 As much I appreciate some righteous bean at home in the morning and after a restaurant meal, I'm pretty cavalier about office coffee. Perhaps it's that I'm so super-glued to my desk that even a stroll to the break room seems positively exotic, but I've never been someone prone to making a 'Bux run part of her workday. It's more maintenance* than anything, so I've made my peace with pod coffee - Flavia, Senseo, Keurig, whatever's on offer in the automatic hot beverage delivery system - but I've developed a little ritual to sate my inner food fusspot. I make a "Faux-mericano," which entails poking a button to draw a strong, espresso-esque shot of the darkest blend on hand, top with hot tap water (huzzah, how it foams!) and add a dash of half-and-half. Over the years, I've polled colleagues on the topic and it turns out a sizable segment dolls up their drink in some way. One added ice, cream and a slew of sugar packets. Another pulled two strong shots, then poured in skim milk, holding his other hand next to the cup until the liquid's color matched his skin. Still another dropped an espresso shot into a cup poured at standard strength and chugged it straight, no milk or sugar. She was...perky. Yes, in an ideal world, we'd all take a leisurely mid-afternoon lope to La Petite Cafe Fetishista for shade-grown Kona, brewed in a Clover coffee rig that costs more than cars I've owned and topped with latte art renditions of Vermeer portraits, but then we'd miss the daily grind of our private ritual. Do you futz with the Flavia? Sussed out a Senseo tweak? Let us know in the comments below and we'll share our favorites. *Yes, I have tried repeatedly to ditch caffeine. It's not humane to the people around me. |
  Recent Posts
 |
 |
|
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertise with us | About us | Help | Advertising Practices
If I absolutely have to drink the office coffee I will use a hot chocolate packet as the creamer. It takes the edge off.
We have gone through plenty of coffee changes at my workplace in the last year. For some reason, whenever we run out of coffee, someone always buys a different brand (some better than others). Also due to budget constraints, they stopped buying little liquid creamers – now they only offer powdered creamer (ick). As a result, two coworkers and I are on a rotational coffee creamer schedule (each of us buys a flavored creamer, usually hazelnut, on a weekly basis). That way, we still enjoy liquid creamer, and save a little too. (And we have a cool tongue-in-cheek name – "The Cream Team." As for my coffee, three sugars (real sugar) and enough creamer until it floats to the top. Stir, enjoy. Second cup mid morning.
I pour black coffee into an available cup, let it cool for 3-4 minutes and then I drink it. It's a very complicated system but I almost have it down
Black coffee with some dried, crushed red peppers, the same peppers that some people sprinkle on pizza, is my favorite, and if I make it for other people I put whipped cream on top. I discovered this wonderful concoction when I was in Budapest, and it's great!
I'm easy. Just give me something with caffeine and some kind of lightener. If I drank coffee all day I'd be fussier, but since I only drink it in the mornings I could give a darn. Just wake me up.
Our work has a fantastic coffee machine that is hooked right into the water line and prepackaged filters with Foldgers coffee. You drop the filter in, hit the "start" button, and here comes the coffee. It doesn't matter who makes it, how they like it...the coffee is the same every time. I love that people can't mess with the coffee and make it strong or weak according to their taste.
I also do love to mix in a packet of hot cocoa. I do that in the winters for an occasional afternoon mocha treat.
My cure for bad office coffee is to add a packet of instant hot chocolate to my cup and then fill with coffee.
You poor Yanks. Cuban coffee is the way to go. That is, if you like your coffee black–no sugar, no cream. Cuban is a great tasting coffee that bitter Starbucks can't offer.
Straight black coffee from a french press is the only way to drink caffine.
I use two Green Mountain pods and mix in a Nestle hot chocolate mix, to make my "poor man's mocha".
I am working at an office that has a Flavia Fusion 400 coffee maker. There is a large drawer cabinet filled with a variety of flavors of coffee, including 2 step cappuccinos, hot chocolates, teas, candy bar mixes and a variety of espressos and coffees. I bring my own half and half to add. I love that machine. It's an adult version of being in a candy store.
I use NutriCafe in all my coffee makers. Great coffee, no burn smooth and they say it is healthier for you to boot! I haven't been sick in a while and it is the only thing I have done differently. Great brew!
a big glass, ice, coffee, a squirt or two of good melted chocolate and almond milk stir and drink, yummy
Okay so tell me if this is odd...one of my coworkers puts salt in her coffee. She will put like 5 or 6 of those small packets of salt in a small cup of very strong black coffee and nothing else. She says it cuts the bitterness out...
I've never seen anybody do that before and I think its just disgusting and very odd but maybe I'm wrong..maybe more people do it and I'm just not aware of it.
It may sound odd, but I will try it sometime. I can't swallow black coffee and I drink a lot of calories since I "take a little coffee with my half and half".
Swiss Miss or Ovaltine all the way! Although I recently quit drinking coffee (I'm not sure how I've made it so long honestly-7 weeks 3 days now). I used to also grind my own coffee and would add a few balls of allspice, a bit of cinnamon stick and a couple nutmeg sprigs to the beans then grind it all up together. Then just a dash of cream and a bit of sugar and you're ready to go! This is such a cozy drink.
I've now opted for what I call the "Poor Man's Chai". Brew a cup of strong black tea (I prefer Tetley's), add two spoons of sugar and about half a spoon of cinnamon. Once nice and dark, pour over a tall glass of ice and fill with skim milk. I have yet to try it hot, as it's summer and I keep pouring it over ice, but it's delicious!
I'll most likely end up drinking the "Blue Collar Coffee" once it gets cold again. I can't imagine a winter without it!
I put carnation instant breakfast in mine. you get flavor and vitamins =)
I would put Obama's birth certificate in my coffee....if you could prove it exists and present it to me! But you can't!
1 packet of hot chocolate to my coffee please! And yes, with marshmellows! Make it steamy hot and add half n half and Im nice to everyone for the rest of the day. :-D
whiskey!
A teaspoon of Godiva liqueur or amaretto cream liqueur will make just about any cup of generic "office coffee" palatable. Just don't get caught with it ;)
I'm not sure why it hasn't been mentioned yet, but cardamom is a very popular spice to add to coffee in the mideast. in fact, turkish coffee might be brewed with up to 40% cardamom and other spices (although somebody did mention garam masala, which typically contains cardamom, cinnamon, clove, etc) Turkish requires a very fine grind and some time so it's not as easy to do. For a quick turkish flavor, adding fresh ground cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and honey to a drip brew does season it quite nicely. I've heard you can add the spices to the pre-brewed grounds, but I've never tried it like that. If you add ground spices post brew, just don't drink it to the bottom.
My husband used to put 2 sugar-free malted milk balls in the cup, then fill it with hot coffee.
Thats histerical and the best addition Ive read yet!
I add a packet of Swiss Miss on cold days. Another favorite of mine for hot days is dissolving a tablespoon of instant coffee in a little bit of very hot water and then fill it up with ice cold vanilla Soy Milk.
Now i don't feel too strongly about ditching coffee.
I add a packet of Swiss Miss on cold days. Another favorite of mine for hot days is dissolving a tablespoon of instant coffee in a little bit of very hot water and then fill it up with ice cold Silk vanilla Soy Milk.
We have a local Coffee Shop, that roasts it's own beans – it's been here since the mid 90's and their coffee is AMAZING. But I can't afford to run there every morning and get me Grande Dark Chocolate Mocha or their signature Chocolate Java Shake...I CAN purchase their whole Beans, and brew a pot in the morning in my Grind-n-brew Cuisinart we got for christmas...and they have LOTS of different roasts, so I can choose to mix-n-match, kind of make my own blend. But at heart, I'm a coffee snob – I will NOT drink starbucks, dunkin doughnuts, or anything else. I've even gotten so bad as to buy my mother coffee from Java Jacks, so that when we visit, I have my REAL coffee.
