I Love My Coffee

Slurp. Buzzzzz. Slurp. Buzzzzz. Do you recognize this scenario? It’s COFFEE! Billions of people worldwide enjoy, need, their daily dose of caffeine in the form of delicious coffee. I enjoy it, too. Not so much for the buzz as for the flavor. I came to enjoy coffee quite late in my life. For years about the only coffees available where I live were the popular national brands. I hated them. They all tasted the same to me and creamer didn’t help much. But the buzz! Man, they had it. I didn’t like that, either. If I watered down the coffee to get rid of some of the buzz, there went what little flavor it had. Years later I learned that these coffees consisted of robusta coffee beans, well known for their high caffeine content. I didn’t know that what I really wanted was coffee made with gourmet quality Arabica beans. Neither did anyone else. That is, we didn’t know until the West Coast gourmet coffee trend headed east. Now I enjoy talking coffee, buying, brewing, and drinking coffee, as well as the never-ending search for my perfect cup. There are lots of perfect cups, too. I’m not a coffee snob, I don’t ever intend to roast my own beans, and I’m not going to quit my day job to become a roastmaster. I just now know enough about coffee to think I know what I like; a coffee that’s bright, full-bodied, almost syrupy, and has a lingering finish of chocolate, mostly. But I’m open to the finish, as long as it lasts a bit. There are thousands of web pages dealing with coffee; the growing, harvesting, grading, roasting, cupping, grinding, bagging, ad infinitum. If you want to know more do what I did. Do a Google search and go from there. I am just sharing my love of great coffee. My first experience with a gourmet coffee was great. An early morning company function had me wanting some to perk myself up. I went to a nearby gourmet shop, told them I wanted just a coffee, and was served a large cup of what the lady said was Sumatran. My goodness that coffee was great! What in the world happened to coffee between the last cup, years ago, and this cup, I asked myself. Surely I could brew at home and not have to buy every cup. So I began a learning experience. After going through several brands, blends, single origins, and roasts I settled on Starbucks. However, it seemed that regardless of which Starbucks varieties I chose and brewed they all were bitter in the cup. In reading web posts by others, many had the same opinion. By the way, my coffeemaker is the excellent quality Bunn NHB professional home brewer. It’s sleek, takes up little space and will brew a full pot or less in three minutes because of its always-hot and ready reservoir of water. Depending on the coffee, the results are impressive and I have never had one problem with my Bunn. If you really enjoy the wonderful flavors of gourmet coffee, not just the buzz, and are using something less you’re wasting money and probably not getting a great cup. The Bunn NHB is available for less than $100 on-line. Use Bunn’s filters, too, for a better cuppa joe. Starbucs had good coffee profiles, but bitter to me. So I continued to search for a coffee made for me. I found it in Seattle's Best Coffees.

Quite by chance I found what I liked in Seattle’s Best Coffee’s arabica beans. I've enjoyed every Seattle’s Best variety I've tried. My favorites are Henry’s Blend and Seattle’s Best Blend. Their caffeine content is just about right for me. There are SBC coffees that I've not tried because I can't find them, much to my dismay. In addition, I’ve had several 100% Kona coffees from Hawaii – great, but not quite the body I like. Kona Cloud is the best Kona I’ve had. A Jonesboro, Arkansas physician (cardiothoracic surgeon) owns the Kona Cloud coffee plantation in Hawaii, and the roasterie is located in Jonesboro, but he’s not the roastmaster. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is a publicly traded company, and another good roasterie with many excellent choices, and there are hundreds of other roasteries across the country with their specialty coffees. But, I always keep Seattle’s Best Coffee in the pantry. A burr coffee grinder is a good device to have as many coffees are offered only in whole bean. Grinding fresh beans then immediately brewing adds a dimension not attainable by buying ground. And don’t be afraid to mix different coffees in the brewer. You just might make a blend that's perfect for your tastes. Remember, coffee does not have to be bitter to be delicious. Time now for another cup of Seattle’s Best. Enjoy your Coffee! - # -