I'm not usually near one in India, but this is a good standby as well: http://www.cafecoffeeday.com/

Sadly, globalisation has brought poor eating habits, obesity, and diabetes to the wealthy in India, and this chain is now very popular: http://www.madoverdonuts.com/

Good comments! Agreed on "Paul"! I had forgotten about them. Thanks.
Ad I appreciate the links.
You guys are great.

Oh, and I still think the Horton's smell, especially to those of us that don't do doughnuts is the doughnut FRYERS and that grease bilking up the air. Can't think what else it could be.

Cafe' Du Monde' and Similar?
 

Just wanted to revisit something.

How about "Specialty Coffee" shops like Cafe Du Monde?

I have a can of this in my freezer. To me, that's a really funky taste, that is best left to visits to their restaurant in New Orleans munching on Beignets. I only can drink this there, or when I'm having some cake or sweets, which I really don't do very often. The heavy smokey Chicory taste needs to be cut (IMO) by something sweet.

I'm wondering if anyone has a really "special" coffee they will go out of their way to get? The trend so far is coffee shops that have "standard" coffee.

The Amway hotel in GRR has a Julius Meinl coffee shop, oddly enough. It is a Viennese company, but there are a lot of Germans travelling to GRR, so I assumed that is why it is there?

I wasn't staying there, but I did buy a few packets to take with me.

Coffee at Cafe du Monde at the French Market is wonderful. Years ago there was an outpost at Underground Atlanta, not as wonderful.

There are several coffees worth seeking out--Jamaican Blue Mountain, Kona, Sumatra Mandheling are amazing. Others will have favorites.

The link here is a quick read. Please look at the Nota Bene which explains a lot. I don't find that freezing or refrigerating is a friend to coffee. But then I think most people, my DH included, drink stale coffee. And yes, I'm a tea snob, too. :p

http://www.martinezfinecoffees.com/c...ne-coffee.html

Everyone needs to remember.. Tim Horton's isn't just coffee.. Its donuts, muffins, pastries, sandwiches, soups, etc.. My draw there isn't coffee.. its the latter..

We hear you, Maestro. I really have been enjoying their food. Soup and sandwich combos are great, IMO. Even tried a doughnut or two. All good! But as a coffee drinker, I've truly been slurping a bunch of their coffee too. To my taste, it's fine. Not gourmet, but nice drinking everyday wake-me-up coffee.

Just be careful if you are concerned about nutrition or eat there on a regular basis, because their sodium content is actually higher than many 'typical' fast food places (and of course the reason why so many like the doughnuts is that doughnuts are mostly the two delicious things - fat and sugar :D )

It's like Panera Bread; I know a lot of people think that going there instead of McDonalds for instance is a 'healthy' switch, but if you look at their nutrition listings it is pretty shocking.

AM, I know that you said a few times now that you are trying to eat healthier foods, so you may want to look up their nutrition charts. One sandwich (just the sandwich, not including the soup) can be more than your daily allowance of sodium, FYI.

And then there is that rumour that the whole reason WHY Tim Hortons has so many people addicted to their coffee is that they add salt to the beans (or the brew). :eek: Salt has traditionally been used to cut the bitterness of some coffee.

That's interesting, Orchids. Also, I have been "freezing" coffee at home for years. I used to do whole bean and grind it just before brewing. I've become lazy, or cheap, or both, and now just buy ground coffee. But I still freeze it. I'm wondering if that's helping or hurting?

Thanks for the link.

I feel the same way about the coffee from Cafe du Monde; it really can only be eaten with those delicious and always messy beignets.

When you first posted about them, I had a flashback to a very sticky spring day, sitting with friends, watching the first signs of life returning to make the French Quarter somewhat 'normal'. For months after Katrina MSY was a ghost town, then slowly populated by military, then contractors and aid workers, and finally the first few tentative visitors came back. It was easy to find a table that Sunday morning, but it was a good memory of things starting to improve. :)

Thanks for that post. Mentally, I was there with you. :)

Exbay;
Thanks for the tip. I'm pretty healthy and pretty lean. As an endurance athlete, I actually have to be careful not to get too gaunt. But I know just being lean does not mean you are healthy. Most of the time, I eat very healthy. Once in a while, I have a "Cheat Day" :)

I don't really frequent Tim Hortons because I don't have a Master Card that collects frequent flyer miles.. But I typically when I stop in, have chicken salad sandwich on brown, a soup, and a juice.. still not the healthiest, but it beats going to the golden arches accross the street..

