Coffee: Good or Evil?

[jaguar]

Do you really want to get into the economics of child workers?

[wolf]

No, not really, but you're more than welcome to start a thread outside of the coffee thread if you really feel the need.

[Cyber Wolf]

Starbucks may have the coffee world wrapped up but they've got some work to do on their hot chocolate.

[Kitsune]

Starbucks may have the coffee world wrapped up but they've got some work to do on their hot chocolate.

Ever try their pastries? Especially that brown muffin with the big, creamy crater in the top? I've been trying for years to figure out what the hell that thing is supposed to be. I guess they have some more years to work on the food portion of their establishments, too.

...and I say this as I sip a $3 mocha with the big green logo on the side in the cardboard insulator. These cups could also use some work, too, but no one believes me. "Exploding coffee", I call it, when steam builds in the dome, a-la Mount St. Helens, and when you tip the coffee to take a drink the liquid covers the only exhaust hole big enough for gas escape (there is a little hole in the back specifically designed for vacuum and pressure release, but its not big enough!) The result is a small explosion of coffee that only seems to happen when you are on your way to work and have on nice clothing. Khaki pants and nice blue shirt are suddenly stained forever. I've experienced this, oh, four or five times, and trying to explain it to the staff is impossible.

Whats that smell? Impending lawsuit. Mmm.

Have you been traumatized by exploding coffee? Has your love life suffered? Did you lose your job as a consequence of stained clothing? I'm John Bellvue, attorney at law...

[Clodfobble]

My friend's dad once left his coffee cup on the roof of the car when he drove off.

Then he opened the sunroof.

[Catwoman]

I buy Free Trade but until they tighten up the label licensing pretty much anyone can label their coffee (or other product) fair trade as long as they don't use the 'official' logo. Nestle are going through an appeal at the moment.

[DanaC]

I didnt know that CW, that's interesting. I know that the Co-op only use fair trade on their own brand coffees and chocolate

[Catwoman]

Yes, as far as I know that's the 'real' fair trade. Always a good purchase anyway as it shows the consumer is becoming more ethically aware which forces people in my industry to reconsider the ethicality of the products they are selling - that glimmer of profitability from a new market gives any marketer wet dreams - I think we'll see a surprising increase in the number of ethically-aware products over the next few years.

[jaguar]

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/
Is the site to check for the UK, similar sites exist for most countries. I'm yet to see one without the logo, if I do i'll go back and add some stickers to point this out.

[Carbonated_Brains]

(coffee wont stain unless it has milk or cream in it. Black coffee-stains wash right out.)

[Trilby]

Didn't someone say Starbuck's tastes like ass? I just had a Starbuck's latte--it was OK but not worth $3.55 (was a venti--I thought that meant 'small'--am idiot.)

[lulu]

I like coffee. I especially love turkish coffee in the morning. Nice kick to it.

[Kitsune]

Okay, I did some cellar searching but I couldn't find anything and I know someone has posted some links before -- can anyone recommend a good place to order whole beans? Besides continuing on my downhill slide into coffee-snobism, I think keeping whole beans permits for longer storage time and makes my habit cheaper. Last night, I got a burr grinder that doesn't make a mess (the previous one created so much dust on the counter that I stopped using it) as well as a very simple stove-top espresso brewer. I made some this morning and I don't think I'll ever go back to Starbucks, again!

For that matter, is mail-ordering worth it or should I just continue going to the local store?




Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee....!

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Okay, I did some cellar searching but I couldn't find anything and I know someone has posted some links before -- can anyone recommend a good place to order whole beans? Besides continuing on my downhill slide into coffee-snobism, I think keeping whole beans permits for longer storage time and makes my habit cheaper. Last night, I got a burr grinder that doesn't make a mess (the previous one created so much dust on the counter that I stopped using it) as well as a very simple stove-top espresso brewer. I made some this morning and I don't think I'll ever go back to Starbucks, again!

For that matter, is mail-ordering worth it or should I just continue going to the local store?




Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee....!

http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/

The only way to fly.

[Kitsune]

I've resurrected the coffee thread because I have a horrible secret to divulge: Lately, I've been percolating.

I got it as a gift for my camping supplies. Shiney, wooden handle, and a glass bulb. Nine cups. Water on the bottom, coffee goes on top. Putting it on the burner causes it to come to life. No, it doesn't make the Maxwell House sound, but I hear the tune in my head when I see it happen, anyways.

Percolaters are shunned by nearly every coffee drinker for their evils. For anyone who has never seen one, after the hot water drains through the grounds it ends up in the bottom, again, and is heated once more. Many say the reheating of the coffee makes it taste bad. "It destroys the magic."

But I like it. I thought, maybe, that it was just the visual entertainment factor until I got to the bottom of my first cup and found my prize at the bottom of the cup: silt. You don't get coffee ground dust with a drip machine. In that way, its similar to coffee from a french press but with a slightly different taste. Oh, and the cup you pour is hot -- no thermos mug needed.

You should try it, sometime. Get back to your roots. Coffee was brewed this way since long before you were born, long before people got lazy. Not bad at all, really.