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Home Brew Coffee Recommendations

Thorndike2012

Thorndike2012

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2012
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York Haven, Pa.
I don't buy expensive coffees. Can't stand the oily Starbucks swill at all. I like my coffee on the darker edge of medium roast. 8 o'clock, Folgers, etc are the usual suspects flowing through my automatic drip coffee maker.

Recently I noticed a new Folger's brand coffee that was marked down as a 'promotional' item. The 1850 line of 'upscale' coffees from Folgers. I'm really enjoying the Pioneer Blend.

https://www.1850coffee.com/coffee

Any others I should check out?
 
Thorndike2012 said:
I don't buy expensive coffees. Can't stand the oily Starbucks swill at all. I like my coffee on the darker edge of medium roast. 8 o'clock, Folgers, etc are the usual suspects flowing through my automatic drip coffee maker.

Recently I noticed a new Folger's brand coffee that was marked down as a 'promotional' item. The 1850 line of 'upscale' coffees from Folgers. I'm really enjoying the Pioneer Blend.

https://www.1850coffee.com/coffee

Any others I should check out?
Click to expand...
We order Biggby's best by the 5# bag. Small chain from Michigan. Almost bought a franchise 10 years ago.
https://store.bhappylounge.com/p-9675-regular-coffee-options.aspx
 
Folger, Maxwell House and the like are equal to drinking cat piss.

Buy your store's local organic medium roast. You'll taste the difference.
 
Last edited:
Dunkin or Wawa have good coffee beans, but it’s all a matter of taste. Whole Foods roasts their beans and posts the date roasted on the barrel, so you know they are fresh. They have a number of very good coffees or blends from around the world. I like their Island blend, or the 365 morning buzz blend.
 
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Mt Comfort coffee..2.5# whole bean Costa Rica or Peru...online from roaster..$16.....also available at Costco....grind your own and experience the difference
 
ThePennsyOracle said:
Peet’s and Caribou.

Folgers.....just don’t.
Click to expand...

Another coffee post...

I know you guys are tired of this - I do coffee consulting work. The best coffees will be undoubtedly be found at your high quality local regional roasters. They should offer selections of light, medium, and dark roasts.

The key thing is the use of arabica coffee. Arabica coffee is grown at higher elevations, is hand picked and represents less than 10% of the coffee grown worldwide. DUNKIN uses arabica (and obviously SB).

The mass market brands (MH, CS, F red can) use a different variety - Robusta. Good news - robusta is higher in caffeine - bad news is poorer in flavor attributes. Outside of Brazil, the number two provider of Robusta is Vietnam. Enough said. This is why ‘canned coffee’ is a $1.99 vs the premium brands like SB, Caribou, Peet’s, Green Mountain etc

I am not getting into the DUNKIN vs Green Mountain vs SB vs Peet’s debate. DUNKIN is a lightly roasted Brazil based coffee - Green Mountain has roasts ranging from light (Donut Shop to high end Barista Primo - SB, Caribou, Peet’s offer a whole line of lighter to darker options. They are all roasted and marketed to different coffee consumers.

Bottom line - go with 100% arabica -local roaster is best, premium lines better, EOC - Sams Club - Kirkland are good lower cost alternatives (designed to match the National gourmet brands - this is where I do the most of my work).

The guys on this forum who tell you to roast your own - good luck not stinking up your house or really consistently getting a consistent end roast color.
 
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One more rant....

Key things;

1)Throw ratio - 65 - 70 grams per 64 oz water
2) water quality - use bottled or filtered water
3) brewer -for drip coffee you want to brew a 60-64 oz carafe between 4-6 minutes. Longer brew cycles start to over extract the coffee grounds and you’ll start getting bitter products
4) yes - French press is better than drip. But I have a life to live. Use a 65 gram (use a scale) to 60 oz water on a high quality brewer and you’ll get very very nice results.
5) recommended brewers can be found on the SCAA website (Speciality Coffee Association) : https://sca.coffee/
6) Grinding whole bean at home is best. But grind size is very important for the extraction and differs for espresso, drip, and French press. You will have to do some experiments on your grinder to find the best setting.
7) Burr grinders are better than blade grinders. They are also more expensive.
8) The cost/value ratio for the above equipment is your decision. I use a burr grinder - scale - Technivorm Moccamaster for my home.
 
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flavorguy said:
Another coffee post...

I know you guys are tired of this - I do coffee consulting work. The best coffees will be undoubtedly be found at your high quality local regional roasters. They should offer selections of light, medium, and dark roasts.

The key thing is the use of arabica coffee. Arabica coffee is grown at higher elevations, is hand picked and represents less than 10% of the coffee grown worldwide. DUNKIN uses arabica (and obviously SB).

