Which brand of coffee is the Rolls Royce of all coffee?

[lachris]

TO original poster...I'd get out there and spend a little money and try as many different coffees and brewing methods as you can. I'm a roaster and I still like buying coffee from other roasters. I love trying coffee from just about everywhere. I love the coffee industry! There is no Rolls Royce in my opinion!

 

[Randy G.]

Indeed, lachris. Good advice to be sure. One may as well ask, "What is the most comfortable underwear?" as what is the best coffee. You have to try it yourself to find out.
A basic rule is that if the coffee does not specifically show the "Roasted On" date, do not buy it.
If the coffee packaging states, "Best if used by.." or similar wording, do not buy it.

Green coffee is best for about 12 months
Roasted coffee is good for about 12 days
Ground coffee is good for about 12 minutes

If coffee is very dark or oily, it most often is already stale. It is most likely old or was improperly stored between the roasting and when you got it. The dark, oily "espresso" beans seen the the supermarket are a good example of that. Some of these over-roasted blends are created from low-quality beans which are less expensive to purchase green, and over-roasting them burns out the poor flavor so that you taste the roast and not the coffee (in some cases, such as the cheap Robusta from Viet Nam, that's a good thing unless you like the taste of bicycle inner tubes).

If you like Lavazza or Illy, that is just fine, but all coffee drinkers owe it to themselves to try some real specialty coffee, properly roasted, and fresh. Open up the yellow pages or do a google search for coffee shops in your area. Many independent shops now roast for themselves and it may be possible to get some local, fresh coffee that way. It is also a great way to meet some serious coffee folks as well. Armed with some basic knowledge of teh roasting process, strike up a conversation with a ropaster. Most are glad to talk about the craft, and who knows? You may end up a home roaster! Download the Hottop owners manual from the HottopUSA website (I wrote it). It has some very good general information on coffee roasting in it.

I have read that Illy is the number one importer of Brazilian Arabica coffee. I have been using Brazilian as an espresso base for many years now and like it a lot. That coffee is not any more expensive than other coffees, so paying a premium price for Illy (particularly in the US where it is not fresh) does not make sense.

 

[Coffee Lover 1]

You made a great point. Coffee taste is so subjective, but if one has an educated palette their are many factors that do not go unnoticed. I can tell if the water that is used is fresh clean and pure.

 

[topher]

personally I do not like pods. I like to grind my coffee myself and keep it fresh. I suggest finding a local roaster or go online and find a roast to order company.

 

[tortillatree]

Randy, have you tried Tim Horton's coffee? Darn good coffee for a chain.

i wouldn't call their coffee darn good, but i have to agree that for a robusta-blend, they do manage to create a full-bodied cup that's not bitter, and that's impressive. but no undertones, no lingering aftertaste, no magic... plus it's not "responsible" coffee...it's cheap coffee --probably slave-labor type coffee-- that i try not to support. anyway...

 

[smartercoffee]

In my opinion, the best coffees are the true single origins! I don't mean single country...I mean single farms and estates. For some reason, the hand-selection of beans really weeds out the worse tasting coffees right away, which is what makes the Blue Mountains and Konas so amazing. For a cheaper alternative, I would try some of the great direct trade coffee companies such as Barefoot Coffee (barefootcoffee.com), Ritual (ritualroasters.com) & Farm to Cup (farmcup.com).

 

[lachris]

@smartercoffee - why would you recommend Rital or Barefoot over a great local roaster close to the poster??

 

[Coffee Lover 1]

personally I do not like pods. I like to grind my coffee myself and keep it fresh. I suggest finding a local roaster or go online and find a roast to order company.

I used to grind my coffee, but the caffeine was too strong. Do you know of a low caffeine, great tasting coffee? It has to be smooth.:question:

 

[sable]

Please try organogold. if you were local to me in London, I would offer you a free trial. Satisfaction guaranteed. Go to: springs.organogold.com
Ola

organo is addictingly good

 

[JJohnson0731]

I would really recommend Boresha's BSkinny Coffee. It is the world's first thermogenic fat burning coffee, is infrared roasted for reduced acidity and enhanced flavored, it is backed by 27 years of research, and is 100% organic. It also contains buffered caffeine and is Arabic. Please contact me if you have any more questions or comments.

 

[ToyDogCoffee]

I think we are all biased towards the coffee that we like. I am lucky that I live in Hawaii, and I get access to fantastic, single small farm producers. It is why I started my coffee sites. My daily favorite (Sea Mountain Coffee) is from the Ka'u region of the Big Island. My farmer roasts and brings it to the farmers market every other week so I pick up freshly roasted bags to ship out for people. Just south of Kona, the region has been performing quite well in cupping competitions in the last few years. I carry Kona as well, Haren's Old Tree Estate. He used to be a sommelier at the Ritz so has a great palate. I am currently trying to source some coffee from the Hamakua region.

Freshly roasted coffee is key. Try single varietals so you can get their characteristics. Try Peaberry versus normal bean, light, medium and dark roasts as well. Either a local roaster of order online a shop that will roast and ship your way (FYI, thats what we do). Think about the process grocery coffee goes through. Even Starbucks, roasts their coffee, ships it to a Kraft distribution facility, kraft then sends it to local warehouses, and then salesmen go and try and stock the shelfs. At this point, coffee is 2 to 3 months old.

If you get a chance, try aged coffee. While expensive, the taste is fantastic. I managed to buy a pound of medium roasted peaberry that was aged 3 to 7 years before roasting. Best coffee I ever drank. Unfortunately it runs $45 a pound and his entire crop now goes to Korea...

 

[CJevens]

I'm sure there are some great Italian grown/processed coffees available, such as Illy and others, but by the time you buy it here in the US anything great it had to offer is long gone.

I just can't understand why so many think coffees like these are so awesome when most haven't given their local roasters a shot. Nothing beats fresh.

A agree. I have also enjoyed the "illy and others", but I prefer locally roasted fresh coffees.

I also regularly purchase fresh roasted coffee from Kona direct from the farmer. Nothing better than farm direct, regardless of what farm you choose. The best taste is your own to decide.

 

[joeyg]

Martinez fine coffees.
I DO NOT WORK FOR THEM, NOT FRIENDS WITH ANY OF THEM, BUT HAVE BECOME A BIG FAN.
YOU HAVE TO TRY THEIR Tanzania "Kilimanjaro Peaberry. Sometimes it's just very good, but other times it's simply OUTSTANDING. And I've hooked all my neighbors on it.
For more traditional cup of Columbian, I suggest their DOTA and LA MINITA. Both are very very good.
FOR ESPRESSO, you would be hard pressed to find better than their Don Giovanni's Espresso Bellissimo.

I don't think there is a ROLLS ROYCE of Coffees out there. There are too many variables. The crop is different every season, roasting differences, etc etc. I would experiement with several recommend from this forum and other coffee review sites that come up at the top of searches. And narrow it down.
The best cup of coffee I've ever had in my life was one that scored 97 or 98 on some site. it was the most amazing coffee, and very expensive, but 3 years they were not even in business.

 

[DirtyDave]

This is a specious argument.
There is no way to achieve consensus on this issue.
Each person needs to be their own judge.
Would you ask someone else who you should marry?

 

[greencoffee800]

Green Coffee 800 is best for me.