Coffee Dilemma

[CoffeeJive]

I have been meaning to try out the home espresso machine, but half the struggle is just laziness! a french press just seems so much easier, and gives a great flavor!

 

[CJevens]

This is a great discussion, because with all the options we have now-a-days it's almost a quandary to go one place over the other. I think the end result is just being aware of your own experiences you have with any cup of coffee,

I think that having many options is a good thing. With only ONE option you have a "take it or leave it" type experience. Competition and choices then allows better experiences to be offered ultimately creating a better environment for consumers to learn about coffee and its culture.

As for picking one house over the other I would prioritize like this:
Choose local first. Support local people first. This strengthens community.
Community center. A coffee house that is a community gathering place is important to keep people together.
Quality. How old are your beans? When were they roasted? Once you try fresh roasted coffee, you'll never go back.
Origin. Where are the beans from? Is it a Fair Trade bean? Make sure the workers behind your bean were treated fairly. There are families trying to survive farming coffee.

I just want to provide that in my own addition to the coffee culture! So to add my part, I am starting with on the shelf stuff and going to indie stuff from there.

Look into where your coffee (or your food for that matter) is from, how old it is and who gets stepped on along the way. You might put that cheap coffee back on the shelf.

I think it's a unique thing to have a giant company produce coffee and contrast it with some local, home brew bean, it can give you an appreciation across the whole spectrum.

I agree to a certain point. Where I disagree is that the big companies are more concerned with the bottom line than your quality cup of coffee. I'd also imagine that they are less concerned with the quality of life of the workers that pick and process the cherries.


Anyone else considering a great at home coffee experience, consider buying beans directly from a farm that grows/pulps/dries/roasts/packages/ and ships. There are 600-700 coffee farms in the United States. Many of which operate "From Tree to Cup". Note that ground coffee loses its flavour very rapidly. Grind, immediately brew, immediately consume.

Enjoy.