Coffee questions

[mj1]

My grandmother told me a few years ago that there was a type of coffee that was somewhat addictive. Is that true? If so, what type is it? Whatever kind she was talking about wasn't a common coffee and I think it's expensive.

Since we're talking about coffee, can anyone tell me what their opinions are on arabica coffee? I received some Starbucks arabica coffee as a gift and I think it's the most horrendus coffee I've ever had. It says to use 2 tbsp. per 6 oz. cup, and that is way too strong. I had a cup earlier today and for 2 hrs I felt like I was bouncing off the walls. I couldn't stay focused at all, my thoughts were all over the place. I find that interesting because I read that arabica coffee doesn't have much caffeine in it. Then after 2 hrs I felt like I was brain dead. I wonder what I'll feel like later.

I normally use Kirkland (Costco's) colombian coffee and use 1 1/2 tbsp. with 24 oz. of water. I don't know how much that makes though.

 

[GB]

I think we would need more info to answer your first question. Assuming it is not decaf, all coffee could be considered addictive.

 

[Bigjim68]

My grandmother told me a few years ago that there was a type of coffee that was somewhat addictive. Is that true? If so, what type is it? Whatever kind she was talking about wasn't a common coffee and I think it's expensive.

Since we're talking about coffee, can anyone tell me what their opinions are on arabica coffee? I received some Starbucks arabica coffee as a gift and I think it's the most horrendus coffee I've ever had. It says to use 2 tbsp. per 6 oz. cup, and that is way too strong. I had a cup earlier today and for 2 hrs I felt like I was bouncing off the walls. I couldn't stay focused at all, my thoughts were all over the place. I find that interesting because I read that arabica coffee doesn't have much caffeine in it. Then after 2 hrs I felt like I was brain dead. I wonder what I'll feel like later.

I normally use Kirkland (Costco's) colombian coffee and use 1 1/2 tbsp. with 24 oz. of water. I don't know how much that makes though.

24 ounces of water makes 2 12 oz cups. Most anything can be addictive.

I've never been a fan of Starbucks coffees. I too use, among others, Costco Columbia Supremo coffee. If the recommended proportions are too strong for you, try using less. Starbucks has many coffees ranging from relatively mild to very dark roast.

 

[nikki]

My grandmother told me a few years ago that there was a type of coffee that was somewhat addictive. Is that true? If so, what type is it? Whatever kind she was talking about wasn't a common coffee and I think it's expensive.

Since we're talking about coffee, can anyone tell me what their opinions are on arabica coffee? I received some Starbucks arabica coffee as a gift and I think it's the most horrendus coffee I've ever had. It says to use 2 tbsp. per 6 oz. cup, and that is way too strong. I had a cup earlier today and for 2 hrs I felt like I was bouncing off the walls. I couldn't stay focused at all, my thoughts were all over the place. I find that interesting because I read that arabica coffee doesn't have much caffeine in it. Then after 2 hrs I felt like I was brain dead. I wonder what I'll feel like later.

I normally use Kirkland (Costco's) colombian coffee and use 1 1/2 tbsp. with 24 oz. of water. I don't know how much that makes though.

Hmm... I've only found that I really enjoy the espresso blends at Starbucks (the ones they add to all of their snooty beverages ), or the Christmas blend that came around this year for Christmas '09... That was a wonderful spicy blend that suited my tastes...

As for coffee being addictive, all products containing caffeine can become addictive. It's a physical addiction in what it does to your blood vessels and all that jazz, also with perking you up, then you "crash"... Much like a drug. (But it's oh so wonderful hahahah)

With arabica and columbian, there is a huge taste difference. It comes with the acidity levels of each type of bean though... So you could have one arabica coffee bean that is slightly more bitter than another one... It just really depends on what you buy. I've always prefered columbian over arabica myself, but have found a few different brands that have arabica that I really enjoy... So it all comes down to trial and error with that I find... I have found that Starbucks is really just good at the whole "fancy coffee beverage" area, and isn't as great when it comes to just plain "coffee".
One coffee that I LOVE is Kicking Horse coffee... (Specific ones: "Kick A$$", and there's another one, 464 Horsepower --or something like that--...) It's an organic fair trade coffee, and has such great flavour in every cup brewed... <3

 

[Andy M.]

Almost all coffee, including coffee from Colombia, is made with arabica beans. The difference is in how it's roasted.

If your accustomed to using 1 1/2 tablespoons for 24 ounces of water, then using 2 tablespoons for 6 ounces will certainly taste way too strong. That works out to 8 tablespoons for 24 ounces of water!

Use the Starbucks coffee in the same amount as you usually do and then compare.

