[The_Mac]

For mass-market coffee, you can't beat Tim Horton's.

Starbucks makes a dozen blends of coffee, and twenty-odd coffee drinks, Tim hortons only needs one blend.

It's by far the most drinked coffee in Canada, and for a reason.

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Mac And my favourite part is this. Americans go out for a donut and also buy a cruddy cup of coffee to go with it. Canadians go out for a Coffee and get a reasonable donut to go with it. I like our way better.

Just a big cup of dark roast arabica for me, thanks.

 

[HiWire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Mac For mass-market coffee, you can't beat Tim Horton's. Starbucks makes a dozen blends of coffee, and twenty-odd coffee drinks, Tim hortons only needs one blend. It's by far the most drinked coffee in Canada, and for a reason.

Must be the crack they put in it

 

[minya]

I have to agree... Tim Hortons coffee is absolutely incredible, and is pretty cheap. There has to be some sort of habit-forming substance slipped in their coffee pots. It's just way too good.

- Chris

 

[pspivak]

I used to pooh-pooh the organic stuff until I tried organic strawberries that were vine ripened. That really changed my mind. I also agree that there is nothing wrong with vegetarian as long as it is presented as a vegetable. When they try to make faux-meat it is disgusting. Vegetarians and vegans no longer recall what meat tastes like and their impression of it is something vile anyway.

 

[elrod-tom]

I have a good friend who has a lot of food allergies, and has to buy much of her food at the health food store. She says that the attitude that she gets there is starting to grate on her nerves. She calls it "veggier than thou"

 

[Audio Redneck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.PD If my wife came home with that stuff Todd posted, there would be trouble. The closest she has come to that is non fat sour cream. That was bad enough.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! My wife sneaks that into the fridge now and then. I typically do without if its my only option. If I want low fat, I'll eat less. I figure I'm just as heathy eating a pint of Häagen-Dazs Rum Rasin or Coffee, or Ben 'n Jerry's Chocolate Chip Chookie Dough Ice Cream than eating a half a gallon of Low-Fat-Artifically-Sweetened Health Food "Ice Cream". (I've won her over on that one). I don't believe any food that is processed out of another food can be ligitamately called healthy.

First "healthy diet" that she's done that I like is the South Beach Diet. The recipes actually look and taste like real food.

Natural cream cheese? How can cream cheese be natural if it doesn't have cream? Natural mayonase? I thought mayonase was eggs, oil, and a little vingar 'n salt blended together? If people want to eat natural, go to the fruit & vegetable isle at the store or farmers market. If they want healthy, learn to cook like Grandma. Mine's 86ish and lives mostly on steamed corn, greens, black eyed peas with a chunk of ham, potatoes, corn bread, & fish now and then - now that's Natural Food! What health problems she has aren't related to her diet.

COFFEE: I've had good and bad free trade coffee. Remember that free trade coffee is processed by amatures (often by the farmers, from the NPR story I heard about it), so if you like dark roast, you can expect some charred tasting stuff. And if you get preground you can expect bad results often - since FTC tends to be on the shelf longer, you don't know how long its been ground. From what I can see, it sits on the self longer, so freshness suffers. I'm not saying this to diss free trade coffee - I'm actually in favor of the idea IF the growers can supply a good product.

As far as "organically grow", I have a buddy that spends a lot of time in Central America (Honduras and Guatamala mainly) that swears that most of the coffee we get is made without pesticides since the typical 10-40 acre farmer can't afford them. Only the big plantations (which produce a low percentage of the coffee production) tend to use them. Best coffee I ever has was stuff he brought home from Honduras.

I don't go to Starbucks for coffee.

I don't go to Starbucks at all unless I'm at Barnes and Noble. (And I do go to Joe Muggs at Books-A-Million every couple of months or so.) And I don't consider the sugar-milk-chocholote-other-flavors-coffee-flavored beverage I enjoy there to be coffee. Its dessert. ("you mean there's coffee in this?") Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had a "plain" cup of coffee at Starbucks or Joe Mugg. Most of the coffee I drink these days is Folgers whole bean vanilla, or Millstone whole bean decaf (if my wife is making it.) You can't beat grinding your own.

Well I started writing this reply last night and I'm just now to here so I'd better end my rant.....(Wow. I never realized how much I cared about these subjects 'til now

)

 

[braillediver]

OH MY GOD It’s SOY!!! Soy is short for Soylent Green!!!!

Fight back!

Get something like Deep Fried Pork Rinds to dip into that synthetic cream cheese?


