Product Review: Shelter Island Coffee Co. “Seafarer’s Blend”

Sam Wilkinson

According to a faithful reader, I'm Ordinary Times's "least thoughtful writer." So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Related Post Roulette

14 Responses

  1. Saul Degraw says:

    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

  2. Chris says:

    Can we get videos of you reacting similarly to GG episodes? I think I would enjoy that immensely.Report

  3. Burt Likko says:

    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

    • Sam in reply to Burt Likko says:

      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

  4. dhex says:

    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

  5. Glyph says:

    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

  6. zic says:

    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

  7. Kimmi says:

    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

  8. Renee says:

    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

  9. Glyph says:

    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