...might be out of a job soon. Just read an article from the BBC about some Botanical Stuff, only to find out that coffee is going extinct! OK, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but as someone who has become slightly addicted to coffee over the past couple of years, it had me worried. FOCUS: Coffee. Do you drink it? Do you make it a special way? Roast your own beans, or instant flavour crystals? Do you buy into the $9 super-special-venti-frappa-chino-soy-non-fat-mocha crap? What's your favourite coffee place? ALT-FOCUS: What other ways do you get your daily buzz or morning kick-start?
I've never really been a fan of coffee, until a couple of things happened. First, my credit card company gave me some stupidly expensive push-one-button espresso machine that grinds the beans and makes incredible coffee, one cup at a time. Second, I started to work too much, and had to actually wake up in the morning. Usually, I roll out of bed around 11 or noon, and start the day slowly and on my own time, and work later into the evening. Until a big client and a big contract meant having to be at an office at 9am, with a 1-1.5 hour commute, for a year. I needed that caffeine to wake me up during the week. I'm now at the stage where I'm addicted. It's bad enough that I'm hating staying at my parent's right now because they have a shitty coffee machine. I'm picking up the $1,000 espresso machine today for them as an early Christmas present, all so that I can selfishly enjoy a better cup of coffee for the duration of my stay. I'm justifying it by saying that it's something that they will enjoy immensely, but would never buy themselves.
I haven't bought a coffee drink at Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks type place in over a year now. I've slowly become a coffee snob after spending time in places like the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and tasting a much fresher, stronger and higher quality coffee and espresso. Now I'm a member of a mail-order coffee club, at <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bocajava.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bocajava.com/</a> and I only buy whole beans, and grind them up daily every morning for a fresh pot. Also, I don't use all of those silly flavored creams and syrups in my shit. Only a small amount of organic raw cane (turbinado) sugar, and 2% milk. If someone would have told my 21 year old self that I would be behaving like that by the time I turned 30, I probably would have punched them in the face.
Keurig I love it. A single cup of coffee done in a matter of seconds. There are a ton of different kinds of K-cups to choose from, and there's no messing with filters and coffee grounds or anything. Throw the cup in, hit a button, toss out the empty cup. Every 4 cups or so you refill the water reservoir. Even if you do want to make your own coffee in it, you can by a special insert that you can pour fresh ground coffee into. It's the best thing that's happened to my morning since I started getting up at 6:30.
When I was a construction worker, I consumed close to a pot a day (though in the summer many of that was subbed in by Tim Horton's Ice Caps). Since I went out drinking with my friends 6 nights a week, I needed a little pick-me-up: shitloads of caffine. Then, they hand you a pneumatic jackhammer. Nowadays, I MIGHT have one cup a day, and if I have a long drive ahead of me I'll slam two or three quickly. Coffee to me is great, but I'm not a freak like those "Don't talk to me until I've had my coffee" ass hats.
Alt. Focus: I usually hate energy drinks. They have too much sugar and make me feel like shit. I also want to choke slam those idiots who are trying to look badass by wearing Monster Energy attire. News flash morons; your heros who ride freestyle motocross wear that shit because they get paid for it, not because it's cool. Put your fucking hat on straight. One day I was having trouble staying awake while driving, so I grabbed a can of this stuff. I'll be God damned if it didn't make me feel like a million bucks. Now I never go without one in the morning. I can literally feel myself power up after I drink one.
For a few years now I haven't been able to operate in the morning without several cups of coffee, and while I never bother with Starbucks or Caribou shops, I have developed a strong preference... I buy Cameron's French whole beans (for those that live around Minneapolis, you can get it at Rainbow Foods), grind a small amount every 3-4 days, and french press it. It's the coffee that I judge all others against. Because I'm about to go shovel the driveway and front walk (already have my Carhartts on), I went ahead and dumped a good amount of Irish cream into my coffee. It's the one thing good enough to put in coffee. Otherwise, I prefer it black.
I love coffee, but not to the point where I'm a snob about it. I'd just as soon drink a pot of rot-gut percolated deer camp coffee as a starbuck's caramel macchiato. That being said, I have a hard time not drinking at least a 20 oz mug each morning...and not only because I need the caffeine boost , but because it's part of my morning routine. Get up, grind beans, shower, grab cup and head to the office.
Rarely does a day go by where I don't enjoy at least one large Tim Horton's regular coffee. Not only do I love the taste, but I love the feeling of that 'first sip' every morning. I'm up at 4:30 A.M. during the week, and that first sip of coffee can often be enough to motivate me for the remainder of my day. It's also piercingly cold during the winters here, so I consider coffee to be something of a warming tool. Strangely, I've never used coffee to get a jolt or a boost of energy. I can have a late-night coffee and fall asleep with little difficulty. When I lived in Vancouver, I would frequent Starbucks all the time, yet now I swear by Tim Horton's coffee. It's cheaper, and way easier to order!