I brew a single cup of French Vanilla flavored coffee and add a spoonful of hot coco mix, a dash of creamer, and a packet of sugar. Tastes somewhere between a mocha and a cappuccino.
A few of us coffee fiends in the office got fed up with the mediocre coffee provided by the company. We pooled together and purchased a good grinder and take turns bringing in whole beans from our favorite roasters. The sound of the grinder has become our cue to gather for a great cup of coffee. It even promotes a little cross-departmental networking.
I like a dark, extra bold coffee, but with a tinge of smooth sweetness. So, I use my Keurig to give me that bold coffee, then I stir a White Swizzle sugar stick (Rock Candy on a 5" wooden stirrer) in my cup... gives a much smoother sweetness than the standard processed sugars and provides a much purer form of sugar without the impurities normally found. Swizzle sticks are sometimes hard to find... I eventually found mine at Scandinavian Spice. Using swizzle sticks as stirrers in bourbon or Irish Whiskey also works great for those of us who like our whiskey straight but without a bit of the edge.
Sugar is sugar.
I wuv my Senseo machine. I even make my own pods with a pod maker I got from Sky Mall. But I'm running out of papers. Sky Mall doesn't seem to carry the papers any more. Anyone know where I can buy some?
Make them. Improvise.
In theory that might be a good idea, but the machine uses heat to fuse the pod paper. So it has to be a material that sticks to itself when heated, but stays shut when the water is forced through, and also has no chemical residue that might be toxic. So that would rule out tea bags, coffee filter paper, and interfacing from the fabric store.
I selected a Keurig coffee maker only because I could buy an filter accessory so I make any coffee in it without buying the little Keurig cups. However, in practice, it is so messy that I bought a second coffee maker, a Bunn machine, that has an internal chamber that keeps water hot so makes standard coffee fast. I switch off between the two depending on my mood (and my stock of K-cups). The only caveat is, I can't leave my Bunn machine unused for more than a couple days because the internal water will dry up and burn out the machine. I can turn it off, but I'd much rather use the switcharoo method.
I always add some type of sweetener and some type of creamer or milk, though what I use will depend on what's on hand and how long ago my last trip to the grocery store was. I've been known to add powdered sugar or maple syrup just to have some sweetness when I've run out of white or brown sugar or honey.
Lately I have been doing to low carb thing, so I pour my 8 oz of coffee brewed on the strong setting, add in 2 TBSP of half and half, 1 packet of splenda, 1 packet of the new splenda coffee flavor packets in french vanilla, and top with some light whipped cream! Approx 3 net carbs or for you calorie watchers 50 cal!
Black coffee with a shot of whiskey (preferably Jamison). Accompany that with a cigarette and you are ready to face the day.
I bring my own coffee from home every morning (unless I forget and leave it on the kitchen counter). Then I switch to tea that I keep at work. I drink tea with nothing added so it works out well. Try Hot Cinnamon Spice from Harney and Sons. Yummy! Can't deal with bad coffee. I will pass on that!
I love to add some evaporated milk, cinnamon, and vanilla, and splenda to coffee. Orange extract placed into the pot the night before is good too. YUM. As for ramen noodles, try putting the flavor packet in the water, cook em, add in some frozen peas, then drain completly, then add a slice of provolone or swiss to melt on top. fab!
What planet is the writer of this article from? Obviously not Earth.
I have two words for you: FRENCH PRESS. So simple to use and all of your co-workers will be jealous you get a fresh brewed cup with little effort. My former co-workers and I bought a few to share in our floor's kitchen and watched as the supplied instant coffee machine gathered dust.
A french press will cost you $350.00 in Las Vegas...:)
that made laugh outloud!!! must share this with my friends..thanks
I used a French press for a long time but it's messy and my coffee is never hot enough (after I add half and half). I consider the new quick coffee machines (Keurig, Flavia) to be the next step up although coffee connoisseurs might not agree.
Well, when I make my own at home, I grind my own beans (preferrably either a light roast or a medium-dark from Papua New Guinea), add about 2 teaspoons of salt per three cups, then brew in a French press. Add sugar and milk to taste afterwards, and it's heaven in a cup.
When I'm on the go, though, I usually go with a generous helping of cream and Splenda, and about a half packet of salt (the latter two first, as it dissolves better in the warmer coffee). Not quite as good as what I make at home, but it still gets me through the day.
Is this column even written in English?
my grandfather taught me this little ditty that got my mouth washed out with soap when i was about 6 years old. i didn't know it was a nasty song..he was a great man, a funny man..taught me what i need to know about coffee, making boats, rolling cigars and how to drink a little whiskey (all while in grade school!!)..so here's the ditty..
old miss curry was walking down the road
i was walking along behind her
she bent over to tie her shoe
and i saw her coffee grinder..
i
I like to mix a hot cocoa packet in my coffee at the office. It's like a mocha! Sometimes I get weird looks and questions from coworkers.
First, figure out the packet ratio. One is not enough. One and a half is about right. Second, avoid tap water. Use bottled or filtered. If bitterness is the problem, try adding a pinch of salt to the grounds. Make sure to get your cup right after its finished brewing to avoid the burnt taste and don't use packets or powered creamer.
Add just a sprinkle of salt to the coffee grounds and it will kill the bitter after taste of drip coffee.
Thanks, I am going to try it!
I got tired of being the only one who ever actually cleaned the damned coffee maker at work. People would say– you're cleaning away the flavor! Not only that, but a penny-pinching office manager changed to the cheapest-ass M****** H**** coffee one could get. In the words of Bill the Cat: AAACK! Simple solution for me: I have my 2 cups in the morning at home, have tea the rest of the day. Always a fresh cuppa (I wash my own cup) and no more cleaning or complaining!
At home– I've been sweetening with honey for years and years. Prefer Tupelo when I can get it. A dash of whole or 2% milk. The milk keeps my tummy from complaining. That's it. Anything fancier, I go to a coffee bar.
I love reading all your responses ! You guys are creative. I think I'm average–big cup strong Sumatran or Kenyan, brewed in my single-cup coffeemaker at home with double-filtered water, with a nice big splash of half & half (NEVER creamer !) and a nice heap of sugar. Crappy coffee sucks. My workplace does not provide coffee.
I add a scoop or two of hot chocolate mix...add coffee...you have a VERY cheap mocha!
I like my coffee with a heaping teaspoon of sugar, a little powdered French Vanillla creamer and the main ingredient, an ounce or so of Bailey's Irish Creme! Of course this is at home only! After all this, the water and the type of coffee is irrelevent. Freeze dried will do..
We've got a Flavia machine with a pretty decent selection of coffee packets. I put about an ounce of half-n-half into my cup first, then run one pack of Vanilla, and two packs of Hazelnut on the espresso setting for a triple-espresso. Whips the creamer into a nice, steamy froth and fits perfectly into a standard styrofoam cup. Then I sweeten to taste (6 sugars for me) and pour the whole thing over a large tumbler full of ice. The result is a better-than-decent iced-coffee that is not watered down – thanks to the espresso.
Drinking one as a type.
Why does my employer (and just about everyone on here) provide free coffee to their employees? I don't drink coffee, but have several bottles of pop every day. I deserve MY form of caffine free, as well, but I have to purchase my vice while coffee drinkers get a free ride. Is that fair? I say it is descriminatory against pop drinkers! My employer is an anti-popite! A RAVING ANTI-POPITE! The coffee drinkers even get special add-ons so they can fix up their brew with sweeteners or flavors. What do we pop drinkers get? Bupkis! I had hoped that we lived in a world where these types of descrimanatory practices were a thing of the past. Pop drinkers of the world, UNITE! Demand your God-given right to free pop. Are we not human, like our coffee-addicted brothern? If you prick us do we not bleed as they do? I say march into your boss's office today, this very minute, and make your demands known. Point out this disparaging treatment. Surely they will see the logic in our reasoning.
