# Whole Bean Coffees



## fredtgreco

I am curious about whole bean coffee recommendations. We had been using Starbucks (House Blend) in our office, but have decided to move away from it because Starbucks has become so vocal in its support for same-sex "marriage." I've looked around some, but I would like to hear from PB members about which coffees they find good. A couple of parameters:

No flavored coffees
No decaf coffees
Whole bean strongly preferred
Obtainable on Amazon (esp Prime) is a huge plus
Please don't tell me to get Folgers, Maxwell House, or the like
The coffee is made in our Bunn commercial drip maker. Please don't tell me to use a French Press or any other device. I'm not going to, no matter how good you say it is.
Ok- have at it!


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## GulfCoast Presbyterian

By all means, try Jerry Kalall at Best Gourmet Whole Coffee Beans on the Web. His small batch stuff is first rate. Mr. Jerry wants your business and will hook you up.

EDIT: I have not tried the expresso, but have consumed vast quantities of the rest.


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## Wayne

Check out what's offered at Sam's Club. They sell a limited offering of Starbucks, but they have other brands as well.
I usually buy the French Roast sold under their in-house Members Mark label (dark red bag).


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## Wayne

Mark:

That site looks interesting. Can't tell exactly, but it looks like they don't charge for shipping, at least on smaller orders? Is that right?


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## Rich Koster

From Sam's Club: Buck's County Coffee- French Roast-Whole Bean 
Trader Joe's: Sumatra - Whole Bean

I combine the two for a yummy house blend.


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## Tripel

I highly recommend Community Coffee. It's available from Amazon Prime.


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## toddpedlar

Fred - I swear by Coffee Bean Direct... free shipping for 25 pound bags, (Facebook) and their dark-roasted varietals are excellent. Coffee Bean Direct


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## JML

Tripel said:


> I highly recommend Community Coffee.



 Go with Community.


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## tlharvey7

believe it or not, Goya has some great quality coffee. it is about half the price of starbucks and is every bit as good. i am not sure if the have whole bean though. i think Peets coffee is very good too


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## toddpedlar

GulfCoast Presbyterian said:


> By all means, try Jerry Kalall at Best Gourmet Whole Coffee Beans on the Web. His small batch stuff is first rate. Mr. Jerry wants your business and will hook you up.
> 
> EDIT: I have not tried the expresso, but have consumed vast quantities of the rest.



WOW! $15 a pound in bulk?


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## Marrow Man

If you want good and cheap, go with Eight O'clock coffee. However, I second Rich's Trader Joe's recommendation above. World Market has some good coffees as well (and I would recommend most African coffees), but they tend to be pricey. However, they have a frequent buyer program that rewards you with a free bag of coffee for every half dozen or so you purchase.


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## Miss Marple

I quit going to Starbucks, too. It's Peet's if I want a coffee treat, now. While I don't expect godly perfection from any company, Starbucks is actively advocating and petitioning the federal government officially to promote homosexual "marriage." So they have lost my business. It is a small thing, but many drops of water fill the ocean.


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## KSon

Eight O' Clock Columbian, constantly rated at the top by Consumer Reports. $13.99 for 32oz at Walmart up here.

Dunkin' Donuts Whole Bean. 2 lbs. for $12.99-$13.99 up here.

Both great and cost-effective. Eight O'Clock a bit smoother, DD a bit more bold.


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## M21195

If you don't use a french press, then it won't matter....


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## he beholds

We get Eight O'Clock and like it a lot, but I'm no coffee snob! Addict, yes. But not a snob.


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## jwithnell

Arabica only and a medium roast if I can find it in my favorite beans, otherwise I'll switch over to the dark. 

We're fond of Sumatra beans (and it actually shows up in Costco every once in a while). There are several varieties, but that doesn't usually come into play unless you're buying green beans to roast. Generally, we've enjoyed the Indonesian types, but have found South American coffee to be to highly acidic. My husband loves the African coffees, but I generally find them to be bitter. It's all a matter of personal taste. 

There's a movement afoot to encourage blond coffee beans -- ones that have been barely roasted. I haven't tried it yet.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

Tripel said:


> I highly recommend Community Coffee. It's available from Amazon Prime.



 w/ chicory


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## nicnap

Can't get it on Amazon, but I would say the best coffee is from Stumptown roasters in Portland. It is the best coffee that I have had in the states. Very good.


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## Edward

Tripel said:


> I highly recommend Community Coffee. It's available from Amazon Prime.



You ought to be able to find Community in a grocery store in Houston.


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## Peairtach

Kenco - Kenco Millicano

This Millicano "Wholebean Instant" has recently arrived in Scotland. It's a great improvement on other instant coffee "granules".

I frequent Caffe Nero in Perth.


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## Mindaboo

I like Eight O'clock coffee too. I don't buy it, it's too expensive for me. I just buy whatever is on sale. I guess that puts me with Jessi. I'm no coffee snob. I'll drink just about any kind.


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## Marrow Man

Kson, mentioned Dunkin' Donuts coffee, and that's very good too.