I have one of these at my work. It's not high class coffee, but it keeps me awake, and it's free. I have a cup every single morning when I get in, and if I'm particularly hungover I'll probably have two cups. I never drink coffee if I'm not at work, I can't remember the last time I went to Starbucks. I'm way too poor to be spending $8 on a cup of coffee, especially when there are much more important things I need to buy with that money (such as beer, and hookers).
I've been on a serious tea binge lately. It's much easier to make. Hot water is never hard to find and I bring tea bags with me everywhere I go. I can also drink a lot more of it without getting the jitters, allowing me to accurately titrate my caffeine dosage to the point of wakefulness without the shakes and nervousness that I used to get with my delicious, delicious french press pot.
McDonald's coffee is the shit: it comes in bigger cups, costs less than the competition, and tastes much better than any chain coffee I've had. Better than Horton's, better than Starbucks, better than Second Cup. If I have the choice, I will always go there for my coffee needs. The only problem is convincing other people that it tastes good; none of the proles I spend my time with agree with me.
I cannot stand the smell or taste of coffee anymore. Seriously, it makes my stomach churn. I can drink it without having a bad reaction, and I used to drink a lot of it in highschool (even though I hated the taste), but I am just repulsed by it these days. I find it offensive to 3 of my 5 senses. When I need a kickstart, I just grab a Mountain Dew. It's good at any temperature, it doesn't matter if it goes flat, it is quite possibly the best non-alcoholic beverage of them all. And this is what the cans look like in Dubai.
Coffee has been extremely important to me since I had my first kid 16 years ago. I used to drink french press coffee, but recently graduated to an old fashion perkolator coffee pot. It cost me $40 at Target but tastes about 6,000 times better than drip coffee. I use 8 O'Clock coffee, which I think tastest better than almost any other brand sold at the grocery store (and Consumer Reports agreed--it was their top-rated coffee). But to be truthful, my two favorite kinds of coffee: 1) The stuff that sits around and perks all day until it is as black as tar and as thick as syrup. That stuff, with real sugar and real cream, is plain awesome. 2) Cafe con Leche served in some divey Cuban restaurant in the slums of Miami. Yummy.
I've been drinking coffee for as long as I can remember. I'm a basic plain Folgers kind of guy, but I do enjoy the Hell out of it. I make a full pot in the morning first thing when I get up. I will drink this pot down while I cook breakfast, shower, and otherwise get ready for the day. I take the last cup of this pot with me on my 4 mile drive to work, where I will split 1 or 2 air pots with the boss throughout the day depending on the time of year it is and how much pressure we are under. If I don't have anything to do after work I'll usually stop drinking coffee at that point, but if I'm going out for the night in anyway I keep going. If I have to go out shopping, or to dinner, or anything like that I make another pot as soon as I get home and drink it down while getting ready or while on the way to whatever it is I have to get done. Basically, I'm a minimum two pot per day person who sometimes goes through as many as four. My girlfriend freaks out on me about this, as well as my consumption of energy drinks. I figure I'm still registering a perfect blood pressure reading though, and refuse to listen to any negatives about it.
Hello my name is Guy Fawkes and I'm a java addict... Years ago I dated a girl who worked as a barista at a hoity-toity coffee bar and I mocked her for mocking me about drinking run of the mill Dunkins or whatever coffee. After finally drinking good coffee down in Mexico and SA I realize I was missing out. I only drink 1 cup a day but it's good stuff. I have a roaster, grinder, and use a french press. I have a custom mix that consists of a blend of 4 different coffee beans. I got my parents hooked on the same mix so we split the 4 bag mix between us.
There are two types of coffee to me in the world: Tim Horton's and nothing fucking else. It's served fast, fresh, hot, tasty and most of all INEXPENSIVE. It's the only coffee I drink on the go and the only I brew at home. There is a reason there is a lot of Canadian pride for Tim Horton's. The northern 'States are starting to catch on. Yes, there are a lot of fabulous coffee way down South and I am a great admirer, but Timmy's is the middle class perfect drug of choice for Canucks.
I'm a diet coke drinker, have been for a loooooong time. Always have one in the morning and a couple during the day. A month ago, I had my first coffee (Tim Hortons Large Double-Double) in my 23 years of existance. I almost fell asleep at my desk afterwards. I have no idea why, but it made me very tired.
I prefer tea, iced or hot. I love it. It's smooth and doesn't have the bite to it that coffee does. I'd say on average I drink coffee I buy two or three times a month. If I feel like I want coffee at home, I have a french press, I use a dark roast and Baileys for cream. Iced coffee is entirely different and I love it. It's all cold and creamy. So good. As for these drinks, I don't drink them and I'm not a real pop drinker either. The only thing I've ever used Red Bull for is a Tic Tac. I googled the recipe to link and it says to mix it like a drink drink. Fuck that, don't mix in the Red Bull, pour 3" or so into a pint glass and do the rest a drop shot. I use orange vodka of some kind and a splash of OJ for the shot.
Sir, I will not have my patriotism questioned by you of all people simply because I have found a superior alternative to your pallid over-creamed, over-sugared soma. The English Breakfast tea isn't bad, though.