Mitch

 

[Stephonovich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneeyedhobbit Wow...you sad, sad yuppy. Most coffee drinkers have absolutely no problem admitting that Starbucks coffee tastes like...well, dyed piss. They do NOT buy the best "great quality beans" and I have no idea where you are getting this. Further, I've no idea how the Starbucks home espresso machine is, I've never used it. But the truest espresso fiends will tell you to use a french press. Further, usually when you make poor tasting coffee on a really high end machine, it is most definitely the user, and not the machine. I'm certain the Starbucks machine has been simplified, which is both good and bad--on the one hand, its easier to get a so-so shot of espresso. But on the other, there is only so high you can go. I suppose this is pointless to argue as coffee taste is all subjective...but try some good coffee, Illy or Lavazza or something before branding Starbucks as good...

Hear, hear. My only beef is that a French Press is used for making coffee, not espresso. Espresso is made by forcing very hot (~200F is usual) water at high pressures through packed, finely ground coffee. But I digress...

Starbucks (*$), for the most part, sucks. This is a sad thing, because as has been pointed out, they have money. Lots of it. They have good equipment; I've seen it. They have the potential to be making some of the best coffee in the world, if only they trained their employees. Also, if stupid customers would stop asking for things like Half-Caff Non-Fat White Mocha with Orange Flavoring... drink the COFFEE, people! Stop adulterating it! Back to subject, though, their workers are morons. I've seen them take milk that was steamed previously (which, BTW, should never go past 160F, else it burns. Starbucks does this frequently. Nasty taste), dump some more cold milk on top of it, and re-use it. Bad, bad, bad. The properties of milk change drastically when heated, especially with a steam wand. When cooled, it changes again. You can never get the original taste or feel back. And yet they go re-using it. Fools. They can't even make a decent cup of regular coffee, either. I tried just some normal (I assume Columbian; I just asked for coffee) coffee the other day, and it sucked. Burnt and bitter. They do have good desserts, I'll give them that, but their coffee sucks arse. You want good coffee? Start visiting your local shops, and figure out what's good. Chances are any of them will be better than Starbucks, and you just might find a goldmine. Plus, you'll feel better knowing that you're supporting a local store, instead of a faceless corporation.

As for espresso machines, most of the time, it's the user's fault. I have an el-cheapo jobbie that cost maybe $100 new. It's not the greatest by any means, but I can make stuff better than Starbucks with it. Could I do better? Sure, with better equipment. For one, a decent grinder is very important. Mine sucked, before it broke. Even grind is very important to a good espresso.

Anyway, I'm done ranting. If you want more information, CoffeeGeek is an excellent resource site, and some pretty decent forums, too. If you want some decent coffee (beans or ground), but don't feel like driving around looking for a shop, Peet's Coffee and Tea will do it. I've bought from them and can vouch for quality. They've got some pretty awesome blends, too. Major Dickason's is quite nice for starting out.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[minya]

For the record, it's Colombian.

- Chris, half-Colombian

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Is the veggie reference due to the fact that this stuff, and I use the term stuff loosely, is made from soy milk and not cow's milk?

 

[redshifter]

organic food
it costs more, but it tastes better than conventional. for example organic broccoli has much more body and flavor than conventional grown. same with apples, etc.

health food
i don't know. my step-father-in-law has food allergies up the yang, and can't eat wheat, milk, glutins, etc. my wife thinks he is borderline anorexic with this food allergy stuff. going to a restaurant (even health food) is sheer torture as he goes on and on and on about his allergies to the waitress. usually the food is just ok. store bought (prepared) health food products in general taste worse than regular, and are a rip-off.

coffee
i worked at starbuck here in seattle as a barista for about a year. i've tasted some of the best coffees available, blends, etc. starbuck's espresso is the best: rich, toasted flavor. torfazzione perugia blend is the best for brewing coffee. i usually drink press-pot coffee and have a estro vapore pump espresso machine at home for americanos.
- "watery" coffee is one of two things: (1) coffee that has had water or ice-cubes added to weaken or cool it off (which is fine), or (2) over-exctrated which means the hot water has been running through the coffee grounds too long (i.e. not enough beans:water) and all the good stuff has been extracted from the beans, leaving only the bitter dregs (this is bad). if coffee is translucent in the pot (as most gas station coffee is--i call it "grandma coffee"), then it is probably over-extracted. so if you want a weaker cup of coffee, brew it right (don't over-extract) and add water after.

 

[Edwood]

Don't forget to tell vegans that they can't use film photography. Digital is OK, as it doesn't use animals in the processing, but the manufacturing releases alot of lead, mercury, and dioxyns into the ocean.

The whole term "organic" when applied to food cracks me up. Look up the definition of organic. Does not all of our food contain carbon atoms? They should call them "Pure" or something else like that. I guess, "Not as Toxic for you" doesn't quite roll off of the tongue.

If you thought that cream cheese was bad, imagine seeing this in the fridge.

-Ed

 

[mbriant]

Mmmmm. A generous dollop of Natural Touch Tuno plopped on a tasteless, hockey puck sized rice cake. There's nothing else quite like it.

 

[TheMuffinMan_01]

i have a calorie free diet.