who has better coffee?

[mfwahl]

i love the coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (i think they are only west coast). it is truly lovely.

That's funny. I never heard of that place until I saw it in Californication. I think Hank gets carjacked in front of one.

[kimcatch22]

Iced coffee

liquid quiches

[aricandover]

[caliber66]

liquid quickies?

[M. (hristine]

 

This place has the best coffee in the universe.

 

The best part of this story? Starbucks opened a shop right next door to this place a few years back, amid much neighborhood controversy. That same Starbucks closed this past year. FIGHT THE POWER!

[kimcatch22]

Wow, everyone seems to have the best coffee!! So....

 

Announcing the Via Coffee Cup coffee and tea exchange!!

[M. (hristine]

[embiggen]

great idea! it's a sensation!

[jenbobblehead]

I was a Frappuchino addict until I started brewing & concocting my own iced coffee.

 

In fact my iced coffee won the ms yvon Seal Of Approval.

 

Man I love coffee.

how does one make good iced coffee? for some reason i have a mental block about making it myself. Same with iced tea. I have all these great green teas and black teas with fruit and flowers, but it always comes out bitter. What is the trick?

[explodo]

This needs "local small roaster" on the list because that is very different from the diner/mom & pop option.

Or just put Metropolis on there so it can kick all the others' asses. Can I get a witness!? yvon? renic? ROBIN?? Spice Island is calling....

 

Beats the piss out of intelligentsia as far as I'm concerned. Some of the best coffee I've ever had, I thinks.

[M. (hristine]

how does one make good iced coffee? for some reason i have a mental block about making it myself. Same with iced tea. I have all these great green teas and black teas with fruit and flowers, but it always comes out bitter. What is the trick?

Iced coffee: I brew 10 cups of strong coffee and when it's still hot mix in 1/2 can condensed (not evaporated) milk, and 1/2 C regular milk. Chill. It's not as sweet as Frappuchino. I drink it every morning.

 

Green tea: Very important part of brewing green tea is not to let it steep too long. 3 MINUTES MAX! Any more than that, the tannins are released, making it bitter on the tongue.

[myboyblue]

Iced coffee: I brew 10 cups of strong coffee and when it's still hot mix in 1/2 can condensed (not evaporated) milk, and 1/2 C regular milk. Chill. It's not as sweet as Frappuchino. I drink it every morning.

That sounds pretty good. I don't mind frappuchino on occasion but it's too sweet for me generally. That sounds like it may do the trick.

 

 

Green tea: Very important part of brewing green tea is not to let it steep too long. 3 MINUTES MAX! Any more than that, the tannins are released, making it bitter on the tongue.

Unless of course you like bitter. That, coupled with the fact that I generally forget, lead me to drink green tea that's been steeping for >10 minutes.

[Lammycat]

Starbuck's coffee is fantastic. I enjoy it. I don't care much that it's a chain, either. It's pricey, too. Fortunately, many of the other chains, as well as local shops, do a version of my favorite Starbuck's item- the frappucino. This is a good thing for the wallet.

 

I drink one cup of drip coffee from the pot at school per day and an occassional cup of home-brew/french press coffee at home on weekends. Maybe hit Starbuck's or similar once/month.

 

Starbuck's is still the best coffee, imo. If I drank coffee regularly I'd probably be happy with a cheaper imitation.

[Sir Stewart]

Isn't the "Starbucks is more expensive" belief just a myth? I can't get a cup of coffee at a lower price at any mom-and-pop coffee house. Maybe they were instrumental in driving up the price years ago, but it's a pretty level field these days.

[quarter23cd]

Me likey Caribou's dark roast--black. Good stuff. But I'm not really brand-loyal to anyplace...I go to Caribou mostly because it is conveniently located on my way to work and has a drive-thru. I don't think it is a nationwide chain, though, is it? Seems to me its at a pretty big disadvantage in this poll.

[PopTodd]

Best iced tea:

Red Rose

 

Hands-down, don't care about any coffee-shop or restaurant stuff. And none of that flavored crap either! Just give me tea-flavored tea, throw some ice in it and let it get nice and cold. No sweetener or lemon, either; that's for wussies and Southerners!

 

Buy it at the grocery store and make it at home, yourself!

Red Rose.

There, I said it again.

[M. (hristine]

Another trick to making iced tea is allowing it to come to room temperature before refrigerating it. Otherwise it gets cloudy.

[jenbobblehead]

Iced coffee: I brew 10 cups of strong coffee and when it's still hot mix in 1/2 can condensed (not evaporated) milk, and 1/2 C regular milk. Chill. It's not as sweet as Frappuchino. I drink it every morning.

