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Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

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Discussions > Coffee > Q and A > Upgrading from...

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TMiller
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Jul 2012
Posts: 24
Location: Queens, New York
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 1:12am Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

Thank you so much for the advice everyone. I've always wanted to someday drink coffee made from freshly ground beans. Where would I go to have them ground? I'll definitely do it eventually, but I would probably be more interested in doing that in the future. First I want to try real coffee, rather than Folgers and Maxwell House. I couldn't believe how many different flavors there were on that website. I've been drinking supermarket coffee for so long that I had no idea. I can't wait to start experimenting with all the different types of coffee and finding my favorite flavors. It'll take some time but I'm looking forward to learning. By the way, how much of a difference would you say there is between the tastes of Folgers and the good beans that I'm looking to order?

TheSunInsideYou
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Joined: 16 Feb 2012
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Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 5:22am
Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

TMiller Said:

how much of a difference would you say there is between the tastes of Folgers and the good beans that I'm looking to order?

Posted July 29, 2012 link

A world of difference. But you'll limit it by pregrinding and using any of the money-saving methods that were just proposed. The coffee starts to stale about a minute after grinding and is pretty notable after 15 minutes. The flavors start to dull and you start to get a cardboard-y taste. You should scrounge together some cash and get yourself a cheap, but quality, hand grinder (like the Skerton) and a french press. Fresh grind for every use. Then you'll be able to see the world of difference that there really is.

-Dave-

Cerridwyn
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Joined: 6 Jun 2010
Posts: 402
Location: Inland Empire California
Expertise: I live coffee

Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 8:05am Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

Yes, Don Fransisco is a store brand. They also sell under a different name to many small local coffee places that do not roast their own. They are not fresh like a great place is. They were my first real introduction to coffee house coffee and away from what the store sells. You might also just google 'coffee queens' and see what comes up and read about those places that you can go to and try a cup. I know nothing about NY and did that and came up with "http://www.dallisbroscoffee.com/" I have no clue about their quality, but I am sure they are better than the store. Find a place, go in, befriend the barista, ask questions, learn. It works. Best of luck on your journey.

The world needs more outstanding coffee. do you game?: http://forum.paxcorvus.com http://www.outland.org

TMiller
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Jul 2012
Posts: 24
Location: Queens, New York
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 5:23pm Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

I'm sure there are tons of coffee houses near me, considering I live in NYC. I'll definitely look into it. Will this grinder do the job? And would I have to adjust the grind size to accommodate my coffee maker? Click Here (www.amazon.com) cerridwyn, I understand where you are coming from when you suggested that I stick with ground coffee and naturally progress. But the way I see it is that I will definitely upgrade to grinding my own beans one day and since I have the money to buy a grinder now, why not do it and upgrade to a better coffee maker and grinder in the future when I learn a bit more? I may be wrong and it may be better to experiment with ground coffee first since I am just getting past supermarket coffee. Also, could I make good coffee with just beans and a coffee maker without the french press? I think I'm going to do some more research on different brewing methods since I don't really know what a french press is.

TMiller
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Jul 2012
Posts: 24
Location: Queens, New York
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 6:58pm Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

Oh and one last question. If my coffee tastes kind of bland and disgusting with an bitter aftertaste that kind of tastes like tap water. Can it be the coffee maker or the coffee? I cleaned my Mr. Coffee out last night with vinegar so I don't think that it's dirty. For some reason, it seems to me that it tasted better back when I first purchased the coffee maker. Does anyone know what this may be caused by? Thanks once again.

Cerridwyn
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Joined: 6 Jun 2010
Posts: 402
Location: Inland Empire California
Expertise: I live coffee

Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 7:10pm Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

I would bet it is one of two things - the coffee itself or the water. Are you using tap water? Tap water in many parts of the US has a funky taste and that could be contributing to the strangeness. But grocery store coffee can be down right ancient. You might have gotten a lucky bag first. ****** Grinders I'm not sold on this concept completely but most of the geeks around here say that you are better off not buying a grinder until you can buy a great grinder. I actually grind a lot of my beans by hand with an inexpensive hario skerton grinder. It works fine for just about anything but espresso to me. You can read a review here - Click Here (www.coffeegeek.com) And the grinder in your picture is a blade grinder which is good for grinding nutmeg, but not for grinding coffee. You need a burr grinder. Cheap electric burr grinders are usually just that - cheap. I'm sure one of the others can recommend one to you but it will cost you more than that blade grinder you saw at Amazon.

The world needs more outstanding coffee. do you game?: http://forum.paxcorvus.com http://www.outland.org

TMiller
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Jul 2012
Posts: 24
Location: Queens, New York
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 8:45pm
Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

Cerridwyn Said:

I would bet it is one of two things - the coffee itself or the water.

Are you using tap water? Tap water in many parts of the US has a funky taste and that could be contributing to the strangeness.

But grocery store coffee can be down right ancient. You might have gotten a lucky bag first.

******
Grinders

I'm not sold on this concept completely but most of the geeks around here say that you are better off not buying a grinder until you can buy a great grinder. I actually grind a lot of my beans by hand with an inexpensive hario skerton grinder. It works fine for just about anything but espresso to me. You can read a review here - Click Here (www.coffeegeek.com)

And the grinder in your picture is a blade grinder which is good for grinding nutmeg, but not for grinding coffee. You need a burr grinder. Cheap electric burr grinders are usually just that - cheap. I'm sure one of the others can recommend one to you but it will cost you more than that blade grinder you saw at Amazon.

Posted July 29, 2012 link

No I'm using filtered tap water and I had been thinking that the cause may be the coffee maker itself since people on Amazon were complaining how the Mr. Coffee makes the brewed coffee taste like plastic. But then again, I don't know how true that is. I kind of regret not getting a more expensive coffee maker. I think that for now I will just buy ground coffee and eventually move onto grinding my own beans. Maybe in the near future.

FrankyD
Senior Member

Joined: 27 Jul 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Davis, CA
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Starbucks Barista
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Posted Mon Jul 30, 2012, 3:32am Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

What I did was getting a hand grinder, being tired of stale coffee. If you can slowly budget yourself to the side for a grinder, you can easily convince yourself to buy some fresh beans every now and then and support your healthy coffee habits! :)

al_bongo
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Joined: 26 Aug 2008
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Posted Mon Jul 30, 2012, 6:58am Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

There's only so much you can do on the internet. Get on the subway to Brooklyn or Manhattan to taste what coffee can be like. Many of the coffee shops will sell the Hario Skerton hand grinder which I'd go for rather than a Krups as well as beans. Everyman Espresso,Gimme Coffee, Stumptown at the Ace Hotel, RBC, Cafe Grumpy, Third Rail, Joe the Art of Coffee. Most of these will offer brewed coffee rather than just espresso. The brewed coffee options will give you an idea of what you can most easily achieve at home.

AAAustin
Senior Member

Joined: 16 Jun 2012
Posts: 8
Location: Las Vegas NV
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Tue Jul 31, 2012, 11:30pm Subject: Re: Upgrading from Folgers: Can anyone recommend some good coffee brands please?

You don't need to spend much money to have an excellent coffee maker. My aeropress and hario mini mill (combined, under $65) give me a cup at least as good as better coffee shops and better than most, and there are many good pour-over devices which are even easier to use than an aeropress (I think, fewer variables to fiddle with) and less expensive still (i.e. Melitta #4 cone, $7).

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