Which coffee do you buy from the supermarket?

[kare_raisu]

We always buy the big bags from Costco, but we ran out. ANy recommendations? I am a fan of a darker roast.

[Geeky]

If you like coffee that has lost aroma and flavor keep shopping at supermarkets. Ground coffee no matter how good is sealed and packaged goes stale after 30 days. If you do the logistics of supermarket trade you will see that is more. Buy from roasters online or local shops where coffee is roasted fresh and you will see the difference. It might cost a little more but it will be worth the price.

[INDIANRIVERFL]

I watch them roasted and ground to order and the convenience and consistenency far outweighs what for me is a difference in taste, not necessarily an improvement.

Which is why there is more than one type of coffee or coffee purveyor on the planet.

Cheers:-)

[njmarshall55]

8 O'Clock whole beans. I use a Grind & Brew daily. No complaints here. I'm pretty sure they have a darker roast (not in the red bag...maybe brown, IIRC).

[westsidegal]

Peets

[zin1953]

Who buys coffee in a supermarket? Well -- yes -- obviously some people do, but no one that I know . . .

[INDIANRIVERFL]

Jakobs Kronung at Big Lots. Currently $4.50 a brick and use by date is typically still a year out.

And I don't care if it is Kraft Euro. The other German options I also enjoy are now a fond memory at that price.

And once again I jump on an old post with passion without doing due diligence on the age of the thread.

I will let this stand.

[celesul]

I've liked Trader Joes quite well for coffee (specifically, their Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee is very good), and it's a darkish roast. Peet's is another widely available, rather good brand, and also a darkish roast. Obviously, trying a local company is generally a good idea, as theirs will be fresher, although avoid the really modern ones who only believe in light roasts, given your preferences.

Also, I strongly encourage you to obtain a grinder if you haven't. Even a very cheap blade grinder is a significant improvement over pre-ground.

[Querencia]

Goya or Bustelo decaf from the Hispanic supermarket. And I find that using purified (filtered) water greatly improves the flavor of brewed coffee--takes the sharpness out and gives a smoother flavor.

[faulpelz]

I usually by whole beans from WF in bins, but the $14 a pound is a challenge to my income. I must have great coffee in the morning, it is my ONLY luxury. So I tried Simple Truth from Kroger's. The whole bean medium dark roast was unbelievable. Had to keep tasting it to believe it. Unfortunately for most store buyers, I do not drink coffee with sugar. Sugar is acidic. I use bulk bought honey and Natural Bliss cream. This made the Simple Truth coffee come alive. It does not taste as good black, whereas WF beans do. The honey brings back the smooth bean flavor from the Simple Truth coffee. Bottom line: I get a half pound more with two bags of Simple Truth for my money then if I by at WF, and the taste (with honey) is incredible.

[jujuthomas]

we buy a variety of beans from Wegmans, but they discontinued my favorite, the high mountain andes blend.

[rworange]

Chase & Sanborn's ... don't do it ... weak and if it didn't taste like cardboard, there would be no flavor at all. My brilliant S/O bought a can on sale ... 3 cans for $5 ... that should set off bells, eh? At least it was no more of a loss than the price of a since cup of Starbucks.

[revsharkie]

We get two pounds at the beginning of every month from a small roaster in Portland on a standing order. When we use those up, we supplement with various other things, including the arbor day foundation'scoffee, which is just ok, and an occasional bag of Seattle's Best Henry's Blend.

Here you just plain never buy the bulk beans because in our tiny wee town no one else knows what to do with it, so it sits and sits and sits.

[debbbiiiii]

tasters choice or folgers

[chef chicklet]

Don Francisco French Roast, or Peets French Roast when we can't get to Costco...

[MIss G]

I second the Don Francisco, but also love the coffee at Trader Joe's

[Panini Guy]

Regarding the statement, "No Chowhound should consider coffee ground on a common grinder."

Allow me to correct that.

"No Chowhound should consider ground coffee."

There. Much better.

Buy a grinder. Preferably a burr grinder. And always buy whole beans. No less than 2 days off roast, no more than 10.

I cannot understand how anyone can suggest they care about food and own a can of Folgers or Chock Full of Nuts or whatever.

No, I'm not a coffee snob. I'm a pizza snob. That's at least subjective. Comparing supermarket coffee to artisan roasts (which often cost less than Illy), is not subjective. It's blatantly obvious.

[grampart]

Agreed!

[Uncle Ira]

Surprised to see no one here mention French Market. Am I the only one who likes it??

Uncle Ira

[susanl143]

+1 for French Market.