Wow. I think I need some more caffine.
Bummer. My employer also provides coke and diet coke for the non-coffee crowd. Sure, we all took 10% pay-cuts across the board about a year ago, but at least we have our coffee and soda.
Hmm... now that I think about it, I'd rather have my original salary back. Dammit.
Office coffee is nasty (Flavia, frozen Dunkin Donuts slurry one year old). Life is too short to drink cheap beer or bad coffee. The good stuff is worth the wait. I use a french press and fresh roasted, ground beans at my desk. 110% better and quite convenient.
the coffee at work is it's own form of torture. they do supply hot chocolate in the packets, so I've been putting that in my coffee – it helps! At home, use percolator coffee – much better than drip – want flavor – add vanilla or cinnamon to the grounds before perking. Cheaper than the flavored "creamer" you buy!
My spousal unit makes me coffee for me (even though he can't stand it himself), and he adds a dash of garam masala and a tiny bit of vanilla extract directly into the coffee before it brews. It is fantastic!
Americano. Hot Milk. That's all I need. I really don't like all these extras.... creams, syrups, especially cheap powdered stuff. Horrible, horrible. I don't drink instant coffee either. If that makes me a coffee snob, well fine. At the end of the day, I'm drinking good coffee that I enjoy. I'm a student, and somebody I was having a conversation with the other day was completely shocked that I can drink ground coffee as opposed to Nescafe Instant and ALSO be a student. Went right over her head.
We have some ground orouba coffee off to the side and i always add a scoop or two of that to my regular coffee along with creamer
I just purchased some geek ice trays (Brains and Space Invaders) so that I can freeze the leftover coffee at the end of the day. When I come in to the office in the morning, instead of having hot coffee on a hot day, I use one coffee-ice-brain, some hot water (because it is STRONG!) and some fresh coffee. In a fewminutes I have a perfect temperature, strength, tasting coffee to start my day.
Ted- will you marry me?
:-)
Many years ago I worked at Wendy's. First thing I did upon opening the store was start the Frosty machine, then I started the first pot of coffee. I would put about 1/2 cup of Frosty in the bottom of a large styrofoam cup, then pour the coffee over it. BEST COFFEE EVER!!! I don't know why Wendy's doesn't offer this as a menu item.
That sounds awesome! It's on my list :)
Out of desperation, I have substituted ice cream for half and half in my coffee. However, it gets really sweet without completely cutting the bitterness of the coffee. Not my idea of a good cup but maybe good for sweet lovers.
At work I only drink coffee black, no sugar, no cream–otherwise those extra few calories add up and I gain weight.
At home, in the morning I use chocolate soy milk mixed with nonfat plain yoghurt the way other people use cream. At night, I add a shot of amaretto.
I guess I'm not really trying all that hard to keep my weight down.
I drink coffee with two sugars and one cream (sometimes two creams). All the various flavors and styles you mention are irrelevant to me. I'll even microwave a cup of yesterday's old, cold brew - its just fine that way. My word, instant coffee is even acceptable. Three to five cups of coffee a day, sometimes more, is typical for me. I think you are a coffee snob. I may be a coffee slob, but at least I'm not pretentious. I think you are WAY too picky, no disrespect intended. Think long and hard about the awful coffee that cowboys and soldiers and cops have to drink. Be thankful for what you have.
So, no joke, my uncle Lance, a woodsy outdoorsman, loves adding Tobasco sauce to his coffee. The combination, he says, keeps him warm on hunting trips.
jrduren..the Tobasco sauce thing is just awesome..will have to try it. I have a very old cookbook (1900) that has several coffee pieces..one thing was coffee with butter in it. I tried it..it was so gross...slimy buttery coffee..
I had a friend make me try adding Tabasco to my coffee and it was surprisingly good! Just a drop or two adds a little flavor to any dirty-tasting coffee.
Fox news bla bla bla obama bla bla bla bush! Bla bla bla!
i think flavored creamers are yuk...and the thought of adding cheese or granola bars makes me cringe..good coffee, not too strong but strong enough with a good sugar and a touch of 1/2 & 1/2....it makes me a better person..
One word: Proofread. Two more: Spare me.
What a stupid article.
this article's headline said "You put WHAT in your coffee"!
so the only reason i clicked on it was because the headline insinuated that someone puts weird things in their coffee.
but no, we get some boring-ass story about people foaming ESpresso with a straw.
hard-hitting reporting Kat, i know about 20 unemployed people with more observational talent than you.
resign and give your job to someone useful. is this all you did today? write an article about coffee?
jeez people...it's a fluff piece...no one's getting a grade on this article and if you are taking the time to read it and proof it maybe you should see it for what it is..fun..news doesn't have to be blood, politics and rage..sometimes we need a little article that makes us smile. Coffee has been a part of my life for 45 years. My grandfather loved his coffee, made on the stove. he taught me how to make it, drink it and appreciate it. We lived in the middle of no where on a huge farm and coffee was how you started your day. I love the stories he shared with me over a cup of joe..ease up people..it's okay to smile occasionally.
matt-
read a different article..
The writer did do her job today. She got you to click on the headline. So far she's gotten over 200 people to click on the the link and get them to discuss their addiction.
I'm just surprised there's no mention of shots of Kahlua or Bourbon anywhere in the article or comments.
Oh, I did a couple of other things besides write the piece, but mostly I was really tired. Coffee keeps you up at night, don'tcha know...
Is there any writer or any topic that can be written about in today's world that doesn't elicit reader complaints? I feel sorry for journalists. I was just thinking that there aren't too many subjects that can bring people together anymore. Most are divisive.
I got a lot of good ideas from reading the comments so I am happy the article was published.
I use a french press at home. I put the coffee in and then I tear apart my favourite granola bar and add that to it. Pour the steaming hot water into that mixture and let it sit. Makes a brilliant flavour.
Why are people who do not drink coffee commenting on an article about how to "dress up" coffee?
MoTown- you have a GREAT point..
It's funny how after college I became a coffee snob, same way I became a beer snob! Didn't care to drink any more draft beer (or even domestics) and the office coffee was just definitely not going to cut it! My co-workers were too cheap to want to chip in for better coffee, so I just drink my coffee at home before I go to work. I like my coffee sweet and my absolute favorite is to add Coffee Mate's Amaretto creamer. Not every grocery store carries this flavor, so I stock up whereever I find it! The brands other than Coffee Mate are not the same so they don't count.
My office has extremely nasty drip coffee, but most of the time I forget to bring in my small coffee press or buy decent beans on my own. So I mix in a packet of hot cocoa mix, and if its available, French vanilla-flavored creamer.
I usually use the left over coffee. Sometimes when my coworkers piss me off I piss in the coffee pot. Wait, this isn't post secret?
At my office we have both coffee and keurig cups, so I like to make a half cup of coffee and a quarter cup of hot chocolate. I mix them together, and depending how I'm feeling I may add in a couple packets of sugar just to make it extra sweet. It's kind of like a makeshift mocha.
The 5:30 am shift at a popular bakery chain was no treat. A double shot of espresso with 3 pumps of chocolate syrup made the morning slightly more bearable. Leaving out the milk made it faster to drink down.
That's right ... it's the water! That's why you get such lousy coffee in England and the English drink mainly tea. Very soft water makers bad coffee.
I can safely say in the military we do some strange and often desperate things to get our caffiene fix. When your in the field and all you have is a twenty dollar coffee pot and a limitted supply of coffee you find some rather odd ways of getting a decent cup. To include mixing hot chocolate with coffee for a "mochacino", or reusing yesterdays grinds "cuz they still got some juice", but my all time favorite is using a clean T-shirt as a filter since you ran out of paper ones.
