# $1 coffee alert.



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Wasn't paying full attention, but I think I saw a tv ad with that little guy who does the A&W commercials advertising any A&W coffee for $1 - (until March 15, I think). ☕


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

A&W Canada

Affirmative - thanks for the headsup!


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> Wasn't paying full attention, but I think I saw a tv ad with that little guy who does the A&W commercials advertising any A&W coffee for $1 - (until March 15, I think). ☕


Yeah, not going out for coffee in a pandemic.

I remember when McDonalds did their coffee launch, and it was good. I still prefer McDonalds to Tims.

But Burger King totally failed, their "BK-Joe" product was HORRIBLE.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Fair trade naturally processed whole beans from exotic shade grown farms roasted to order cost less than $1 per shot


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Sorry but A&W coffee ....


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

a&w coffee has improved...
i find mcd's has become hit or miss
timmys is still blahhh


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> a&w coffee has improved...
> i find mcd's has become hit or miss
> timmys is still blahhh


There is a roaster downtown that has AMAZING coffee.
But I'm not driving there and back, and paying for parking just for a cup of coffee... but if I'm in the area.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

cainvest said:


> Sorry but A&W coffee ....


 ... I think the quality of the coffee also depends on the location you go. Some places let it sit there for hours since it's not selling. Others dilute the coffee to stretch it for the day. 

Anyhow, mine nearest A&W now beats out MCD which beats out THI which beats out 7-11 which then beats out BK (what's that sludge?) with respect to the fast-food chains. For roasteries, SB beats out SCup but then the ultimate "winner" is the M&P (mom&pop) local roastery tucked in some side street with a quick take-away.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

You want a small batch roaster. A lot of roasters make 20 different large "specialty" batches for people who think they want a random flavour in their beans. They sit on the shelf for 6 months and people add so much sugar they can't tell

In the US I can order beans online and they are roasted a few days before delivery


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

is it a crime to say I also like the taste of instant coffee?


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> is it a crime to say I also like the taste of instant coffee?


 ... nope, some people (that I know of) likes instant coffee as it's convenient, cheap and tastes not all that bad (ie. controllable) - depending on which brand.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

jargey3000 said:


> is it a crime to say I also like the taste of instant coffee?


Depends if you put sugar in it. Then anything can taste good


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ No sugar (including substitutions) added nor creamer. Do add milk (****-milk or 2%?). Not my thing though since I got other choices (plenty of).


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> is it a crime to say I also like the taste of instant coffee?


I actually like instant coffee more than AW coffee. I was given a whole bunch of free A&W coffee cards. It wasn't worth the drive to redeem and even if I was in the area, it wasn't worth it, so I donated to the homeless whom were near the A&W. I am not sure they even wanted it. I don't know what is is, but their coffee is awful. I actually use instant for my mocha boms, for weird coffee drink creations, which is more than I can say for the A&W coffee...


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Life is too short to drink A&W coffee - some homeless guy


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

We burr grind our own Kickinghorse beans at home with a Breville machine. I almost never, ever, order a coffee from anywhere when we are out and about. I doubt I've ordered even 6 coffees in all of 2021 when out and all of those were burr grind at the hospital bistro while waiting on DIL to go through chemo treatments.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

m3s said:


> Depends if you put sugar in it. Then anything can taste good


Nope, tried that .... A&W coffee still tastes bad with sugar.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

AltaRed said:


> We burr grind our own Kickinghorse beans at home with a Breville machine.


I agree, burr ground from beans is the way to go for a really good cup of coffee. I got some Brazllian Santos beans for over the holidays, one of my favs for a smooth coffee. Mexican altura is my choice for a morning/day coffee. I still drink coffee out and about but it's more about the social thing than the coffee. Sadly our local roaster closed his coffee shop to focus solely on roasting and delivery.


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

I actually prefer what I get from my Keurig over what I get from various other spots. I have a good assortment but my favourites are actually the Costco light and medium blends, not bitter to my taste buds, always fresh and I always use RO water to brew it. Black with nothing added. Works out around 30c a cup and I stocked up on sale @ 23c. Good deal for organic, fair trade Arabica. That's it, I'm gonna go brew one


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Plugging Along said:


> I actually like instant coffee more than AW coffee. I was given a whole bunch of free A&W coffee cards. It wasn't worth the drive to redeem and even if I was in the area, it wasn't worth it, so I donated to the homeless whom were near the A&W. I am not sure they even wanted it. I don't know what is is, but their coffee is awful. I actually use instant for my mocha boms, for weird coffee drink creations, which is more than I can say for the A&W coffee...


I'm not sticking up for a&w, plug...lol, but how long ago was this?
they did introduce a "new" coffee, earlier this year i think, and it was an improvement...imho...


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

m3s said:


> Depends if you put sugar in it. Then anything can taste good


TBH, I dont find much diff. among the brands.
bought a pack of those little Starbucks individ. sticks too (on sale)....not bad either


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Starbucks is easily the most overrated/overpriced coffee I've ever tasted. But most americans want a cup of sugary water they call coffee

I didn't really learn how good espresso can be until I worked with Italians. Don't mention Starbucks to them


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

m3s said:


> I didn't really learn how good espresso can be until I worked with Italians. Don't mention Starbucks to them


I've had more than my share of Italian expresso in ENI's project offices in Den Haag and Milan as part of a consortium Joint Venture with operator ENI in Kazakhstan. Though I got to like and prefer a number of regular Dutch brands due to all the time spent in Den Haag and Amsterdam.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

We grabbed a couple lbs of Kickinghorse when in Alberta just before Christmas. It's available here but the price is ridiculous but pick it up when on sale. I prefer local roasters as well and will often seek them out when travelling to bring home beans or ground. We typically have a fresh pot on most of the day. This used to be only on weekends but when we started working remotely it became daily. The coffee was much better than the cheap swill we have at work (shouldn't complain as it was free). I agree with m3s that Starbuck is overpriced, but will pick it up on sale to drink at home. I use the points from their reward programs to buy the occasional cup retail. I was relieved when they closed a recent outlet as it did not have capacity for drivethrough. Traffic at the local roastery down the street rebounded as a result. As for over rated I would say that award goes to Tim's. 