$5.99 for a full pound at Market Basket also makes it one of the least expensive these days.

[larrye2001]

I recently purchased YUBAN, when I opened the can the smell was wonderful , I use a French Press , YUBAN was so smooth and what a great taste , until I used the top 1/3 of the coffee, then it changed to a burned smell and there was nothing I could do to get rid of the bitter taste. I contacted the manufacture , they said it was the grocery stores fault and the would give me a refund. Instead of money they sent a coupon for another can of <YUBAN>.

What bothers me is;I know the supermarket can not do anything to make the coffee on top to taste good and the bottom 2/3 taste bitter. YUBAN must be having a BAD HAIR YEAR..

[cooknKate]

I always buy whole bulk beans in the store and take them home to grind. They are way fresher like that. We go through a lot of coffee and this is our preferred way. We like a medium to full roast, Guatemala, Costa Rican, etc.

[Wineman]

The question was what to buy in a grocery store. Maybe you could share some of your expertise and experience and give us some ideas of what we should look for in a food store.

[Fanciesmom]

Happily. First off - anything (other than as an ingredient in Espresso) containing primarily Robusta beans is not worth the time it takes to put it in the cart. Stick with Arabica beans. You also want to buy your coffee beans from a store that moves a lot of coffee since that assures you that the coffee will be fresh.

The enemies of coffee are light, heat, air, and time (and a dirty coffee pot!). Coffee should be purchased in sealed, airtight containers. Beans in those clear plastic hoppers are exposed to light and air - I would avoid them.

If you buy a light or medium roast the beans should not be really oily looking. The roast time would not be long enough to coax the oils to the surface of the bean. They shouldn't feel oily either - something has been added to them to make them look or taste better. In a darker roast; French or Espresso, the beans will have a sheen because the longer roast draws the oils to the surface.

Flavored coffees are fun, but frequently they aren't made with the best beans, if we buy flavored coffees (usually decaf's for after dinner) we grind the beans in a different grinder - not our good burr grinder.

We are especially fond of coffees from South America, Mexico, New Guinea, and some parts of Africa. We do try to buy only organic, preferably shade grown, free trade coffees.

At home store your coffee in a cool, dry, dark place. The freezer is not the best place for coffee. Illy makes wonderful coffee which is sold in proper packaging. Coffee selections are a very personal matter. I am not crazy about Starbucks - but lots of people love it.

If you want to learn more about the different characteristics of different coffees please take a look at sweetmarias.com. They have very detailed descriptions of their coffees, they do sell roasted coffee that is fantastic. They also have all kinds of "toys" to ensure that your coffee experience is the best it can be.

[John Manzo]

You might add that local roasters are probably going to offer you something fresher like the ideal of 5 days off the roast, which is completely impossible with most large roasters and is similarly impossible with Italian roasters, regardless of the sexiness of the brand. I never buy Illy, Lavazza, or even my once-loved Moak anymore. I prefer a local (Calgary, Alberta) artisanal roaster called Big Mountain, and found that it's sold at Co-op Grocery Stores here for substantially less than at its coffeehouse partners and less than at more boutique-y food stores. $12.99 Canadian for a pound of beans that are, in my opinion, almost as good as Intelligentsia or Vivace. The thing is that these are only available in the "organic market" section of Co-op, NOT the coffee aisle. So, perhaps you might stay out of the coffee aisle!

Edited to add: GET YOUR OWN GRINDER! If you are making drip coffee, a cheap blade grinder (use only for coffee, please!) is perfectly sufficient. You don't need to drop hunreds for a Rancilio Rocky as I did, but I only drink espresso and the very, very occasional press pot.

[grampart]

Blade grinders are not preferred for any type of coffee beans.

[celesul]

A blade grinder is significantly better than pre-ground coffee, and an uneven grind isn't nearly as problematic in drip coffee as it is in say, french press.

More importantly, most people will never use their own grinder if you insist that it must be an expensive burr one.

[grampart]

After reading this from Sweet Maria's, I stand corrected..........with reservations and agree that they are probably better than buying pre-ground providind the beans are freshly roasted. However, the uneven grind and heat generation are problematic.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmaria...

[Florida Hound]

Gotta just "defend" my blade grinder. It has served me well every morning! Is every bean cut to absolute uniformity? No. But for my drip coffee maker and my taste buds, it does the job. I live a sheltered life- I don't know how or if I have sampled a range of other grinders' results.

