Can you reccomend a coffee brand for this recipe?

[Satori]

I know nothing about coffee, I'm a major tea drinker but yesterday I had a meeting with dd's teacher at Starbucks and they were giving out samples of there Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte. I've only tried there coffee once and thought it was nasty so I was a bit nervous but this I LIKED. Enough that I shelled out the $3 for one. I have been craving one ever since yesterdays. I found a recipe online and thought I'd give it a try but I have no idea what coffee to get. I want something I can find at the local grocery store, no health food store stuff, nothing online. Just something I can find at the grocery store. I thought maybe get starbucks coffee but they have like 30 varieties at the store and I was seriously lost! So, suggestions? Blends? Help me!

oh yeah, really stupid question but, how do I make coffee? I've always seen some kind of machine involved at most places. My dad used an old percolator for my entire life and those work a bit different then machines. Does brand matter? Seriously, I'm a total coffee idiot.

[amcal]

A latte is made with espresso and milk. You won't be able to duplicate the Starbucks one without espresso.

But, you can make the recipe posted with coffee - any good coffee will work. To do double strength, you just make coffee, replace the coffee grounds with fresh ones and run the coffee back through the machine.

There are lots of good store brand coffees - Peets is one of my favorite.

You can also get Starbucks in most grocery stores.

But, honestly, I saw one of those Dateline NBC shows where they did blind taste tests and gave coffee snobs really expensive coffees and foldgers and maxwell house and the foldgers and maxwell house did just as well, often better than the higher priced coffees.

[mumkimum]

If you're new to coffee I'd just get a small french press - you can additionally use it for tea and the stronger coffee you get from a press would probably work better in something like a flavored latte. Plus pressed coffee is way better (I'm a pressed coffee snob when not pregnant and it makes me sick), and it (the press) will take up less kitchen room if you don't need coffee every day. Any coffee maker you get though (electric or press) will have directions for making coffee. I bet starbucks website has directions too.

If you're blending the coffee with milk and/or sugar anyway - get a mexican or south american blend, they're ideal for drinking with milk/sugar. Almost any blend would likely be fine too - like a breakfast blend or whatever.

You can also purchase instant espresso powder - that would totally work for a drink like this too, and it's usually only made by italian companies and pretty decent quality - I'm lucky our grocery store carries it, though we've got quite a few local italian grocers too. You wouldn't need any equipment for that either. (and btw, this is different than instant coffee - and also good for baking coffee or chocolate flavored recipes).

[BetsyS]

Especially when you are mixing it with lots of cream and sugar, I find that Eight O'Clock coffee is perfectly good stuff. It's usually less than $5. We buy the original or the french roast.

For double strength, instead of running it through the coffee pot twice, you can just use half the water. So, instead of 1 T coffee to 1 cup water, use 1 T coffee to 1/2 cup water.

[calebsmommy25]

[QUOTE=mumkimum;14341259]If you're new to coffee I'd just get a small french press - you can additionally use it for tea and the stronger coffee you get from a press would probably work better in something like a flavored latte. Plus pressed coffee is way better (I'm a pressed coffee snob when not pregnant and it makes me sick), and it (the press) will take up less kitchen room if you don't need coffee every day. Any coffee maker you get though (electric or press) will have directions for making coffee. I bet starbucks website has directions too.

QUOTE]


I second the french press. When our carafe to our regular coffemaker broke, we started using the french press. I love it and will continue to use it from now on. I wouldn't waste your money on the starbucks coffee. I've bought it before and it isn't really that much better than the others. I personally am a fan of wegmans brand coffee beans. I don't know where you are, so that might not matter to you. I have had a few other generic or store brand coffee (tops/stop and shop) and they weren't that good. Folgers black silk or french roast coffees are pretty good, but I don't know how it would be with flavoring. Hope you can duplicate it soon, the pumpkin spice latte is quite yummy.

[Satori]

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions I was at the store yesterday and looked yet again and this time found 2 instant espresso's, mocha and double mocha, I am in love!: I've tried them both hot and iced and there fantastic either way

[noobmom]

If you are a tea drinker, you might try making a chai tea as well. Maybe add some pumpkin pie spice to it. Won't be exactly the same, but will be impossible to replicate the Starbucks latte anyway. And yes, I agree they are delicious! I dislike Starbucks coffee (too overroasted) but I like their lattes and fraps.