I order my fresh roasted beans from CoffeeAM (http://www.coffeeam.com/top-rated-gourmet-coffees.html). There are several others, including blends, flavored and ground, to choose from, both regular and decaf. I like the Kenya beans and buy a couple of pounds of regular and decaf at a time as we mix them for a half-caff of our own. I have a regular shipment as I know about when we will run out and I don't like to keep it too long as it is fresh roasted.

Have you tried Gevalia?

FWIW: I just tried the Gevalia Decaff and it's fantastic! I keep saying that it's so good that I can't tell it's decaff until the 'sleeping agent' kicks in. lol!

I like Gevalia too but I only buy beans.

I so know what you mean, Sue.. sometimes at night I go to sleep thinking about how nice that first cup off coffee is going to taste in the morning. It's one of my special joys of the day.

I don't know the right coffee terms-- but I like a strong but mellow coffee. No burnt taste, low acidity. Typically I like the indonesian and south american beans. I am drinking Dunkin Donuts now-(due to poor planning) it's ok.. but just doesn't have the oomph that I like.

I get a local coffee that is also available via mail order.. it's from a shop called One Good Woman (perfect for you, Sue!). I like the Winter Solstice (same coffee is called summer solstice March-Sept). I don't drink flavors but my niece loves their Christmas Flavors. I love their coffee-- but also love Holly, the shop owner. Can't recommend them enough.

I've also used Porto Rico out of NYC-- I like their monsoon coffee.

Years ago, I used to drink Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. I don't find the beans to be as fresh as they were when it was a small roaster. Since you are closer to them, perhaps they will be fresher for you. I really liked Dos Fincas de Maria-- not sure if they still make it.

Hope you find something you like!

ETA a add links for

One Good Woman

Porto Rico Roasters

^^^ Yes.

That's my motto in the morning, without a doubt. After that first cup, I'm perfectly fine. Before? No. Just NO.

I love that poem!

When I had extra money and belonged to Gevalia, I really liked some of their regional varieties. The one from Papua New Guinea was my absolute favorite (though I confess, I never thought of paying the - even more exorbitant - prices they asked for the Jamaican or Hawaiian). And drinking something that passed through the intestines of some cat-like animal holds no appeal whatsoever.

That said, these days I just buy what's on sale at the supermarket. I look for whole beans first. I got a few bags of medium-roast Starbucks recently for $5, They weren't too bad. Though I think they are fine for espresso or lattes, cappuccinos, etc... that have milk and such added, most of their beans are far too over-roasted for regular black coffee. I also found a few organic beans that were marked down to the $5 dollar range. They were good.

But for regular, pre-ground coffee, I wait for sales on products like the Maxwell House or Folgers Colombian, Brazilian, or their (I think it's) South Pacific Blends. They usually mark them down often enough to get me through to the next sale. If not, the only one that I cannot drink is the cheap Folgers - Country Roast. It's always on sale and I find it TERRIBLE lol.

Another that isn't too bad is the Chock Full o'Nuts. It's fairly consistent and I'll buy it when it's on sale.

I use a 2 mug (I forget the oz size) Frieling stainless steel french press. It makes excellent coffee and will last a lifetime.

I really like Costco's fair trade Sumatran which is a great price/quality ratio - but may only come in whole bean. Not sure.

William Spartivento Sumatra Whole Bean Organic Fair trade

I go to a local coffee shop that roasts their own beans and where I can also purchase loose tea. It is probably my favorite and most consistent way of supporting a local business. My favorites are Guatemalan and Ethiopian. Yemen was a favorite when I could get it but their have been supply issues. Coffee is one of the few things that we are willing to pay more for.

I like a blend of dark and medium roast. At the local roaster that's a mix of beans from Central & South America. When I get beans at Fresh Market I combine Columbian and Costa Rican.

Your best bet would be to visit a coffee shop that roasts their beans and tell them what you like. They should be able to offer suggestions.

Edited to add: they'll grind the beans for you if you'd like.

Love that coffee poem, Lynn. Saw that one myself the other day and got a chuckle.

Coffee is one of those individual things. I do like the Guatemalan, French, and Columbian beans I get Christmased with. General daily coffee is either Folger's Brazilian or their Gourmet Supreme. I am trying to cut down on my consumption, though.

I'm not a coffee snob, at all, and usually only drank it on the weekends when SO would make it. In the drip coffee maker, my favorite is the DD that you already mentioned. We also have Keurig in our bedroom (so I've started drinking a cup on weekdays, too). I like the Green Mountain Donut House cups in the Keurig.

Oh, and yes, the Gevalia coffees are great! I joined for the free drip coffee maker years ago ;)

I never wanted to be bothered with grinding my own beans either, Sue and for the same reason. Then my son bought me a small grinder and a bag of Mexican fair trade organic beans from Costco and I was hooked. I still don't grind for every cup but will grind enough for 3 days or so and that's infrequent enough to keep it from feeling like a chore to have my coffee but is still WAY fresher than buying it all pre-ground. I mix my beans - that dark roast Mexican coffee with Tanzanian Peaberry and the result is a rich coffee that's not bitter.

Lynn, that's so funny. Reminds me of this coffee mug, which I should own.

Oh yes.. I like Tanzanian Peaberry too. I think the peaberry's tend to be rich without the bitterness.