[Fanciesmom]

I don't think I could ever go back to supermarket beans, or any pre-roasted. I love to control my coffee. We read the cupping profiles on the beans we buy - read the recommended roast degrees and then we play. I don't like all my coffee with a "Starbucks roast", I don't want my beans greasy from added flavors. I don't want my beans exposed to light in those clear plastic dispensers.

Oh please forgive me, I'm a coffee snob and . . . . I use a Solis Maestro burr grinder, we brew in a Chemex drip with unbleached filters, and refuse to put our coffee in metal cups. We purchase a lot of shade grown organics from fair trade growers, and l'd never think of using a supermarket grinder. I'd recommend that anyone who truly loves coffee investigate home roasting. The average cost per pound of beans is +/- 5.00 per pound - our roaster paid for itself in the first year. With the combo we have we can roast anything from espresso roast to a light roast - we can grind from a french press to a turkish grind, and we can do it when the mood strikes. If you truly love coffee this is the way to go.

[chipman]

I agree 100% on your take on home-roasted beans. It is so easy and so convenient to roast your own, (25 minutes from green beans to roasted and cooled coffee beans is hard to beat)

Also, anybody who thinks they know it all about coffee (me) should read Sweet Marias web site and really get a lesson on coffee and some really good instruction on how to roast your own.

[jackattack]

So then don't they need a grinder for each flavor?

[EvanM]

I buy the coffee and grind it in the machine the supemarket provides BUT I find a big differnce between markets. In most Shoprites they use Melitta coffee and provide one grinder which always has the flavor of the flavored coffees, except in the Shoprite in Hasbrouck Heights NJ where they use WHite House coffee (I think) and they provide TWO GRINDERS one for flavored and one for unflavored.... no chowhound should consider coffee ground on a shared grinder! The indignity of alien aromas unjustly creeping on to my palate is too horrifying to elaborate.

[chowcito]

I heard that some Costcos stock Jamaican Blue Mountain in bulk (5 pound bags) though I haven't heard what it costs there. Anyone seen it there?

[coll]

I bought some at BJs that seemed like Blue Mountain (the label wanted you to think so) but it wasn't anything special. I should have known by the price, don't remember but $6 or $7 lb.
For everyday, we like 8 O'Clock coffee, which is an A&P brand, I get it at Waldbaums here. My favorite is the Bokar blend, it's in a black bag.

[amkirkland]

i'm not familiar with this coffee, but if the labels don't explicitly say that it's 100 percent blue mountain, then it's probably a blend.

[coll]

I found excellent 100% Blue Mountain at Fairway for $45, not for everyday obviously but so good to have on hand. And they don't roast the heck out of it.

[Dommy]

I like flavored coffees. :) My favorite is Don Francisco Hazelnut, it has overtones of cinnamon... :)

--Dommy!

[lol20red]

Hi dommy, could you possibly tell me where i can find the amazing coffee that is don francisco hazelnut in the uk? I am going crazy lol. Thanks laura

[Dommy]

Sadly they no longer make this flavor. I was CRUSHED. You CAN get a Vanilla Nut Flavor that is good, but not quite the same.

http://www.don-francisco.com/our-coff...

You might want to contact the company to see if they have distribution in the UK.

--Dommy!

[buttertart]

Where've you been? Long time no read!

[Fanciesmom]

DH bought some beans at the store in May just before we moved onto the houseboat. He was going to try to convince me that we should put the coffee roaster in storage. After the first pot of store bought coffee he agreed that we would make room for the roaster.

We've been buying our green beans from Sweet Marias for about 2 years now and roasting our own. Right now we're drinking a Brazillian Organic Camocim Yellow Icatu. We roasted 2 batches, 1 a little darker than the other and mixed them together. Yummy.

I just don't know if we can go back to the pre-roasted coffee beans.

[zorra]

I discovered Lavazza on a clearance table at the supermarket for $2.50 a can. I wish now that I had bought all they had, because I get it at other stores now for about $7.50.

We are about to get a Whole Foods in our area, and my favorite supermarket is gearing up to compete with them...so now for the first time I can find Illy at a local (suburban) supermarket! I only succumb when I really want to splurge--and to tell the truth, I think I like Lavazza just as well.

[jfood]

Shame shame shame on you for running out of Costco. I buy the Kirkland roasted by Starbs and its very good. If i run out (which I might since I ground the last 2 pounds this weekend, shame on me). In a pinch I buy at the local Starb or, we are lucky to have a small imprter/roaster in town who has the BEST coffee beans. In the store I'll follow my nose to the fresh bean display and buy some french or mocha. If the later I add a little expresso beans to the mix for a little umph.

[rumgum]

I just discovered the Kirkland beans, roasted by Starbucks. Tried some today and loved it. What a bargain too! I almost started a thread.

At a supermarket, I'd go for Peet's if I had to. But I live in the NW, so there's always a starbucks closer than the supermarket.

[abbeyraish]

Illy all the way. I justify the price by only treating myself to a latte on the weekends.

[Jonathan Saw]

Is Chock Full-o-Nuts sold near you?

[Candy]

I've always been a Chock Full-o-Nuts fan.

[blest1iam]

Never heard of it. Would LOVE to try it. It sounds Yummy. Any ideas where to get it?

Thanks!

[Loren3]

We're lucky in Minneapolis we have Peace Coffee in several of the better grocery stores.

[morebubbles]

I'm totally for grinding them myself at the store. Try the French roast for the dark coffee that you prefer.

[Michele4466]

Not sure what the brand(s) is (are) but if they have it, I buy the beans by the pound and grind them in the machine provided (or sometimes just grind the beans at home).

We go through coffee pretty fast so it stays fresh, even ground in- store and the noise of grinding in the early am is bothersome to me :-)

Not all supermarkets have this offering but if they do, there are lots of options. I prefer Columbian supreme (half caf/decaf - pregnancy) while my husband prefers a dark roast, they usually have a few choices...

FYI: many times this wall of coffee is not in the coffee aisle at all... in my new found fave market, it is by the deli counter so while I wait for my number to be called, I take care of business.

[Maxwell]

Better supermarkets now carry Illy coffee, from Trieste. Very good and consistent, if pricey.

http://www.illy.com/Illy2006/

[vicki_vale]

I like Bustelo especially when I can get 2 vaccuum packs for $5. It's a really dark roast and smells rich but tastes perhaps too harsh for my roommate, er, hubby. Seems to taste better in a French press than drip cone.

If I want to spend a little more, I used to buy Lavazza, or if I'm in a really good supermarket, once in a while I buy Illy (oh man it's good) for $12 and then I can also re-use the tin can.

[rworange]

Bustelo is second from the bottom on my list of vacuum packed coffees (Café Pilao is last). To my taste it has a tinny taste to it rather than a strong dark roast taste. I haven't tried Lavazza yet.

I didn't think to recommend the vacuum packs because none of them has a really dark roast taste to me, even Café do Ponto extra forte.

That being said, I do like Café do Ponto the best and so prefer the vacuum packs over canned US coffee. The taste is smooth, never bitter or sharp and, like you mentioned, the prices are beyond reasonable.

[Robert Lauriston]

Are you talking about Bustelo in the vacuum-packed brick or the can?

http://www.walgreens.com/dbimagecache...

I've never had canned coffee that didn't taste weird.

[rworange]

The brick. It wasn't bad, and not really pronounced, but compared to the others it wasn't as good.

[Barbecue Joe]

Yuban is a very good coffee. Reasonably priced as well.

[AmblerGirl]

I love Melita. It is delicous, flavorful but smooth.

[DanielleM]

I second melitta. Very good when it is buy one get one free.

[puppymomma]

I third the Melita. I got it for the first time a few weeks ago. It was the pecan pie flavor. Yummy!

I used to get Green Mountain Roasters, but it doesn't seem as good as it used to be.

[TonyO]

Try ordering direct from GMCR. My guess is the issue (fresheness/rotation of inventory) is with your market not GMCR as their standards are very high.

[laurie]

I get Newman's Own Colombian Supreme. It's organic and a fair trade product, both of which are important to me. I believe they sell a darker roast too, but I prefer smooth, medium Colombian beans.

[westsidegal]

trader joe's also carries an organic and fair trade coffee.
dunno if it would qualify as a supermarket for this thread.

[Geeky]

As per the organic I would not depend too much on it. But for the fair trade that is the biggest scam in the history.

[Janet]

If I have to buy from the grocery, I buy Peet's. Which I realize is not in the whole country.

[Robert Lauriston]

Same here, and only in emergencies, since it's not as fresh.

If I'm someplace that doesn't have it, I look for the brick-like vacuum-sealed Lavazza or Bustelo.

[chigirl71]

I agree, if it's available in your area Peet's French Roast and/or House Blend are very good.

[HillJ]

Peet's here too and if I can't find the deep roasted Major D's I'll head over to Costco and buy a deep roast there.

[ClairfiedButter]

Most of the time we buy Folgers, but sometimes we get Yuban. Yuban would be a good choice, if you like dark roast.