 

Green tea: Very important part of brewing green tea is not to let it steep too long. 3 MINUTES MAX! Any more than that, the tannins are released, making it bitter on the tongue.

Ok, we're going to try that. Ok Ben? He was just saying how he'd like a decent cup of coffee in the morning. We have a nice coffee maker (and a french press, used ONLY by Ms Yvon!!) we might as well use it.

 

I wonder what it tastes like with soy milk, or almond milk?

[M. (hristine]

Unless of course you like bitter. That, coupled with the fact that I generally forget, lead me to drink green tea that's been steeping for >10 minutes.

My mouth puckered when I read this.

[Lammycat]

Isn't the "Starbucks is more expensive" belief just a myth? I can't get a cup of coffee at a lower price at any mom-and-pop coffee house. Maybe they were instrumental in driving up the price years ago, but it's a pretty level field these days.

This is pretty dead on, when I think about it.

 

As long as the price is high I'll take the better quality coffee, thanks. Starbuck's quality is very good, imo. I buy the beans to take home, too.

[kimcatch22]

Isn't the "Starbucks is more expensive" belief just a myth? I can't get a cup of coffee at a lower price at any mom-and-pop coffee house. Maybe they were instrumental in driving up the price years ago, but it's a pretty level field these days.

I think that may be more about the espresso drinks and frappuccinos than drip coffee. Coffee and tea prices do seem standard to market, but it's what, close to $5 for a venti caramel frappuccino? Of course local coffee shops probably aren't much cheaper for those in-house huge mugs of latte...

 

As long as the price is high I'll take the better quality coffee, thanks. Starbuck's quality is very good, imo. I buy the beans to take home, too.

I read somewhere that Starbucks uses slightly inferior beans and roasts them extra-long to extract more oil -- that's why it has the burnt taste. Maybe MrBnB (coffee expert extraordinaire) can chime in?

[Analogman]

 

This place has the best coffee in the universe.

 

The best part of this story? Starbucks opened a shop right next door to this place a few years back, amid much neighborhood controversy. That same Starbucks closed this past year. FIGHT THE POWER!

 

There are two here now, one of which, is on the 4th floor of the library. I think Starbucks coffee is aweful.

 

What's sad is - counting the bakery, there are four coffee shops downtown one could go to instead of going to Starbucks. But of course, the kids go to Starbucks - it's all about location in this case.

 

Also - if I am going to drink 6 month old coffee, I will buy the DD brand. I prefer fresh roasted.

[MrBnB]

I think that may be more about the espresso drinks and frappuccinos than drip coffee. Coffee and tea prices do seem standard to market, but it's what, close to $5 for a venti caramel frappuccino? Of course local coffee shops probably aren't much cheaper for those in-house huge mugs of latte...

 

 

I read somewhere that Starbucks uses slightly inferior beans and roasts them extra-long to extract more oil -- that's why it has the burnt taste. Maybe MrBnB (coffee expert extraordinaire) can chime in?

 

It's called Charbucks by many for a reason.

 

They do a decent, consistent job with latte's and such (though the one in the LAX terminal I used to frequent was only barely drinkable even as a mocha with a shot of syrup), but I've never had a cup of their coffee that didn't smell and taste burnt. I do hear the new blend/roast they have is better.

[bobbob1313]

i think that might be something else... i'm pretty sure the coffee bean and tea leaf is western US and international only?

 

Well, we have a Coffee Bean here. Just saying.

[MrBnB]

Iced coffee: I brew 10 cups of strong coffee and when it's still hot mix in 1/2 can condensed (not evaporated) milk, and 1/2 C regular milk. Chill. It's not as sweet as Frappuchino. I drink it every morning.

 

Green tea: Very important part of brewing green tea is not to let it steep too long. 3 MINUTES MAX! Any more than that, the tannins are released, making it bitter on the tongue.

 

Another thing you can do to make good iced coffee is try the cold brew/toddy method. This is an article Robin wrote about cold brewing. The photos are from a batch I made. I wanted to try the results without coughing up for the toddy brewer. It makes wonderfully rich and smooth coffee. We been using the concentrate to make hot coffee, but it'll make ice coffee easily, too, and it doesn't melt the cubes and dilute the drink.

 

My coffee pot at work died, so I ended up mixing the concentrate 1:1 with milk, adding just a touch of sugar to brighten the flavor up some and bringing it in to the office. There, I just use the instant hot water doohickey in the break room, mixing it about 1:1 with my mix, and it makes a fantastic cup of coffee, and takes about 30 seconds to go from empty cup to having a sip.

 

Oh, and one bonus thing, this process leaches out less of the acid and makes a much better cup than you would get with a hot brew method. I think the batch in the photos was from 3 packets of Ronoco.