Thank you for your service to our country!
For single serve coffee, I think the Aerobie AeroPress is awesome.
Love my AeroPress! Wish they made a non-plastic version.
I found an awesome way to add flavor to coffee cheaply–add Hershey's Caramel Syrup. YUM!
I suggest Jameson's
In the company break roomI watched a guy put 2 packets of hot chocolate, four packets of sugar and six creamers in his coffee.
Incredulously I ask. "What are you doing?!"
"Making a Ghetto-Mocha," he replied.
No one's used the term "coffee break." I get my coffee from the machine, nuke it for 30 seconds, and then have a forced relaxation while I sip it over the next 10 minutes or so.
I started making my own bottled mochas when my wife started bringing home quart jars of juice she drinks from Trader Joes. I started off with strong black coffee (I use an eight cup coffee decanter) using fresh beans, then added about a quarter of a cup of chocolate creamer, three teaspoons of cocoa powder, three teaspoons of organic sugar, a wee bit of skim milk and then cap it off and shake it until everything is blended. Then I let it cool down and then refridgerate it. My biggest problem is that I can drink this down in one sitting.
i don't drink coffee. does that count?
I make French Vanilla coffee at work and add two French Vanilla creamers and mix that with a packet of Splenda and a pinch of cinnammon, Delicious!!
We detest pod coffee so greatly here at On Air that we've brought out own coffee maker and we supply the beanage. Wen you start yoyur day before the sun is even in the shower, you need coffee that doesn't come from a factory floor. Coffee is the life blood of those who deliver news in the wee hours. If there ws no java, there woukld be no news until noon.
I have a secret stash of Turkish coffee in my desk for the really difficult mornings! That's the original energy drink...
Love your writing style, Kat! Do you write a blog by chance?
Aw, thanks!
This is pretty much the only place I'm blogging these days, but I sure do Tweet: http://twitter.com/kittenwithawhip/
I've had to get used to the Pod thing as well. However subject aside, this article is really hard to read. I'm not sure if Kat is just trying to sound "cool" or "smart" but some of the words chosen were actually distracting.
I've had to get used to the Pod thing as well. However subject aside, this article is really hard to read. I'm not sure if Kat is just trying to sound "cool" or "smart" but some of the words chose were actually distracting.
Another awesome treat (for me) is to drop a caramel into my coffee and let it melt. There's usually some sort of caramel or chocolate caramel (rollo) in the office vending machine.
I make my own from the Ronco cold brew system and keep it in the fridge at work. It tastes better because there's less acid–and I have a 4-stage water filter at home. I bring my own milk too because that "creamer" is nothing but chemicals. Some of my coworkers are REALLY curious about what I'm carrying in that bottle–one of them even (jokingly?) accused me of drinking Bailey's at 8:00 in the morning–I offered her a taste, but she refused.
there is nothing wrong with a bit o baileys in your coffee on a work day...:)
I am somewhat a coffee snob and the office variety just wouldn't do it for me and paying Starbucks price daily is both a health and financial concern. I have started my own organic coffee business featuring healthy coffee and tea. Our products are infused with an herb named Ganoderma Lucidum. gmurray.organogold.com
The best thing you can do to improve office coffee (when it comes in premeasured packets) is to use two packets instead of one and if it's too strong for some, water it down. NEVER make weak coffee, Weak coffee means over extracted coffee. Make strong coffee and water it down to taste. That's why Americanos taste so good compared to a regular drip coffee.
Most office coffee pots will do just hot water so there's no reason not to have a small stainless steel french press with you and just make your own.
I am a coffee snob myself and at home only make the best espressos but when forced to drink brewed coffee i like it with a little dash of cinnamon and some cream. Never milk or non dairy creamer, cream or half and half. It's just a dollop and it's lower in carbs anyhow. Cinnamon can really spruce up a mediocre coffee is used sparingly.
horrible coffee is better than no coffee.
While at work at the diner, we have the industrial grinder/brewers. I usually make two pots worth of fresh beans and brew it at once for a double shot in one pot. Then, depending on my mood, I either use Hershey's syrup, vanilla syrup, whipped cream, whole milk and the cocoa machine to make a mocha/latte kinda thing. With an extra jolt, of course. Otherwise, I cram the entire thing into a shake metal mixing cup (Half a pot at once, there) filled with ice and make me an iced coffee. Works wonders for 'perkiness'. A one cup miracle. XD
My former boss used to add a ridiculous amount of honey, as in, half the cup (no hyperbole). She's Moroccan, so I guess that falls in line with the Middle Eastern = ZOMG SWEET COFFEE stereotype.
I prefer mine blacker than the blackest black, times infinity, thank you very much, even the turpentine from Denny's.
Very poorly written. What's her point?
I've had to get used to the Pod thing as well. However subject aside, this article is really hard to read. I'm not sure if Kat is just trying to sound "cool" or "smart" but some of the words chose were actually distracting.
Coffee is for weaklings. If you think you need to have bad tasting murky brown water to get through the day you are a wuss. It's just an excuse for most people to add more sugar to their diet. Drinking hot or warm liquids makes you sleepy, then throw in the caffine and a ton of sugar and what do you have....a screwed up mental state. Down with Coffee and all who drink it! (this is from the guy who has to stock and clean up after all the nasty coffee drinkers)
STANK BREATH!
You are so right. COFFEE SUX!!!! It should be outlawed.
Office coffee may be crappy, but most of the time it can be fixed easily. Something as simple as making sure the coffee pot is clean makes a huge difference. Also, have the office invest in a large thermos (http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Vacuum-Insulated-2-qt-Beverage-Dispenser/dp/B00006WNRZ) for the office. Leaving the coffee pot on all day will burn the coffee terribly. If you do want to invest in freshly roasted beans, go to a coffee shop that actually does it themselves. It should run you about $10-$12 a pound for a good roast. All of the coffee bought in stores, INCLUDING starbucks, has been sitting around for 6 months–1 year or more!
My office does provide starbucks to brew. However, the morning coffee at the office was just awful until I determined the receptionist was making it on top of yesterday's coffee. Got that straightened out then convinced the powers that be to provide the liquid creamer and not the powdery stuff. Because, clients don't much care to shake the packets down and put that in their coffee.
Now I consider myself the luckiest woman alive with hot fresh coffee brewed often with real creamer. That was a huge jump from starting out at my first job which provided instant coffee and powdered creamer. There is really nothing you can do to make that better. Yuk.
Yes! I do a packet of Swiss Miss, then add half hot water and half "work coffee", and if I'm looking for something entirely too sweet I'll add a couple french vanilla creamers. I call it a "worcha" (work mocha). Yum?
My trick to a "latte" – take whipping cream, beat until almost stiff. Add vanilla and blend a little. Then add cinammon to taste then a mix of cocoa powder with powdered sugar. Add a heaping spoon to your coffee with more sweetener. Oh goodness, heaven in a cup!
In my sleepless parent-w-newborn-baby phase I once put a scoop of formula in my coffee. Quick stir, not bad at all. A few months after that I dropped a spoonful of mushy baby rice-cereal into my coffee cup, again by accident. My 6 mo old had refused the bite, after it was already inserted in his drooly maw. As i pulled the spoon back towards me, plop, whole wet mess dropped in my coffee. I kept drinking that cup, too. Meh.
Disgusting and hysterical, Smellie, thanks for the morning laugh.
Lol.
Tried the "2 birds 1 stone" trick this one time. I figured my vanilla flavored whey protein powder could also serve as a creamer. Needless to say – it didn't work out. Had to trudge through the midnight shift sipping a frothy, sour, hot mess from my thermos.
Really? I've been adding whey protein powders to my coffee for the past couple of weeks and haven't had any problems. Actually, I take that back. When I attempted to mix them with hot coffee they clumped up and were nasty to the point I had to dump them. Mixing them with warm or cold coffee in a shaker bottle has been much more successful (she says as she sips her chocolate protein enhanced coffee over ice).
Life is too short for bad coffee.
In theory, Kris, you are correct. In practice however, sometimes when you just need some java, a sub-par cup is better than none.
My co-worker put Cheese in her coffee. I've yet to see it, but she says it is very delicious. :)
Cheese??? Wow, not really able to wrap my head around that one. Maybe it goes along with the college ironing board grilled cheese sandwiches. A new short cut – just put he whole thing in the coffee and go.
Turkish coffee with cardamom and honey... just "Wow"!
I've finally found the solution to boring, ugly office coffee. I keep some packets of Starbucks VIA around and lace the bland office coffee with a packet – it actually comes pretty close to the real thing!
That's right! VIA is the best for instant coffee!
I had to comment about the VIA. I picked up a pack at the commissary the other day and the sweet checker was outraged at the price. I'm glad to know that my money was well spent...thank you. And thanks to my frugal checker :)
I don't drink coffee, actually, so I'm just a coffee voyeur. But I notice that how coffee is prepped at the pour station tends to vary more by birth place than anything else. People who seem to be born in America are either straight up black drinkers, or into the latest flavors and varieties. They also spend more on the Seattle blends that our office offers, rather than the plain old black coffee that comes out of the big machines. People from Far East tend to dilute the coffee with water and add natural, earthy flavors like a shot of Hazelnut or Almond. People from the Mid-East use SUGAR (like 6-8 packets) and a dash of cream. Whereas people from the Southern Asian countries make it pale with cream or milk, and a dash of sugar. Spanish heritage folks seem to also like this milky coffee, but add more sugar.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and coffee tends to be a personal thing. But I notice that the coffee 'herds' as I call them all tend to take coffee about the same way. And considering that I don't drink caffeine at all, I don't know how I'm so hyper-observant in the mornings.
Years ago a true coffee hound caught me diluting my office coffee. "How can you DO that to that DISHWATER???". He adds instant to his, and admitted he may be the only guy who goes to a middle east restaurant and orders his expresso extra-strong.
Half a cup of 2% nicely foamed till it almost runs over, then a shot of Lavazza espresso the company provides! Voila: open eyes!
A splash of real maple syrup and creamer does the trick for me on a Sunday morning.
I'm one of these folks who likes it black, likes it with cream, likes it with honey no cream, splenda no cream, sugar no cream, then all those combos with cream, and doesn't mind a latte or syrup now and then... really any way. Out of half and half this morning, so was black with a teaspoon of sugar (which is not really black but hey!). It really depends on my mood, how good the coffee is (the better it is, the blacker I take the coffee) and how it's prepared (I really can work a French Press, so if I use it, then I'll tend to use less lightening).
I can't drink the our office coffee. We do have a Starbucks in our building, just one floor down from my office but even Starbucks' coffee has been dumbed down. I have settled on green tea from Republic of Tea. Yeah, it doesn't pack the same caffeine punch. If I am in great need for caffeine, diet Mt. Dew.
Nespresso is the only thing I drink at the office. I've bought my own machine and order my own cups. With heating milk in the microwave I have a better cappuccino than you get at Starbucks but much cheaper (and better).
My dad used to add a teaspoon of butter to his cup of coffee, and added some sugar. Try it; you'll like it.
Does your dad look like a butterball now?
No, he's dead. Jerk.
By the time I am finished with, as my husband says, ruining my coffee...it tastes fantastic to me. I care not for strong , bitter coffee, so I like my in the mid range...not too strong or weak. My favorite is chocolate flavored coffee with much added french vanilla creamer and half and half. Don't forget a packet each of sweet and low and splenda.
You are right...I just don't like coffee but I love the taste of my doctored version that would make any real coffee lover cringe. I like the Keuigs and am considering purchasing one. Then I can have a daily adventure in flavors that real coffee lovers detest.
Bit of Swiss Miss powder ~ for that mocha appeal.
The box of packages I purchased at Sam's Club should last 'til Doomsday.
For a while I was bringing a french press in to work. Then I ran out of the fresh coffee I bought in puerto rico and it just didn't seem worth the effort anymore.
My office has a Flavia machine. I can't stand the cr ap that comes out of it so I brought my own grinder and french press to get some real coffee.
TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS!!!!! Is all I hear before the first coffee run of the day. Then afterwards it continues TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS TIM HORTONS!!!!! just a little faster though because of the caffeine.
Some years ago I got introduced to adding a sliver of lemon peel to my expresso. I began ordering a long, double expresso with lemon peel in it. It was fantastic. After awhile I began to add more lemon peel. The peel takes the bitterness out of the coffee.
Receently I began adding candied ginger to my expressoes, instead of the lemon peel. This gives the coffee a real kick.
Sometimes I put the lemon peel and candied ginger in the coffee together. You get a great exotic taste this way.
There is no 'x' in espresso! Good lord!
Just a little fat free French Van. creamer – either the store bought, or home made. It has to be the fat free stuff though, the sugar free, and regular stuff is way too sweet.
Yes, water can play a factor in the quality of your fresh brewed cup of joe, but most importantly is how it's brewed. At home I ONLY use a french press. And I ONLY make one cup at a time. Here at work, we have a Mr. Coffee which takes about 10 minutes to complete a bath of coffee and it's the most horrid coffee that I must drown it in French Vanilla Creamer.
I drink coffee off and on, but when I do I love a vanilla coffee with cream, sugar and a quarter shot of rum... especially in the wintertime!!!
I normally just drink it black, but, when available, my favorite way to dress up my coffee with honey and a little soy milk. Makes it so much smoother and enjoyable.
Tea is my favorite : )
I put in one rounded scoop of coffee, whatever half way decent brand of coffee happened to be on sale that week, in my Krups drip machine (not a fancy one but good), about 1.3 cups of water – all this is done the night before. Get up in the morning, take my morning walk and run, take my shower, then as I go downstairs to shave I turn on the machine. When I a am fully dressed and ready for the day I take my cup, add half & half and some Splenda and sit out on my porch for about 30 minutes contemplating life and thanking G-d for all that I have. Then I go inside and get to work.
The coffee at work is useless brown water. When I need coffee I get up get in my car and go get one. The boss is fine with this as long as he gets one too since letting me go get it is cheaper than buying good stuff for work.
At my old office, we had an awful coffee service that did provide a coffee maker with filtered water. We would buy whole bean coffee from Trader Joe's and grind that up into palatable coffee. It was a joy to work in the morning! We eventually filled the gap between cupboards and celeing in the kitchen with the coffee containers stacked three high. I think it was my greatest accomplishment there...
I enjoy my Keurig. I am the only coffee drinker at home and so for me it's perfect. I purchased a milk frother so I can enjoy latte's and capuccino's as well. A couple of teaspoons of nestle quick chocolate mix and I have my perfect mocha. I hate extra sugar and so for me I save money, and I get the taste I want.
A bit off topic, but I've actually got this thing against hazelnut flavored coffee. For some reason, drinking hazelnut coffee has a strange taste like drinking vanilla coffee while simultaneously getting punched in the throat. However, my wife loved the stuff until she quit drinking coffee (with no incidents of violence, I might add). As a result, we would sometimes come from the store with a container of the stuff. Inevitably, my standard roast would run out, leaving me with nothing caffeinated until our next grocery run.
I learned, though, that adding a sprinkling of cinnamon to the ground coffee before brewing makes it drinkable. Perhaps it's only good in the winter, though. Cinnamon never strikes my fancy in August.
A dash of cinnamon adds wonders. Or a bit of orange peel. I use to add hot chocolate packets too, the same as a few people already mentioned. But our office stopped carrying the hot chocolate.
ok ... here goes...
