Two of my favorite things (Early Intel Mac edition).

[WriteNow]

There was a time back in the mid to late-90s where going to Starbucks was an experience.

I can't honestly remember ever particularly loving Starbucks--but I don't really remember it in the 1990s... I'm thinking most memories date mostly to the early 2000s, when someone I knew liked to meet there for coffee. My earliest memory was a mall store in the late 1980s--but I only saw it in passing. I do recall my mother getting some of their coffee to try at home the day she picked up her regular coffee from a small store. That small store said something like: given what you buy here, you probably won't like Starbucks. They were right.

 

[WriteNow]

Nestle/Starbucks 2018 deal

I had not been aware of that deal until I read about it here! Learn something new every day, I guess.

It's too bad, because I do get Seattle's Best. Given that I try to avoid Nestlé, I suppose it's time to find a new brand...

It's always astounding being reminded of how much Nestlé owns...

 

[eyoungren]

I have to admit I own a percolator, too. Actually, more than one. Although it's more about a vintage decorative element. But I've been known to use a percolator to actually make coffee--but I keep my expectations realistic. (Although, being fair, one of the better percolators carefully used is probably better than a crummy drip maker that is used with no care whatsoever.)

And yes...I can imagine there have been a lot of dead coffee makers in 24 years. Indeed, I can remember my mother going through a good collection of coffee makers. I can remember one time when she made an emergency trip to rush out and get a new coffee maker. She told me that she was worried that my father would just go and buy some piece of cheap junk on sale that week.

I've recently been using a small French press pot--it's ideal for a single cup of coffee here and there. Plus there are no heaters or thermostats to wear out!

Our particular percolator was a modern buy. It was cheap and meant to just get us to the next coffee maker. It's been useful but we don't use it. Been several years I believe since the last use.

We do also have a French Press, but usually we want coffee NOW so that is also rarely used. I'm also not a big fan of the grinds left behind. It'd probably get used more if that wasn't such an issue.

There was one particular coffee maker we had though, a higher end brand. It made absolutely great coffee. But I broke the pot and there weren't any replacements so sadly it had to go. I've been trying to find one just as good since.

There is also a 4-cup coffee maker and a Black & Decker single serve. The B&D predates Keurig and it's coffee pods. You set it up just like a normal drip coffee-maker but it brews right in to your coffee mug. Assuming you have a standard size coffee mug, it works just fine.

 

[eyoungren]

I can't honestly remember ever particularly loving Starbucks--but I don't really remember it in the 1990s... I'm thinking most memories date mostly to the early 2000s, when someone I knew liked to meet there for coffee. My earliest memory was a mall store in the late 1980s--but I only saw it in passing. I do recall my mother getting some of their coffee to try at home the day she picked up her regular coffee from a small store. That small store said something like: given what you buy here, you probably won't like Starbucks. They were right.

I started dating my wife in 1995. I was not a coffee drinker until she came along. Around that time is when SB started opening stores in the Inland Empire (Southern California). So, that's where I came in with SB. Because they were new to Southern California they were trying to make a name for themselves there so - you got the experience.

My only other earlier experience with a coffee shop was one that my parents went to after church sometimes. But I never drank the coffee and my dad only went there because of the food. They had their beans on display though, so I remember that.

For the most part you can blame coffee on my wife. She has no remorse for it though.

 

[eyoungren]

I had not been aware of that deal until I read about it here! Learn something new every day, I guess.

It's too bad, because I do get Seattle's Best. Given that I try to avoid Nestlé, I suppose it's time to find a new brand...

It's always astounding being reminded of how much Nestlé owns...

I think SB is finally starting to let SeaBest quality slide. Lately it hasn't been very good. At least the bags I've been buying anyway.

 

[WriteNow]

B&D predates Keurig and it's coffee pods. You set it up just like a normal drip coffee-maker but it brews right in to your coffee mug. Assuming you have a standard size coffee mug, it works just fine.

I remember Melitta had a really small drip maker that used a tiny version of their cone filter, and brewed right into a mug. They seemed to be marketed for travellers--I remember it coming with case,and containers to hold coffee and the like. But I can imagine it would have been nice for the person who wanted someting to brew a single mug of coffee here and there. (And, if necessary, it would be easier to replace a broken mug than a broken caraffe!)

