Monday, February 23, 2009

THE PRICE OF THE BEAN




There has been a lot of hype on the net recently about coffee. The articles state the best AND cheapest coffee is called Eight O'Clock . That seemed innocent enough, although I had not personally tried that brand of coffee, I thought it might be interesting to try a few new-to-me brands.


My daughter had just been to the market. And the volley about coffee on Face Book went like this:


ME: What kind of coffee did you buy? I am experimenting. After years of Folgers, I am presenting trying Dunkin' Doughnuts.


HER: I just read a study that said that the best tasting brand is 8 O Clock Coffee. It's pretty cheap, so I wasn't sure I wanted to try it. I take my coffee pretty seriously. ;) It's actually pretty good, though


ME: I did see that but haven't bought it. It reminds me of the poor days of shopping at A&P and that was the cheapest but I wouldn't buy it. I will try it when I find it


HER: Here is the link to the package. I like my coffee dark and strong, so I got the Columbia blend.


HER: The other brand I like is the organic Archer Farms brand, but that's exclusive to Target. Did you like the Dunkin' Donuts coffee


SOMEONE ELSE: As a bit of a coffee snob, I think that Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee is perhaps the worst coffee I have ever tasted in my life. While in New England, we spent many hours looking for alternatives and often had to go without coffee for days. I saw that taste test on 8 O'Clock as one of the best store bought brands but haven't tried it. Good luck.


ME: It doesn't have the punch that Folgers darkest blend has. Tom says it doesn't have any aroma when he makes the coffee. Maybe I will have him pick up each of what Target sells and have a true 'test'. To Sean: Wish you could have been in the old country church basements with coffee cooking on the old wood stove......NO coffee ever smelled so good.


Although the church ladies of 1939 may have bought Nash Coffee at two pounds for fifty-nine cents, we are looking at coffee's that are more than that per ounce.


Eight O'clock Coffee is the cheapest of the bags of coffee, but it is NOT the cheapest coffee. It does not appear the study included cans of coffee, such as Folgers, (33 cents per ounce); Hills Brothers, (28 cents an ounce); or Maxwell House, (23 cents an ounce). The study from New York Daily News did compare Folgers (in a vacuum can) with bags. Or, at least that is how I read it.


However, look at this price list. All coffees are listed by ounce and the price is from Fargo, ND Hornbacher's grocery.


69 cents --Caribou

64 cents--Dunkin

43 cents--Eight O'clock

71 cents--Milestone (prices vary to as much as 91 cents an ounce).

82 cents--Starbucks


If you would like to read the article, here is the link: www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2009/02/05/20...



May I have my Eight O'clock at 7AM? Do I need a doughnut with the Dunkin? Do Alaskans drink Caribou? Do Stars really buck and if so, is it a mile stone? Did you know there was a Thomas Coffee?
Have a sip!
e


No comments: