Coffee?

[nate_sf]

http://img-3.fruugo.com/product/7/57/1101577_0280_0260.jpg

Like traveler, I like mine strong with cream, no sugar. And like MsGuy, once I stopped using sweetner I found I could never go back. One cup in the morning and one after lunch or I will be a cranky mess.

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

My dad was a coffee sales (upscale restaurants) and used to say if you had to add anything to coffee, it wasn't really that good. So I learned to drink my coffee black.

 

However, adding Bailey's or amaretto as an after-dinner beverage was always acceptable.

[rvwnsd]

I take my 1 cup a day with Baileys Creme Brulee coffee creamer. Decadent !

 

Oooh, that does sound decadent and tasty. Sadly, I can't drink most non-dairy creamers.

 

Early in the morning for me is just an espresso or two. During the day or socially over dessert just plain black coffee. I like being able to sip it during the conversation.

 

I bought a Nespresso machine over Memorial Day weekend. Since then, espresso has replaced the usual drip coffee more than a few mornings.

[bostonman]

I bought a Nespresso machine over Memorial Day weekend. Since then, espresso has replaced the usual drip coffee more than a few mornings.

 

I've thought many times about buying an espresso machine, but I keep wondering if it's really worth the price if I'm not really going to use it all the time. In the meantime, my regular ol' Krups coffeemaker does get plenty of use at home...

[rvwnsd]

I've thought many times about buying an espresso machine, but I keep wondering if it's really worth the price if I'm not really going to use it all the time. In the meantime, my regular ol' Krups coffeemaker does get plenty of use at home...

 

I thought the same thing. Then I tried the in-room machine at a hotel I stayed at. I was hooked. If the thing didn't use the little pods, I would not have bought it. I hate the post-espresso cleanup.

[RacerXLA]

Every morning it's medium roast drip coffee with a little brown sugar and a little half & half. Ahhh... it just makes my morning

[rvwnsd]

Every morning it's medium roast drip coffee with a little brown sugar and a little half & half. Ahhh... it just makes my morning

 

Never tried brown sugar, but sounds yummy. Turbinado sugar is good, too.

[happyguy2]

I love strong black coffee in the morning and after a fine meal a double-espresso is a must for me!

[CowboyUp]

I’m super lucky – my neighbor imports incredible coffee from Uganda and roasts it here locally. I’m drinking a cup now actually. Good stuff.

[Sooner405]

Black – instant, brewed, drip, etc. Just me and the bean.

[Phil_musc]

Fresh ground personal blend of Trader Joe's Bay Blend (a wonderful dark roast) with one or two other roasts (usually one medium roast) to temper it a bit. Just sugar, no cream (unless I'm in Starbuck's or some over-priced coffee joint or traveling in Europe). Occasionally some ground Vietnamese Cinnamon thrown in for a different experience. Sometimes artificial sweetener (when I'm craving something sweeter and don't want the sugar rush or calories). Not much for flavored coffees - I'll pass on the hazelnut, thank you, as well as all those trendy lattes with their added calories. Have to have at least a mug in the morning or I'll have headaches by midmorning - also gives me something to drink while I'm reading the threads here.

[bostonman]

Fresh ground personal blend of Trader Joe's Bay Blend (a wonderful dark roast) with one or two other roasts (usually one medium roast) to temper it a bit. Just sugar, no cream (unless I'm in Starbuck's or some over-priced coffee joint or traveling in Europe). Occasionally some ground Vietnamese Cinnamon thrown in for a different experience. Sometimes artificial sweetener (when I'm craving something sweeter and don't want the sugar rush or calories). Not much for flavored coffees - I'll pass on the hazelnut, thank you, as well as all those trendy lattes with their added calories. Have to have at least a mug in the morning or I'll have headaches by midmorning - also gives me something to drink while I'm reading the threads here.

 

The Trader Joe's Bay Blend is good, though I tend to get the Double Dark. ;-)

 

I've recently discovered Vietnamese cinnamon - great stuff!