100% that there is no comparison to what we consume in comparison to European coffees. Some business associates of mine were kind enough to expose me to and educate me on Italian espresso. Such a game changer.


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

Hit up Italian restaurant/community in your town. See if they import coffee. Get an extra bag from them - grind at home.
Really spoiled over here. When it comes to cheap coffee, outside of downtown and local roasters, Second Cup > McD > Starbucks > Tim Hortons >> A&W. But rarely go for it. Brew at home and invest in good thermos


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> I'm not sticking up for a&w, plug...lol, but how long ago was this?
> they did introduce a "new" coffee, earlier this year i think, and it was an improvement...imho...


I thought it was around March 2021, but it could have been 2020 as the last 2 years have been a blur. I think that's why we got so many cards. Even with sweetener and milk, it was awful.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ You think drinking that with sweetener and milk is awful, try drinking coffee as is "well done or black" save the honey if available which is my normal preference. LOL.

Actually A&W had their "free" coffee promotion (an entire month) just before the pandemic hit back in early 2020, if I recall correctly. I just managed to get one freebie before my card expired and the coffee surprisingly was quite good - fresh and very hot though. Still love their root beers.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

re a&w promo i gues it was back then...
when they launched their app first, you cud sign up to get a free coffee everyday for a while....they wanted to test it or whatever
I went into "Kramer" mode...lol
I think the guy there got pissed at me, cause I always asked for XL, which they don't have lol...and i always said "No, t'anks" to his "Anything else?" ...didnt make much off me those 2 wks or whatever...


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

damian13ster said:


> Hit up Italian restaurant/community in your town. See if they import coffee. Get an extra bag from them - grind at home.
> Really spoiled over here. When it comes to cheap coffee, outside of downtown and local roasters, Second Cup > McD > Starbucks > Tim Hortons >> A&W. But rarely go for it. Brew at home and invest in good thermos


Italy doesn't actually grow any (much) coffee.
I don't think the race really matters anyone can run a coffee shop.

A good coffee shop, one that uses fresh roasted beans, will likely be excellent unless they really screw it up.
If they roast on premises, it's likely they have good coffee.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

MrMatt said:


> If they roast on premises, it's likely they have good coffee.


^Yup, the best place IMO to find coffee you like. It's not just about being fresh, you need to find the beans and roasts you like. Try a bunch of them, they all taste different.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

cainvest said:


> ^Yup, the best place IMO to find coffee you like. It's not just about being fresh, you need to find the beans and roasts you like. Try a bunch of them, they all taste different.


Yes but if they're freshly roasted and ground, even if it isn't exactly to your taste, it will be better than any pre-ground sludge the "other guys" are serving.

If they're fresh roasted, it's likely very good coffee. Myself I love Guatemalan.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

MrMatt said:


> Yes but if they're freshly roasted and ground, even if it isn't exactly to your taste, it will be better than any pre-ground sludge the "other guys" are serving.
> 
> If they're fresh roasted, it's likely very good coffee. Myself I love Guatemalan.


Not so sure about that but everyones tastes are different. IIRC, a few of the african (maybe one indonesian?) I really didn't like at all to the point of never having them again. On the flip side, I don't think I ever found a central/south american coffee I didn't like.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

cainvest said:


> I really didn't like at all to the point of never having them again. On the flip side, I don't think I ever found a central/south american coffee I didn't like.


Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is trendy now and tastes very very distinct. It's what I drink at home lately but I also didn't like it the first few times it's so different. They are usually natural process and you have to dial in your own process as well (they aren't as forgiving)

I agree south/central american beans are pretty good. Still a lot of variation in blends, single farms, roasts, process. With small batch online roasters now and all the new hand burr grinders that came out the last years you can make a better cup than any coffee shop now


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

londoncalling said:


> We grabbed a couple lbs of Kickinghorse when in Alberta just before Christmas.


They have several roasts so it is a matter of finding the one you like and adjusting the grind and strength one wants. Our 'routine' blend is Z Wrangler that we, and our guests, like, or at least they have not complained about.


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

MrMatt said:


> Yes but if they're freshly roasted and ground, even if it isn't exactly to your taste, it will be better than any pre-ground sludge the "other guys" are serving.
> 
> If they're fresh roasted, it's likely very good coffee. Myself I love Guatemalan.


Yeah, the types of beans can be very different. For that reason so will a taste in coffee.
Honestly, I had no clue about it (still don't to be honest  ) until a friend started his own coffee shop and got really into it - using me as test subject when choosing roasters and way of brewing


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

AltaRed said:


> They have several roasts so it is a matter of finding the one you like and adjusting the grind and strength one wants. Our 'routine' blend is Z Wrangler that we, and our guests, like, or at least they have not complained about.


Z Wrangler is great! I also enjoy Kicking Horse Coffee | Kick *** - Whole Bean . I usually go for a lighter roast in the morning and a dark roast in the afternoon. Many think you need a dark roast to get your day going but in reality the lighter roasts usually have more caffeine.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> is it a crime to say I also like the taste of instant coffee?


I like Nescafe Gold Espresso. I use it basically like regular instant. Approx. 1 rounded teaspoon per cup (more if you like it strong) + half & half to taste. You could add sugar but not necessary at all.


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