Buy a chemex and some illy coffee. Heaven.

Right. Peet's Coffee. Pete's Wicked Ale.

Sorry that should be Peet's.

I like Pete's.

Green Mountain is ok.

Gevalia -- meh. Overrated. (IMHO.)

I like Mayorga, which is locally roasted in Rockville. Also Zeke's, roasted in Baltimore, or Swing's, roasted in DC.

If you want to keep it cheap, Trader Joe's is hard to beat. I lived on their Bay Blend in grad school.

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live? I like the coffee from Micha's in Old Town Alexandria, and I also buy Beanetics Coffee in Annandale (that is frequently available at farmer's markets). Some of the bigger Whole Foods also sell good coffee blends.

If you want good, basic coffee, I also like Gevalia coffee available at many grocery stores (and Super Target).

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm in Silver Spring, but I'll keep an eye out for Gevalia.

Where do you live? I like the coffee from Micha's in Old Town Alexandria, and I also buy Beanetics Coffee in Annandale (that is frequently available at farmer's markets). Some of the bigger Whole Foods also sell good coffee blends.

If you want good, basic coffee, I also like Gevalia coffee available at many grocery stores (and Super Target).

No freezer! If you have a good airtight jar that is the best, and store in a cabinet (out of direct sunlight.) Not being snarky, but I have found the 8 O'Clock stuff to be pretty darn good - I have found at Giant and Costco. +1 on the Whole Foods too. Trader Joes also has some good bean coffee which you can grind at the store.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all. If I'm getting grocery store coffee, should I store it in the freezer?

No freezer!

http://redcherrycoffeeroasters.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/no-stop-dont-put-your-coffee-in-the-fridge-of-freezer-heres-why/

Any the pre-ground, 365 Whole Foods coffee is pretty good if you don't want to be bothered with whole bean. There are a variety of different roast levels available.

Thanks, all. If I'm getting grocery store coffee, should I store it in the freezer?

If you're not going to grind your own beans, get whatever is cheapest at giant. It's not going to make much difference. Agree with PP that pretty much anything is better than starbucks. Some of their beans are ok, but there are better out there for the price.

I like community coffee, although I've never used the coffee maker you describe.

experiment! Almost any coffee is better than Starbucks! (really most people I know only like their espresso drinks. Their brew... meh.)

but really, which one you like is so personal. Just go to your grocery store and start trying them. (I think it's worthwhile to get free trade organic coffee, personally, and often the big grocery stores will have at least one variety that is those things while still not being expensive.) I like a mellow-dark mix. Avoid flavored coffee (ie, hazlenut etc). I don't like to use the grocery store grinders because more than once I've had the bad luck to grind my coffee after someone else ground a flavored coffee... Yuck!

(I've been getting mine at the farmers market lately.. Good coffee, supporting local enterprise, and fun to talk about the flavors! But it does cost more.)

What's a good coffee to get for one of those cone drip, single serve coffee makers? I'm not looking to spend $$$ or grind my own beans for each cup (all that would be wasted on my palate). I just want a decent, better-than-starbucks cup of coffee.