Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Coffee: the last legal high
Last week-end, we drove down to Summer Lake Hot Springs, a couple of hours from here, down in cowboy country. Turned out to be a swell place: a properly funky bathhouse made out of corrugated tin with sufficient bullet holes in the roof, and rather modern little cabins with coffee makers, microwaves, fridges, and two burner stoves. I looked out the back door and there were obsidian chips on the ground; debris from the original inhabitants of the area.
Very relaxing and very satisfying. A nice way to sidle back into exercising in water, after the three months lay-off with a broken leg…
It was so quiet and calm down there, it’s been hard to get back into watching the world go to hell in a fighter jet.
—got to get on the stick. Ahh, a cup of coffee! For years, some of us have been kvetching that Starbucks’ coffee was over-roasted. It always seemed to have a burnt flavor. Apparently, other people feel the same way.
Saturday, February 3, 2007 - 12:00 AM
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003554556&zsection_id=2002107549&slug=coffee03&date=20070203
A bitter shot for Starbucks: McDonald's wins taste test
By Seattle Times staff and news services
NEW YORK — There's nothing average about the Joe at McDonald's.
The Golden Arches beat out java giants Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, along with Burger King, in a coffee taste test run by Consumer Reports magazine.
The magazine proclaimed McDonald's Premium Roast Coffee had "no flaws" and was easiest on the wallet.
"Try McDonald's, which was cheapest and best," Consumer Reports says in its March issue. "Or make your own coffee."
Of the four, McDonald's cost the least, $1.35, on average.
It "was decent and moderately strong," the magazine says, "although it lacked the top notes needed to make it rise and shine."
Starbucks might have the most vocal fan club among the caffeine crowd, but its $1.55-a-cup brew was deemed ordinary. "Strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open," the report said.
***
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Very relaxing and very satisfying. A nice way to sidle back into exercising in water, after the three months lay-off with a broken leg…
It was so quiet and calm down there, it’s been hard to get back into watching the world go to hell in a fighter jet.
—got to get on the stick. Ahh, a cup of coffee! For years, some of us have been kvetching that Starbucks’ coffee was over-roasted. It always seemed to have a burnt flavor. Apparently, other people feel the same way.
Saturday, February 3, 2007 - 12:00 AM
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003554556&zsection_id=2002107549&slug=coffee03&date=20070203
A bitter shot for Starbucks: McDonald's wins taste test
By Seattle Times staff and news services
NEW YORK — There's nothing average about the Joe at McDonald's.
The Golden Arches beat out java giants Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, along with Burger King, in a coffee taste test run by Consumer Reports magazine.
The magazine proclaimed McDonald's Premium Roast Coffee had "no flaws" and was easiest on the wallet.
"Try McDonald's, which was cheapest and best," Consumer Reports says in its March issue. "Or make your own coffee."
Of the four, McDonald's cost the least, $1.35, on average.
It "was decent and moderately strong," the magazine says, "although it lacked the top notes needed to make it rise and shine."
Starbucks might have the most vocal fan club among the caffeine crowd, but its $1.55-a-cup brew was deemed ordinary. "Strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open," the report said.
***
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
