# Last Resort for Coffee



## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

Hi everyone









If you run out of fresh beans then what would you drink, costa/starbucks beans espresso or instant coffee?

I for one think stale beans taste better then nescafe/kenco instant coffee!


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## ChrisP (Jun 19, 2011)

if i couldn't get freshly roasted beans I'd have a cup of tea.


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

ChrisP said:


> if i couldn't get freshly roasted beans I'd have a cup of tea.


ha ha

thats not a option as I dislike tea


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## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

During the spell of bad weather last year we had no deliveries, the best I could do was Illy pre ground, It did make me appreciate good coffee even more when normal service was resumed!


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

One more vote for 'no coffee rather than bad coffee'. Tea. Hot choc. Wine. Beer. Coke.


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

interesting

i am not used to fresh coffee and for all my life have only known instant coffee and starbucks/costa,

I do need at least 2 coffees a day otherwise I get cranky so no coffee is a no no









if I do get better hardware and make some good shots then maybe I might start to think like that too but then again I doubt i can go a day with no coffee!


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

Well seeing as it is the festive period I'd replace coffee with nice home made Glühwein!


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## buzzbuzzbuzz (Sep 1, 2011)

Another vote for going without if I can't get decent, freshly roasted coffee (or afford it due to being on a very low income!).

I started out on Starbucks beans and now I find them very oily and bitter. I won't go back to them no matter what happens.

If this makes me a snob, then so be it.

Oh and before I forget... Happy Solstice to everyone on the forum!

Buzz


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Not snob. I wouldn't eat crap food and that doesn't make me a food snob


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

BTW good to see you pop in every now n then, buzz


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

I get why you guys are saying that but come on, stale beans are better then instant coffee any day.

For those of us who cant live without coffee and on low income we gotta make do with what we can get.


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## Boomdijk (Dec 6, 2011)

nekromantik said:


> I get why you guys are saying that but come on, stale beans are better then instant coffee any day.
> 
> For those of us who cant live without coffee and on low income we gotta make do with what we can get.


 I think that sometimes people here are a bit over the top when coffee is concerned. I know that good coffee is wonderful and a lot better than pre ground or a blend of beans of a major brand, but they are expensive.

When you are on a low, fixed income you take it as you can get it. Enjoy the coffee you can make and when better times arrive LOVE the good stuff!

I hope your times will get better soon!


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## buzzbuzzbuzz (Sep 1, 2011)

Nekro - I am also on a low income but one of the differences between us is I drink coffee made in a cafetiere and you drink espresso...

Now, if I remember what I've read elsewhere correctly... The amount of caffeine in a cup of espresso is lower than in a cup from a cafetiere due to the much lower extraction time. (50-80mg compared to approx 150mg).

I know that two 8oz cups from a cafetiere will get me buzzing (give me three - I'm flying, five and I fall apart so quickly other people get hit by the shrapnel!







).

You're right though, anything is better than instant so if you feel comfortable using shop bought coffee - go for it. All the rest of us are doing is answering your initial question with our honest (and personal) opinion*. There is no right or wrong answer here.

Mike - Thanks for your kind words. I do visit and read all the posts on a daily basis, but, if I don't have anything to add to a discussion, I don't post. (See - I said I'd calm down eventually!







)

*As someone much better than me once said, "Opinions are like arseholes... Everyone has one and they usually stink!"

Buzz


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

Completely agree with... If I'm to choose a store bought bean then I opt for Taylor's. Usually on offer too. Last time I was in Asda and Tesco it was 2 for £6.00! Bargain! So usually keep a bag or two in the cupboard for emergency purposes.

Tastes great in the Cafetiere! I usually start the day with an Espresso whilst the Cafetiere is brewing and then I can sit back on a lazy Sunday with a big mug of the stuff. Cafetiere is so much tastier than Americano due do infusion times. It's like fresh orange compared against diluted orange cordial.

The water dilution of Espresso just seems to take the kick out of it whereas the Cafetiere just infuses the coffee better due to the brew time.

I might be talking rubbish in some peoples view but I knows what I prefer







There is no right or wrong


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

Boomdijk said:


> I think that sometimes people here are a bit over the top when coffee is concerned. I know that good coffee is wonderful and a lot better than pre ground or a blend of beans of a major brand, but they are expensive.
> 
> When you are on a low, fixed income you take it as you can get it. Enjoy the coffee you can make and when better times arrive LOVE the good stuff!
> 
> I hope your times will get better soon!


