Coffee Drinkers

[Shawn]

Okay, I don't like these overly serious coffee drinkers. Those who think drinking coffee is some kind of art and look down on anyone who calls anything but black, strong, bitter espresso coffee.

What's the deal? I see so many people moan on a Monday morning because they haven't had their morning coffee. Like how much is this caffeine helping you? It doesn't do anything to me and I doubt it does so much to anyone to make their shitty day become better.

I personally don't like coffee (I have Starbucks once in a while... but like I said most so-called coffee drinkers don't think of a latte as coffee) but I have no problem if others enjoy it... but why do you have to act as coffee is the only think keeping you from jumping off a cliff?

I hate coffee breath too... on myself even, I don't care about others. I should confess that I much prefer tea myself (like all good Middle Eastern boys), so I'm kind of wondering what unbiased people feel about this topic.

[logo]

not a coffee drinker here either, and it doesn't do me any good. But I do like the smell of a fresh coffee, not all types though and I drink from time to time. Only thing I got off coffee is yellow teeth :/ and I have my own mix I do at home with nescafe, its like ice cap (timmies) or a frapaccino i think? in star bucks but better

I think most people start drinking coffee the second they enter university. its funny to see all the students, the second they get accepted in univ, they start wearing blazers, with a laptop bag hanging from their shoulders and a coffee in their hands where ever you go.

[Shawn]

Yeah, people in uni seem to love coffee but I can't imagine it helps them that much. Maybe it's just me though, because a case of 4 Red Bulls doesn't even make me feel any different. They were giving out free bottles of Coke Blak at my uni so I guess they're trying to convert some coffee drinkers.

From Tim Horton's I like the English toffee and French vanilla caps, they're pretty good. I was going to buy the powder to make at home but never got around to it.

[joemoefro]

Well what doesn't work for some works for others. That drug caffe has a good effect on me. I don't really like the taste of straight coffee. Then it's weird, I can handle espresso because it is only a little concentrated coffee. Other than that, I like tea, go Earl Grey!
But I don't like soft drinks because of the effects of High Fructose Corn syrup. It like makes your body think you haven't had enough food so you eat more. Even if it does have some caffine in it.

[Blind_Io]

Your first problem is that you are drinking Starbucks. That's not coffee. Secondly, some of us do like the flavors of different coffees prepared in different ways, also we have associated the smell and taste of coffee with being alert. Just like Pavlov's dog, we NEED our coffee. Also caffeine does have a physical addiction component. When I was an undergraduate I was up to 8 or 10 shots of espresso a day by the end of finals. If I quit cold-turkey I had horrible headaches and cravings. No joke.

You could also make the case that coffee is like wine. Sure wine-in-a-box will get you drunk but a 98 point 1999 Pinot Noir is much nicer to drink.

[Shawn]

Thank you for giving the most predicatble response: "Starbucks isn't coffee."

[zenkidori]

Caffiene can be very addictive, my mom still is addicted to caffiene after many years of trying to kick it. In many ways it can be more difficult that quitting smoking. Many of these people probably aren't moan and bitching for no reason.

Also, if you get into it, like anything, coffee flavor is very complex and depends on a number of factors. It's the same with wine drinkers, whiskey(my fav), tobacco, tea, anything really. What doesn't taste too different to a layperson may have vast differences in flavor to a connesuer.

or think of it this way. Most people think of a car as a car. there are european cars, american cars, japanese cars, super cars and luxury cars, beyond that most people are clueless and couldn't care less. but to a car aficionado there are big differences even among the same subgroup. It all depends on how deeply involved in something you are.

sorry for the mispellings, I'm slightly inebriated, but I'm sure you get my point.

[Blind_Io]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Thank you for giving the most predicatble response: "Starbucks isn't coffee."

Perhaps some elaboration is in order. Starbucks used to sell premium coffee, but they simply can't anymore. Now they buy about 10% of their beans from premium growers, the rest are bought at auction for very low prices. Auction beans tend to be inferior, old or have suffered mold damage. They over-roast the beans to kill off anything growing on them and then mix with the 10% premium beans from South America (the cheaper beans come from Asia).