The mass market brands (MH, CS, F red can) use a different variety - Robusta. Good news - robusta is higher in caffeine - bad news is poorer in flavor attributes. Outside of Brazil, the number two provider of Robusta is Vietnam. Enough said. This is why ‘canned coffee’ is a $1.99 vs the premium brands like SB, Caribou, Peet’s, Green Mountain etc

I am not getting into the DUNKIN vs Green Mountain vs SB vs Peet’s debate. DUNKIN is a lightly roasted Brazil based coffee - Green Mountain has roasts ranging from light (Donut Shop to high end Barista Primo - SB, Caribou, Peet’s offer a whole line of lighter to darker options. They are all roasted and marketed to different coffee consumers.

Bottom line - go with 100% arabica -local roaster is best, premium lines better, EOC - Sams Club - Kirkland are good lower cost alternatives (designed to match the National gourmet brands - this is where I do the most of my work).

The guys on this forum who tell you to roast your own - good luck not stinking up your house or really consistently getting a consistent end roast color.
Click to expand...

I don’t get tired of it. I roast my own beans and want your job. ;)
 
flavorguy said:
One more rant....

Key things;

1)Throw ratio - 65 - 70 grams per 64 oz water
2) water quality - use bottled or filtered water
3) brewer -for drip coffee you want to brew a 60-64 oz carafe between 4-6 minutes. Longer brew cycles start to over extract the coffee grounds and you’ll start getting bitter products
4) yes - French press is better than drip. But I have a life to live. Use a 65 gram (use a scale) to 60 oz water on a high quality brewer and you’ll get very very nice results.
5) recommended brewers can be found on the SCAA website (Speciality Coffee Association) : https://sca.coffee/
6) Grinding whole bean at home is best. But grind size is very important for the extraction and differs for espresso, drip, and French press. You will have to do some experiments on your grinder to find the best setting.
7) Burr grinders are better than blade grinders. They are also more expensive.
8) The cost/value ratio for the above equipment is your decision. I use a burr grinder - scale - Technivorm Moccamaster for my home.
Click to expand...
Great posts and I can attest to the impact of the burr grinder.

I was reading about a coffee competition recently and I was surprised that most of the top contestants used a simple drip cone and paper filter I always thought the French press was the best method. thoughts?

Also, thoughts on brewing temp. I've always gone for just below boiling. like 200 deg or so
 
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Freshroastedcoffee.com

Based in Selinsgrove

I prefer their Black Knight

Buy a 5 pound bag and the price is quite reasonable
 
flavorguy said:
One more rant....

Key things;

1)Throw ratio - 65 - 70 grams per 64 oz water
2) water quality - use bottled or filtered water
3) brewer -for drip coffee you want to brew a 60-64 oz carafe between 4-6 minutes. Longer brew cycles start to over extract the coffee grounds and you’ll start getting bitter products
4) yes - French press is better than drip. But I have a life to live. Use a 65 gram (use a scale) to 60 oz water on a high quality brewer and you’ll get very very nice results.
5) recommended brewers can be found on the SCAA website (Speciality Coffee Association) : https://sca.coffee/
6) Grinding whole bean at home is best. But grind size is very important for the extraction and differs for espresso, drip, and French press. You will have to do some experiments on your grinder to find the best setting.
7) Burr grinders are better than blade grinders. They are also more expensive.
8) The cost/value ratio for the above equipment is your decision. I use a burr grinder - scale - Technivorm Moccamaster for my home.
Click to expand...
Water temperature is also important for a good extraction
 
Grant Green said:
Great posts and I can attest to the impact of the burr grinder.

I was reading about a coffee competition recently and I was surprised that most of the top contestants used a simple drip cone and paper filter I always thought the French press was the best method. thoughts?

Also, thoughts on brewing temp. I've always gone for just below boiling. like 200 deg or so
Click to expand...
Pour over is the best to my taste...Kalita dripper and filter
 
Thorndike2012 said:
I don't buy expensive coffees. Can't stand the oily Starbucks swill at all. I like my coffee on the darker edge of medium roast. 8 o'clock, Folgers, etc are the usual suspects flowing through my automatic drip coffee maker.

Recently I noticed a new Folger's brand coffee that was marked down as a 'promotional' item. The 1850 line of 'upscale' coffees from Folgers. I'm really enjoying the Pioneer Blend.

https://www.1850coffee.com/coffee

Any others I should check out?
Click to expand...
Community Coffee Dark Roast. They are headquartered out of Baton Rogue, LA and their coffee is sold at all regional supermarkets including Wal-Mart, Costco etc... I don't know about availability in the Northeast.

Their Breakfast Blend is outstanding. $12 for a 2# bag. It’s really good coffee.
 
