Any coffee connoisseurs?

Peri

My sister says "fancy coffee" would be a good gift for my BIL. I don't drink coffee...love the smell, don't love the taste.

What would qualify as "fancy" in the coffee world? I don't think we have to talk world class, just above run of the mill. Would Starbucks count, a selection of small bags? Something from Whole Foods or Williams Sonoma?

Is there a great online source for something a cut above the norm?

12 years ago

Off Topic

28 replies

Latest reply was from Louise

Peri

Veteran

Oh, rats, meant to put off topic. Sorry!!!!!

12 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

Sorry I am not much help because I am a tea drinker. I like Twinings tea and have given their coffee as gifts with much success in the past. They have a couple of different flavors.
http://shop.twinings.co.uk/sho.....l-bag.html

12 years ago

minimalist

Veteran

Kopi Luwak is a rare Indonesian specialty bean. Oh wait, that's not what you're after.

Not Starbucks, unless that's specifically what he likes. Some WholeFoods have local roasters' beans, and their staff can advise.

12 years ago

Anonymous

Most men don't seem to care for flavored coffees unless it is to add a flavored syrup, so I'd pass on pumpkin pie flavored coffee. Two fancy regular coffees (and pricey) Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kona. Both are rich in flavor and smooth. You might ask whether your BIL likes a light, medium or dark roast no matter what you get. It makes a difference to the coffee drinker.
(In an earlier part of life I was a barista)

12 years ago

rebekahphoto

Veteran

we love Stumptown, they are originally from Portland, Or. Have great business practices.The website has lots of information on it you can check out.

http://stumptowncoffee.com/

12 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Fair trade....fair trade....

12 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I love coffee, but I'm not picky. Starbucks tastes a bit 'burnt' to some, including me. Over roasted, you could say. If in doubt, go with a medium bodied blend and like Suz said, fair trade and shade grown if you can find it. I have a funny memory of not buying Blue Mtn. coffee off a farmer while hiking in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. Found out later at the airport it was $25 a pound (20 years ago). Should have bought in the hills on site lol.

12 years ago

Diana

Veteran

This is a local-to-me coffee roaster. The guy who started the company used to be a barista at my favorite local coffee shop, and he still supplies their espresso beans.

http://barismo.com/

I also like La Colombe from Philadelphia:

http://www.lacolombe.com/

12 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Peets! Vicious stuff. My friend's husband sends to California from Pennsylvania for it. Alternatively, there's Blue Bottle, which is milder. I'd say Blue Mountain like Joy, as my dad was born in Jamaica, but the best of it goes to Japan these days. Very hard to get good Blue Mountain.

Personally, I like the way the Italians do coffee.

12 years ago

Veteran

I'm a tea girl not coffee, but I vote for something fair trade and shade grown (which means the coffee plantation didn't cut down all its trees to plant coffee and thus birds didn't lose their habitat)!

12 years ago

Jacky

Veteran

I personally don't drink coffee, but my city is a huge coffee city, and people seem to like Blue Bottle (http://www.bluebottlecoffee.com/) and Ritual coffee (http://www.ritualroasters.com/). One of my friends has a ridiculous drip coffee set from Ritual - he even brought it with us the last time we went car camping, much to the chagrin of some of my more hardcore camper friends.

12 years ago

kellygirl

Veteran

I'm not a connoisseur by any means but I wouldn't consider Starbuck's specialty. I drink Peet's. The have a holiday blend if you want something seasonal.

12 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

I buy Peets whole beans.

12 years ago

minimalist

Veteran

Peri, does your BIL have a grinder?

We've all gone off talking whole beans, but to some people, "fancy coffee" means flavored pre-ground. In grad school, I had a housemate whose idea of decadent coffee was pre-ground [brand censored] from a can, with various flavored creamers. It made her happy. And she was a toxicology PhD, go figure.

P.S. please not Williams Sonoma. What E said about shade-grown. Even if you have to have it pre-ground, add flavoring yourself and vacuum-pack it, it's worth choosing fair-trade and humane-grown coffee.

12 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Jacky, I had to laugh about the ridiculous Ritual drip coffee set. I used to make the long walk of shame with my dog to Ritual coffee because they had a good baker who made almost real scones.

I'd go with Starbucks over Ritual to be honest, but Starbucks isn't special.

