Bad Coffee?

[TheIronMonkey]

Years ago, I picked up a tin of Chase & Sanborn coffee at Eckerd’s out of curiosity. It was by far, and easily the worst canned coffee I’ve ever had—it amounted to brown coloured water with very little to no coffee flavour regardless of brewing time. I found online reviews that confirmed my own experience, which gave me a good laugh.

 

[anotherbob]

I always watch those mre videos and see the instant coffee packs and cringe when the guy says “it’s good”
How can mre stale instant freeze dry be good!?

instant coffee is supposedly better these days but even the best I've tried still had a weird flatness and weird flavor profile I've only experienced in instant coffee (which actually is a pretty decent addition to chocolate cake made from scratch for some reason). But the stuff that goes into not "fancy" instant coffee is basically rejected coffee. So yeah anyone that says the mre coffee is good must be high or lost their tongue in the war.

 

[anotherbob]

When my wife was a young lady she was working a job where the only coffee available after hours was from one of those coffee machines. She needed some caffeine so she dropped in a coin and pressed the button. The cup dropped down, followed by a live cockroach falling into the cup. Then the coffee was dispensed into the cup. Would this be considered bad coffee?

Dude the roach liked it. I think that's the definition of great coffee right there. Honestly having had that kind of coffee before the roach might have improved that stuff. I don't even consider that coffee.

 

[anotherbob]

Not the worst but not good. At my one work location they have a Kerig that grinds the beans before making your coffee. The coffee is pretty decent not great but good. It's got a lot of options and most of them are pretty decent. It has one that is labeled espresso style. I could taste the style more then the espresso.

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

Dude the roach liked it. I think that's the definition of great coffee right there.

I know, right? Being such a little guy he probably didn’t even drink much of it, so I am not sure why my wife was upset by it.

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

instant coffee is supposedly better these days

My wife keeps the Cafe Bustelo instant coffee on hand for a quick iced coffee. Coffee screws up my gut so I don’t drink it often, but I have tried it both iced and hot and it is definitely at a higher level than the typical instant coffees I have tried in the past. It has a hint of chocolate flavor even though it supposedly isn’t a flavored coffee.

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

Getting back to the original question. All flavored coffee is bad coffee IMHO. Especially hazelnut, or maybe pumpkin spice.

 

[tartanphantom]

Getting back to the original question. All flavored coffee is bad coffee IMHO. Especially hazelnut, or maybe pumpkin spice.

Not going to argue with you on that observation.

 

[prairiedruid]

Amazing what a splash of brandy can do for a cup of coffee!

 

[tartanphantom]

Amazing what a splash of brandy can do for a cup of coffee!

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

View attachment 440275

Allen’s Coffee Brandy: The Champagne of Maine

This was part of the culture growing up in Maine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen's_Coffee_Brandy

 

[tartanphantom]

Allen’s Coffee Brandy: The Champagne of Maine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen's_Coffee_Brandy

Free lobster trap in every box!

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

Free lobster trap in every box!

Free lobster lobsta trap in every box!

Fixed it for you

 

[tartanphantom]

Free lobster lobsta trap in every box!

Fixed it for you

That's too "haahd" to pronounce when you're from the South.

 

[username]

Bills brew.(The freeze dried stuff in current mres).isnt that bad but I read they were transitioning away from coffee in mres.

 

[anotherbob]

Bills brew.(The freeze dried stuff in current mres).isnt that bad but I read they were transitioning away from coffee in mres.

Are they replacing it with some other caffeine? I know there was talk of caffeinated gums being more effective in the field.

 

[username]

Are they replacing it with some other caffeine? I know there was talk of caffeinated gums being more effective in the field.

I believe so . First strike rations have caffeinated gum in them.

 

[anotherbob]

I believe so . First strike rations have caffeinated gum in them.

it's certainly more convenient. It's also amazing how low of a dose of caffeine taken in gum will increase alertness but also clear out of your system with less crash and in a shorter time frame. Which makes it great for the last few hours of work for instance, without interfering with sleep latter.

 

[MontyTX]

I consider myself a serious coffee lover and the absolutely worst coffee that I have ever had is Starbucks. It might be alright if you drink it latte style, but a cup of Starbucks coffee black is just bitter garbage. Rant over.

Ah, but have you tried brewing Pike Place yourself? 205F, clever dripper with paper filter, 2.5 minutes, 10oz water to 20g grounds? Just ignore the “medium roast” label on the bag Happens to go really well with cake for breakfast, and my burley and cob afterwards.

I got into roasting my own coffee for a couple years, but I only have time and mental bandwidth for a small number of hobbies.

 

[pinem]

Memorable bad coffee:

Instant coffee out of the old coffee vending machines. Choosing the "whitener" option only made it worse.

Almost all gas stations back when robusto coffee was brewed with a Brunn into a glass carafe on a burner. Arabica coffee brewed into the thermal carafes is so much better now (still not great, but it is drinkable).

The new coffee makers at gas stations now (first seen at Casey's) that supposedly grind the coffee and then brew it on the spot. They usually show three different clear reservoirs of whole beans on top. Hot, scalding, semi-coffee flavored water. Like bad instant coffee from the old days. If I see one of those now, I just skip the coffee and get a cold brew in a can or energy drink. A real step back in gas station coffee.