Coffee, tea, something else?

JAS_OH1

JAS_OH1

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I once was not a coffee drinker and only drank hot tea in the morning. Later in life I started drinking coffee and didn't drink tea very often. Then I went through a phase where I would alternate between a cup of coffee most days but on days where I was hungover or otherwise not feeling good, I would drink a cup of tea only instead. Nowadays, I start with a cup of tea first and then have a cup of coffee. I like my tea with cinnamon and honey or lemon and honey unless it's green tea, and then I drink it plain. I like a little half-n-half and vanilla with sugar in my coffee. I generally just nuke a teabag in a cup of water for my tea. I have a coffee maker that makes one cup at a time and I have refillable pods. I use the same cup for my tea as I do my coffee, nothing fancy, and I usually don't eat anything with my morning beverage. I never drink tea or coffee later in the day because I have insomnia and I will never get to sleep if I do!

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I know that some people go all out and boil the kettle and make a whole pot of tea, and some people drink it in the morning and afternoon (at tea time) as well. Some people eat a small snack such as a biscuit or scone with their coffee or tea. Some people like coffee or tea after dinner with dessert. Some people have specific brand preferences (I do not) and some have a French press for their coffee, espresso pot, etc.

What's your morning (or other time of day) beverage routine? Do you like your coffee and tea hot or cold, or both? What brands do you get in your country that you like and what's your preparation method? Do you drink it plain or with additives such as sweeteners, milk, cream, etc.?

Edited to add that I actually do love Chock Full O-Nuts coffee and Cafe Bustello, and when I lived in Florida (in the panhandle closer to Louisiana) one of my roommates turned me on to Community Coffee with Chickory. I do like that quite a bit too. There have been a few pricey brands I have tried and like quite well, but they are too strong for my husband. He likes Maxwell House breakfast blend or similar, and I just don't care that much. I will buy something special for myself from time to time but for the most part I just keep whatever he likes in the canister. If we are on vacation and having breakfast somewhere, I will definitely enjoy whatever more upscale brews they have, but at home, it's not that big of a deal to me.
 
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I'm a coffee guy, but coffee purists will say I am not one of them as I like to add sweetened creamer to mine.
Beans of choice: Arabica. Specifically Jamaican Blue Mountain. It is always present in my house as I bring back 5 lbs at a time when I return from the island.
Roast of choice: Medium roast.
Brew method of choice: Cold brew followed closely by pour-over. I will use a French press, but I hate that when I get to the bottom of the last cup its just mud.
Modifiers: Half & half + brown sugar or sweetened condensed milk. I have also started to enjoy Oat-based (non-dairy) creamer.
Frequency: 8-12 ounces in the morning only, daily.
 
You're reading my mind, because I was just about to start a "How do you prefer to make coffee?" topic, but this one will cover it.

Ok, settle in...this'll take a while...

Coffee: I drink that occasionally at home, maybe two or three cups a week, probably all on the same day (usually a weekend).

If we're both having the same coffee, then it's the Keurig and K-cups, because MrsT is on a caffeine restriction, and I have decaf only in the K-cups:
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If I'm making coffee for myself, it's almost always by boiling water in a kettle, then using a French press. I have two French presses, and I usually use this wee one:

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That's dirty because I just used it for a rare midweek cup, to go with the chocolate biscotti I made earlier.

For tea, MrsT(ea) always uses this automatic drip coffeemaker - she just throws a couple of bags of tea in the basket and it brews up just fine. This is how I also have tea after 3PM since I don't drink caffeine after that, if I can help it:
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For my tea, if I'm using bags, I just use the Keurig as a hot water dispenser most of the time. If I'm using loose, I definitely use the kettle to boil water, and do the whole bit of heating up a brewing vessel (I use a 4-cup measure), brewing the tea in that, then straining it into a proper teapot (which also gets warmed). That keeps me from stewing the pot, as they used to say.

For coffee, MrsT likes heavy cream and sugar, I just like heavy cream or black. Never sugar. The taste of sugared coffee is intensely unpleasant to me.

For tea, it depends. We generally just drink black tea and variants, no green tea, very little herbal tea (though I do like mint tea, especially iced).

Yer basic black breakfast tea, no sugar and just half-n-half for both of us. If it's something like a Christmas tea, with the warm spices and orange peel flavor included in the blend, we'll also add a little sugar to bring that out.

Iced tea, no sugar or anything, just straight.