Last edited:
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PeetzPoolBoy said:
Community Coffee Dark Roast. They are headquartered out of Baton Rogue, LA and their coffee is sold at all regional supermarkets including Wal-Mart, Costco etc... I don't know about availability in the Northeast.

Their Breakfast Blend is outstanding.
Click to expand...
Amazon also carries the complete line of their coffees,so that would make it available I believe
 
flavorguy said:
One more rant....

Key things;

1)Throw ratio - 65 - 70 grams per 64 oz water
2) water quality - use bottled or filtered water
3) brewer -for drip coffee you want to brew a 60-64 oz carafe between 4-6 minutes. Longer brew cycles start to over extract the coffee grounds and you’ll start getting bitter products
4) yes - French press is better than drip. But I have a life to live. Use a 65 gram (use a scale) to 60 oz water on a high quality brewer and you’ll get very very nice results.
5) recommended brewers can be found on the SCAA website (Speciality Coffee Association) : https://sca.coffee/
6) Grinding whole bean at home is best. But grind size is very important for the extraction and differs for espresso, drip, and French press. You will have to do some experiments on your grinder to find the best setting.
7) Burr grinders are better than blade grinders. They are also more expensive.
8) The cost/value ratio for the above equipment is your decision. I use a burr grinder - scale - Technivorm Moccamaster for my home.
Click to expand...
Flavorguy, do you live in Columbia and is your real name Juan Valdez?
 
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ThePennsyOracle said:
Peet’s and Caribou.

Folgers.....just don’t.
Click to expand...

Grant Green said:
Great posts and I can attest to the impact of the burr grinder.

I was reading about a coffee competition recently and I was surprised that most of the top contestants used a simple drip cone and paper filter I always thought the French press was the best method. thoughts?

Also, thoughts on brewing temp. I've always gone for just below boiling. like 200 deg or so
Click to expand...

Forgot about brew temp in the above rant - 200 - 205 is where you want to be. That is also part of the SCA validation protocol.

The roasters mentioned above (Nicholas and Community) are very well known in the industry.

For those in the NYC /Jersey City area one of my local favorites is Kobricks. https://www.kobricks.com/


Pour over coffees are very trendy now. And if going to a coffee bar (and if I have 30 minutes to blow) it’s a nice way to sample some very unique varietals. If you have an opportunity to visit any of the Starbucks Reserve stores (Seattle / Brooklyn) you can see many different extraction methods.

For normal consumers a good quality drip brewer delivers 90% +of the French press / pour over.
 
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I live in Williamsport area, so take this fir what is worth. I love Griggs coffee. Love their Jazzy...Colombian... Guatemalan..to name a few.

Anyone else had Griggs? I'm not a coffee snob..love to hear others
 
Nitwit said:
Dunkin or Wawa have good coffee beans, but it’s all a matter of taste. Whole Foods roasts their beans and posts the date roasted on the barrel, so you know they are fresh. They have a number of very good coffees or blends from around the world. I like their Island blend, or the 365 morning buzz blend.
Click to expand...

+1. I tried their 365 Morning Buzz been and I thought it was very good.
Most of their 365 stuff is.
 
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I order Don Pablo 100% Arabica whole bean in 5 lb bags from Amazon. Very good coffee, roasted in Miami, for $6/lb.
 
PSUisBack2017 said:
I live in Williamsport area, so take this fir what is worth. I love Griggs coffee. Love their Jazzy...Colombian... Guatemalan..to name a few.

Anyone else had Griggs? I'm not a coffee snob..love to hear others
Click to expand...
Mrs. Griggs was my third grade teacher. She used to bring roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds, etc. in to our class all the time.
 
Another good/small PA-based roaster is Happy Mug out of Edinboro. I buy green from them and visited their shop earlier this year--a bunch of great people with some outstanding coffee.

www.happymug.com

They sell both green and roasted coffee--be mindful of what section you're in. I roasted some Malawi Peaberry a few days ago and it's outstanding. HM's roasted stuff is super good too--try them out!
 
flavorguy said:
Forgot about brew temp in the above rant - 200 - 205 is where you want to be. That is also part of the SCA validation protocol.

The roasters mentioned above (Nicholas and Community) are very well known in the industry.

For those in the NYC /Jersey City area one of my local favorites is Kobricks. https://www.kobricks.com/


Pour over coffees are very trendy now. And if going to a coffee bar (and if I have 30 minutes to blow) it’s a nice way to sample some very unique varietals. If you have an opportunity to visit any of the Starbucks Reserve stores (Seattle / Brooklyn) you can see many different extraction methods.

For normal consumers a good quality drip brewer delivers 90% +of the French press / pour over.
Click to expand...
I've heard that Stumptown has made its way back east. very hard to beat it.