This normally would not be a problem but Starbucks still charges luxury good prices for inferior over roasted mold covered coffee beans. That's why most everything you see at Starbucks is a blend, and why most Starbucks' drinks use lots of milk, cream, sugar and flavors. It's the cocktail of coffee (cocktails were invented to cover the taste of bathtub gin).

If you were to look at just the quality of bean, most super-market purchased canned coffee is of higher quality.
Starbuck's does have one thing others don't, more caffeine than others, about 300% more than the nearest competitor to be exact.

[Shawn]

Makes enough sense... but why doesn't Starbucks grow their own? In the same ways McDonald's might have beef farms or whatever.

[Blind_Io]

Well, it's a matter of money. Why bother with tending farms and all that when you can simply buy shit coffee and sell it to yuppies for premium prices?

[andyhui01]

^Blind, I agree completely, Starbucks beans seriously use the cheapest possible coffee beans possible, I have an indonesian friend who's parents supplies coffee beans to suppliers and according to him, Starbucks really doesn't care about Quality anymore, obviously they still have some Quality control, but the quality they expected were very low, all Starbucks wanted was cheap beans.
I think the reason starbucks are still successful even with this is because it has pretty much turned from a coffee retailer to simply just a fashion/trend symbol. I have met people who know nothing about coffee from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong just drink Starbucks because they think its the best coffee in the world because its Starbucks, and alot of them simply drink it because its cool . Then when they came over, I made them the same Latte that they drink from starbucks using the beans that my dad uses that we buy from a Premium supermarket and they just looked stunned .
Yes, I am a Latte drinker and I honestly don't see why that isn't considered real coffee, I love Milk and somehow I've tried drinking coffee like Espresso and Long Black, I just couldn't stand it as it was unbelievably strong and bitter, I seriously couldn't put it down my throat without going ewwww, whereas Latte on the other hand,

[Shawn]

That's bad to hear about Starbucks... their pastries are fantastic though. I should really not even get the bi-weekly coffee there anymore.

[Blind_Io]

Lattes are a little weak for my taste. I like Mochas, but with lots of espresso and very little chocolate. Most barristas think I'm nuts when I ask for a medium tripple-shot Mocha. That's about 1/2 Espresso, and when I really need to juice I will step up from there - I have been known to do drip coffee with cream and sugar with an extra shot of espresso when pulling an all-nighter. I bet you didn't know the human body could vibrate at 75 Htz.

[triumph]

nothing better than a good coco in the morning

[logo]

btw best mix is half hot chocolate half black coffee

[Blind_Io]

Originally Posted by logo

btw best mix is half hot chocolate half black coffee

AKA, Backwoods Mocha.

That was a popular morning beverage when I would go camping with my friends and family. In the Colorado mountains it gets damn frosty in the morning, even in the summer and that would help get you up and moving while breakfast was cooking.

[Shawn]

Nice, what kind of breakfast would you cook? I'm starving.

[Blind_Io]

Depends of if we were backpacking or camping out of the car. If we had a cooler eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns with coffee was the usual fare. Sometimes we would bring chopped ham, green onions and peppers to mix with the eggs. For backpacking it was whatever dehydrated food packs we bought, they really are quite tasty.

[Adunaphel]

I prefer my coffee black. I personally really dislike the taste of coffee with milk in it, and i don't really get the feeling that sugar adds that much to the taste of the coffee, it takes out a bit of the bitterness, but i need that bitterness to be able to be cruel and bitter to callers all through the day.

[Shawn]

One situation where I don't mind traditional, black coffee (but with creme and perhaps sugar is with a good cooked breakfast at Denny's or iHop or some greasy place like them.

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

Depends of if we were backpacking or camping out of the car. If we had a cooler eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns with coffee was the usual fare. Sometimes we would bring chopped ham, green onions and peppers to mix with the eggs. For backpacking it was whatever dehydrated food packs we bought, they really are quite tasty.