That Marvelous Brew

 I decided to do some research on coffee.  I found that the top selling coffee in the US is Folger's, which sells more coffee than Starbucks.  The best coffee comes from Hawaii, which is Kona, although some say Stumptown has the very best coffee.  Blue Bottle is high on most every list.  There are three kinds of coffee beans: 

1. Robusta.  This coffee is grown in Africa and is very bitter.  It is used mostly in instant coffee and Espresso in addition to be used as a filler.  This coffee accounts for about 20% of all coffee sold.

2.  Liberica.  This coffee originated in Liberia, but after WWII it has been grown in the Phillipines and is its major producer.  The coffee is bitter.  The trees can grow to 20 feet in height, which makes cultivation harder.  Hybridization has created smaller trees, but the beans are smaller.  This coffee accounts for about 5% of all coffee sold.    

3.  Arabica.  This coffee accounts for about 75% of all coffee sold as coffees like Hawaiian Kona and Blue Mountain Jamaica are both variants of Arabica coffee.  As the name implies, it comes from Arabian countries, but is now mostly grown in Brazil.  Columbian coffee is a variant of Arabica and is grown in the beautiful mountains of Columbia.  

72% of those over 60 drink coffee.  The fact is that coffee as a beverage is the beverage of choice for those here in the US.  I compared lists of the best sellers and McDonald's coffee was on most lists.  Other brands included Duncan Donuts and Maxwell House.  It seems most don't grind their own beans, but if you insist on grinding your own beans a good bean grinder is a mist.  I won't review bean grinders here, but many good bean grinders include makers such as Cuisinart and Hamilton Beach.  

The best coffeemakers are OXO and Ninja.  One doesn't have to spend a lot of money on coffeemakers, but Keureg and Mr. Coffee both make good coffeemakers. Since we moved into this condo I've used a very old Mr. Coffee coffeemaker that is so old it doesn't have an automatic two hour shutoff timer.  The Feds made that mandatory back in the early 2000's.  But other coffees on various lists that listed the best included Blue Bottle and Stumptown coffees including Homestead.  

I buy Ruta Maya from Amazon at a great price, but I might buy a can of Folgers or Maxwell House because they are fairly inexpensive and neither of those come in beans only.  Another brand that has been around and is still a favorite is Eight O'clock coffee.  People seem to like that one too.  Actually the old brands of coffees are still favorites like old pipe tobaccos that have been around for a hundred years or so like Half and Half and Velvet and others.  There are reasons why brands have been around so long.  People still find them good. 

As you can tell now, I've moved on from coffees and am now on to pipe tobacco.  I'm thinking of ordering a can of Half and Half pipe tobacco for my next order.  A 14 ounce can is less than $40, which is about as cheap as pipe tobacco can get.  Today I am smoking my Boswell pipe with Tropical Export while sitting on the patio by the pool at my son's house.  I have plenty of tobacco to last me awhile, but I am thinking I need to spend less for tobacco and if I find a cheap tobacco I like I might stay with that.  So, we'll see.   Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave