My favorite hot beverage is

plain coffee with lots of 1% milk & sugar!

Portland, I will try to find it. I have been wondering where would be some good mail order coffee beans. Probably be better than the gourment stuff in the grocery store.

I've become a coffee connoisseur....the major brand names have been very disappointing lately, and I'm beginning to wonder if they're really even coffee at all!

I LOVE Berres Brothers whole bean coffee...I grind it at home.
My favorite is their 'Columbian Supremo'...it's very dark and rich.

The first time I tried it I had to find some, and was happy to see that it is from a company right here in Wisconsin!
They do online sales, too, if anyone is interested. Just google Berres Brothers Coffee.

It's kind of expensive, but I grind it fine and therefore use less.
It's my 'guilty pleasure'!

I use coffee mate...which I know is 'bad' for me...but I do use the 'lite' form.

Anyone ordered any of the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee? Very expensive and wonder if it is worth it?

Nan - it's good to use local products like your favorite coffee that is from your own state. Avoids all the fuel consumption, etc of transport. Stumptown is from Portland so for me it is ideal. The only drawback to Stump is their bags are plastic lined and cannot be put in the recycle trash here. I try to remember to take my own container but usually forget... :)

Portland, here is a website that has Stumptown. There are so many to choose from...any recommendations?


http://buystumptowncoffee.com/coffees

I always get the house blend. I grind it myself and I don't buy large quantities because I can walk down the street a few blocks with my dog and get more! But I guess if you are ordering online you would want to buy in quantity. I have not tried all the kinds since I love the house blend. I hope you like it as much as people in Portland do!

Oh, and my church was selling some for a fundraiser for a mission trip, it is really good. Cafe Oro. It comes in individual package of 5-6 cups and it's perfect for me because I'm the only one in my family who drinks coffee, so I only make 2 cups a day. It's a very dark coffee but smooth, not bitter at all.

Thanks, Portland. I will get the house blend.
Lilimerci, that Cafe Oro sounds good too.

I haven't seen anyone mention Splenda as a sugar substitute. Although I use Splenda with ice tea and nothing sweet with hot drinks, are people still using sugar? I haven't used real sugar even in baking for several years.

rosethyme I've had Jamacian Blue Mountain coffee and it is to die for IMHO. A little steep for me though.

Dalianut, I hope to try it. It is so terribly expensive though.

That isn't the coffee that's been digested by a sloth--or some similar tropical animal...is it? Can't remember which animal it is.

Digested by an animal? Yuk!

Had to go with other--favorite decadent treat, some exotic coffee concoction with lots of caramel, but can't-live-without-a-daily-dose has to be coffee. Just plain coffee--but lots of it! I've gotten addicted to the fresh-roasted coffee provided by one of the vendors at my local farmers' market. Pricey, but SO worth it!

I went with the flavored fancy coffee, I buy from Gevalia and usually get a bag of regular and a bag of some sort of flavored, so far I like Cinnamon the best. I also Love Starbucks fancy dancy coffees, such as white chocolate mocha or caramel frappuccino, but because of the calorie count I don't buy those very often, but I could drink at least one a day.

I had Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee once several years ago and oh my it was good!
No, that's not the stuff that's preprocessed through a critter; that's called Kopi Luwak and the coffee berries are collected after passing through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet. How yummy.

Iced tea, year round. Used to drink a gallon a day, had to give it up for health reasons (caffeine). Now I use one tea bag a day, and still miss it the rest of the day.

Splenda molecules are bonded with chlorine molecules and as a result is becoming questionable for human consumption. Info I got from a research biologist a few years ago.

I use good ol' fashion sugar! I know it's "fattening" but I like it. Sometime I use that sugar in the brown packet. It comes from Hawaii or something? I usually use those when I have a Starbucks latte. Mmmm!

I like hot chocolate too, especially with marshmallows and whip cream and chocolate shavings. William-Sonoma gives out their little hot chocolate for a donation around Xmas and it's good. I don't make it at home because their hot chocolate has to be made with hot milk and that's just too much work for me.

Favorite flavor of coffee is spice or pumpkin spice--from October through December. It puts me in the seasonal mood for all those holidays. After the new year (like now) it's refreshing to get back to plain, strong, coffee with milk and sugar.

Edited to respond to LiliMerci's post.

I also love hot cocoa made with milk but don't want to heat the milk. I use the microwave to heat a tiny bit of water in a mug, add the (Swiss Miss) powder and stir. The hot water will dissolve the powder. Then I fill the mug to the top with milk and put it back in the microwave. Hate to wash out pots that had hot milk!

This message was edited Jan 9, 2009 1:32 AM

This message was edited Jan 9, 2009 1:33 AM

Have you ever made marshmallows? It's really easy and they taste sooooo much better than the ones you buy. Put a few of those in hot chocolate and stir with a cinnamon stick and mmmmm. Did you know that cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties and helps regulate blood sugar? You can also put 1/2 of a cinn stick in the pot when you make coffee.

Green tea
Like most of us Chinese, I prefer green tea.
Actually my age of drinking tea is over 20 years.
And now occasionally I drink an herb tea
made up of button mum flower-head, honeysuckle flower and goji seed.
The tea is used to quench a person's accumulated heatness inside.

