I guess the diary of my previous coffee search, when I was looking for a replacement for my 50-50 mix of Peet’s Blend 101 and Sulawesi-Kalosi, after they went downhill, was on Chowhound. I ended up settling on Trader Joe’s Bay Blend, which they discontinued this spring.
While my age discrimination case wends its way through the courts, I’ve tried a lot of alternatives. I buy whole beans, grind in a burr grinder, use Melitta #4 unbleached filters in a Bonavita coffee maker with an insulated carafe.
I roasted my own for a few years. When I say “dark roast,” I mean past second crack, well into the zone that ignorant fanatical third-wave roasters will say makes all beans taste the same, or is simply burned and undrinkable.
pretty good but not the best:
- supermarket: Peet’s French Roast - second best of all I’ve tried to date
- supermarket: Peet’s House Blend - passable but not as good as the French Roast
- Costco: Peet’s Coffee Major Dickason’s Blend - ditto
did not like:
- Amazon: AmazonFresh Go for the Bold
- Costco: Kirkland Signature Espresso Blend
- Costco: Kirkland Signature French Roast
- Costco: San Francisco Bay French Roast
- Costco(?): Starbucks French Roast
- Oakland Coffee: Father of All Dark Roasts
not dark roast:
- Costco: Lavazza Tierra Organic Italian Roast
- Costco: Lavazza Caffé Espresso 100% Premium Arabica
- Verve Bronson (“our darkest roast”)