1 tsp instant coffee crystals with ~ 2 tablespoons boiling water to dissolve.
add full cup of (lactose free) milk and microwave until steamed. oooh ... capuccino!
The receptionist at out office makes the coffee, and she makes it weaker than a two-day-old kitten. I'm talking hot water that kind of looks like it might be coffee. I keep a jar of instant coffee crystals in my desk, so I fill up a mug with the office "coffee," and then add about a teaspoon of crystals to make it stronger. Nothing disappoints me more than a bad cup of coffee.
I didn't know we worked together!
A former boss said the coffee (from the institutional Bunn) had to pass the boxelder test. If you could see a boxelder at the bottom of the pot, it's not strong enough.
I worked in an office that had standard coffee pots for a while. After a few months I realized that the "new guy" who got in earliest would make the first pot of coffee with TWO packets of coffee, each packet designed to brew a single pot. Needless to say many of us in the office were happy to see the Flavia machine show up after that...
I do an ice coffee with the Flavia here at work. I brew a strong blend like espresso or sumatra and use the espresso strength and let it pour out over ice, then half-half and sugar to sweeten it up, its actually pretty good. I will also do this with the dregs from the morning pot, I shut off the machine to let it cool in the afternoon, then take the burnt dreggs and add enough ice and half-half to water it down and take out the burnt taste.
Pod/single cup coffee makers irk me. It's fine as a supplement to a normal coffee maker , but it just seems un-American to have a single cup coffee maker unless it's an espresso machine. there's just something comforting about a huge pot of coffee sitting on the burner.
also, our office kitchen budget includes dunkin donuts coffee, so we're pretty lucky
I am lucky. I work for a fortune 500 company on campus with 8 buildings and 3 cafeterias. A 45 second walk from my desk is a full blown Starbucks in one of the cafeterias. The wallet is not to happy, but the rest of me can't be happier.
I have a Starbucks about a block away (well, who doesn't?) but having it in-house would be just too easy!
If I had a Starbucks in-house, I would have to have a designated Starbucks day. Otherwise I'd be there everyday...and who can really afford that? Both financially and physically lol
I brew mine at home – fair trade organic from Target, half regular half decaf. (My husband thinks I drink too much caffeine, so instead of cutting out coffee, I compromised with half-caf.) I like lots of cream in mine, so I always feel a bit guilty using so much of work's little cream cups.
I hate flavored coffee, and by extension flavored creamer. I despise having any sugar in my coffee – I can't even use fat-free half-and-half, because they cut it with corn syrup and I can taste the sugar. The only exception to hating flavored creamer is when I make instant hot chocolate – adding one or two of the french vanilla creamers just makes it so much better.
I also have a little personal french press travel mug, made by Planetary Design. I bring a bag of the Target coffee (already ground – at home, I grind the beans, but at work I make do with the pre-ground stuff) and use that if my thermos just isn't enough that day.
I brew my own iced coffee at home & drink it with some half-and-half and ice. Nothing else.
3-cup French Press (actually makes just one mug of coffee) plus electric kettle for hot water = much better coffee than any other option, including Sbux.
AMEN!!!! Coffee Press makes the smoothest cup of coffee I've ever had.
Add half a packet of hot cocoa mix and voila! A mocha....sorta....
I brew my own at home and bring it to work in a travel mug or thermos. Won't touch the stuff in the office. I agree that it's the water – our company provides the same coffee the popular coffee shop in the lobby uses but the stuff in the breakroom tastes awful. I have a small 5cup drip machine at home and use either Starbucks or Millstone coffee. I have to doctor mine up – at very least a little flavored creamer but these days I've started making my perfect cup, letting it cool, then blend in a scoop of protein powder and pour it over ice. Quite yummy, actually.
Never had a sip of coffee in my life, I think it smells like wet cigarettes.
Please keep me and the 6 other people in America that don't drink it in mind when you are brewing this nasty stuff at your desk and we have to smell it.
Sounds cranky to me. Perhaps you should start drinking coffee. It does wonders for a bitchy disposition!
I hate the taste of coffee but absolutely LOVE the smell of the beans/grinds
I buy fresh roasted coffee beans every 2-3 weeks. At home on weekdays I make one 16 oz cup in a Chemex 1-3 cup brewer(for convenience). On weekends I use a Hario vac-pot to make my one cup. I don't drink coffee anywhere else. Fresh roasted, black coffee is the only way to go. Delicious!
I work nights so we bring in our own coffee pot, brew it up black enough to literally eat up plastic spoons and then I like to add hot chocolate and vanilla creamer until its tan.
If I had a clean needle I would inject pure caffeine into my veins...
My favorite? Sumatran Blend, twice the prescribed grind-water ratio, black, no sugar.
I'll be right back, I need me some coffee!
Ohhhhh, Sumatran blend....I'm drooling...
Sorry...meant Keurig machine.....
Hard to get the right grind (took me almost a 1/2 lb of coffee...but worth it if you really enjoy a particular blend (I have a Costa Rican that I didn't want to give up). Good luck!
Use my DD (super strong!) coffee cup to buy an 85 cent refill of green mountain coffee at my local uni-mart. MMMMM good.
Can someone tell me the deal on using your own coffee with the Keseo machines and the little filter..is it worth it???
Green Mountain is always good. I wish it was easier to get in my part of the country. I have to order it online. When i go back to NY to visit it's even available at gas stations. Can you imagine? A GREAT cup of coffee at a gas station?
great coffee at a gas station? we have it at WAWA
one of my favorite treats is fresh very hot coffee with a dollop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream. heaven!
Brewed coffee at home with a shot of espresso. With trivia and half and half. Nothing better!
I keep a hot pot, #2 filters, a cone, and Dark French Roast in my office and drip my coffee. The coffee they sell at work is crap, and there's nothing like good drip coffee to start the day.
At work I found a few coffeholics like me and we keep a small grinder and take turns buying a 2lb bag of fair trade beans (avg $17). When the time comes one of us starts the routine and grinding-dripping it takes only a few more minutes and it tastes so much better. I only put splenda on it, others have a more complex ritual. I think it's a nice trade between the office pod and the coffee shop run.
Anybody out there heard of or seen instant espresso crystals(Medaglia is the brand I think)? Hot water, add crystals & flavorings to taste!
Medaglia D'Oro is a common baking ingredient, actually. When one needs to mocha up a chocolate cake, frosting, or some other dessert, often the recipe will say to just dissolve a few teaspoons of the stuff in a small amount of water and add that. I have a Passover chocolate hazelnut cake that I do that for, and the results are amazing. So I always have a small jar of the stuff in my pantry.
Other countries make the most wonderful food and drink items and music.....Americans are really boring in comparison. Industrialization may have brought prosperity but it doesn't taste very good.
Back when I worked for a company that gave us coffee (one-pot pouches of cheap stuff for drip), I would sometimes wait until the coffeemaker was empty, and then brew just a mugful, using the whole pouch of grounds. Then I'd add a packet of Swiss Miss (also free).
Add a packet of Liptons Cup-Of-Soup
Wow! You get your meal and coffee all in one cup! That sounds like something I would do. I have a $9 Durabrand coffee maker that I have used for years. I drink Wal Mart Great Value 100% Arabica with three sugars and two creams. Yeah, just call me an uppity coffee snob.
I shop at Wal-Mart also and I believe it's impossible to be considered a snob about anything if we admit that. Every time I go to a Wal-Mart, I'm bound to run into all the people who kept Hee-Haw on the air for 20 years.
Work gave us a vending machine that is a step below Starbucks (both bitter, oily and undrinkable). I was spending $1.50 per cup from the local coffee shop, 2 cups a day....$12.50 a week!!!!