With your username, I wasn't worried! :p

But many people seem to think that Tim Horton's, Panera, etc are better choices than McDonalds.

Ancien Maestro, your Tim Horton's meal that you listed has almost 2,000mg of sodium. You'd actually be better off having a Quarter Pounder and fries, believe it or not. Like the Starbucks treats, it really is eye opening to see that what you may think of a healthier choice really isn't. Just some advice as you have mentioned wanting to eat better, and many people have fallen into the trap of believing that certain foods are better when they aren't. Tim Horton's definitely falls into the junk food category, and is actually one of the more unhealthy places to eat. I'm not a fan of McDonalds and don't eat there, but they do in fact often some better choices if one chooses wisely.

I haven't had a chicken salad sandwich in ages.. and MacDonalds has some salad choices I like to have once in a blue moon..

Anyways, I don't want to be lectured on how many grams of sodium is in my sandwich, nor do I care or keep track.. If I'm craving something, my body needs it so down it goes 2,000 mg of sodium or not. I'm more concerned about transfats, and how that shrinks the brain honestly..

Anyhow, it may not be healthy, but I do drink Tim Horton's hot chocolate once in awhile..

There's nothing wrong with a little junk food every now and again; I'm just under no illusion that my Krapfen are remotely healthy! :)

Actually, that is one thing which annoys me about coffee places; so often they have mediocre or bad baked goods. Starbucks is an example. One of the 'best of the worst' items on the menu is non-veg suitable, and everything else is really unhealthy or just tastes unpleasant to me.

Does anyone remember Torrefazione? It was the high end version of Seattle's Best Coffee before Starbucks bought both and killed them off. Actually, some of the SBC locations also had decent baked goods.

And if ever in Berlin, in the Leipziger Straße there is an oddity. Not only is it a drive through (unusual unless it's a McDonalds McDrive in Germany), it is a coffee drive through, and a Hawaiian themed one! (Cahoona) I've only ever used the walk through window. The coffee isn't overly special but being greeted by Aloha at a coffee drive through metres from where the wall once stood is an experience I have done a few times, mainly for the bizarreness factor, or if I happen to be walking past.

However for excellent coffee and ever better baked goods and pastries and chocolate the Chocolate Café above nearby Fassbender and Rausch on the Gendarmenmarkt is the place to go.

Sounds like you found your personal sweet spot--good coffee at a reasonable price with minimal effort. Or maybe you just got used to it! If it works should you change it? I would be tempted to try a better storage container and avoid freezing, and see if that makes a difference.

I haven't used Starbucks in years !

I take a Nespresso Pixie + 5 sleeves of capsules with me whenever, and wherever I travel. It will even fit in a carry-on.

I have been given Starbucks redcards as gifts, and I in turn just give them away.

My wife is a size zero, and she can still eat a horse, binge on chocolate, etc.. and still remain a size zero.. but her descendants are European.. perhaps thats' the secret?

When we need the energy, our motto is eat.. but I'm watching more carefully for myself nowadays what I input.. but once in awhile theres' no problem with a nice big fat treat..:cool:

We have a lot in common AM. My Sig Other is also a Size ZERO, and her favorite drink? Hot chocolate. At least two cups a day. It's her narcotic.

Hey! Life is SHORT! You have to enjoy once in a while. The way I look at it, I eat healthy 5 or 6 days a week, then I eat whatever I want on my cheat day, within reason. I won't sit down and eat a whole chocolate cake or something like that, but I'll enjoy a treat or two on a cheat day.

Balance! That's the key! Exercise, make decent choices when eating, enjoy a treat once in a while, and all usually will be well.

I've got friends that NEVER EVER eat anything they consider bad. NO cookies, NO cake, NO sweets of any kind, no breads, no pasta, no this, no that. They eat like Trappist Monks. Only Salad with a teaspoon of vinegar dressing, some whole grains, and lean fish. That's fine, but once in a blue moon have a small plate of something you like. Life is more fun that way IMO!

Coffee to me is a real addiction if I don't control it. I simply love it. What's funny? I hated it for 35 years of my life. Then one day, I had a cup. The rest is history!

What's the old expression? "You Are What You Eat, so Avoid Rump Roast!"
:D

Good thread! Thanks guys and gals.