12 years ago

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

Me, me.

My home town Wellington has a huge cafe culture - http://www.fishhead.co.nz/arti.....kings.aspx

My first question would be how does he drink coffee at the moment, and where does he drink it? Does he prefer espresso or standard coffee from a machine?

If he is a real coffee fan and drinks locally roasted and black then I would suggest getting him a Chemex (these look good as well as making great coffee) or a Swiss Gold filter.

If you do want to get beans, and he has a grinder I would get a small amount of locally roasted. Beans loose freshness quickly after they have been roasted.

If he has an espresso machine at home, then how about some espresso cups and saucers?

I go to an amazing little cafe in Wellington. I had a beautiful Rawandan coffee the other day.

Have I bored you all now?

12 years ago

Charmian

Veteran

I've been to Ritual and Blue Bottle both -- I gotta say, you Bay Area folks need to trek up here for Vivace

http://espressovivace.com/catalog/order.php

12 years ago

kkards

Veteran

i'm lazy, so i would just find a local coffee place, go in, and ask them what you can buy for the amount you want to spend. many of them will even have a nice mug with there name on it. my local place will make a gift "basket" with a nice wrapping and a bow.

12 years ago

Sarah A

Veteran

If we are talking whole bean, id go locally roasted... If he can drink within 48 - 96 hours of roasting its ideal. Before 24 hrs the flavor hasnt ddvrloped and beyond a few days it starts to lose some of the finer complexities. I dont know your budget but received a home roaster and green beans which was a fantastic gift. You can buy green beans at the local roaster for about half of what a roasted pound of the same coffee runs, makes the shade grown fair trade run the same or less than the average beans. We roast just 1/2 c or so of beans which takes 15 min and have enjoyed 8 years of very fresh coffee so far!

12 years ago

Sarah A

Veteran

Grrr typos... Posting from phone

12 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

Prepackaged ground coffee -- even Peets -- is terrible. It is always very dry. So buy beans or have the coffee ground locally. No Starbucks.

12 years ago

Mochi

Veteran

Ooooh, another coffee conoisseur! I would also vouch for Stumptown Roasters above all. I also like Diana's rec of Barismo (but it's local and easy to get for me), and I think I had BlueBottle once and it's apparently got a reputation. One thing to predetermine is whether or not your BIL likes a dark or light roast. Starbucks did recently come out with a light roast (I think they call it "Blonde"). I don't know how it is. I keep buying Stumptown.

One type (not brand) I really really love is kona. It's a bean grown in Hawaii and is definitely on the pricey side, and available only seasonally around here (but this is the right time of year). It's very very smooth.

Make sure you get whole bean coffee.

12 years ago

Mochi

Veteran

And yes, do check the roasting dates. The Stumptown I just bought yesterday had been roasted only two days before. It is delicious! Coffee definitely goes stale.

12 years ago

Anonymous

Is there a local coffee shop that roasts its own beans? I'd go for that if it's an option.

12 years ago

Peri

Veteran

Oh wow and OMG!

Thanks for the amazing advice...all of it over my head! But stuff I need to find out! I am assuming he has his own grinder but I guess I'd better check.

Didn't know about: roasting, staleness, light-medium-dark, fair trade, shade!

This will be fun to learn and he will get a good present. Thank you all! We are not known as a coffee town, but I will check for local roasters first, as a fun way to get started.

12 years ago

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

If you go down the equipment route, it opens up many years of presents in the future. Not such a bad thing!

12 years ago

MovingFashionForward

Active Member

Get FRESHLY ROASTED whole beans. Like roasted and sent out to you the same day. I had some amazing Sumatra beans from Coffee Beans Direct in America (East coast I think) that were sent out the day they were roasted if that helps? If you were in England I would say just go to Whittard's and get some Old Brown Java beans. It does depend what kind of beans the person likes though. Can you find out before buying some? But whatever the person's taste, if the beans are FRESHLY ROASTED the chance is higher that they will be well-received.

Sarah

12 years ago

Louise

Veteran

I'm no coffee connoisseur but I put this http://www.kenco.co.uk/range/kenco-millicano/684 in a coffee hamper I've put together for Xmas for my uncle. I also included a bag of brown sugar and a couple of packets of posh biscuits as he always buys the cheap ones! X

12 years ago

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