• We should now be fully online following an overnight outage. Apologies for any inconvenience, we do not expect there to be any further issues.

Difference between gourmet coffee and regular coffee?

jinduy

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2002
4,781
1
81
or are they one and the same?


just wondering... is gourmet coffee laced with some extra flavoring or something?
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
34,809
1,989
126
Those are just words. Don't pay attention to them. The best coffee I've ever had is CDM. Cafe du Monde. It's like $.69 per bag at the grocery stores in the deep south.
 

Siddhartha

Lifer
Oct 17, 1999
12,505
3
81
There are two species of coffee, Robusta and Arabica. Robusta coffee grows well in hot and low water environments and is the most plentiful and cheapest type of coffee. Robusta type coffee is usually machined harvested and processed using a dry method. This is why Robustas tend to taste "dirty". Robustas tend to taste "peanuty" too. Robusta coffee has a higher caffeine content than Arabicas.

Arabica coffees are grown along mountainsides and in areas with abundant rain fall. They are harvested by hand and processed using the wet method. Arabica coffee tend to have "winey", "sour", "acidic", and cleaner (than Robusta) flavors. Since they are picked by hand the flavor quality tends to be more consistent than Robusta coffee.

Gourmet coffees usually are 100% Arabicas thus are the most expensive. The cheaper the coffee the more Robustas is used in the blend.

What tastes good is cultural. I know someone who prefers to drink coffee that has a high percentage of Robustas. I personally do not like the taste of the coffee from Brazil. I prefer a good quality medium to dark roasted Columbian coffee. I like good quality coffees from Kenya, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Kona too.
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
just buy any arabica and stay away from canned stuff. buy beans and grind when needed. keep in cool place and don't buy too much at a time, coffee doesn't stay fresh long. use burr grinder, those rotary ones make uneven grind. too much extraction and too little at the same time thanks to uneven grind.
 

pyonir

Lifer
Dec 18, 2001
40,856
321
126
I really don't care what kind it is. As long as it isn't too damn strong, and is hot, i'm fine.
 

DT4K

Diamond Member
Jan 21, 2002
6,944
3
81
Make a pot of Folgers.
Then make a pot of Starbucks, Gevalia, or Seattle's Best.
Big difference.

I don't like the South American beans. Columbian, etc.
I prefer a good Sumatran.
 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
33
86
$$$

There are four types of coffee:
Bad coffee.
Good coffee.
Fresh coffee (get yourself a popcorn popper and roast, man!)
Flavored coffee.

Guess which one is usually "gormet" and sucks.
Guess which one is actually the bad, burnt batches with some syrup or oil splattered on them.
Guess which one the people who roast coffee for a living never drink or eat themselves, but gladly sell.
 

gistech1978

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2002
5,047
0
0
Originally posted by: isekii
I've always wanted to try Blue Mountain.

my parents got back from jamaica a couple of weeks ago, they picked some of this up.
they go on and on about it, i told them they had better save enough so we can brew a pot when i come to visit
i wanna see what all the hype is about and cant wait to try some. im sure it is good though.
 

V00DOO

Diamond Member
Dec 2, 2000
3,817
2
81
Stay away from Blue Mountain they are very additctive and expensive as well. Once you taste Blue Mountain coffee, you can't drink the crap they served at Starbuck or Regular coffee shop. I got some blue moutain off Egay for cheap, but be aware not all Blue Mountain are created equal. You get way you paid. I have tried the Seattle Best from Costco but can't stand the taste. Can anyone recommend a cheaper brand with comparable taste with Blue Mountain?
 

Squisher

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
21,204
66
91
I've had some coffees that rivaled Jamaican Blue Mountain in taste.

The problem with a lot of gourmet coffees is that are usually expensive and therefore don't move too well in the store and tend to get stale sitting on the shelf. Spent $50/lb. on Jamaican Blue Mountain the last time I bought it.

 

DT4K

Diamond Member
Jan 21, 2002
6,944
3
81
Originally posted by: Squisher
I've had some coffees that rivaled Jamaican Blue Mountain in taste.

The problem with a lot of gourmet coffees is that are usually expensive and therefore don't move too well in the store and tend to get stale sitting on the shelf. Spent $50/lb. on Jamaican Blue Mountain the last time I bought it.
I am a big time coffee drinker, but if you spend $50 a pound on any coffee, you need help.

 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
Originally posted by: Cerb
$$$

There are four types of coffee:
Bad coffee.
Good coffee.
Fresh coffee (get yourself a popcorn popper and roast, man!)
Flavored coffee.

Guess which one is usually "gormet" and sucks.
Guess which one is actually the bad, burnt batches with some syrup or oil splattered on them.
Guess which one the people who roast coffee for a living never drink or eat themselves, but gladly sell.

well you can buy flavour syrups, so that solves the flavor coffee bit.
 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
33
86
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
Originally posted by: Cerb
$$$

There are four types of coffee:
Bad coffee.
Good coffee.
Fresh coffee (get yourself a popcorn popper and roast, man!)
Flavored coffee.

Guess which one is usually "gormet" and sucks.
Guess which one is actually the bad, burnt batches with some syrup or oil splattered on them.
Guess which one the people who roast coffee for a living never drink or eat themselves, but gladly sell.

well you can buy flavour syrups, so that solves the flavor coffee bit.

Yes, you can, but why would you? Good coffee has plenty of flavor(s) on its own.
 

glen

Lifer
Apr 28, 2000
15,995
1
81
Originally posted by: isekii
I've always wanted to try Blue Mountain.
It is actually not that good.
In fact, it is close to being one fo the worst coffees I have ever roasted.
It was JBM, Mavis Bank, which comes in the wooden barrels. I roasted it myself, so I knwo it was both properly roasted and fresh.