 

[WriteNow]

I think SB is finally starting to let SeaBest quality slide. Lately it hasn't been very good. At least the bags I've been buying anyway.

I find it still drinkable, but I haven't been as happy. So I wouldn't be surprised if quality is declining. One possibly bad sign: the local price per bag is low, and I'm seeing more and more sales that have it even lower than the daily price.

 

[WriteNow]

For the most part you can blame coffee on my wife. She has no remorse for it though.

I remember my father stopped drinking coffee at some point. It was a temporary thing--but he didn't go back to coffee. Until he got married the last time, and not long after, he was drinking a bit of coffee again. Thanks to his wife.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

I am a volume drinker (of anything really), so it's a 14c drip brewer through the week and percolator on weekends. Percolator has gotten more through-the-week use by the wife this year as with covid, she has been working out of her home office 3 of 5 days which I am very happy about. While I definitely prefer perc coffee, nothing beats a fast drip brewer for convenience and good cup of joe. I have had many french presses over the years but have broken the glass ones and my metal, kettle style one finally bit the dust and cracked on the bottom which I dont think Ill replace until I retire in 25 years (ie: have the time for one). As of late, time convenience has reigned king in my life.

I also lost an awesome fast drip brewer to a broken carafe which I could not replace in the middle of the pandemic. My new brewer is medicore and definitely slower but to compensate, I just set the timer about 10 minutes earlier. I will replace this mediocre drip brewer with a quality metal insulated carafe & brewer (ideally with a kcup function for the wifey) at some point.

The fastest drip brewer Ive ever seen was a new Bunn commercial (for food service) drip brewer. That thing would brew a 14c carafe in 3 minutes! and it was a delicious cup. in theory if you were really jamming, you could push out 42 cups in 10 minutes as it had space to hot hold 3 carafes. Awesome bit of technology.

 

[WriteNow]

I have had many french presses over the years but have broken the glass ones and my metal, kettle style one finally bit the dust and cracked on the bottom which I dont think Ill replace until I retire in 25 years (ie: have the time for one). As of late, time convenience has reigned king in my life.

You could also get one just to use sometimes for special occasions. I remember my mother doing that--an electric drip coffee maker for daily use, and a French press pot for leisurely after dinner coffee a few times a year.

I actually have been half thinking of using something other than my French press pot, just for convenience. But it seems like I don't get around to putting in the time to make the change, even though I can see it would be worthwhile on a day to day basis once its been made.

 

[WriteNow]

As for breakage of coffee maker parts... One faint memory was my parents going shopping for a new glass percolator bulb. They couldn't find one that fit, and that was the point they moved to a new Mr. Coffee coffee maker. Oddly, it was a heavy glass bulb that broke--but I don't remember any carafes ever breaking.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

You could also get one just to use sometimes for special occasions. I remember my mother doing that--an electric drip coffee maker for daily use, and a French press pot for leisurely after dinner coffee a few times a year.

I actually have been half thinking of using something other than my French press pot, just for convenience. But it seems like I don't get around to putting in the time to make the change, even though I can see it would be worthwhile on a day to day basis once its been made.

Yanno, I am all about presentation, so your logic makes great sense to me especially when thinking about dessert service at a dinner party for friends or family. That in fact was how I often used my kettle french press. One other defining metric that has me off getting a new FP for the above functions is space - we bought a new home and the kitchen is cramped in storage/pantry space so I need to conserve gadget space until I can afford to punch out and remodel the kitchen which is probably a few years away. Double the kitchen space, drop in a restaurant range and double oven and we'll be in business (and naturally plenty of under-counter and vertical over head storage for such foodie gadgetry). The kitchen is a main gathering space for my family so worth the investment.

 

[WriteNow]

This thread inspired me to get a drip coffee maker back in service. So I dragged out a coffeemaker I have, cleaned it up, and put it into service. This was my weekend excitement--apparently I need to get out more. ?

It's kind of nice having it in use again--the coffee isn't as good as the French press pot, but it's certainly more convenient all around. Although now I have to worry about keeping the carafe safe... (The French press pot is admittedly breakable--but it's also a lot easier to replace if needed. Indeed, I have a replacement ready "just in case.")

