Coffee drinkers - spill the beans!

[Hiking Fox]

Whay brands of coffee do you go for? What type would you like to see sold in a fresh foods vegetarian (mostly vegan) cafe?

I don't like coffee (unless it is in a cake) but I know how to make it with a machine so it doesn't scald etc. For the purposes of market research/feasilibity study, I need to know which brands of coffee that coffee lovers go for, given the choice. I have a bag of Union in the freezer at home, and visitors seem to like it.

EDIT: I've removed poll because it wasn't working. I don't know why; I set it up like any other poll.

I don't see the point in stocking non-fair trade brands as I'd struggle to justify that, though some of you who know more about coffee than I do might think differently? Please educate me.

What is the fundamental difference between Mexican, Columbian, Brazilian, African etc?

Feel free to waffle on about anything coffee-related in this thread.

[baldy]

Lets start with these guys -> http://www.artisanroast.co.uk/ best coffee I have ever had. They roast blend all their own stuff, very very good.

I tend to only drink coffee at coffee shops or at work. So cant really recommend any particular brands.

At home I just get a different brand every time and make it in my little miko. When I am in Edinburgh I get beans from artisan roast.

[soniczip]

i don't know any of them.

i only drink instant decaffeinated coffee, and the only brand i can find at my local supermarket is HAG, produced in the UK!!! i just found out ... maybe i should buy some bio stuff somewhere else!?

by the way, i checked option "Other brand not mentioned" but it didn't get it. any reason?

[Hiking Fox]

Lets start with these guys -> http://www.artisanroast.co.uk/ best coffee I have ever had. They roast blend all their own stuff, very very good. .

They sound great, and ethical. The website is really hard to use, though. No wholesale prices or details of how to order. Guess it forces people to phone them.

[Hiking Fox]

by the way, i checked option "Other brand not mentioned" but it didn't get it. any reason?

I just tested the poll and it didn't work for me, either. I'll keep it up another day or so and if it still doesn't work I'll delete it and just ask for brands in this thread.

EDIT: I removed the poll because it didn't record answers.

[xrodolfox]

I don't drink coffee, but my wife does. None of what she drinks is there. Is this a poll for UK members only? What is the purpose of the poll? Knowing more will help us answer you better!

[dublin dave]

I don't drink coffee, but my wife does. None of what she drinks is there. Is this a poll for UK members only? What is the purpose of the poll? Knowing more will help us answer you better!

Hiking Fox is planning on opening a cafe...

[downhillingdemon]

To be brutally honest, I really aint fussy as long as it is very strong and earthy if expresso or served very frothy if I'm having it as a latte.

[ultra_whippet]

I worked here for a while http://www.workhousecoffee.co.uk/

I've never tasted better coffee, anywhere. The owner is a walking encyclopedia on all aspect of coffee production, and could doubtless talk to you about all aspects of coffee well past the point where your eyes would start to glaze over. His coffee is "fairly traded" but not certified Fairtrade, as that would involve paying another 10 grand or so to the Fairtrade foundation just to use their logo. I'll see if I can get him to chip in on this thread.

[Hiking Fox]

Keep the info coming, people.

Whippet, please do ask him to do that. I'm not bothered about having the specific logo on the menu; I'd rather have some flyers with details of the growers and origin and a declaration that the coffee is responsibly sourced, to be honest.

We're thinking of stocking this tea: http://www.makeusabrew.com

[xrodolfox]

I don't drink coffee, but my wife does. None of what she drinks is there. Is this a poll for UK members only? What is the purpose of the poll? Knowing more will help us answer you better!

Hiking Fox is planning on opening a cafe...

OK then!

My wife, the coffee drinker, buys coffee that is affordable, well made (she was once a barrista), and will pay extra if it is Fair Trade. She only buys dark roasts. Ethiopian, Guatamalan, or Indonesian coffees go a long way with her. However, cefe policies like a fixed price for brining her own mug, or discounts, or special deals make her frequent a place more often. She never buys the larges, but is pissed when the smalls are too darn small. It's coffee, so a small should be quite large, in her opinion, as it costs almost the same to make a large or a small.

If the coffee is not done well, or if the barrista sucks, that's also a deal killer.

Most of the coffee she drinks is at home, with a French Press.

Oh, and paying more for soymilk is also annoying. She likes to put a bit of vegan creamer in her coffee, and very few places carry that. Most carry soymilk, for half a dollar more than cow milk. Annoying.

As a non-coffee drinker, I would pay for a good non-carbonated drink that was freshly made. Most coffee places have fresh squeezed OJ that's been sitting around for hours sitting in ice. However, instead of a drink, I'd be happiest to pay for a vegan muffin or large cookie or a pastry and a soymilk. That's more like it.

[baldy]

Lets start with these guys -> http://www.artisanroast.co.uk/ best coffee I have ever had. They roast blend all their own stuff, very very good. .

They sound great, and ethical. The website is really hard to use, though. No wholesale prices or details of how to order. Guess it forces people to phone them.

I cannot recommend them highly enough, the make amazing soya lattes and roast the beans in the cafe. If you flirt with the barista you might also get a special blend. All the baristas are learning to roast so can talk your ear off about coffee.

[Herbsman]

I don't really go for 'brands' of coffee. I ride to my local roaster or sometimes order from Has Bean, and buy a particular variety from a particular plantation. What I buy depends on how the flavour is described by the taster(s).

For the morning espresso I tend to stick to a few Brazilian-grown varieties - the few that I order most have a flavour that can be described as one or more of the following: chocolatey, cocoa, caramel, toffee, honeycomb... it's a nice familiar taste that I can't get enough of. I could stand all day just inhaling its aroma just after it's ground.

For general drinking I like to taste any good coffee. I like quite a couple of African ones I tried recently. There's a really nice Kenyan one that I tried, really bright, kind of fruity (dark grapes) acidity, very liquoricey and a really nice thick, chewy mouthfeel. And an Indonesian variety that I think was slightly fermented, and had a very prominent over-ripe banana aroma, almost alcoholic flavour. Like fortified wine but with a very smooth, fermented fruit flavour... I definitely wouldn't drink it every day.

I really liked Guatemalan elephant bean coffee. I can't even describe the flavour except it was almost like a ball on the tongue. A nice thick mouthfeel, really pleasing gentle sourness, sweetness, dark earthiness... just super good. The last batch I had was over-roasted though and tasted like burnt toast...

You can play it safe and offer one average-tasting coffee like Lavazza 'espresso' but if you offer a few really distinctive varieties then your customers will take more interest. If you have ten varieties then there is the possibility a customer might make a purchase nine times, just to try each variety once. It helps if you take a real interest in coffee too.

This helps with tasting:

[Hiking Fox]

All very useful info, please keep it coming.

What we'd like is to be able to stock say two types of coffee; a generic branded (but organic and fair trade) one and something a bit more unusual. We'd like customers who are discerning about coffee to be able to walk in, read a brief description and know whether or not they would like the coffee.

[Herbsman]

Lavazza espresso is actually quite nice, but not fair trade. I think I've tried a biodynamic one, if that means anything to you?