Now I brew my own at home...Folgers Dark Custom drip (usually purchased at Wal-Mart) in my free Gevalia pot using tap water. A little powdered non-dairy creamer (to avoid cooling it off), although I'll occassionally do a flavored creamer. On the weekends, Kahlua is a nice addition.
Uhhh. I keep all my food separate but I am still glad to hear what other people do.
I mix Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder into a cup of office coffeee for a cubicle dweller's mocha.
I add hot chocolate to my coffee occasionally as well. Generally in the winter and as an afternoon treat. It perks up my afternoon at work!!
The second you referred to going out for coffee as "'bux run" I stopped reading. Please tell me that you don't really call it that...
I don't, because I don't participate, myself, but I've often heard colleagues assembling for exactly that. It ain't pretty, but there it is.
I can't actually say Starbucks - just Starbucks - because a dear friend's parents always say "You wanna Starbuckcoffee? Who wants a Starbuckcoffee?" All one word, in a particular voice. We have friends who haven't even heard the parents - just people imitating that, and they now say it, too.
My aunt and uncle invested in Starbucks. At one point I hadn't seen them in ten years (opposite sides of the country) and they came this way for Christmas, so we all went out to dinner. She handed my sister and me each a $10 Starbucks card, and asked in her trademark super-chipper voice "So! Are you girls StarBUCKians yet?!"
I was... appalled, I guess. Partly because Starbucks drip coffee tastes awful to me, partly because I prefer Caribou, partly because she said "StarBUCKians".
Somehow you spoiled boneheads are mad because the companies you work for provide free coffee, which of course doesn't suit your eloquent palettes. Now wee need more boneheads to blame Obama.
Welcome to the internet! You are important or someone would not have given you a free place to speak (which I'm sure you have complaints about as well.)
Drip coffee, black... with a few ice cubes to cool it down to lukewarm. Hard to get used to at first, but no added calories and drinks like water after a couple days.
I like to use the carnation french vanilla creamer. If I cannot have that, I will just drink water.
Tea!
I opt for a cafe con leche of sorts. First heat my mug o milk in the microwave and then poke the button to "draw a strong, espresso-esque shot of the darkest blend on hand." Voila!
At my office we have graduated to a coffee club: which includes that everyone bring in a pound of 'good' coffee once a month. We grind, brew the coffee in the mornings, fill up our 2 liter thermosat, and have a variety of sugar, agave & honey, along with whole milk in our fridge...and our coffee stays hot, all day, without getting burned, becasue nothing goes down as well, as an after lunch cup of joe.
Where is this?! Sounds perfect!
I wanna work where you work. Is your company hiring?
Where do you work? I would work just for the coffee! : )
We still have drip at the office, so I load up my insulated mug with 2 Tassimo espesso pods to 1 Latte pod, and add a tablespoon of cocoa powder if I want to 'mocha' it. Not world class, but cheaper than a daily run to see my local barista, and infinitely better than drip. If I have time and want something a little classier, I pull out my grinder and French press.
I kicked caffeine after a three-day-long headache. I never want to do that again.
I like to add a bit of the whiskey to my morning coffee. I just like the flavor
Word
Baileys Irish Cream, half a pack of instant cocoa in a tall mug of strong coffee is the start of my weekend.
Speaking of morning whiskey, we once had the option of adding whiskey to oatmeal at a Scottish breakfast buffet. Love the Scots!
You know, the money wasted on these pods of coffee astound me to no end. Unless you are drinking your coffee straight up, we all flavor them somehow or with something anyway. I use a drip coffee maker, britta filtered watter in a 10 cup thermos to take to work every day. Saves me at least 10 dollars a week minimum from paying the office fee, and tripple that ammount if your talking just cheap 7-11 coffee.
Not to mention how generally wasteful it is. It makes me cringe to think of all those plastic Keurig pods in the landfill.
Used to combine packet of cocoa with packet of coffee for what coworkers referred to as "poor man's mocha." Kinda warming in winter...
I would mix the Swiss Miss or I would buy a container of instant espresso, mocha or vanilla latte, keep it my office and then mix that in to the awful drip coffee provided. A double shot poor man's mocha.
I just can't stomach the Flavia packet crap we have at our office (I do like Keurig though). I just deal with the snide remarks when I pull out my one-cup coffee maker and my flavored cream every day. I'm not a morning person so the extra few minutes it would take me at home just never seem to happen. I figured rather than pay the $5+ (hey I need the muffin/cookie etc. too!) is worth the laughs. For Keurig I always used the cappucino and half a package of powdered hot chocolate... made a killer mocha. I bought an extra drink frother for the office but it hasn't made it here yet. At home I put French Vanilla creamer and skim milk in a tall cup, micro for 45 seconds, froth with the Aerolatte thing and pour strong coffee into it... my own French Vanilla Latte YUMMY.
Wow – my employer won't spend any money on us for coffee. We have a crappy vending maching. I feel entitled to my occasional Starbucks run.
I bought a battery operated milk frother on ebay for $5. I froth my favorite creamer first (CoffeeMate Coconut Creme), then add coffee. Voila! Instant latte! I've bought another 5-6 milk frothers for all the people that see me do it and want one for themselves.
I got one of those things for christmas one year and all i've ever used it for is apple cider and hot chocolate. I'm a vanilla caramel or toffee nut girl myself, but I CAN'T wait to get home and try your idea for my evening coffee!!
If you must dilute it......why drink it?
Try it straight up, unadorned, and basic. If that doesn't work for you......then you really aren't a coffee drinker at all.
Right on! My rule is "if it smells stale, brew another pot."
It really bothers me when people say "If you don't drink your coffee black you're not really a coffee drinker". I drink my coffee with light cream and sugar and I really enjoy it. In fact I have 4 or 5 cups a day easy. I would never insist that everyone prepare their coffee the way I do. That would make me a snob.
Sure. But you don't add a cup of water to your cup of coffee, do you? That's what he's talking about.
Though, I'll be you put ranch dressing on your pizza pie! Same thing, different consumtion meathod.
Some of us are in desperate need of caffeine in the morning, and the mud in the coffee pot at work is the best we can do. It doesn't hurt to spice it up a little so it tastes less like mud.
Silly, really. Same sort of thinking that if you don't beat your wife and kids, you aren't a real man. If you don't love Rock n roll, you don't love music. If you use a Garmin, you shouldn't drive.....I have only one word for that line of thinking....Retirement.
Okay here is my terrible shame. I have a beautiful machine at home which I pull two shots on (with extra water), then proceed to trash with splenda and coffee mate. I love it!
I do two things. First thing, I add cinnamon and half and half. And My second thing is, I put coffee and hot cocoa into the same cup. I call it my ghetto-mocha.
I have this cocoa chili blend (McCormick) and, sometimes, I add a small dash of it and some cinnamon and milk just to spice it up.
Just a taste of whole milk in a 12 oz mug of black coffee...and, if I store a whole gallon in the fridge, there's generally enough left over (that my coworkers haven't invited themselves to partake of) to get me through the week. Yes, I drink a lot of coffee. And, yes, my coworkers do too. :P
We have a drip coffee maker at work but I bring in my fav powdered creamers to jazz it up!
a packet of hot chocolate powder and a little dried non dairy creamer will do the trick every time ... a bit of a white trash mocha in essence.
I do that! (minus the creamer). I was so excited when I moved to an office that supplied packets of Swiss Miss.
I agree!
I've always called this combo the corporate mocha.
I call it ghetto-chino!
I make something similar to that as well. 95% coffee, 5% hot water, half a package of hot cocoa mix with some dry creamer and splenda. On hot days add ice...
I used to work well into the night, that was one of my tricks to give a little kick. Have more than a few in an hour and your hand'll start to shake, though.
Sounds like the mochas we made in college – coffee, hot chocolate packet and milk.
