Tasting Cheap Coffee

As I have said in previous posts, I’m cheap. Let’s just call it what it is. I like to get good stuff for as little money as possible, often times sacrificing some quality for price. Sound pretty typical of American buying practices? Darn toot’n. So why do I find myself constantly frustrated with the coffee I drink? Easy answer: I’m drinking crappy coffee.

I made a trip to a retailer of random items and found that they sold coffee. What better place to buy whole bean coffee than from a place that also sells furniture? I bought 2 bags of coffee for a reasonable price (about $8/bag). I had hoped, and maybe even blinded myself by that hope, for a secret gem of delicious coffee that is inexpensive. (In case anyone is reading in hopes to find a secret gem fine coffee for cheap, the trick is to capture a unicorn and force it to lead you to said treasure before agreeing to release it back into woods of Faerie.)

I bought a Kenya AA, which I had read was a very flavorful coffee. The roast was dark, which is not uncommon for African coffee. We brewed it hot and it was all roast and body, not real flavors. We even printed a flavor wheel to try and identify something, but there was nothing. We brewed it double strength over ice and it actually brought some flavor out. Most of it had been roasted out, but with 2x the amount of normal coffee we were able to get some flavors.

The other coffee was a Brazilian coffee. With the World Cup still semi-fresh in my mind and my partner being from Brazil; it seemed like a good choice. When we started to brew it, my partner said, “I think this is the coffee, I purposefully do not buy.” Not a good start. The coffee ended up having a vegetable and roast flavor. My buddy said it is the epitome of a Brazilian industrial roast, full sun, treated with nitrogen fertilizer…not delicious.

I am, yet again, stuck in the position of price vs. quality. Do I just suck it up and start paying more for coffee? Or do I keep seeking a mythical coffee that is both high quality and cheap? I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Yes, if I want to drink good coffee, I need to pay for it. On the other side, if I want good coffee that is cheap, I need to roast it myself.

So, I guess my action plan remains the same: befriend a unicorn, gain access to the Seelie Court, “procure” a Faerie coffee plan, create my own coffee shop, brew delicious coffee.