Have noticed how bad tasting coffee has gotten over the past year?

[whistle]

...It doesn't seem to matter what brands or the use of pre-ground or whole bean, mid-priced coffees are just not as good as I remember them being. A newly opened bag or can does not have the rich aroma like it used to and after grinding the beans and making a fresh brewed pot, the taste is bitter and acidic, almost like the coffee has been sitting in warehouses way too long and become stale and dried out. Globalization has hit Amerika where it hurts the most, right in our coffee makers! :wtf:

P.S. The traditional premium brands have gone downhill also and I am really pissed about it.

[NJmaverick]

1. I drink it black (which means I am very sensitive to taste)

and I have not noticed any difference.

[Atman]

10. Me too.

I haven't noticed any difference. If you drink good coffee in the first place (I always grind my own beans at home, and hunt down mom & pop roasters while on the road) nothing has changed except the price. The low-end stuff gives the giant agri-biz coffee companies a place to get rid of the crap and call it a "breakfast blend" or some bullshit. Sometimes I'll buy a can if it's just too cheap to resist and keep it around for emergency back-up coffee.

.

[NJmaverick]

21. Never really tried grinding my own, my tastes are not that sophisticated

I drink what available. I prefer MillStone, but I will drink pretty much anything. I like 7-11's dark mountain roast. Not a big fan of Dunkin Donut's coffee.

[displacedtexan]

2. Yes, I've noticed that.

Try putting a piece of orange peel in the container.

I find that helps a lot.

[marmar]

3. That's why coffee is something that I definitely will spend more on.....

.... Whole Foods' Organic Mexican or Guatemala Antigua - good stuff. .....
OR I'll buy some of the imported stuff, esp. Dallmayr and illy.

[acmavm]

4. Yes! I thought it was just me.

[meegbear]

5. Not really ...

I usually use Maxwell House or Chuck Full O'Nuts brands and I take it black no sugar. When I first open the container, it goes into the fridge and only comes out when I make a pot.

[emilyg]

20. I use Maxwell or Folgers

Put in fridge, too. I'm happy with my coffee.

[Double T]

6. Think of it as your contribution in keeping America's wealthy stinking filthy rich............

pay MORE, get LESS.

[Solly Mack]

7. I'm a coffee lover and I simply cannot abide bad coffee.

[guardian]

24. Try Colorado Coffee Merchants

Yes. I'd noticed more bitterness in a lot of coffees. Especially Starbucks (which has always been fairly burnt/bitter). I found Colorado Coffee Merchants (http://www.coloradocoffeemerchants.com/) and really like their coffee.

It costs more, but it takes me about 3-4 weeks to go through a 1# bag. I figure an extra $8/month isn't going to break me.

They use high quality beans, and roast their beans at lower temperatures and use a system that vacuums out the bean husk. Other high-volume roasters use a system that strips the husk but leaves it in the barrel so the only way to get rid of the husk is to burn it off using high tempuratures.

In any case, I like the taste better than Starbucks, MillStone, Brothers, Seattle, etc.

[shanti]

30. i am too

i MUST have my french roast (costco or TJ's) and it's always whole bean. coffee is much better when you grind it fresh yourself.

any beans i haven't ground go into the freezer.

[watercolors]

8. Buy coffee beans

and grind your own daily for a good cup of coffee. A world of difference in taste. At least you know what is in your bag, pure coffee beans and not a mixture of whatever. Eight O' Clock is good, if you really want a great coffee, Blue Moutain from Jamaica!

[SoFlaJet]

9. we only use The Carlyle Group's

Dunkin' Donuts ground coffee-they go through a LOT over there so it's always fresh whistle

[frazzled]

11. For very modestly priced, good coffee I recommend ....

The Seattle Mountain whole bean sold at Costco: 2.5 pounds for a modest $7.99 or so (maybe it's gone up to $8.99). There are several varieties (Sumatra, Ethiopian, Columbian). If you don't have your own grinder, they usually have a commercial one at the store, in front of the cash registers, which you can use and then reseal your bag.

This is my everyday coffee. If I want to go upscale (read: expensive), I recommend Lavazza (italian). There are two excellent locally roasted coffees in my area (Intelligentsia and Metropolitan), but they, too, are quite expensive ($12 a pound or so).

[notadmblnd]

12. a combo of cardboard and battery acid is what they're makeing it out of

not coffee beans. They've all gone downhill so far that I often substitute tea for coffee. thye haven't screwed that up yet.

[whistle]

16. That is very close to what these coffees are tasting like i.e. the Brazil

...and Columbian fair trade generics and the comparable name brands which claim to use the popular varietals. I really think that the major labels are ALL cutting their blends with inferior low cost free trade substitutes and packaging trash coffee.

[notadmblnd]

17. Yup, who knows what is in them?

I like Trader Joes free trade coffee; Cafe Feminique. It's grown, processed and sold by women of Peru. I buy the beans whole and grind it myself when I can still afford it.

[Donnachaidh]

13. other half has stopped drinking coffee entirely -- and he's a coffee junkie

I'll bet dollars to donuts these companies are processing on the cheap and using questionable ingredients to do it. DH loves coffee, has been a bona fide junkie for decades but this last year he's had less and less. And now he cannot tolerate even the pricey stuff. He's switched to organic teas, and he's not having the stomach problems he was having with coffee. Perhaps they are processing the beans before they are ripe? Whatever they are doing, the stuff tastes like shit.

And as much as I like Dunkin Donuts coffee, it's gotten -- eh? The bloom is off the vine. :shrug:

[BadgerKid]

14. Shout out to Trader Joe's dark. n/t

[sergeiAK]

23. Trader Joe's has a New Mexico Pinon coffee that's even awesomer -nt

[BadgerKid]

32. Gracias.

I will try that on my next TJ run.

[defendandprotect]

15. You should taste my water here in central NJ the last three weeks . . .

It seems that rain storms --- and we've had two beauties over the last 6 weeks ---
drive all the debris into the sewers ---

and then they throw chlorine in for weeks --- !!!

I had given up bottled water --- but back to it now !!!

[Ganja Ninja]

18. I drink Yuban and I really haven't noticed a change in quality.

The price has gone up 50% though in the last year.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. I get coffees from a variety of local roasters (mostly fair trade and shade grown)

and grind them myself. There's nothing like freshly ground dark roast in the morning.

[LeftyMom]

22. Coffee's always tasted like unwashed socks.

:shrug:

[trackfan]

25. Talk to this guy:

[Ichingcarpenter]

26. Are you sure it is not the water you use?

My neighbors who use tap water for drinking,
have reported it being worse these days. I fill up every week at
one of the local vending machines (15cents/gallon) that have a 5 step process that
cleans the water.

[katty]

27. I only drink Peet's coffee-it always tastes great

[mainegreen]

28. Lavazza still tastes the same

Damned tasty.

[flygal]

29. I've switched to teas

Green, black, peppermint... all good. I couldn't figure out why I hated coffee lately, I think the quality has gone down.

[aikoaiko]

31. I always thought all coffees tasted bad.

:shrug: