Time for coffee talk.

Quickly percolating in the news is the most recent Consumer Reports taste test. CR pitted 19 coffees against one another to determine the best tasting brew.
Surprisingly, 8 O’Clock Coffee triumphed.

Eight O’Clock Coffee 100% Colombian (at a wallet-friendly $6.28 a pound), was judged the hottest ground coffee of all, winning CR’s “Best Combination of Taste and Price.” Testers raved that the coffee possesses “a complex blend of earthy and fruity, with a bright, pleasing sourness.”

I have an axe to grind here.
Eons ago, I use to enthusiastically start my afternoon with a cup of Folgers or Maxwell House, along with enough cream and sugar to make a quart of ice cream. Then I became more sophisticated, requiring whole beans. So I switched to 8 O’Clock Coffee.

Then I was hired at a local coffee roasters. After two cups of the real high test stuff, I was having trouble sleeping. My horizons totally opened. I couldn’t go back to Folgers or 8 O’Clock beans anymore. Not after trying Guatemalan Antigua, Vienna, Kona, French Roast, Italian Roast, Sumatra. These days I drink my coffee black. When you drink it black, quality is imperative.

I find it hard to believe that 8 O’Clock beans (although it isn’t too bad) would win a taste test, or that McDonald’s coffee was CR’s choice last year. These aren’t blind taste tests, by the way. Sure, CR’s website is advertisement free, but am I really to believe this whole taste test process is full of integrity? Not when McDonald’s coffee triumphs.

So maybe no money is exchanging hands, but what are the credentials of these tasters? Another thing bothering me is that each year, CR demonstrates a bias towards Starbucks. They complain about Starbucks coffees in general, but only sample one of them. Starbucks offers around 20 coffee choices. My point here, is not a defense of Starbucks, but more a critique of CR.

2007

Hoping that consumers are fed up with asking Starbucks for “double-caramel skim half-caf macchiato” before they’ve even had their jolt of joe, Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, and McDonald’s have been boosting their coffee cachet.

2009

Java junkies looking for bargains on great tasting joe might want to put that Starbucks Venti Caffe Americano on the back burner for now.

By the way, Venti Caffe Americano is not coffee. It’s espresso.
I don’t think Starbuck’s is the best coffee around. Certainly not. But CR is stepping away from it’s neutral stance and poking hot rods at Starbucks.

There are a few things to consider here. First, what qualities determine when something has the best value? Is it merely a reference to the consumer’s wallet? One mistake we tend to make as consumers is to neglect the long term cost of something.

For instance, coffee and strawberries are among the most heavily sprayed crops. This begets the necessity for organics, as far as I’m concerned. Especially when it comes to something I put in my body daily.
The cheaper your coffee, likely the more pesticides have been used on it. Studies have conclusively shown all of these substances increase free radical production. Your long term health is a factor in the purchase price equation.

Now, as a conscious consumer I also take into consideration the origin of my product. I determine it’s worth not on price alone, but price in addition to the labor source used to manufacture my product.

Do I want to start my day off with coffee that was harvested from a farm where the production is mostly chemical free and less detrimental to the farms occupants? Yes. Do I want my coffee from a manufacturer that gives to the community which makes the manufacturer rich? You bet I do.

Quite simply, I don’t just happily slurp down a low grade, pesticide ridden coffee from a company that stomps all over farmers in less developed countries. While Starbuck’s might not be the best out there, they have great sustainable programs in place and give back to their farmers. They clean up water sources in the communities and sink money into education. If any pesticides are used, there is a 24 hour restriction before farmers are allowed back on site.

Another disadvantage to all those other coffees (Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McD’s) is that little of the sales money generated stays in your community. So if you have some dollars to spare, buy from the local shops. And if your budget is tight like mine, I recommend Nature’s Place Organic Dark Roast, at a low $3.35 for 11 0zs.
One of the best deals out there, for price, flavor, and ethos.

Salud!