Here's my kettle, a ceramic one from Aldi. I also have a newly-purchased glass one that will go on vacations with us; well, US vacations, as hotels rarely provide a kettle, but our European friends do:

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Oh, our "tea times" are a couple of mugs each at about 7AMish, another mug around 10:30AM, another mug around 3PM, and a final mug each around 8:30PM. Except for the first two mugs in the morning, we always have some kind of biscuit/cookie with our tea.
 
TastyReuben said:
You're reading my mind, because I was just about to start a "How do you prefer to make coffee?" topic, but this one will cover it.

Ok, settle in...this'll take a while...

Coffee: I drink that occasionally at home, maybe two or three cups a week, probably all on the same day (usually a weekend).

If we're both having the same coffee, then it's the Keurig and K-cups, because MrsT is on a caffeine restriction, and I have decaf only in the K-cups:
View attachment 75433

If I'm making coffee for myself, it's almost always by boiling water in a kettle, then using a French press. I have two French presses, and I usually use this wee one:

View attachment 75434

That's dirty because I just used it for a rare midweek cup, to go with the chocolate biscotti I made earlier.

For tea, MrsT(ea) always uses this automatic drip coffeemaker - she just throws a couple of bags of tea in the basket and it brews up just fine. This is how I also have tea after 3PM since I don't drink caffeine after that, if I can help it:
View attachment 75435

For my tea, if I'm using bags, I just use the Keurig as a hot water dispenser most of the time. If I'm using loose, I definitely use the kettle to boil water, and do the whole bit of heating up a brewing vessel (I use a 4-cup measure), brewing the tea in that, then straining it into a proper teapot (which also gets warmed). That keeps me from stewing the pot, as they used to say.

For coffee, MrsT likes heavy cream and sugar, I just like heavy cream or black. Never sugar. The taste of sugared coffee is intensely unpleasant to me.

For tea, it depends. We generally just drink black tea and variants, no green tea, very little herbal tea (though I do like mint tea, especially iced).

Yer basic black breakfast tea, no sugar and just half-n-half for both of us. If it's something like a Christmas tea, with the warm spices and orange peel flavor included in the blend, we'll also add a little sugar to bring that out.

Iced tea, no sugar or anything, just straight.

Here's my kettle, a ceramic one from Aldi. I also have a newly-purchased glass one that will go on vacations with us; well, US vacations, as hotels rarely provide a kettle, but our European friends do:

View attachment 75436

View attachment 75437

Oh, our "tea times" are a couple of mugs each at about 7AMish, another mug around 10:30AM, another mug around 3PM, and a final mug each around 8:30PM. Except for the first two mugs in the morning, we always have some kind of biscuit/cookie with our tea.
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Where in the world do you find room to keep all your gadgets? Do you have like a special small appliance room?

Do you find that brewing tea in the coffee maker gives the tea an odd taste of residual coffee?

I am from the south (I think you know this TR) and where I grew up, most people drink iced tea sweetened. My grandmother in SE Texas brewed Luzianne tea that was so dark and strong (and sweet) that when you held it up to the light, you couldn't see through the glass pitcher! I remember when I first moved to Ohio and asked for sweet tea at a restaurant, they told me that there was sugar on the table and they only had unsweetened tea. The iced tea was a light tan color and the tea flavor was undetectable, and everyone knows that sugar doesn't dissolve well in iced tea. I would rather just drink water with lemon!
 
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Ok, here's a cup I just brewed:

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That's before any half-n-half is added, just to show the color of the tea.

Now, British friends, please sit down on the settee before you read this: I add a scandalous amount of half-n-half up front, generally half tea and half half-n-half (that just made me giggle). I've been strongly rebuked by purists for doing this, but I'm a tea rebel (a treble?), so I don't care, because there is method to my madness.

I'll drink that insanely milky tea down about a third, then pour more tea on, then drink that down a third, then more tea again, until the tea is gone. By the last mug, it's nearly black, very little half-n-half, so I'm working my tea-to-dairy ratio on an average over multiple cups.

That's science, folks. Or math. Or maths. Whatever you prefer. Don't judge me! :laugh:

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Oh, one other thing. I do warm the dairy in that little jar. I want my tea rather on the scalding hot side, if possible.
 