Thanks

yeah times are hard! Need to find a job soon. ha ha



buzzbuzzbuzz said:


> Nekro - I am also on a low income but one of the differences between us is I drink coffee made in a cafetiere and you drink espresso...
> 
> Now, if I remember what I've read elsewhere correctly... The amount of caffeine in a cup of espresso is lower than in a cup from a cafetiere due to the much lower extraction time. (50-80mg compared to approx 150mg).
> 
> ...


Im not saying there is a right or wrong









Im just stating im opinion that I think some coffee is better then none.


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## Fran (Dec 27, 2010)

I found myself at Starbucks West Hampstead this morning, buying one of my guilty pleasures, an 'Eggnog latte' (I get it only for the eggnog flavour, I consider it dessert drink, in no way is it a coffee!). I knew I had no beans at home, and saw their Christmas blend by the till. I picked up the packet of beans, thought about it, an put it back down.

So, in reply to the OP, when given the opportunity of buying Starbucks beans when I'm dry at home, I'd rather stay dry!


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

I wish I had the willpower to go without coffee for a day! ha ha


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

> The water dilution of Espresso just seems to take the kick out of it whereas the Cafetiere just infuses the coffee better due to the brew time.


I have found this to occur even when adding only a small amount of water to what would be a great tasting espresso. Its very frustrating and I'm not sure how to get a full tasting, strong americano without using 3 double shots!

To be honest I work for Taylors and have used some of our espresso beans that weren't that fresh. You get a great shot but it just feels quite diminished.

Like listening to an orchestra with ear plugs in. Still good though and still worth buying from the supermarket if you can't get fresh. A way to try to get the freshest beans there is to check the Julian Date code on the back of the pack as this states what day it was roasted on. Todays julian code is 1352 (I think).

Having tried all of our blends, if they are all on offer I would definitely recommend the Guatemalan Cloud Forest or After Dark (fantastic dark roast) rather than Lazy Sunday which has such a large number of beans in it its hard to pick up anything particularly special about it.


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

fatboyslim said:


> I have found this to occur even when adding only a small amount of water to what would be a great tasting espresso. Its very frustrating and I'm not sure how to get a full tasting, strong americano without using 3 double shots!
> 
> To be honest I work for Taylors and have used some of our espresso beans that weren't that fresh. You get a great shot but it just feels quite diminished.
> 
> ...


I will try Taylors once my costa beans have run out after I run out of James Gormet beans!

I am very tempted to buy 1kg of hands on beans as for £14 inc delivery its a very good price.


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

Hey there fatboy. Something for you to suggest to your Taylor's web team... would be really useful if you put a feature on there to find the dates so we can find what date our beans were roasted. Either a search facility or even a simple list would be enough







that along with the current julian date at the top


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

I know it sounds like a good idea gazbea but we make beans and ground coffee with a 17 month best before (or shelf life) and due to stock rotations and such it would be quite possible to purchase some Taylors from the supermarket that was roasted over 6 months ago. It will still taste great due to being packed in a modified atmosphere but just won't taste fresh for someone who expects freshness. To the people that would be interested in knowing how long ago it was roasted, I think knowing it was 6 months old may not be so appealing.

Might be interesting to compare to other supermarket coffees such as lavazza or illy as they will all use similar dating systems for their traceability.

I have also suggested doing a fresh gourmet range that would be roasted and posted daily. Personally I think it could turn a profit but they didn't seem interested.


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## drk (Nov 22, 2011)

Ach, some supermarket stuff is drinkable. If every cup of coffee we dram was wonderful, it would become the norm!


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

drk said:


> Ach, some supermarket stuff is drinkable. If every cup of coffee we dram was wonderful, it would become the norm!


A fine target to aim for. It's a sad state of affairs when the norm is shite.


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

Thats why I work for a coffee company, I can get 500g of excellent espresso beans for 50p!

Every cup is great for me


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

I'm lucky enough to have a bakery down the street that brews Monmouth and sells retail bags, all pretty fresh, so I very rarely need to turn to supermarket beans. But when I do go to prepackaged beans, I will usually get Illy or Lavazza, simply because I am familiar enough with their flavour profiles to be able to ask myself, "am I in more of an Illy or a Lavazza mood today?"