I don't know if it's available in other areas of the country but I drink Community Coffee and it is awesome. I also like Dunkin Donuts coffee.

That cup is so me! But it's not really the coffee I need, it's the time it takes to drink it. I'm not a morning person. I'm not crabby when I wake up, I just don't want anyone talking to me.

I know just what you mean about that perfect cup of coffee. For years ours would be too weak or too strong and even when we went out for coffee it was hit or miss. Finally I found the perfect coffee. Not sure if you have a Wegman's near you. It's their Organic whole bean Guatemalan, I have a $10 bean grinder and make a pot each morning. With light cream. Perfect :)

I like Peet's Major Dickason's Blend.

Jdez, dh drinks Community's Cafe Special. I don't care for Community unless it's a specialty drink like a latte or Mochasippi from one of their coffee houses.

I find whole beans really do make a better cup of coffee. And we went whole hog this year and bought a Bonavita (Sur La Table) and a burr grinder (Home Goods). These are fancier than what you want, but do seem to produce a much smoother, more nuanced flavored cup. We have some of the nation's top rated small-batch artisan roasters in the area -- but their product makes them a special occasion coffee.

We find that Costco has some decent, affordable choices including their house brands -- Sumatra is a more mellow choice, as long as it is not overroasted. They also carry Peet's and Starbucks and an organic line from SoCal -- I like Peet's MD as well, but it is likely too strong for your goals. Costco also has an in house grinder. The problem is, it will go stale more quickly when a monster bag is pre-ground.

I agree, you can find some pretty decent coffees at Costco. And a burr grinder is the only way to go if you're going to grind your own beans. I also have tried Sumatra, Tanzanian Peaberry and Columbian (from CoffeeAM) and like all 3 but keep coming back to my Kenya AA for overall rich flavor and smoothness.

Gevalia is sold in grocery stores and is not expensive,

We get the Costco signature ground coffee in the big brown can. I have a basic Mr. Coffee drip maker. It is super ugly but works fine and somehow we ended up with thousands of filters for it.

I buy the big bag of Starbucks French Roast beans at Costco or BJs. I grind enough for a few days at a time. I like really strong, black coffee. If I had my druthers, I would go to Starbucks or another coffee shop and buy a fresh brewed cup every morning. Wish we'd get a drive-thru so I could go in my pajamas.

I look for medium roasts. I drink Guatemalan every day. Sumatra is good too. Peaberry isn't rich enough for me, nor is most breakfast blends, because I add milk and sugar. I don't like the French and Italian roasts--they taste like burning tires to me. I do grind my beans fresh every morning.

Mexican Zaragoza from Allegro is my all time favorite. It's very smooth.

Yum

I adore coffee. There is, however, a flavor that pops up in some coffees that I hate, but cannot describe. I usually can smell it before I buy....but I have several in the freezer that I could only taste.

Right now, I am using the EightO'Clock coffee Colombian Peaks. I buy the whole beans, but it comes ground. On sale at Kroger for 4.99/12 oz. such a deal!! It is good, I think.

I have a Keurig and I'm going to keep it for when Imhave company but I want to get a new slow brew coffeemaker. I'm retired and will gladly wait for a fresh brewed pot. Thanks for posting this Sueb. Lots of coffees to consider.

I am a coffee snob and buy my beans for espresso from a local roaster. He roasts Wednesday evenings and I pick up 2 half pound vacuum sealed bags on Thursday that last me a week. I grind daily. That said when I make coffee for a group I use Folgers Black Silk. It's bold, smooth and readily available. My regular coffee maker is not programmable, makes only 8 cups, and has no heating pad BUT it brews rapidly and at the ideal 195-205 degrees. Yummy!

I just ordered a few different types from Amazon (lazy!) including a Tanzanian peaberry. a Gevalia medium roast. and Community Coffee. This is my new fall research project! Thanks, all.

We use a roast from Independence Coffee called Jet Fuel. It's a Texas company.

I like cream and sugar or flavored creamer in my coffee, so....

I like starbucks caffe Verona, dunkin donuts regular or chocolate, and New England chocolate cappuccino...

I like the flavor of gevalia, but I don't care for the grind... I use a regular drip pot too and it has too fine of a grind and I end up with grounds in my coffee which I don't like!! (and I don't come even close to overfilling the cone...)

My DH buys different types every few days because he's always on the quest for the perfect coffee. He hates to grind too, so he just buys the 12 oz bags from supermarkets. The other day he found a brand at a local close-out store-it was around $4/12oz-he bought it for the kid who works for him, and I tried it-it was quite good. But given the source, I know we'd never find it again.

I've found that McDonalds coffee brand is actually pretty good for a grocery store coffee. I do not like Dunkin Donuts or Gevalia. A regional brand, Seattles Best is pretty good, and I like Starbucks Blonde blends. I agree, the Tanzania Peaberry is a good coffee, but DH doesn't like it.

My favorite is also from a local roaster, but I have to buy it in 5lb bags of whole beans.

On a whim, I picked up New England Coffee's hazelnut the other day and I like it very much. So that could be in the running, and it's right at my regular grocery store. However, I did receive my three different "tester" coffees from Amazon yesterday, so there is still work to do. :)