 

[Selkie]

Almost all coffee, including coffee from Colombia, is made with arabica beans. The difference is in how it's roasted....

Actually most of the older brands (Hills Bros., Maxwell House, Community Coffee, etc.) use robusto or robusto arabica blend coffee. Robusto is the cheaper, more bitter coffee that America fell in love with during its first 150 years. Pure Arabica was considered too difficult (production-wise) and too expensive to use by itself even though it was a fuller flavor and smooth tasting coffee until it became featured by specialty or "gourmet" shops such as Starbucks. It broke the "50 cents for a cup of coffee standard" that we had become used to, and jumped to $3.50 a cup of Latte because the yuppies could afford it. It now accounts for about 75% of the worlds production of coffee, up from 15% at the beginning of the 20th century. There are also 24 other types of coffee produced, but in very small quantities.

And as for production, Brazil and Vietnam out produce Columbia by 6:1, followed by Indonesia, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Uganda, etc. for 39 more countries.

 

[babetoo]

yes,it is addictive and raises your blood pressure. i love folgers breakfast blend.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I like Starbucks Christmas Blend and Winter Blend. They are my seasonal weekend coffees. I usually drink what ever is on sale.. Maxwell House or Folgers, although I prefer Chock-full-o-Nuts but that never seems to bee on sale.

FYI - the darker the roast of coffee the less caffine it has. So a dark french roast, although stronger in taste, has less caffine than say a light roast "breakfast blend"

 

[Bigjim68]

I like Starbucks Christmas Blend and Winter Blend. They are my seasonal weekend coffees. I usually drink what ever is on sale.. Maxwell House or Folgers, although I prefer Chock-full-o-Nuts but that never seems to bee on sale.

FYI - the darker the roast of coffee the less caffine it has. So a dark french roast, although stronger in taste, has less caffine than say a light roast "breakfast blend"

I think that when coffee is weighed, dark roasted has slightly more caffeine due to the beans losing more of their moisture. By volume, light has more caffeine. Beans expand when roasted. Dark more than lighter roasts. Most commercial per serving packages are weighed, home cooks usually scoop. You are actually using less coffee. Roasting does not change caffeine content, only volume and weight.

 

[Andy M.]

I usually buy Dunkin Donuts coffees ($6.00 a pound on sale or at Costco). The two types I have on hand now are 100% Arabica beans. I don't consider them to be gourmet coffees but they are good. I especially like their newer Dark Roast.

 

[nikki]

Almost all coffee, including coffee from Colombia, is made with arabica beans. The difference is in how it's roasted.

If your accustomed to using 1 1/2 tablespoons for 24 ounces of water, then using 2 tablespoons for 6 ounces will certainly taste way too strong. That works out to 8 tablespoons for 24 ounces of water!

Use the Starbucks coffee in the same amount as you usually do and then compare.

My mistake! I meant to write "Arabica and robusta" not "arabica and columbian". Oops!! Here's some info, source is listed at the bottom. Hope it helps!

The two varieties differ in taste, growing conditions, price. Arabica beans tend to have a sweeter, softer taste, with tones of sugar, fruit, and berries. Their acidity is higher, with that winey taste that characterizes coffee with excellent acidity.
Robusta, however, has a stronger, harsher taste, with a grain-like overtone and peanutty aftertaste. They contain twice as much caffeine as Arabica beans, and they are generally considered to be of inferior quality compared to Arabica. Some robustas, however, are of high quality and valued especially in espressos for their deep flavor and good crema.
Robustas, however, are easier to grow. They can grow at lower altitutes than Arabicas, and they are less vulnerable to pests and weather conditions. They produce fruit much more quickly than the Arabicas, which need several years to come to maturity, and they yield more crop per tree.
Robusta is grown exclusively in the Eastern Hemisphere, primarily in Africa and Indonesia. Arabica is also grown in Africa and Papua New Guinea, but it's grown dominantly in Latin America. Colombia only produces Arabica beans. Some countries, like Brazil and India, produce both.
Arabica, then, ends up being pricier, of course. Most supermarket coffee is exclusively robusta, and instant and cheap ground coffees are certainly robusta. You can still find Arabica in the grocery store, but just because it's labeled Arabica does not mean it's of high quality.
Ultimately it's a question of personal taste. Some all-arabica blends are too high and floral for us; some of the rich, dark harshness of robusta can be a good thing in a blend. Just remember that robusta has twice as much caffeine as arabica, too, when choosing a coffee blend.
​

More info: Coffee Basics: The Difference Between Arabica and Robusta | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

 

[nikki]

I like Starbucks Christmas Blend and Winter Blend. They are my seasonal weekend coffees. I usually drink what ever is on sale.. Maxwell House or Folgers, although I prefer Chock-full-o-Nuts but that never seems to bee on sale.