Ugh...Splenda makes me TERRIBLY ill!!
I've written to a couple of companies that use it in their products, and they basically said 'tough luck'.
I figured if they weren't told it made some people ill, they wouldn't know...so I didn't hesitate to tell them.
I researched a little bit on the internet, and apparently it has the same effect on many people.

For the SwissMiss hot chocolate, I do heat hot water in microwave or I just run it through the cofee machine w/o coffee, but the fancy hot chocolate, you are supposed to make it with hot milk and like you, I don't like to wash milk off of pots.

Sorry guys but, I need help; drink Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer Tea. Hot or cold, it's yummy. I used over a half box during Christmas week with all the "commotion". And, yes, with Splenda. I love that stuff!!! Happy sipping!

I used to use Splenda in everything for several years. I really noticed the difference in taste and it was so expensive ($6+ a bag in my area). One day we ran out and I did not buy more. Hubby and I are both on the "robust" side physically, but neither of us have seen any weight gain as a result of going to regular sugar. Not actually regular sugar, I buy the organic free trade stuff. We have not had a bag of Splenda in our house in probably six months and I don't miss it.

coboydj....what's the 'flavor' of that tea?
If you like it that much hot or cold....it must be good!!

Tough choice!

I guess I have to go with tea, because overall I think it's my favorite. I make it less often than coffee, but I enjoy it more. And I also like aaaalllll kinds of coffee--black, flavored, with flavored creamers, you name it. Love espresso and most kinds of coffeehouse coffee. My Starbucks poison of choice is a skim caramel macchiato with a dollop of whipped cream. ;)

We love Folgers or Maxwell house French Roast.Cream & lil bit sugar.But if you want to spice it up a bit put a teaspoon of Nestles quik in.Yum....The French Roast has a nutty flavor.

I drink straight-up, black, rot-gut cheap Cafe El Cafetal for $1.89 a brick and don't really see much difference in it over the more expensive coffee. To that, I add a shot of "Stoks" caffeine booster so that I can get a move on in the morning. Could that be why my hands shake all day long? LOL

Jeremy

Man! What a bunch of coffee junkies you are...but yesterfday, for the very first time, I bought a 16 oz. cup of French Vanilla coffee at Gas America. It was YUM! I may have to go back for another today.

I drink tea more often at home, but that doesn't mean it's my favorite...just a more convenient hot drink.

With snow on our Indianapolis-area garden, I'm off to Gas America, right across from the library, where I have to return things today... good excuse for F V coffee!

I'm ready for spring!!!

Carol (ezgroonly)

I love tea!! I usually brew a pot in the morning. Sometimes, if I need a cup in a hurry I'll use a Lipton tea bag and a mug of water in the microwave while I'm waiting for the pot. I have 12 different types of loose black tea from Grace Tea, and one gunpowder pearl green. Sometimes I'll add a bit of sugar. I drink hot tea every morning all year long and iced tea during the summer. I usually carry a couple of tea bags in my purse in case of an emergency.... I must go now. I need a cup of tea.

Has anyone tried the blooming tea flowers? They look so beautiful, but I have not purchased them (mainly because I don't have a glass teapot) and I wonder if the resulting tea is as good as the flower looks.

I'm usually a black coffee drinker--at home I brew Seattle's Best Henry's Blend most of the time. If I go to Starbucks I have to order a froufrou drink since their black coffee is so burnt and bitter tasting.

I'm a hot tea fiend in the fall and winter. Stash White Christmas (white tea,mint and ginger) and Bigelow Apple Cider are a couple of favorites--usually with just a tsp. of sugar.

I usually drink my coffee strong and black. I mix regular and decaf grinds together. It's cheaper than pre-mixed and this way I always have some decaf on hand for guests. I put two shakes of ground cinnamon in the grinds before brewing.

Occasionally in the evening I'll enjoy a cup with cream & sugar. Through the holidays, I end up using left over whipped cream or eggnog as coffee creamer.

I buy flavored coffee at the Holidays, Pumpkin Spice. Even then, I'll mix about a third flavored coffee to the grinds for a full pot. I find most flavored coffees overpower the basic coffee flavor.

When visiting Starbucks for garden grinds, I might enjoy a cinnamon latte, but most often will have plain iced coffee with milk & sugar.

I love freshly brewed iced tea with mint or English hot tea with milk & sugar, but just find black & green teas too dehydrating for other than an occasional treat.

When I need a super boost to get through the afternoon, I make my own iced vanilla latte (and I like my homemade version better than the Starbucks offering):

About a cup of left over cold, black, strong espresso coffee from the morning brew
A heaping helping of sugar (2 or 3 tablespoons)
A heavy splash of half & half
A scoop or two of all-natural vanilla ice cream
Stir until the ice cream is melted
Pour into about a 20 oz or more insulated cup
Cram in as much ice as possible, and sip through a straw for best enjoyment

It keeps me full of energy for even the worst drudgery, but the trouble is, I usually can't get to sleep until about 4 AM while I wait with tap dancing jitters for the caffeine and sugar rush to wear off.

Jeremy

Regular coffee for me, with a little milk. I also like chamomile tea.

We get the Great Value coffee at Walmart. I'ts always been our favorite and is just six dollars and change for the large can.

I voted other drink everything but coffee never did like the taste of it and don't like the smell