Where do you buy coffee?

[GoinAllTheWay]

I've been using a Keurig at home for years now as sadly, I'm the only one in my house that drinks coffee. Good enough for weekday mornings but I'd like better coffee on weekends. Bought a french press but not sure where to buy decent coffee for it. Really don't want to grind my own beans, could never get the consistency right. I just want to buy some good quality coarse grind coffee. I know they sell coffee in bulk at coop and the likes but I think it's that Van Houte crap that I really don't like all that much.

[ResAlien]

Pretty sure the lion's share of pre ground coffee will be finely ground for drip machines. If you're wanting to use the French press you're better off buying a burr grinder ($30) and grinding your own. It's worth it for the coffee quality anyhow.

If you're insistent on not grinding your own beans you're better off buying one of those little 4 cup drip machines and using that. But blech, so gross.

Edit: to answer your question any coffee shop that sells beans should grind whatever you like to your requested coarseness level.

[Fuzz]

You could go to the Roastarie and get them to grind it for you, suggest 1/2 pound bags if you are only having it on the weekend.

[calumniate]

Roasterie for sure yeah. French press needs to be done coarse as f.. I might recommend the aeropress as you can get away with a wider variety of grinds. You should probably just get a grinder though

[worth]

grind your own damn beans and stop using the keurig. bad coffee, expensive and bad for the environment.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Maybe it was just the grinder I was using. Certainly open to buying a better one if the consistency is there.

What kind of grinder do you suggest?

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Maybe it was just the grinder I was using. Certainly open to buying a better one if the consistency is there.

What kind of grinder do you suggest?

Any burr grinder is fine, just don't get a blade grinder. Those are crap and only fit for spices or punishing lippy children.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Ah, yes sorry, you mentioned that in your first response. OK, I'll pick one of those up too.

[Weitz]

We buy Kickinghorse beans when they are one sale at Safeway and grind them at home. Makes great coffee IMO

[gottabekd]

Coffee snobs say that you should brew within 15 minutes of grinding for absolute freshness. So whole bean coffee, kept airtight, ground right before your brew, is the way to go. You will need a burr grinder. The spinny blade ones that are sold as coffee grinders are terrible.

I saw a PC brand burr grinder at Superstore for about $40-50. Should be all you need for French press.

As for beans, I usually buy them from the grocery store, but from the fancy hipster organic section. Stay away from the aisle with the likes of Nabob, Folger's, Maxwell House, etc.

Unfortunately, many of these hipster organic brands at grocery stores like to cook the hell out of the beans. So many dark roasts, french roasts, medium dark roasts. I usually try to find a medium or light roast. Dark roasts only work somewhat decently in a French press, so if that's how you are brewing, then maybe a dark roast will do.

I think my preferred brand is Ethical Bean, but Kicking Horse and Salt Spring are also on the same shelf and can be a good change. I usually buy whatever is on sale, since they rotate every couple of weeks. Never buy it at full price. The difference can be from like $17 to $12 on sale.

If you really, really don't want to grind, it seems to be a trend that these brands are selling pre-ground beans. I don't know if I would recommend that. Maybe it would be best to go somewhere that grinds it for you so at least you know it was ground maybe a week ago instead of months.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Forgot about kickinghorse, thanks!

[undercoverbrother]

Whatever is on sale.

[PepsiFree]

I use a french press +
Decent on-sale coffee (Salt Spring a lot of times is on sale at co-op) +
A blade grinder (I'm bad person)

I will sometimes buy better coffee and I do use a manual drip once in a while.

Either way, I do it every morning and even with my junk grinder the coffee is better than a Keurig cup at not too much more time.

For buying your own coarse ground? Any coffee shop you like.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

49th Parallel. Just order online. They have 5lb bags too.

[Nyah]

I love Second Cup's medium roast Paradiso for the French press and their dark espresso beans for the espresso machine. Those are just my go-to, I love trying different kinds of coffee. Anyone have a recommendation for their favourite espresso beans?

[octothorp]

I swear by my Hario grinder. (Available locally and crate & barrell, probably cheaper elsewhere online).
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/hario-...rinder/s256234

You definitely need to go with the conical ceramic burr approach if you're having trouble getting a consistent grind.

Downsides to this one are that you've got to do the grinding by hand, and it's not easy to adjust it back and forth between different grinds. Great if you're going to set it once and then keep it there. There's also a lot of mods that people have made to this grinder to get even better performance out of it.

[Fuzz]

The best value burr grinder is the Baratza Encore. You can buy those cheaper ones, but they won't be as consistent, and will probably break in about 5 years or less. What I like about Baratza is they don't ever want you to throw your grinder away. All parts are available for reasonable prices and user replaceable. It's refreshing for a company to have that philosophy. Yes, it's $150 but you will have it for a long time, it will just work, and do a good job. It's far from the best grinder out there(don't go down that rabbit hole) but it is the best value. I think he even sells them at the Roastarie.

[PsYcNeT]

Bean Stop @ Eau Claire.

Always worth the trip. Love their custom blends. Also gimmie all of that Indian Monsooned Malabar.

[Hack&Lube]

What is your goal in your cup of coffee? French Press is not necessarily better. It's a specific preparation method to make a thick-bodied and coarse cup of coffee that does not neccessarily let a lot of flavors through as the soluble compounds have less exposure. In my experience, French press gets me a watery cup of bitter brew without a lot of the flavor nuances of the specific beans I'm using.

[J pold]

French Press most mornings. Generally something locally roasted (Rosso, Fratello, P&S) we also get Four Barrel from Luke's Drug Mart occasionally.

Fratello is the best in my opinion. The girlfriend likes P&S. Life is a compromise.