Today’s Product: Shelter Island Coffee Co.’s “Seafarer’s Blend” (distributed by European Coffee Classics)
My Qualifications: When I was 30, I decided that it was time to start drinking coffee. I reasoned that drinking coffee is a thing that adults do, and after two kids, a marriage, and a mortgage, I figured the inevitable was upon me. So I undertook the long process of forcing myself to like coffee. I will admit that things started badly. One can only drink so many Extra Large coffee suicides from the gas station near your building before you really start to question whether there’s anything out there that’s worth drinking. But there is! I was eventually able to overcome my own objections and now I can proudly say that I’m well on my way to becoming an annoying coffee person!
I’m not all the way there yet. Still, I only drink it black. I prefer my best coffee to come from a French Press, although I also literally drink it from anywhere else, including the pot they have at bars I very rarely find myself in. I’m a huge fan of pourover coffee, although I’ve only had it a few times, mostly owing to the fact that the closest place I can get it is 90 miles away. I’m willing to give anything a go, and considering how expensive good coffee can get, I’m especially interested in value for my money. Maybe “Seafarer’s Blend” will be that.
Important Factual Information: A very fun fact about the Shelter Island Coffee Co. is that it doesn’t seem to exist. It’s just a name, but apparently not one popular enough to get Google’s attention, which is weird, as Google is usually quite good at finding stuff. This information is this slightly concerning. Also concerning is that the company attached to this particular bag of coffee – the blandly named European Coffee Classics – doesn’t seem to exist either. Even a casual search points users toward a larger company called Melitta. Melitta seems like a real outfit, but makes no mention of a Shelter Island Coffee Co. or a Seafarer’s Blend on its website. Or, for that matter, a European Coffee Classics.
Perhaps I should have been nervous after getting this bag of coffee for $3.50 from Big Lots. Most of the coffee that I’ve tried and then enjoyed rarely came so cheap. Very occasionally, I think I’ve probably paid more for a single cup of coffee. Of course, I’ve also paid considerably less and still had a perfectly enjoyable experience. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve either gotten a great deal or I’ve made a terrible mistake.
Testing: I gave the making of this coffee my very best effort. I used my beloved French Press, first getting the water to just shy of boiling, then pouring it over four-ish healthy tablespoons of ground coffee. I gave it a vigorous stir, let it sit for four minutes, then plunged the grounds. Time for the tasting:
Ah.
What seems to have happened here is that I’ve made a terrible mistake in thinking that a suspiciously labeled coffee made by a company that doesn’t seem to actually exist might be ingestable. The team at European Coffee Classics pretty obviously swept up Melitta’s leftovers – and by this, I mean the leftovers from the company’s woodshop – and then blended that sawdust with a zombie’s foot, slapped a “Seafarer’s Blend” label on it, and passed it off on an unwitting public (me).
On the one hand, I get it. Why let those woodshavings go to waste, especially if somebody is out there willing to buy it? On the other hand, I do have to stress that I wouldn’t recommend using this coffee for drinking. Cleaning paintbrushes? Yes. Cleaning corrosion off of car batteries? Absolutely. But for consumption? No.
Conclusions: A cup of cheap bad coffee isn’t reason enough to give up on coffee generally or cheap coffee specifically. If anything I am encouraged to continue my search for a good cheap fix. And yes, I realize that looks like an addict talking. What can I say? I’ve given up a lot of things that I love. Caffeine is just about all that I’ve got left. Although now I’ve got just a little bit less of it left, as Seafarer’s Blend is now firmly crossed off of the list.
I use a Melitta pour-over cone when I brew coffee at home. I am usually a one cup a day kind of guy.
For beans, I go for Sight Glass, Blue Bottle, and Stumptown Roasters.
SF is one of the ground zeroes for a micro-roast renaissance and it seems to attract a lot of tech money/Venture Capital. Blue Bottle somehow earned 40 million in VC. I wonder if our children are going to make a return to Folgers in rebellion against all the craft stuff….Report
Can we get videos of you reacting similarly to GG episodes? I think I would enjoy that immensely.Report
+1Report
With so much good coffee available on the internet, why are you wasting time with sludge? I suggest you start in Watertown, Wisconsin. I suggest at least 12 oz of Norske Blend and 12 oz of Highlander Grogg (especially since you make a point of always drinking it black). They’re not the cheapest, which may be a concern if you’re trying out $3.50-a-pound coffee.Report
It’s all about the thrill of the discovery. I much prefer sifting through cheapie stores in search of something new than I do dropping serious coin on proven winners. And I have a stable of winners that I enjoy, but I do dearly enjoy the search, even if the results occasionally stray into the above outcome.Report
at first i braced for a “well that’s not too bad” but instead i briefly feared emergency evacuation on the table. and then i cheered.
well done!Report
Yeah, I don’t know if I’d drink Big Lots coffee.
We usually drink Peet’s at home, though we wait for it to go on sale then stock up. When money’s tighter I sometimes go for Chock Full O’Nuts, which I think makes some dang fine coffees for the price (there are certainly much better coffees out there, but I am not sure if there are better values of price to quantity to quality).Report
When low on funds, I usually do the Folgers “Black Silk”, which is not too bad. Also, I drink about a pot in the morning, and have at least one in the PM before dinner.Report
@glyph
I find that Peet’s is too bitter and over roasted like Starbucks.Report
It’s impossible to know if, once, this was a good coffee or not, it’s ground.
Coffee is full of oils that will go rancid, and the more surface exposed, the quicker that happens. It’s quite possible that once upon a time, this was, in fact, a not-bad coffee; but a year or two in a ground state will never, ever make a good coffee; particularly in a bag like that. (This is the reason so much grocery store coffee that’s pre-ground is sold in vacuum-packed cans, and why it tastes relatively good upon opening but soon tastes like an acid bath.)
Best way to make the most of your coffee is to keep the beans beanie until just before brewing.
And as for brewing method; a French Press is good. A Meiltta cone used for pour overs is good (this is how I brew the three or so cups a day I drink,) but my favorite brew method is the vacuum pot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynJv0MNJACcReport
For .50 cents per pound extra, you can get honestly gourmet, single-origin coffee:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/green-coffee-sampler.html
Of course, you’ll have to roast and grind it yourself — but you can roast in a stovetop popcorn popper $20ish, and a decent grinder for French Press coffee won’t set you back much…Report
Sam, I remember when you were strictly a tea drinker and could not stomach the idea of daily coffee. I did not understand tea, as I thought it tasted like hot grass. Now I’m a tea drinker and you’re a coffee drinker, and we’re still friends. I drink coffee, too, though. What I’m saying is that I’m glad we can talk about hot beverages.
You should really consider looking outside the walls of Big Lots for your cheap coffee finds. I understand that you’re not a snob, and that the thrill is in the discovery, but Big Lots? My guess is that stuff was ground and packaged a year ago? Maybe longer? There’s got to be a better way to disappoint yourself.Report
Perhaps in the future you want to avoid coffee blends that are targeted at people who haven’t seen land in months. You’re lucky it didn’t taste like pickled herring.Report
In its defense, it is formulated to prevent scurvy, not to taste good.Report