So I started to drink Black Coffee/ Best Place?

Hey guys,

As the title says I have started to drink Black Coffee instead of the high in sugar coffees with flavored creams and such. Right now, as I'm typing this I got my coffee from Starbucks. But before you get all "its over priced" and such I got it from there because its maybe the best place for coffee in general at my school. If there were a better, cheaper place here than I would go there of course.

I have a question for you duders though. When it comes to just black coffee were is the best place to go in terms of quality product? The only other place I know that has the best black coffee that I love is a place called J-Alaxanders, a higher quality restaurant a couple towns from were I live that uses a french press to make it. First time I had it I was amazed that I didnt need to, no, didnt WANT to put anything into it and wanted to drink it straight as is. Since then I cannot find any commercial place that even comes close to that experience.

Thanks Duders

Make your own.

I second this. I make coffee every morning before work. I usually go to the grocery store and get bulk coffee beans, and ground them at home. Get a coffee tumbler, and you have a ton of coffee for your day for super cheap.

Get a french press or a bialetti, they are very practical.

Grinding your coffee is the way to go because you want your coffee to be as fresh as possible. Illy is a good brand and very popular, you can probably find.

I am a barista at Starbucks and I've worked at a few other coffee shops/restaurants too. The coffee there is pretty good actually. A lot of snobs will talk down on it but they have good options. If you like the coffee there, seek out a Starbucks with a Clover machine, which is a system that does French press type coffee and gives you special reserve coffee options. That's what I mostly drink at the store. It's the best option at that store for sure it's just a matter of if you can find one in your area.

As far as Starbucks coffee's go, my only real issue is their coffees are all usually quite similar. They usually make up the roasts from similar stuff. I like chocolatey coffee's and they have good options for that but they don't really have a single good nutty coffee. Basically you just need to figure out what coffee's to avoid at Starbucks and find the options in there you like (I recommend Guatamala Antigua which you should be able to find sold at any Starbucks, great coffee).

This really is the best answer.

If I was to give you a recommendation, it would be to just try to expand your horizons and try different brands of coffee's and coffee's from different regions and see what you like. Until you do that, you may not really have a good feel for what you actually like out there. For me, I used to use sugar in my coffee because I hated acidity and my family always had acidic coffee. Once I found different coffee's, I realized I loved low acidity coffee and with that didn't need sugar. Now I just use some whole milk or drink coffee black.

So I think you should look into the equipment then seek out different brands or varieties. You could get a French press and a grinder for a reasonable price. One local coffee brand in my area I really like is Counter Culture. Also another recommendation I will give you to try a new coffee is to seek out a sun dried Ethopian coffee, which usually are very fruit flavored in an interesting way.

Also you may want to ask that restaurant you went to what they use for their coffee.

A good thermos is a good recommendation as well.

Try eating a coffee bean.

Former barista here. I used to work at one of those tiny 'coffee house' type places on a college campus. A lot of people I've worked with are pretty snobby about their coffee, but for me it's like beer. There are ranges of quality and types and prices. It's all about preference and convenience. I'd probably prefer some $8 glass of a craft IPA, but I'm also probably having just as good of a time with that $2 Hamms. I don't think Starbucks is on the high end of coffee by any means, but it's totally serviceable if that's all you have available to you. Frankly it's probably their fancier drinks that get a little weird, partially because they're not handmade and partially because they call them the wrong damn thing. If you just want some black go-juice, you'll probably be good anywhere.

I will echo the general sentiment here though, making your own is the way to go. It's cheaper by a wide margin. And if there is a coffee shop you like, 99% of those places sell their whole beans at the counter. Grab a French press or a drip machine, and a grinder. You could probably set yourself up for less than $50 and never have to go buy a $4 cup of coffee again.

Starbucks has a Guatemalan blend thats really good that i use in my french press daily, would also check out local joints to see what they have

It took me ages to track down this thread but here you go, I'd recommend checking it out.

http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/off-topic-31/let-s-talk-coffee-giantbomb-1763832/

Make your own in the morning out of the cheapest pre-ground beans you can find. Just make sure its hot and strong. If its to cold you can probably find a micro somewhere around you. This way you can enjoy great and cheap coffee around the clock and you you dont have to waste time on hunting fancy beans and obscure coffeemakers.

Get yourself an Aeorpress and a grinder, you dont need anything else.

When in doubt, look for Will's coffee videos on tested. (but bear in mind that he's crazy and has expensive stuff)

Former barista here too. People will spout their hipster bullshit at you if you drink Starbucks, fuck em. It's just another case of someone attempting to out-cool you and stroke their sense of superiority.

I will admit if your drink is a bar drink, it can get way too expensive. It's not so bad if you just drink regular coffee, and it's even cheaper if you're making it at home, which I do the majority of the time. I've been drinking black coffee for like 15 years. You can get fancy with a french presses, Aeropress, or pour-over style single cups. They're nice, but day to day, my standard drip pot is fine.

I've had 2 of these over the last few years and use it currently, it's old reliable:

http://amzn.com/B0000YTYGM

If you're looking to get a bit nicer, I've had this one too. Makes a better cup of coffee, but it's a little more annoying to use:

http://amzn.com/B00O9FO1HK

Finally, I suggest you get a decent Burr grinder and buy your beans whole bean, grinding only what you need for your next pot. It makes a noticeably better cup of coffee, and you can get the correct and consistent grind easily (which is very important for a good cup of coffee).

I can recommend some good coffee shops, but they're all in Manhattan and not chains. If you're looking for a bespoke shop, just do some googling, try different spots, and you'll find your gotos. If you can, get made to order cups if they offer them (Starbucks included, someone else mentioned the Clover machine -- it's awesome).

EDIT:

> Make your own in the morning out of the cheapest pre-ground beans you can find.

This is terrible advice. Don't do this. It's not hard or expensive to make a decent cup of coffee every morning. It literally takes an extra 30 seconds to grind it yourself.

Do it

Buy a coffee machine that grinds beans and buy different kind of bean bags.

Make your own if you can (from whole beans). If you cant, starbucks is fine; don't listen to coffee snobs. This is coming from a person with an aeropress.

I would agree with making your own. If you have to get it from somewhere, the Sumatra blend from Starbucks is good.