 

[eyoungren]

This thread inspired me to get a drip coffee maker back in service. So I dragged out a coffeemaker I have, cleaned it up, and put it into service. This was my weekend excitement--apparently I need to get out more. ?

It's kind of nice having it in use again--the coffee isn't as good as the French press pot, but it's certainly more convenient all around. Although now I have to worry about keeping the carafe safe... (The French press pot is admittedly breakable--but it's also a lot easier to replace if needed. Indeed, I have a replacement ready "just in case.")

Nice to see it back in business.

It truly is a time factor sort of thing. If my mornings meant getting up whenever and getting started whenever, I'd certainly find something that would make better coffee. But for it's purpose these generally do a pretty decent job.

Hope your coffee maker finds a spot in your daily routine.

 

[eyoungren]

Saturday morning Mac and coffee. And Mac, and Mac, and Mac…oh, there's a PC…and more Macs.

PS. DWC (Death Wish Coffee) sent me an email about their new stainless steel coffee canisters. Normally I just delete this garbage, but every once in a while their advertising works.

With our coffee subscription we gets points from their rewards thing every month. The canister is $30, but I had enough points to get a $14 off coupon. With tax, I paid a little over $18.

We get the dark roast…so the dark roast canister.

 

[WriteNow]

I've opened what will probably be my last bag of Seattle's Best. I seem to recall us discussing lower quality, and this bag proves the point.. If this is Seattle's best coffee, Seattle is in real trouble.

I got the next supply of coffee the other day. One thing I noticed--Seattle's Best is cheaper than anything else (except, of course, mass market canned coffee). Even a similar size bag of store brand is more expensive. I should have noticed this earlier--and it should have been ringing alarm bells.

 

[eyoungren]

I've opened what will probably be my last bag of Seattle's Best. I seem to recall us discussing lower quality, and this bag proves the point.. If this is Seattle's best coffee, Seattle is in real trouble.

I got the next supply of coffee the other day. One thing I noticed--Seattle's Best is cheaper than anything else (except, of course, mass market canned coffee). Even a similar size bag of store brand is more expensive. I should have noticed this earlier--and it should have been ringing alarm bells.

Yeah, it's a shame. SeaBest was very good. There was even a small period of time where there was an actual SeaBest store close to us here in Phoenix. It didn't last long, but it was nice while it lasted.

Starbucks has no incentive to keep up the quality. In fact, I'd imagine that having two separate brands is hurting it's financial bottom line. Which is probably why it's now cheaper - cheaper quality. It's very unfortunate as there were at least three roasts we liked.

I've defaulted to Starbucks Sumatra. It's kills me a little each time I buy a bag. However, the only other brand I can hang with (that is on Walmart shelves) is Peet's Major Dickison's blend.

Fry's (Kroger in other states) at least has some local varieties to try, but so far I haven't found any I liked.

 

[eyoungren]

Getting ready…Sumatra this morning.

Ignore the decaf!

PS. The DWC canister came this week.

PPS. The large grinder is only used for Death Wish Coffee. For other coffees, which we typically only drink on weekends, the smaller grinder is used.

 

[eyoungren]

…and time for coffee.

 

[Amethyst1]

…and time for coffee.

Can I also chime in with tea, or is that gonna get me booted out?

 

[eyoungren]

Can I also chime in with tea, or is that gonna get me booted out?

The title of the thread is 'Two of my favorite things'. It's not necessarily me that the title references, therefore if tea is one of your favorite things (the second being Macs) then post away.

The PowerPC version of this thread had a lot of tea involved as well, particularly southern sweet tea as @bunnspecial may attest.

Two of my favorite things

Macs and coffee. Quad, Venti Flat White from Starbucks and my son's Titanium DVI 1.0 Ghz with 1GB ram, 1mb L3 cache and 100GB hard drive. The LCD you see came from my old dead TiBook 400. It's STILL being useful! 14 year old screen! EDIT: Should let it be known that my son's DVI died...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[WriteNow]

A couple of updates...

First, I mentioned getting my little drip maker back in service. It's become my daily driver--the convenience is so addicting vs. the French press pot.

And I quit buying Seattle's Best, which had been my staple buy (although different varieties) for a long time. I've been sampling various brands priced at about the Seattle's Best level (although everything ends up a bit more expensive--even store brands). Maybe I splurge on something upmarket during the holiday season. So far, I've been able to finish off all the coffee I've gotten--although that's not really ever been a problem--although I haven't found anything that I absolutely love, either. My favorite of the lot, so far, is probably Safeway/Albertsons house brand O Organics--I've tried both French and Italian roast now. I don't love it, but I do like it better than the organic Seattle's Best. I liked one of Seattle's Best dark roast varieties better, I think, but that variety hasn't been as satisfactory in recent history.

 

[eyoungren]

A couple of updates...

First, I mentioned getting my little drip maker back in service. It's become my daily driver--the convenience is so addicting vs. the French press pot.

And I quit buying Seattle's Best, which had been my staple buy (although different varieties) for a long time. I've been sampling various brands priced at about the Seattle's Best level (although everything ends up a bit more expensive--even store brands). Maybe I splurge on something upmarket during the holiday season. So far, I've been able to finish off all the coffee I've gotten--although that's not really ever been a problem--although I haven't found anything that I absolutely love, either. My favorite of the lot, so far, is probably Safeway/Albertsons house brand O Organics--I've tried both French and Italian roast now. I don't love it, but I do like it better than the organic Seattle's Best. I liked one of Seattle's Best dark roast varieties better, I think, but that variety hasn't been as satisfactory in recent history.

Yeah, there's a reason that drip coffeemakers are as popular as they are. People needing to get going in the morning and so on. The perfect cup? No, not by a long shot. But you can get a decent cup - fast. It serves it's purpose. Perfect is the enemy of good.

I have also stopped buying SeaBest. The last bag of coffee I picked up was Starbucks Holiday blend at Walmart. It really doesn't matter what it says on the outside so much as what's inside.

There was some really good 'donut' flavored coffee a coworker brought in once. Turned out to be a Frys (Kroger) brand - but the coffee snob at work couldn't accept the 'off' brand label, LOL!

There's a Safeway and an Albertson's close to me so I might drop in the next time I need coffee. I've still got some to finish up and a bag of Dunkin' dark roast to get through.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

My usual early morning coffee drinking & MR reading perch next to the fire place (w/ never ending kiddos play explosion everywhere)

I prefer more balanced, less acidic roasts. The go to is Gevalia SO Columbian. Recently however, we picked up a local New Mexican Piñon bean in 5# bag that is very good. A medium sized local brand that have walk in roaster/store fronts and also merchandise through most local food retailers in town/the state etc. I’m happy with this bean & it is local which is great. More importantly, my wife can drink it ok (she has had some stomach surgeries and is very sensitive to dark, acidic roasts) which is great.

 

[Jack Neill]

My kids and I used to go to Starbucks on the weekends. Ended up dropping about $20-30 each time. It was fun, I was in the rewards program - then Starbucks changed the point system and getting free rewards was much harder. What they did was also not what the customers had asked for.

So we left and went to a local shop, which took us some time to find. It's Latino run, lady made a business model and ran with it. Great coffee, but at some point the shop started to become standing room only. They opened another store, but we had stopped going by that point. In the first location though, they've recently bought out the store next to them and doubled their space so we may go back at some point. Just hasn't been a priority lately.

We go to Starbucks because the drinks are decent. There's better coffee other places but people visit McDonalds because they're hungry, it's fast and it's inexpensive. And yes, I am calling Starbucks the McDonalds of the coffee world.

@Certificate of Excellence. There was a time back in the mid to late-90s where going to Starbucks was an experience. My wife and I went for the ambience and the coffee. Back then there wasn't a SB on every corner so getting to one was a 45 minute drive for us.

Later, the baristas got stuck on themselves and developed the Starbucks attitude. I've had drinks shoved at me because the barista was pissed that I dared complain about the quality of the drink. My wife used to have me order and pickup because otherwise she'd have been tearing the baristas a new one. Not why we were there.

Now, it's just boring and not special at all. It turned into a commercially driven business where it's rare for the employees to care about what they serve. And even if they did, they're too damn busy now. That happens when you turn into the McDonalds of coffee. It's good enough to inbibe and it will give you your fix. But there's nothing special about it or the experience anymore.

I have a guilt pleasure for SB but I agree with your sentiment, but there are some good baristas at some of them. I got this the other day and it made my morning. No one ever tells me to have a good day. I felt special.