Are you 6'5" chinese?:D

At 36.. I'm turning a corner towards better health and awareness. I used to let everything go, but nowadays I take the time to prepare for the times ahead.. But, such as life.. I used to eat for the sake of eating and not wasting.. so a new attitude where I eat what my body tells me to eat is important..

Plus drinking hot tea, has helped me avoid sickness and keep an acute immune system.. I haven't got sick yet this holiday season.. and it feels my body kicking out everything bad because of the vegetable and tea intake..

So yeah, the desserts come when I feel like it.. but tonite and last night, I didn't feel like having any.. and that's ok.. I skip it because my body says I don't really have to have dessert..

No, but I'm 6'1" and I like Chinese food. Does that count? ;)

I envy you. I wish I did more Tea. I had a rough bout with health last year, and finally went to a Chinese doctor. He gave me Accupuncture, with electric stimulation. Then prescribed a daily dose of tea that he mixed up. It worked.
The way I look at it, the Chinese have, what, 3,000 plus years of medicine behind the culture? VS Western medicine's 200 years. It was worth a shot.

OK, so tomorrow, I'll only have ONE cup of coffee in the morning, and the rest of the day... Chinese TEA! Done deal!

You're all right then.;)

You know, green tea in a bag without sugar tonight tasted pretty much like the chinese tea i'm accustomed to drinking all my life.. without the tea leaves floating on the bottom of course..

And you're one up on me, as I've never tried acupuncture.. or have drank an entire cup of coffee..

I should try a chinese herbal medicine shop for alternative medicine.. haven't been in one since a kid..

If you are in San Francisco, try Blue Bottle or Four Barrel, they are top notch coffee roasters. In Portland, OR, try Stumptown, Heart Coffee Roasters, or Cellar Door! There are so many in Portland, you could go on a coffee crawl, and then a pub crawl to sample the local beers after getting cracked out on amazing coffee...

Starbucks only if nothing else is available, I find their coffee to be a bit harsh/bitter tasting.

You might try the new Starbucks Blonde. That's less bitter than Pike's Peak.

I have not seen that since I have been avoiding them for the most part, I will try it.

I'd second that suggestion. Their blonde roast is really rather mild.

Through a Starbucks drive thru and haven't been thru one it seems for a very long time.. in Calgary, a selection of breakfast sandwiches now grace the menu..

The menu is hard to read.. I don't recall reading the selections of muffins or beverages to be very clear at all this morning.

Dunkins
 

I really prefer Dunkin' Dohnuts coffee over Starbucks, and its cheaper as an added bonus :)

FWIW, Starbucks is offering an extra $5 on your Starbucks gift card when you recharge your gift card with $25 by 1/31/12, using a Visa card.

Thank you for that information. I happened to recharge my card a week ago with a visa and so wrote asking why I didn't see the extra $5. Here's the response:

Glad you found that out. I hadn't recharged mine yet, and I didn't read the fine print. :D

I tried Starbucks Blonde for the first time in COS a few weeks ago. Very mild. I could drink about 5 cups throughout the day.

Glad to see there are a few Dunkin fans here. Having lived in the Northeast for many years, you see Dunkin Donuts everywhere.

Lately, thanks to my Canadian friends like A.M., I've been popping into Tim Hortons.

I've made notes in my planner with all the places mentioned here. Lots of micro beaneries I never heard of. Awesome! Thanks guys/gals.

Starbucks Blonde is too mild for me, at least how they make it. I will say that I used the samples we were encouraged to take at home, and when I could reduce the amount of water, it was better.

Awesome.. Do you get volume discounts? :D

Wow, 5 blondes.. that's something..

BAH HAHAHAHAHAH! Nice. Yes, that would be quite something indeed. ;)

Seriously.. it gets pretty expensive buying 5 a day.. A starbucks drink isn't a $2 cup of joe..

I would think buying 5 blondes a day isn't only expensive, but perhaps illegal in some places. :D

Agree. Dunkin is better and less expensive.

I also agree, but I lived in DD land for many years and grew very fond of their coffee. When I am in Chicago, I typically run to a Dunkin for java.

AM, yes you are right. 5 of ANY coffee beverage a day from Starbucks is getting pricey.

I posted this in another thread somewhere (maybe earlier in this one - can't remember), but years ago, the trick of the trade was to get a large coffee from McDonalds in the morning. They used to set out coffee pots on the counter. You just stopped in to a Micky D's as you traveled around during the day and refilled it for free. It was called the Micky D's bottomless cup. Those days are gone. Pots are now behind the counter again.