I persist in believing that prepackaged beans are, on the whole, quite good, as long as they are enjoyed relatively promptly after the package (can, bag, whatever) is opened. But I never have good luck with them after the second or third (if pushing boundaries) day. So for me they really are a just-to-tide-me-over-until-the-postman-comes sort of extravagance.


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## sicknote (Sep 5, 2011)

M & S Italian roast as a last resort.......


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## bobbytoad (Aug 12, 2011)

On this note are there any roasters working /shipping tomorrow? reserves are running low eek!


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

bobbytoad said:


> On this note are there any roasters working /shipping tomorrow? reserves are running low eek!


 MacBeans (http://www.macbeans.com) in Aberdeen is roasting. I like their Espresso Gold quite a lot, and they have a lot of other good varieties as well. And I believe I saw a tweet from Tim Wendelboe in Norway that he'll be roasting tomorrow as well. MacBeans can probably get coffee to you before the weekend (delivery to me in Berkshire is typically 1-2 days); I'm not sure about Wendelboe.


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## SlowRoast (Sep 24, 2010)

Last resort for me would be Costa beans, the discount makes it seem not so bad for month old beans! Even when we first get them delivered they're nearly a month old, oh dear...


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## bobbytoad (Aug 12, 2011)

Thanks for the tip off - though given the other threads on here and mac beans praise for kopi luwak I'll be giving them a miss.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

bobbytoad said:


> Thanks for the tip off - though given the other threads on here and mac beans praise for kopi luwak I'll be giving them a miss.


Didn't know they were supporters of kopi luwak. Thanks for this. Will also give them a miss.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Also noticed them pushing kopi luwak on their facebook recently.been in their shop before as my other half lives in Aberdeen but never bought anything. Don't imagine I will now!


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## a-j (Nov 6, 2011)

Disaster struck before Christmas - my holiday order from CoffeeBeanShop disappeared in the post (they have promised to send a replacement, but they don't open till 3 Jan). Now I'm out of beans, so picked up some Union Revelation from Waitrose, which (today at least) has tasted quite OK. I'm curious about the "best before 20 Jul 12" stamp - does anyone know how to translate that into a roasting date (hopefully not 20 Jul 11...)?


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

Yes, there must be a julian date code on the pack as part of their traceability.

It will look something like: 1295 which is basically the date 2011 making up the first digit then the 3 digit date number.

For example January 1st 2011 is: 1001

If they are anything like Taylors, we make our coffee with a 17 month shelf life so this coffee will have been made some time in early January or late December 2010.

M & S have a 12 month shelf life on their coffee...

If it doesn't have that then its more than likely the best before will be the exact date it was produced on 12 or 17 or 18 months previously.


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## a-j (Nov 6, 2011)

fatboyslim said:


> Yes, there must be a julian date code on the pack as part of their traceability.
> 
> It will look something like: 1295 which is basically the date 2011 making up the first digit then the 3 digit date number.
> 
> For example January 1st 2011 is: 1001


No such luck, just a bar code. I may just give them a call next week to find out (and order a fresh pack so I can find out what it's really supposed to taste like...)


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## Keef (Dec 7, 2011)

fatboyslim said:


> To be honest I work for Taylors


 You must live close to me then? My neighbour also works for them, I've not tried Taylors coffee yet sounds like it might be hard to get fresh beans?


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

Trust me, they will have some sort of production date on so I'm guessing its the best before take off 12 months or so, so take a lucky guess how far ahead they date it.

As I said M&S is 12 months so I imagine Waitrose to be similar.

Also Waitrose won't roast and package their own coffee just like M&S and ASDA don't do their's but I have no idea who does...wink wink









I could probably find out if you were really interested.

Keef I noticed you lived nearby, who is your friend? Not that I no everybody.

Working very close to production it is possible to get impossibly fresh beans, you just have to know the right people....like me


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## Keef (Dec 7, 2011)

Don't want to put peoples names on forums without there knowledge, sent you a PM


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## a-j (Nov 6, 2011)

fatboyslim said:


> Also Waitrose won't roast and package their own coffee just like M&S and ASDA don't do their's but I have no idea who does...wink wink


It's Union Roasters coffee in their (Union's) original packaging.


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