When I started working full-time + overtime I noticed everyone was drinking coffee. I asked why and soon began drinking coffee with a 50% coffee, 50% Swiss Miss mix. I became totally addicted to coffee from the first sip. Which at the discovery of Starbucks became an addiction to Mochas. Yikes. . . . my pocket book and my waist!
I have a keurig at home and one in my office's kitchen. At work its standard one pod morning blend with 2 creams and 2 sugars. At home its a super grande in a huge mug with fancy creamer and a drop of peppermint extract. YUMM! Peppermint coffee is amazing!
The peppermint extract idea is excellent. What brand do you like?
I love my Keurig , and some of my friends scoff at my "coffee pod" machine. Before my then-high school offspring began drinking coffee, it was "mom's toy," but now that he's a full-fledged college student and coffee has become part of his steady diet, as he says, we have our stable of various roasts. He doesn't favor flavored coffees, but your peppermint extract idea certainly sounds yummy to me, too.
I have a Keurig at home and I LOVE it. Never before has making a GOOD cup of coffee been so easy. I always take my coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars, no matter where it's from– home, coffee shop (coffee bar in my Wegmans grocery store or a local chain called Spot Coffee) , or Tim Horton's!
Tim Horton's requires its cream, properly, to taste like it does from the shop. I think it's the nicotine in the cream that does it.
In the mornings I make coffee with a shot of sugar free caramel syrup and full strenght cream. It's one of the biggest treats in my life, but makes me totally worthless for anyone else's coffee.
I worship sugar-free caramel syrup!
um... carmel is cooked sugar. From milk, from cane sugar, whatever. No sugars, no caramel
How can caramel syrup be sugar free? There are a lot of chemicals in our food that are ruining our bodies. That is a prime example. Eat real stuff!
EXACTLY what is in sugar free caramel syrup that is “ruining our bodies?” Your comment is, as you put it, “a prime example” of the ignorance and superstition that has come to dominate thinking in this country. If it isn't “natural” (whatever that is) then it must be bad. If it has a name that sounds like a “chemical” it must be bad. How about some “dihydrogen monoxide” in your food? MUST be bad. That's the “chemical” name for WATER. The scientific illiteracy in this country is becoming appalling.
Thank you for your concern for my health, but any "real" or "natural" sugar makes me very very ill. That's why this 1 oz of "fake" sugar in the mornings is one of my few treats. Hopefully it makes you feel better that I use real cream.
I think Susan is saying, to make Caramel, you need sugar, butter, and cream. The main ingredient is sugar. How do you make caramel without sugar, probably by using chemical. It did not sound like she said you need to have natural or organic.
I think what she was trying to get at is that basic caramel IS sugar – cooked. Of course milk, fat, etc can be added.
Sorry you can't have real sugar and I do sympathize and understand why – I have my own allowances. But it does make sense asking what exactly is in 'sugar-free' caramel.
No need to go on about what's wrong with this country because someone is asking a legit question.
Sounds delicious! I typically use half and half but I am going to try it.
My work provides us with crappy drip coffee that tastes like dirt. They don't even give us cups to drink the crap with...
Your intelligence amazes me.
Anyone who knows anything about coffee will tell you it's the water that makes the difference and gives the flavor. Also, drip is the worst way to make coffee so you're probably getting drip coffee with tap water. I'd file an OSHA violation against the employer if I were you.
Don't underestimate the coffee itself. The average/cheap office coffee service doles out third rate grounds at best.
I find that there just isn't enough coffee in the packs. People think that less grounds just makes for a lighter cup of coffee, but blasting more water through less coffee starts to extract the oils and acids that make for 'dirt' coffee. A couple of us in my office open a second pack and add at least a couple of tablespoons extra for each pot. That makes it come out tolerable, and if someone prefers it lighter, they can add water to their cup. Big difference.
another thing to consider with the beans is the roasting. starbucks gets great beans but the overroast them which brings out the bitterness (in taste and smell). if your pod coffee is bitter and it's not due to the beans or blend, it may be because the pod is packed full enough for a very bold 8-12 oz
I think we may work at the same place. LoL
Me too!! LOL
try a percolator pot. Lousy beans taste pretty good percolated.
My opinion is that the office coffee does the job it is supposed to do admirably! It leaves such a bad taste in your mouth that you cannot nap afterwords! Me, I bring my own coffee from home.....
I have a French Press on my desk full of good stuff. The office coffee is Folgers crystals. I have a problem with any coffee which brags about its "Crystals." I also keep heavy cream at work whenever possible. If I feel the need to add cream (which is optional), I use the good stuff. Oh, and I never sweeten my coffee any more.
Ahhhhhhh the ultimate solution!! I tried all the instant coffee's I could get my hands on until I found one I liked. I keep a jar of it in my desk. IN MY DESK. No I do not share!!! A lil milk, a lil splenda... I'm good til I get home or to a S'bux.
We have a drip pot as well, I like to take what doesn't get drank the previous day and use that along fresh water to brew a new pot.
I call it double brew, don't tell Ed my germ-a-phobe co worker
At my last command every Tuesday and Thursday a couple of us would come in early to make the first pot of coffee. We would put that full pot into the water side and double brew the coffee that way. You should have seen the amount of productivity (although it was a little on the 'losing it' side).
You do what?!!!!!
If you have a place to store it, then just bring a French Press to work. Use their coffee and hot water. You can use some cheap grounds in a French Press and the coffee comes out decent; much much better than dripping cheap grounds. I started using a French Press six years ago and will never be going back to drip.
I can relate,coffee is sold where I am employed, but yes it tastes nasty so I brew my own cup everyday at work, if it's not Bustelo, ElPico, Pilon, or some of Gevalia's favs, like Mocha Java I am not having it. I don't even like Starbucks, it's nasty.
Awesome. I don't do any real futzing with the pod coffee systems myself (beyond adding enough milk to kill the bitterness), but I'm reminded of the lengths we used to go to in college when we wanted to have a decent non-dining-hall meal. Ironing-board grilled cheeses, anyone?
I had bread, I had cheese, I had an iron. What was I supposed to do?
Make an omelette?
I love Modern Family. :)
Try draining Ramen noodles after they cook, mixing in the little packet, then adding a slice of cheese and cut up hotdogs.
That sounds vile.
Wait until you taste it...
It does sound vile, but in a really good way! :)
This is a great meal...we used to do that in the military when I was stationed in Korea...out in the field the MRE's were cold meals...this made a nice dinner...when we had time...
Been there, done that....it's DELICIOUS.
I cook the ramen as they recommend, minus about a minute. Then drain the juice, and serve it "al dente." I will try your recommendation, however.
Nutritious!
I like to drop an egg in near the end of the boil and mix it up a-la fried rice. So good.
Larry! Holy cow! I learned about that meal from my fiance who was also stationed in Korea. Wow. Small world.
omg! korea yes! the RoCK! i learned to LUV chicken cheese ramen! especially after a long night drinking :-) i still make it anytime if have some leftover rotisserie chicken....and MUST be american sliced cheese...don't ask me why...it's the only time i use it...cuz it's nothing but plastic..ha ha! but it's good! trust me....
I put mayonnaise on my chili. There.......I said it.
Eatocracy is some of the freshest writing on here. Bravo
I add Ovaltine to my coffee...yummy
That sounds like a great idea! I am going to have to try that tomorrow. Will be a lot cheaper than what I use now: Coffee Mate Creamy Chocolate.
Yes! Ovaltine + Coffee = Choffee! That's what we call it around here. Love it!
Comercial coffee maker, but the old fashioned kind...not automated. A couple of tblsp of Coffee Mate Creamer....and nothing else! It's not fancy but it gets the job done and it's free! 8^)
Angel food cake, mixed with a kitchen whisk mounted in an electric drill, and baked in a stew pot with a glass coke bottle acting as that chimney thingy real angel food cake pans have in the middle.