 

Rather than the prefab hazelnut flavored coffee (and I agree that a lot of the manufactured flavors taste artificial and/or too strong, or otherwsie something to be desired), sometimes I'll stir a small spoonful of Nutella into a cup of coffee (yum), or I'd also recommend the Monin hazelnut syrup (I have a bunch of Monin and Torani syrups, most are quite good - and a little goes a long way).

[rvwnsd]

My favorite coffee roaster is Intelligentsia. Been drinking their coffee since they opened in 1995 and was very happy when they made it to SoCal.

 

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/content/history

[+ honcho]

I believe the Original Poster intimated it was OK to mention other caffeinated beverages if one didn't drink coffee.

 

(I like the smell and taste of coffee but I get really anxious after drinking it)

 

I do about 2 liters of Diet Dr. Pepper a day. I'm sure that's way more caffeine than it a couple of cups of coffee, but there must be other psycho-active substances in the coffee ... with diet mountain dew my (limited) patience is further diluted and I have to remember to be nice

 

How's that for anecdotal BS? ...

[+ Italiano]

Growing up in Italy for me didn't exist any other coffee but espresso. One first thing in the morning, one after lunch, always, religiously.

Now I have kept this habit basicly only in the morning, the first thing I do as I jump out of bed is prepping my little Italian stove espresso machine (for one cup) before even going to pee, and waiting to see it coming out creamy, thick and with that unique aroma that spreads in the kitchen.

I usually have another American coffee a couple of hours later, I like Folgers French Roast (Dark), and I make it with French press, and there I add a little milk.

 

When I go back to Milan to visit my family, I always have another espresso after lunch, and of course no American Coffee there!

[raulgmanzo]

Most days a single Espresso or Ristretto drunk neat after having a large glass of water in the morning.

 

I grind my locally roasted beans each morning in a 50+ years old hand cranked coffee mill. A proper mill results in a superior grind and taking the few minutes turning the crank helps wake me up, I need less coffee enjoying it more as decadent tasty ritual rather than deperately needed caffeine (which of course it still is).

 

But when anticpating little sleep and a very difficult morning I may grind and prepare coffee for an overnight coldwater extraction which can be actually marvelous. And if at someones house I'm delighted to enjoy whatever they have be it driip, instant, or whatever.

 

Generally I take any coffee black and unsweetened, unless in a neighborhood cuban cafe for a cafecito or getting a colada to share with friends. Sometimes when on Devon ( a wonderful desi strip) or downtown near one of the 24 hour Indo-Pak restaurants I will get a chai maybe even some pan to chew.

 

One of the things I love about traveling, whether to another neighborhood or across the planet, is finding locally roasted coffee in independent shops or learning about and indulging in the local method of caffeination.

 

If I do buy -relatively- mass market beans I really like Chicago based Metropolis' Redline espresso.

 

Once in a blue moon I dust off my mate/gourd and bombilla and make some proper mate.

When on a road trip I sometimes settle for virtually any available gas-station caffeinated beverage including those awfully horrible energy drinks.

 

The question is have I had too little or two much caffeine today?

[Guest Connoisseur]

Strong - dark/french/italian roast - sweetener and cream. Serve that to me in a warmed up mug, or even better by a handsome mug, and I'm loving life

[Steven_Draker]

I like my coffee with Splenda (or Stevia) with a tiny bit of skim milk.

 

If I want to get fancy I can have a skinny or soy vanilla sugar-free latte at the local Starbucks.

[Guest Merlin155]

I prefer Tea...

[Atlantagaguy]

Strong Black coffee for me, I am on my second cup Now!

[+ azdr0710]

two or three cups of Trader Joe's or whatever in the Mr. Coffee in the morning - usually ground beans that I keep in the freezer for a few days until time to grind again....black because my parents drank it that way....a college roommate's dad, a former pro football player, once lightly berated his son (the roommate) for not drinking his coffee black!....two or three times a week I'll get a large fat-free, no-foam latte as a bit of a snack in the mid-afternoon, but that's a pricey habit if you annual-ize it....