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## jwithnell

Wow! Stumptown looks great! I may have to get some for a special occasion!


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## MLCOPE2

Marrow Man said:


> If you want good and cheap, go with Eight O'clock coffee



I'll cast my vote here as well.


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## thbslawson

When we have to do a quick pickup from the store we tend to go with old standby's like Dunkin Donuts or Community whole bean. We use a Bunn also (and are proud coffee snobs) and it makes a decent cup.

There are two indy roasters that are really good. The first is done by a landscaping company in Boring, Oregon (no kidding). Sounds odd I know, but they roast great coffee! Here's their website.

The other is from California and they do an excellent job. They're call Kean Coffee. Here's their website.

Hope the search goes well.


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## Marrow Man

Ah, all this reminds me of my days as student body treasurer at Erskine Seminary (back around 2003). Basically, the treasurer was responsible for one thing: collecting the money out of the jar in the student lounge and making sure that coffee supplies were purchased with it. We only had one store in Due West, SC -- a Dollar General. I would walk there when I didn't have have a class and buy the best coffee available: Maxwell House (which is pure garbage). We also had a Bunn coffee maker, and I had the hardest time finding filters for it. Finally found them at a Staples (but not in Due West!).


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## Philip

I'm not a coffee snob (I'll drink anything on offer as long as it's not instant and brewed), but I'll echo the 8 o'Clock recommendation.

I'd also recommend finding out whether there's a local roaster who you could buy from. Sometimes for a treat, I'll buy a bag of whole bean from one of the local shops (of course, the Chattanooga area has a nice friendly rivalry between local roasters that makes the coffee lovers in the area very happy).


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## christiana

Beans4good.com


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## DMcFadden

When I had the money to be a coffee snob-lite, my preferences were for whole bean from Costco or Dunkin Donuts (note the "lite" before laughing too hard). For the rest of us, there are a couple of "Gourmet Blends" of the may not be mentioned here coffees that taste amazingly good and at a bargain price.

If you want something for the office, Fred, why not Dunkin Donuts beans?


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## nicnap

jwithnell said:


> Wow! Stumptown looks great! I may have to get some for a special occasion!



It is my favorite coffee hands down. Every variety that I've had I have found to be outstanding. I get baskets of it for gifts (birthday, etc.) from people who know I like it. It is the best coffee I have ever had.


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## jwithnell

Y'all should have seen the flames we generated when we tried to use a home roaster! The idea was we could get green beans cheaper and have our coffee fresh-roasted. We had had one that worked fairly well, but in tiny batches. So we went to a larger style, saw its pyro tendencies, and haven't tried it again


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## Curt

Fred,

Try https://justlovecoffee.com/. I've only tried the Ugandan Dark Roast, but loved it. It's not cheap, but it attached to an adoption organization.


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## Marrow Man

If we were _real_ coffee snobs, we'd be suggesting you get Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica. But I doubt the office will spring for $60/lb...


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## jfhutson

Coffee Review - The World's Leading Coffee Guide rates most of these coffees on a 100 point scale. They are done by professional tasters and have full descriptions.

My wife gets huge amounts of Kirkland Signature Columbian (rated 83/100) at Costco and I freeze most of it and keep about a week supply unfrozen. I don't know how cheap it is but she says cheaper than TJ's.

The Dunkin' and Trader Joe's advocates are also correct, many their coffees rate in the 80s and 90s and are cheap.


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## tlharvey7

these guys are great too:
Eleos Coffee - Restaurant/Cafe - Kansas City, MO - Wall | Facebook


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## J. Dean

M21195 said:


> If you don't use a french press, then it won't matter....



The man speaks truth!!!! 

There is only one way to make good coffee, and it is the French Press!

Hmm... think I should go make some right now...

---------- Post added at 12:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 PM ----------

BTW, if you can find Brazilian coffee beans, I highly recommend them.


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## Jesus is my friend

jwithnell said:


> We're fond of Sumatra beans (and it actually shows up in Costco every once in a while). There are several varieties, but that doesn't usually come into play unless you're buying green beans to roast. Generally, we've enjoyed the Indonesian types, but have found South American coffee to be to highly acidic. My husband loves the African coffees, but I generally find them to be bitter. It's all a matter of personal taste.
> 
> .




I second that,Costco has a three pound bag of the Sumatra french roast (red bag) for about 19 bucks,it's the best buy for a quality coffee and it's dirt cheap for us being on a tight budget


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## tommyb

Find a coffee store that sells Peruvian beans and dark roast Costa Rican beans. Mix them together in a 2:1 ratio Peruvian to the Costa Rican. (Two peruvian beans for every Costa Rican bean. Just guesstimate don't actually count them). Use a French Press and grind the beans fresh for each batch. Result - pure heaven on earth if you are a coffee nut. (like me!)


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## SolaScriptura

Marrow Man said:


> We only had one store in Due West, SC -- a Dollar General.



That is still the case.


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## Glenn Ferrell

Roast your own:

Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's


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## Mark Walter

Mystic Monk or Pete's. Both are great!


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