As to the second: daily, more or less.
Personally I prefer a good dark roast, and if it’s a good blend (also for medium or light roast) I want it black.
Outside of dedicated coffeehouses though, most coffee out & about isn’t what I consider “good” (I guess I’m a snob?:-P), so I usually add sugar & creamer.
(Pro-Tip: combine black coffee with a pastry for the ultimate snack, i.e. the sugar doesn’t need to be poured directly into the liquid! The juxtaposition of the bitter and sweet really works well.:-)
I can’t stand Starbucks coffee regardless though, so if needed I’ll get a mocha. I’d sooner trust a McDonald’s coffee though - seriously: b/c Lavazza is great!
It’s such a personal choice though - what do you like?
My standard morning coffee is made in my AeroPress. Start with the piston in the press as far out as possible without leaking, place one full scoop of grounds, usually dark roast or espresso roast, then fill to the top (bottom) with ~150 degree water (just as hot as possible from our tap) and let steep for ~5 minutes. Then either put the stainless reusable filter or one of the paper ones on the strainer and press and flip the whole thing over onto your cup and press down.
I typically favor french or dark roasts but I also like chicory blends and occassionally dabble in Ethiopian beans.
The AeroPress is pretty good! Very portable, so that was my daily thing when I had to work in an office.
At home I have a small Chemex, which is basically a nicely designed pour over with a complicated filter. I like it a little better than the Aero and it’s a bit less fussy.
If I’m on the road, Casey’s is my go to. I think I just like their machines.
Casey’s cappuccino or whatever they call it is basically a shot of pure sugar & caffeine… so yeah me too:-).
5 minutes, wow - I’m used to more 1-2 minute black teas so that surprises me. TIL that coffee needs more time - probably it’s putting in more love. 💕
I’m not timing it, its bacially however long it takes to make my breakfast before heading out. I think it helps with the lower temp water I use but who knows.
None. Never got a taste for coffee and some (Starbucks) the smell alone actually nauseates me.
I will say, I’m in the camp of “I’ll try anything once!” and while taking my wife to a Dutch Brothers saw they had something called “White Coffee” which I had never heard of.
https://www.dutchbros.com/news-events/what-is-white-coffee
It wasn’t awful. I mean, it’s still not something I would drink voluntarily, but as an experiment? It didn’t feel like I had to choke it down or anything.
I visited Seattle and had a FANTASTIC Italian coffee there. Also Seattle’s Best - another coffee shop that originated from Seattle - is kinda good. A ton of people (especially those from Seattle, it seems:-D) criticize Starbucks for (INTENTIONALLY!) offering its “burnt” style of coffee… and I agree:-). Though tastes are personal so if someone likes that, then that’s great, but yeah I really do not. :-P
There are many other things to enjoy doing in the world, besides coffee.
95% of my coffee consumption is HEB own-brand K cups. My nearest store has a half dozen or so different flavors, each named after a different city in TX. I rotate through flavors when I restock.
I’m not super picky. I get that because it’s cheap and convenient.
What’s your favorite? I prefer the San Antonio flavor. I also prefer decaf nowadays, and I wish they had some of their other flavors in pre-ground form.
I love a good cappuccino. Mostly from home because most places get the ratio wrong add add way to much milk. I upgraded my machine to a Bezzera Duo MN and the foam that thing can make is amazing.
To be clear: the places that get it wrong aren’t aiming it to make it more of a latte are they? The USA tends to do odd things, like make sushi sweet, or Italian foods sweet, or Chinese foods sweet - basically add a bunch of sugar to literally everything - and I wonder if even for that Italian-style drink if they tried to “Americanize” it?
It should be 1/3 each espresso, milk, and foam. Most places do 1.5 oz shot of espresso and then just fill an 8 oz cup with foamed milk in whatever ratio they made. So way to much milk.
Sushi should be a bit sweet. It literally means sour and is traditionally made with sweetened vinegar. Usually a 4:3 ratio of vineger⋮sugar.
I’ve always heard that “overly sweet” (so, a higher degree of such than merely “sweetened”) sushi is the mark of a non-authentic restaurant, probably in an attempt to cater to a more Americanized audience. And similarly for Chinese foods as well.
I don’t know why all the milk though - possibly it’s cheaper and they are trying to skim some profits for themselves.
Rio Grande Roasters Pinon is my favorite, but I’m not picky at all. I tend to prefer light roasts for their higher caffeine content, and I also think they taste better than dark roasts. I usually add hazelnut creamer, but the coffee I linked above doesn’t need it.
The brewing method is probably more important to me. I like pour-overs, but French press and cold brew are good too. Drip machines are fine, but they’d be my last choice.
At Starbucks I’d get an iced mocha frappe chino, but that’s more like a dessert with a shot of espresso. Pastries are a must lol, just need to find a vegan one and I’m set.