I´m in both camps. I cannot function in the morning until I´ve had two mugs of what MG describes as "Builder´s Tea" - hot, strong tea, made with proper tea leaves, with milk and sugar.I use Assam (Mamri) tea, but if I have to, I´ll use a ratbag.
Coffee? Love it - but no good first thing in the morning. If it´s not a Marrón Grande ( that´s Venezuelan for a strong espresso with a touch of milk), then I´ll take a full espresso, any day.
I cannot drink an American Coffee - you know, Chicago PD style? - under any circumstances, unfortunately. No,no,no.:D:D:D
 
TastyReuben said:
Oh, one other thing. I do warm the dairy in that little jar. I want my tea rather on the scalding hot side, if possible.
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AARRGGHH!! SACRILEGE!:hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper:
You drink your tea however you want.That´s diversity! Thank goodness we´re not all the same.
And by the way - totally agree about tea being really hot.
 
karadekoolaid said:
I´m in both camps. I cannot function in the morning until I´ve had two mugs of what MG describes as "Builder´s Tea" - hot, strong tea, made with proper tea leaves, with milk and sugar.I use Assam (Mamri) tea, but if I have to, I´ll use a ratbag.
Coffee? Love it - but no good first thing in the morning. If it´s not a Marrón Grande ( that´s Venezuelan for a strong espresso with a touch of milk), then I´ll take a full espresso, any day.
I cannot drink an American Coffee - you know, Chicago PD style? - under any circumstances, unfortunately. No,no,no.:D:D:D
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I HATE diner coffee in the USA, it's been brewed in a pot and if it's dark it's because it's burnt. Otherwise it's what I call "brown water" and has no taste at all. I will drink tea in that case.

I do have a teaball but I don't have a tea kettle, but since I don't have any decent looseleaf tea to put in it I guess it doesn't matter :laugh:
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Where in the world do you find room to keep all your gadgets? Do you have like a special small appliance room?
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The Keurig and the Mr. Coffee (Tea?) sit out permanently on the counter:

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The kettle sits handy underneath here:

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That's also where my Dutch ovens, electric skillet, and food processor live.

JAS_OH1 said:
Do you find that brewing tea in the coffee maker gives the tea an odd taste of residual coffee?
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I'm assuming you mean using the automatic drip coffeemaker. That answer is no, as it's used exclusively for tea.

However, since we do occasionally run a coffee pod through the Keurig, that always gets two cleansing rinses every time I use a pod, so no coffee taste in my teabag teas, either.

I should apologize to the world, because I do go through a shameful amount of water, mostly related to my hot bev habits.

JAS_OH1 said:
most people drink iced tea sweetened.
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We grew up drinking ridiculously sweet iced tea. My grandad prided himself on his sun tea (sun tea is tea brewed in a large glass jug sat in the sun, for those who don't know).

He'd put more sugar in than the tea could dissolve, and swore that sugary sludge at the bottom was the best part...and always served with sweet pickles. That man drank more iced tea and ate more pickles than anyone I've ever known. He always had numerous jugs in various stages of brewing.

Here's the tea I have on hand right now:

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Add one more box of a fruity cold-brewed tea, because I found that when I was putting these back. :laugh:

That's not counting coffee (three bags) or hot chocolate (a box and a a bag and some k-cups), oh and some espresso powder that I mainly use for recipes.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
I HATE diner coffee in the USA, it's been brewed in a pot and if it's dark it's because it's burnt. Otherwise it's what I call "brown water" and has no taste at all. I will drink tea in that case.
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I'm exactly the opposite, because I can't find anyone in any typical American restaurant who can brew a cup of tea.

They always pull the water out of the hot tap on coffee machine, put it in that little metal thingy, tea bag on the side, then wander out with it at some point, so if the water is 120F, you're lucky. Geez, at least run the hot water over the teabag first thing!

I've told this story before, so I'll keep it short: my dad is a tea drinker, and he likes his tea very hot, no sugar or dairy.

We were out at a restaurant for breakfast (Bob Evans, for those in the know), and my dad ordered tea and told the waitress he wanted it hot.

She brought out the barely warm water from the hot tap, so he sent it back and told her that the hot tap wasn't hot enough, to please just put the water in the mug and microwave it for a bit to get it hot.

She brought it right back out, same thing. We could even see what she was doing in the kitchen, just getting from the coffeemaker tap.

Dad being dad, he grabbed his cup, barreled into the kitchen, poured it out, filled it again from the coffeemaker tap, then microwaved it himself, then came back and sat down. :laugh:
 
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