.

 

I do entertain from time to time so I wanted something that could make a full pot and also make 2 cups and was programmable.  The Cuisinart was getting a bit long in the tooth plus the Oxo is kind  of cool looking with the water shooting up the central tube so I made the swap. Now I just need to find the right coffee.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

I only drink coffee in Summer and loose leaf fair trade organic tea in Winter. I recently bought some Mount Hagen fair trade organic instant coffee and for instant its pretty good.

 

[jmm63]

I've used San Fransico Bay kcups before and thought the coffee was delicious, have not tried it in regular ground but I can't imagine it wouldn't be good.

When we brew a pot on weekends, we use Peets Major Dickason's or Big Bang decaf, both delicious.

 

[rinso]

I use Maude's Dark & Handsome K-cups and I find the taste of the coffee to be acceptable. However, my 2014 KitchenAid vacuum coffeemaker makes coffee that is among the best-tasting I've ever experienced.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

coffee

As a coffee drinker, I use K cups, but I prefer freshly brewed coffee made from whole beans freshly grounded. It will certainly go well with blueberry pancakes.

 

[sudsmaster]

 

 

I have gone way back from my younger years in terms of daily coffee consumption.

 

I used to drink 2 or more cups a day. Now I at most drink a cup in the morning, and sometimes not even that. I do use Keurig brews, which works out since they are relatively inexpensive for the relatively small quantity I imbibe.

 

[mattl]

I too did no think that much about K cups until I did the math.  I cannot find Peet's medium roast decaf locally so I set up AZ auto ship. 6 boxes every 6 weeks @ $45 comes to about $400/y.  @ $7.50 a box I didn't think it was too bad, better than local sale prices per box.

 

I've made ground or whole bean coffee for years and a bag goes much further. So I felt comfortable investing half of the $400 in a high end pot, guessing $200-250 in coffee I'd break even the first year.  Now I just have to find the coffee.  Kroger's Private Selection SW medium decaf is passable at the moment  but hope to find better.

 

[48bencix]

Reusable K-Cup

I have three reusable K-Cups. I fill them with Seattle's Finest coffee. Fairly inexpensive and not too inconvenient. I also buy WalMart K-Cup coffee at less than $5.00 for 12. Various roasts. I do like the one cup at a time brewing. I used to drink much more coffee and had a Mr. Coffee with the stainless steel carafe. No burned coffee taste with that. I also have the Sunbeam vacuum brewer which makes great coffee. It is a pain to clean out.

 

[dermacie]

My favorite coffee is Folgers myself.  My housemate likes Starbucks k-cups.  I use a 4 cup Mr Coffee.  I do prefer percolator myself but have been using Mr Coffee and he is pretty good.

 

[reactor]

percolator coffee

For whatever reason, I find percolator coffee and vacuum brewed coffee the best.  It gives that traditional comforting taste that you can just curl up on a couch with, and sip your troubles away.

 

Since you only drink a couple of cups, Matt, you might like General Electric's percolator with the "mini-brew basket." The little orange basket fits into the regular basket and concentrats the grounds so you can brew two or three cups of great coffee.

 

I think Columbian coffee has one of the best flavor balances.  I used to buy Maxwell House and Folgers, but have gotten fond of Eight O'Clock  brand coffee. 

 

For an occasional treat, Kona Coffee  from Hawaii is superb.  It's still conventional  coffee, no flavors or additives, but has a enticing aroma and gentle pleasant flavor.

 

 

[jamiel]

A friend from Guadeloupe brought my husband some coffee from there---though I haven't tried it yet the aroma is amazing (I presume it's akin to Jamaica Blue Mountain).

 

[kb0nes]

For a couple cups a day I'd choose a pour over or Chemex.

K-Cups are horrible on every level. They make for a weak cold cup of coffee to start. Add to that the plastic waste, cost and reliability of the machines themselves. I was gifted a Keurig machine years ago and it worked for a month, the second one didn't last that long. Landfills are getting filled with such nonsense.

I did try a re-fillable K-Cup adapter for a time, but for the amount of hassle it added it was just easy to use a pour over funnel. Bonus was better coffee with full control and the filter and grounds go straight to organics compost.

I also use a Bialetti Moka pot when I'm only making coffee for myself.

 

[mattl]

Yes, I too used the refillable K cup adapter, messy and didn't hold enough coffee for me - tried 3 or 4 variations.  Got a collection of Sunbeam vac pots, make great coffee, but a pain to clean. I considered pour over, but felt it was a bit labor intensive as I like to grab a mug and go.

 

What I'm after is suggestions on a medium body decaf that is generally available. At this point I have 6 or 8 different coffees in my cupboard that I don't care for and odds are will be tossed.

 

[launderess]

Have three Keurig machines and one Nespresso (all new to me gifts) and quite honestly none of them make better coffee than my vac pots.

Only have the one Keurig out because now and then nab a supply of K-cups at good price. Use it when only want the one cup of coffee and am in hurry. Even then will heat water in kettle on range before pouring into machine. This to ensure will get a hot cup instead of lukewarm dreck.

One Keurig machine should move on is an older model with tank. It came as local office was clearing out during covid panic few years ago. Am never going to use it so it really should find a new home.

 

[launderess]

When younger could drink gallons of coffee and it had no effect. Indeed is how one got through cramming for exams in high school and college, then there was a decade or so of breaking the night; staying up and out to wee hours ending up with having breakfast with coffee before going home.

Then one day tried it; had few cups of coffee before driving home from an event. Had barely gotten head down and dozed off before being awoken by what felt like a two ton gorilla dancing on one's chest. Was some of the worst heartburn ever experienced in my life. Thought was having a cardiac event or something.

Went to see my quack who gave grim news; am no longer hottest thing in shoe leather and need to make lifestyle changes. First up was no more coffee in evenings, or at least many hours before lying down to sleep.

 

[ryner1988]

I'm with many of the others, don't care for K cups. We had one for a while and aside from making, in my opinion, terrible coffee, it was so wasteful because we drink two cups of coffee each a day at least so drip coffee maker it is in this house. We use Maxwell House Breakfast Blend Light Roast and find it hits the perfect balance of strength and warm comfort.

Ryne