OK, Who has Given up caffeine? UGH!

[Charlie Davies]

Starbucks is overroasted sludge. Burnt does not equal good coffee.

I prefer a lighter roast, but I always thought that was just me being low-class.

[atb5161]

Starbucks is overroasted sludge. Burnt does not equal good coffee.

I'd second this. I normally go with my at-home single cup machine, which isn't that great, but whenever I'm out of town and get Starbucks it tastes like dirt.

[jkw]

I'd second this. I normally go with my at-home single cup machine, which isn't that great, but whenever I'm out of town and get Starbucks it tastes like dirt.

Personally I don't like starbucks drip coffee, but I think their espresso based drinks are fine.

[Chebass88]

Black. 1 pot per weekend day, 2-3 mugs per weekday.

The ratio I use is n TBSP grinds to 2n "cups" (as marked on the side of the caraffe). Tastes ok - not the best, but not the worst either.

[quinn]

Starbucks is overroasted sludge. Burnt does not equal good coffee.

This is exactly how I would describe Starbucks. Of course, I only drink it black - maybe the flavored up drinks are better. McDonald's ranks higher on my list than Starbucks.

I normally go with my at-home single cup machine, which isn't that great, but whenever I'm out of town and get Starbucks it tastes like dirt.

We have a Starbucks at work but I keep a Keurig in my office. It's cheaper and much tastier. I like Caribou and Donut Shop right now. Anybody have some recommended flavors?

[SpinyNorman]

Level 10 coffee is getting the beans green, and roasting them yourself.

Seriously, one of the best things I ever got out of Mark Rippetoe was the Sweet Marias link. It's not even that expensive.

Starbucks is overroasted sludge. Burnt does not equal good coffee.

I also got into home roasting after seeing it discussed around here. Coffee roasting has become a very fun, tasty and useful hobby. Coffee from fresh roasted beans is absolutely fantastic. It should be called something else so it isn't accidentally confused with the stuff you buy elsewhere.

Prior to roasting my own coffee I had no idea there was so much variability in the tastes of coffees from different countries/regions. My favorite ones have been Ethiopian dry process, but everything I have ordered form Sweet Maria's has been good.

[Peoria]

I also got into home roasting after seeing it discussed around here. Coffee roasting has become a very fun, tasty and useful hobby. Coffee from fresh roasted beans is absolutely fantastic. It should be called something else so it isn't accidentally confused with the stuff you buy elsewhere.

Prior to roasting my own coffee I had no idea there was so much variability in the tastes of coffees from different countries/regions. My favorite ones have been Ethiopian dry process, but everything I have ordered form Sweet Maria's has been good.

I'm another Sweet Maria's convert thanks to this forum and I agree with all of this wholeheartedly. But my family has been less than enthusiastic about the process itself: My 10-year-old walked into the kitchen the first time I was roasting and said it smells like a car broke down in here.

[SpinyNorman]

I'm another Sweet Maria's convert thanks to this forum and I agree with all of this wholeheartedly. But my family has been less than enthusiastic about the process itself: My 10-year-old walked into the kitchen the first time I was roasting and said it smells like a car broke down in here.

I started off with a popcorn poppper to try roasting, and my wife wasn't a huge fan of the smoke and chaff that filled up the kitchen. She did love the coffee though, so she put up with it. Once I sprung for a dedicated roaster I haven't had any problem with chaff and the smoke has been pretty minimal. My kids are too young to complain about the smell. Sometimes they pull over a chair so they can watch the beans toss around in the drum (once in a while kids 3 and under are easily amused).

[Erok]

it smells like a car broke down in here.

reminds me of a neighborhood I used to live in: a coffee roaster was nearby, which I didn't know, but I could always smell it very well. I would blame it on the soup kitchen down the block - "How the hell can they manage to burn so much toast EV-RY GOL-DANG MORNING?"

[Karl Schudt]

All of my PRs for the past year have been fueled by Sweet Maria's.

We use a WhirlyPop. It's really not so bad. I like the smell. I empty the roasted beans into a big metal colander and take them outside. I shake them around and blow on them, and the chaff blows away. Sometimes the wind does the job for me.