November 11, 2007
IT TAKES TEN MINUTES AND 50 CENTS TO BREW A POT AT HOME:
Know your Joe: In a sea of takeout coffee, which ones are best? (Monica Eng, November 8, 2007, Chicago Tribune)
I plunk down big bucks for specialty coffee. But with an ever-expanding lineup of premium coffees, how can a savvy drinker spend her java dollars wisely? To find out, we put 32 coffees to a taste test. All were 12-ounce house blend drip coffee (unless noted; there were a few specialty drinks that readers nominated). After four days of sipping, here's the best and the rest.
So why do these people waste their money? Posted by Orrin Judd at November 11, 2007 3:40 PM
Because you aren't always at home when you want coffee. Duh.
Posted by: Brandon at November 11, 2007 7:43 PMBrandon,
Duh?
Where are you when you "need" coffee?
On your way to work?
At work?
On your way home from work?
Schmoozing the client at some pretentious "coffee outlet"? Yeah, that'll get you a lotta sales.
Of course, if you don't really like coffee, all that cinnamon or "French Vanilla" or mocha or whatever additives may make a fifty cent cuppa joe worth 2-3 dollars.
Myself, I did the math:
Thermos bottle;
French press coffee maker;
Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans (world standard best);
Utinsel to boil water;
Most important, a burr grinder for the beans!
We're talking less than 50 cents a cup for a superb brew impossible to find from 8th grade dropout "barrista's".
Jeez!
I'm with Mike, except that I find Jamaican Blue Mountain to be extremely overpriced. Peet's French Roast for me, and if I pay $.20 per cup I'd be surprised.
Posted by: HT at November 11, 2007 11:51 PMI recently got one of those single-cup coffeemakers as a gift and am rather fond of it; it's more like $.50/cup (probably more if you amortize the machine), but produces more than servicable coffee with no waste, and you can't beat it for laziness.
Posted by: Mike Earl at November 12, 2007 10:54 AMOJ,
Because it is a luxury we can all afford.
I do one Vente & one Grande a day (no frills), and nothing tastes as good as that burnt, over roasted Starbucks elixer.
Posted by: Bruno at November 12, 2007 11:04 AMBecause we're rich and if we didn't find ways to spend the stuff, it would start collecting in the corners and get underfoot.
Posted by: Ibid at November 12, 2007 1:09 PMIbid, that reminded me of something I read recently. The glitterati are into giving gifts that can be used up in a day. Thus the overpriced cup of coffee or day at the spa qualifies as such for us less glittery.
Posted by: erp at November 12, 2007 4:58 PM