I used to be addicted to it...then I quit. Then I tried to have it in "moderation". No such luck. It's all or nothing for me. So I chose nothing. My wallet thanked me, the local Starbucks did not.

coffee got me through many many years of school, but i stopped drinking it when i went on a multi month bike tour and haven't gone back to it since . . . never regretted it either. no more messed up wake sleep cycle, you feel better with fewer ups and downs, and not drinking coffee saves money.

I'm third from the left:

Do you have any Italian stores nearby? I buy a lot of my things there, such as prosciutto, mozerella, bread, and of course coffee. Yeah, you pay a little more and this may sound snobby, but you can't find quality outside of the stores that import it from where it's made best.

I buy these bags of sealed KIMBO brand coffee imported from Italy, and they are identical to the ones that I buy when I'm staying in Italy.

You have a point there.

It's interesting that the culture in Europe hasn't made a lot of inroads to fast food drive-through.

I was in Toulouse, France and saw a MacDonalds drive through. It's the only one I ever saw in all of Europe. I'm sure there are more.

Funny thing was, all the froggies that hit the drive through did it more for the novelty. They parked in the parking lot and ate while parked. Most Europeans think that driving and eating is disgusting.

Has this changed? I haven't been in Europe for a few years.

I can't remember seeing a single one in Italy. They do have "take away" windows at many of the McDonalds though, where you can order without going inside. It's kind of like a drive through for pedestians. It's always funny ordering McDonalds in Italian and than saying "per take away." McDonalds is too expensive in Europe though. It's funny how I always tell myself I won't eat any American food when I'm there, but I always end up going to McDonalds at least once.

Hey that is one crazy site - nice !!

If you really want to experience the best possible coffee buy the best possible coffee unroasted and roast it at home. A $20 popcorn air popper makes a decent entry level roaster and really good beans can be found at Sweet Marias, among other places. Good, thorough instructions on how to roast your own beans are there. A good starter bean would be their Java, Sumatra or Sulawesi. These are low acid beans that work well at a wide range of roast levels. Brazils are another possibility. Brazilian beans are a primary ingredient in Illy espresso blends.

Personally, I tend to drink a lot of East African beans roasted fairly light and brewed in a presspot. But a do have a decent espresso machine (Gaggia Classic) and a Zassenhaus hand cranked burr grinder.

who knew there was so much to making coffee?

As opposed to road cycling?

What I mean is I associate coffee with the stuff that's ground up and run through a filter so it comes out as brown bitter crap.
What you guys are saying about coffee and how it should be is making me crave it.

Just be sure to buy the Campagnolo brand beans. The bags are easier to open because of the thumb shifters!

Coffee ain't a drink... it's an art

you'd be hard pressed to call my coffee ART.
although could be a good replacement for the patch that's used in potholes.

And you can open them all the way or incrementally to suit as opposed to a tiny bit at a time. Also, they're repairable in case you happen to get a hole in them. Plus there's carbon fiber trim along the sides and top.

Coffee drinker here. French press is the only way to go. I never drink past noon time otherwise I'm wired into the night.

I read somewhere that the half-life of caffeine in the body is something like 6hrs.

Yah, you're about right.. 3-7 hours, usually. The half life of heroine is 3 minutes....lol.

I've been roasting my own beans for some time now. I took a stainless steel trashcan, pop-rivited some stiring vanes inside and pop-rivited a stainless bowl on the end. I roast in my gas grill using my rottisserie to turn the contraption. I did the popcorn roaster thing for a while and a retail type hot air roaster, but they do such small batches it's a real pain. I can roast up to 2lbs at a time. I only use about 1lb a week for personal use, but I've made a lot of friends since I started roasting.

I want some! If I upgrade my membership, will you send me an ounce or two?

Eating while driving is worse than disgusting, it's just wrong.

PEETS is one of my favorites. But I've discovered another SoCal coffee importerr that makes wonderful coffee. The company is "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf" which is available in some grocery stores along with PEETS

No it doesn't but it also doesn't mean it didn't have anything to do with it either.
I simply posted my experience with caffeine. Do with it what you will.

Organic Coffee Co. / Zen Blend - just ground at 5:00am on a cool morning in TX !

Starbucks is good (for some their beans are over-roasted) other local roasters here very good, even according to Starbucks owner in town ; Peets in CA one of the best I've ever smelled, been a while for the tastebuds but that smell was sublime when first cracking open the Fed-Ex box!

coffee is always with me (on my left calf):