Saturday CoffeeDay 9/12/09 Coffee anyone?

[Chip]

Welcome everyone to Starbucks CoffeeChat, please stop in and share what is in your cup today ... all day.

Today's CoffeePoll and discussion topic is about, you guessed it, coffee. Sort of anyway. Ebtoulson suggested this, so blame him. Thanks Ebtoulson. The Poll is, what is your personal coffee to tea ratio, but also please share how often you drink coffee, whether you like the taste of coffee or not, why do you or don't you drink coffee, do you love, like, dislike, hate coffee, ect. Anything goes as long as it relates somehow to coffee.

I am looking forward to sharing this "CoffeeDay" with everyone. Bottoms up, Juan Valdez.

[Geekgirl]

I love, Love, LOVE coffee. It doesn't like me though. But I do drink it nearly every day. I try to only have it on weekends, but I just cannot resist. My ratio is probably close to 40/60, although it really should be more like 10/90 if I know what's good for me. Heh.

[Salsero]

My ratio is closer to 0 to 100 than 20 to 100, maybe one to every 1,000 or so.

[Herb_Master]

I love coffee

I start the day with coffee, and end the day with tea.

I hate Starbucks, and many other new wave coffee chains.

I like Costa Coffee and several of the coffees they sell, particularly 'Old Blue Sumatra' - I also occasionally buy Coffee syrups from them, such as Hazelnut and Cinnamon.

In Stockport when shopping, I invariably stop at 'Caffe Nero' for extra strong Cappucino, whilst taking a pause from the bookshops (I once tried the Starbucks in Borders bookshop it was dreadful!

I have a nice collection of Expresso cups, and sometimes use an expresso cup for drinking Oolong -does anyone else ever use coffee ware for tea?

[Drax]

I'd say that I'm a teetotaler but that has different implications. Even so, I don't drink coffee. I never got into it. I suppose I could get into it, but I rather enjoy being able to get up in the morning and not have to rely on a cup of coffee to get me started.

I do enjoy coffee-flavored ice cream, though.

I'm about to head off to the grocery store and run a few errands. When I get back, it's going to be a lovely day of nothing. Well, not "nothing" -- I'll be practicing guitar and doing some other fun hobby stuff. And I'll be continuing my run with the American Hao 0904, and I'll probably move to the 0905 by evening.

Have a great TeaDay everybody! Or if you must, CoffeeDay.

[Saifuddin]

I've never been able to drink coffe. I just can't seem to get it down. I drink black tea instead, like the first flush Assam thats in my cup right now.

[Charlotte]

For some reason I couldn't figure out what ratios went to what. I just do tea but LOVE the smell of coffee. If I drink coffee, it has so much sugar and cream in it that I'm not sure there is any coffee left. Maybe that's why I like coffee ice cream.

[kymidwife]

I chose 0/100... all tea. That being said, I really love coffee! But I haven't had a cup in months. I had a handyman over doing some jobs a couple of weeks ago, and I made coffee for him, and it smelled so totally divine!

I avoid coffee for a few reasons. First of all, I never acquired a taste for drinking it black/straight. I like it with cream and sweetened and preferably flavored (hazelnut is my poison of choice). I gave up all artificial sweeteners about a year ago. Another reason I don't do lots of coffee is that it generally doesn't agree with me physically. I am far more likely to be wired up from coffee's caffeine as compared to tea. My tummy also seems to be sensitive to the combo of coffee, cream, and sugar. It can quickly become something that's just too rich for me.

All that aside, coffee sounds really good right now. I am seriously considering having a cup in honor of the poll. But for now, I am quite happy with my Silver Needles, a gentler and more refined wake-up to this beautiful day.

Sarah

[gingkoseto]

I love, love coffee!

I chose 20:80 ratio mainly because from the very beginning I decided not to drink more than 1 cup (well sometimes, rarely, 2 cups) of coffee a day, and on some days I just skip it because I am not that addicted to coffee. I believe coffee is an angel only if you don't have too much of it.

But this is about serving/session. I make my coffee very concentrated. So in terms of caffeine dose, maybe I should choose 30:70

In terms of money spent, the ratio would be probably 5:95. My coffee expenses are so low that they can be ignored. I am settled with coffee beans from trader joe, many fair trade choices with unbeatable prices! What I consume the most is their 5-country blend express bean I have 2 stovetop "machinettas" from TJmaxx, one for $5 and another Bialetti one was only $10 or $15. I am all happy with them!

[brlarson]

I stopped drinking coffee a little over a year ago, so my present ratio is close to 0:100. Still, I do drink it occasionally to keep me awake on long drives, maybe two or three cups per month. I like the taste of it but coffee is too powerful a stimulant for me, so I decided to detox and I switched to tea.

I am finishing a can of kaboku this morning. Those little packets, the so called ``oxygen absorbers'', that Ippodo puts into their tea cans do a good job of keeping the tea fresh. I also have an open can of Hosen which is pretty ordinary; it might take some time to finish it.

Have a great TeaDay folks.

[Riene]

I like the aroma of coffee but I can't stand the taste. The best I've been able to do is to splash a little bit of coffee into the occasional cup of hot chocolate, usually on a morning when we're camping.

Yunnan Noir in the pot this morning, mmmmm.

[Intuit]

I rarely drink coffee. Like Sal, my ratio is just north of 0:100. I have good quality coffee in the house and the equipment to brew it, but very little natural inclination to choose it over tea on any given day. I also have a hard time shelling out a couple bucks for an Americano, and am not a fan of highly doctored (flavored) coffee. I love New Orleans-style chicory coffee, but it's hard to find it here.

Starbucks ruined coffee drinking for many of us; their preference is for excessively roasting high-acidic blends, and they have been aped by many coffee roasters here in the West. I'm beginning to suspect that over-sensitive bitter-sensing is at work; when combined with roaster proclivity towards more acidic product, it's simply too acidic for me, unless its buffered (coffee/sweetener), which can overwhelm the subtle flavors of better coffee beans.

Ceylon estate in my cup for starters.

[geeber1]

Like Riene and Charlotte, I love the smell of coffee, but can't stand the taste, so my ratio is 0:100.

No tea yet, I overdid it on tomatoes and salsa yesterday and my tummy isn't ready for food or drink.

[brlarson]

I rarely drink coffee. ... Starbucks ruined coffee drinking for many of us; their preference is for excessively roasting high-acidic blends, and they have been aped by many coffee roasters here in the West...

Have you checked out George Howell's coffees? George started the Coffee Connection back in the day and was bought out by Starbucks. His offerings are exquisite. Many are from a single estate, and you can always taste the character of the place of origin in brews from his beans. http://www.terroircoffee.com/

EDIT: I should add that his beans' flavors are delicate, so you need to take the same kind of care when brewing them that you do with good tea.

B

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I like coffee, but I do not drink that much of it. A 10:90 ratio of coffee to tea is about right. I do have a nice little French Press and some locally roasted beans for the days for when I just need a cup. I actually like the taste, when it is brewed correctly with good quality beans, but it disagrees terribly with my digestive system to where I cannot drink it often. When I do drink it, I like it strong and black with no flavorings, sweetener, or milk products added.

Tea cup is empty at the moment, as I am waiting for the water to heat up. Who knows what I will end up with in the cup, but it will definitely be tea.