I'm going to try the pour over method. any particular brewer that you like?
 
flavorguy said:
Another coffee post...

I know you guys are tired of this - I do coffee consulting work. The best coffees will be undoubtedly be found at your high quality local regional roasters. They should offer selections of light, medium, and dark roasts.

The key thing is the use of arabica coffee. Arabica coffee is grown at higher elevations, is hand picked and represents less than 10% of the coffee grown worldwide. DUNKIN uses arabica (and obviously SB).

The mass market brands (MH, CS, F red can) use a different variety - Robusta. Good news - robusta is higher in caffeine - bad news is poorer in flavor attributes. Outside of Brazil, the number two provider of Robusta is Vietnam. Enough said. This is why ‘canned coffee’ is a $1.99 vs the premium brands like SB, Caribou, Peet’s, Green Mountain etc

I am not getting into the DUNKIN vs Green Mountain vs SB vs Peet’s debate. DUNKIN is a lightly roasted Brazil based coffee - Green Mountain has roasts ranging from light (Donut Shop to high end Barista Primo - SB, Caribou, Peet’s offer a whole line of lighter to darker options. They are all roasted and marketed to different coffee consumers.

Bottom line - go with 100% arabica -local roaster is best, premium lines better, EOC - Sams Club - Kirkland are good lower cost alternatives (designed to match the National gourmet brands - this is where I do the most of my work).

The guys on this forum who tell you to roast your own - good luck not stinking up your house or really consistently getting a consistent end roast color.
Click to expand...
Do you season your coffee or do you brew it stand alone?
 
Anyone have any suggestions for Nespresso brewers? The Nespresso brand coffees are good, but kind of expensive. I've tried Bestpresso, and they're OK. Not really great reviews on Amazon for any other brand.
 
Thorndike2012 said:
I don't buy expensive coffees. Can't stand the oily Starbucks swill at all. I like my coffee on the darker edge of medium roast. 8 o'clock, Folgers, etc are the usual suspects flowing through my automatic drip coffee maker.

Recently I noticed a new Folger's brand coffee that was marked down as a 'promotional' item. The 1850 line of 'upscale' coffees from Folgers. I'm really enjoying the Pioneer Blend.

https://www.1850coffee.com/coffee

Any others I should check out?
Click to expand...

Follgers Black silk and use a 32 oz French Press pot !
 
osu68 said:
Follgers Black silk and use a 32 oz French Press pot !
Click to expand...
You're starting with a handicap when you use ground coffee...and then throw in the fact that it's Folger's which God only knows how long it has been sitting around getting stale
 
Ceremony here in Annapolis is top notch . I buy the bean, grind it and French Press it.
 
Grant Green said:
I've heard that Stumptown has made its way back east. very hard to beat it.

I'm going to try the pour over method. any particular brewer that you like?
Click to expand...

Stumptown, Intellegensia, Peet’s, Panera and KRISPY KREME are now all part of JAB - a huge privately held European holding company. JAB also owns Keurig (now Keurig Dr Pepper) - which includes the Green Mountain, Timothy’s, Tully’s portfolios - JAB is keeping the ultra premium brands in a separate portfolio than the Keurig Dr Pepper brands. Stumptown, Peet’s, Intellegensia are all very good quality brands.

The problem with coffee is that it stales rather quickly. This is why it’s great if you can find a local roaster. One other tip - I stay away from bulk bean bins that you still see in some markets. If you can’t get coffee from the roaster directly I prefer the brands like Peet’s / Stumptown in valve bags.

I don’t use a pour over enough to give you a recommendation. MELITTA makes a very simple cone/filter apparatus that you can find on Amazon.

This coffee maker brings out the geek in me:

Amazon product ASIN B0761XY53W
 
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flavorguy said:
Stumptown, Intellegensia, Peet’s, Panera and KRISPY KREME are now all part of JAB - a huge privately held European holding company. JAB also owns Keurig (now Keurig Dr Pepper) - which includes the Green Mountain, Timothy’s, Tully’s portfolios - JAB is keeping the ultra premium brands in a separate portfolio than the Keurig Dr Pepper brands. Stumptown, Peet’s, Intellegensia are all very good quality brands.

The problem with coffee is that it stales rather quickly. This is why it’s great if you can find a local roaster. One other tip - I stay away from bulk bean bins that you still see in some markets. If you can’t get coffee from the roaster directly I prefer the brands like Peet’s / Stumptown in valve bags.

I don’t use a pour over enough to give you a recommendation. MELITTA makes a very simple cone/filter apparatus that you can find on Amazon.

This coffee maker brings out the geek in me:

View embedded media
Click to expand...
What do you recommend for storing roasted beans? I use Coffee Gators.
 
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