FYI - the darker the roast of coffee the less caffine it has. So a dark french roast, although stronger in taste, has less caffine than say a light roast "breakfast blend"

That's so strange... The Kicking Horse coffee that has the most caffeine is a darker roast... I wonder why that is? Either way, it's so good...

And the Starbucks Christmas blend IS great, isn't it?

 

[licia]

Probably coffee is the single thing dh and I disagree on. He ALWAYS (and I know you are never to say always and never) makes it so strong it is bitter. I like it strong but not to the point that there is any bitterness.

 

[Kayelle]

Then there's always Kopi Luwak coffee, for a real taste treat!!

Kopi Luwak does exist, is very expensive, and is made from coffee beans passed through the digestive system of an Indonesian animal, that is more like a cat than a monkey. According to a feature article by the Manila Coffee House, which sells the stuff, the people who harvest the digested beans don't really have to pick through cat litter to get it. The animal processes the beans and excretes them whole, unscratched, and without dung.

The animal is a palm civet, a dark brown tree-dwelling cat-like creature found throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name is paradoxurus hermaphroditus.

According to the Manila Coffee House, the palm civet just happens to like to ingest the ripest and reddest coffee beans, which also happen to be the ones best for brewing. The cat eats the outer covering of the beans in the same way that is accomplished by de-pulping machines. Something happens to the beans in the journey through the cat's intestines that gives it a flavor that is celebrated by coffee drinkers.

At this point, most of the beans are purchased by Japanese buyers.

 

[nikki]

Then there's always Kopi Luwak coffee, for a real taste treat!!

Kopi Luwak does exist, is very expensive, and is made from coffee beans passed through the digestive system of an Indonesian animal, that is more like a cat than a monkey. According to a feature article by the Manila Coffee House, which sells the stuff, the people who harvest the digested beans don't really have to pick through cat litter to get it. The animal processes the beans and excretes them whole, unscratched, and without dung.

The animal is a palm civet, a dark brown tree-dwelling cat-like creature found throughout Southeast Asia. The scientific name is paradoxurus hermaphroditus.

According to the Manila Coffee House, the palm civet just happens to like to ingest the ripest and reddest coffee beans, which also happen to be the ones best for brewing. The cat eats the outer covering of the beans in the same way that is accomplished by de-pulping machines. Something happens to the beans in the journey through the cat's intestines that gives it a flavor that is celebrated by coffee drinkers.

At this point, most of the beans are purchased by Japanese buyers.

OH my!!!!!!!! I'm so curious about that, but don't think that I'm curious enough to seek it out and try it.. hmmm..

 

[Andy M.]

Then there's always Kopi Luwak coffee...At this point, most of the beans are purchased by Japanese buyers.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

That's OK with me.

 

[Bigjim68]

When I hear of products like Kopi Luwak, I always wonder who was the first person wandering around the jungle picking up civet droppings, bringing them home, roasting, grinding, brewing, then having the guts to taste? Sure wasn't me.

 

[GB]

Just to clarify on the Kopi Luwak coffee, the beans are washed and sterilized before they are ever made into coffee. If I ever had the opportunity to try it I think I just might.

 

[mollyanne]

Ok, i have to muster some courage to admit this...coffee connoisseurs will be appalled...but, oh, what they're missing out on: For the past ten years I have purchased my coffee from TJMaxx...yes, you heard it here first and you heard it right. I'm picky though...it has to be KONA coffee from Hawaii. I know what your thinking...can't taste fresh from TJMaxx but it's always tasted VERY fresh to me and the date on it is never expired. I can't believe they've carried the same product there all these years. It's $6.99 for a one pound bag.

I was first introduced to Kona coffee many moons ago by a friend who, everytime she would return from Hawaii, would bring me some. How can you resist this description:

"Overlooking the vast blue-green Pacific Ocean in the rich volcanic soils of Kona...we nurture each third generation coffee tree. Grown on Mauna Loa's mountain slopes, bathed in crystalline water, cooled by the warm Pacific trade winds. This is nature's perfect cradle for these superior coffee trees to flourish. These sun-ripened coffee cherries are hand picked, expertly graded and roasted in small batches to insure the highest possible quality."

 

[Selkie]

When I hear of products like Kopi Luwak, I always wonder who was the first person wandering around the jungle picking up civet droppings, bringing them home, roasting, grinding, brewing, then having the guts to taste? Sure wasn't me.

I'm with you... that's not exactly a normal thing to do!

And like Mollyanne, I like a Kona blend the best! In fact, I'm spoiled on it now!