Writes Patrick in Wisconsin: “A member of our office staff prefers a lighter blend, while the rest of us tech guys prefer a cup of coffee that will actually wake us up.”
After the original laminated note spurred this tempest in a coffee pot, Patrick says that Ms. “Three Scoops” upped the ante by bringing in a second coffeemaker for her own personal use. The notes, however, remain.
related: Coffee-brewing for engineers
104 responses so far ↓
#1
Kay A. Ess
The last note says it all. You can make dark coffee lighter by adding a bit of water. Or more milk, if that’s your thing. Heck, an ice cube in the coffee will not only lighten the coffee, it will cool it to a temp where you can actually drink it.
Mar 9, 2014 at 5:45 pm rating: 61
#2
kermit
*coffee snobbery advisory*
The light roast coffee actually has more caffeine in it than the dark roast. That’s why it’s usually the “morning blend”.
Also, three scoops of coffee for an entire pot is an abomination. If you want something that watered down, just drink some tea, for heaven’s sake.
Mar 9, 2014 at 5:45 pm rating: 101
#3
Kacky
What a bimbo. A lighter roast gives the brew more caffeine, but doesn’t change the strength.
Mar 9, 2014 at 5:45 pm rating: 14
#4
Ruby
I would have left the last note as the first note. Isn’t it just better when we all just get along? (Yes, I am a PA Note Writer… sorry.)
Mar 9, 2014 at 5:47 pm rating: 1
#5
Derp
Just gonna go ahead and point out that Starbucks’ Blonde roast is named so only because it’s not roasted as much and is less acidic. It is actually the most caffeinated blend they have. People drinking it because they want a ‘lighter’ or ‘milder’ coffee, take note. It’s only the flavor that’s light.
Source: I used to work at Starbucks.
Mar 9, 2014 at 5:47 pm rating: 44
#6
Bothered Barista
GAH!!!!! Blonde roast is not brewed any weaker! Light roasts are stronger than dark. How many times must this be explained? Why must people that know nothing about the roasting/brewing of coffee insist that they know best? Sure, sure, you’re entitled to your own preference, but don’t try to dictate an industry you have no role in!
Mar 9, 2014 at 5:54 pm rating: 18
#7
edr
coffee with more water in it doesn’t have more caffiene. Morons. Maybe Starbucks blonde roast does, but the lightness comes in the fact that it’s a lighter roast. The lightness that the stupid office bitch makes is because she adds less coffee.
Mar 9, 2014 at 5:58 pm rating: 8
#8
jill
It was always the same argument at my family’s house growing up. My parents like theirs with the grounds filled up to the brim for a whole pot, which resulted in super strong, jet black coffee that gets burnt tasting super fast, while I, along with my siblings like ours made with the suggested amount, and a normal strength..not weak. I agree with the last note leaver…you can just add some hot water to dilute it if its too strong, and then mix it how you like (or have it black), without having to use too much creamer. But if its too weak (as a former co-worker used to like making coffee tinted hot water…blech), there is nothing you can do to make it stronger. I just loathe people who feel as if everyone around them have to accommodate their wishes at all times…compromise is necessary in life. Unless it is directly harming you personally, just shut up and quietly make your own adjustments as needed, without having to announce it to the world when you do so.
Mar 9, 2014 at 6:01 pm rating: 19
#9
az
Strong vs. Weak and Dark vs. Light are not synonymous comparisons.
Mar 9, 2014 at 6:04 pm rating: 35
#10
Tracey C
It sounds like all of these people are getting way too much caffeine.
Mar 9, 2014 at 6:05 pm rating: 25
#11
Lita
And this is why I don’t drink coffee, besides the fact that it tastes like death to me.
Mar 9, 2014 at 6:07 pm rating: 10
#12
Nick
The comment defending Starbucks coffee is ridiculous. McDonald’s is also one of the most successful companies worldwide, but if you want good food that’ll be the last place on earth you need to be. Same goes for the shitty coffee they serve at Starbucks.
Mar 9, 2014 at 6:17 pm rating: 20
#13
Uncle Bobby
I too prefer light roasts and agree with the complainer. The techies got it wrong in their reasoning and think that acidic, almost burnt coffee is delivers more jolt…it doesn’t.
Starbucks IS shitty coffee though.
Mar 9, 2014 at 6:25 pm rating: 5
#14
Nicole
What I find so amusing about this is that adding more scoops of grounds does not define whether a coffee is a light or a dark roast. That is determined by how dark the beans are roasted. Adding more scoops adds to the strength of the flavor.
Mar 9, 2014 at 7:39 pm rating: 7
#15
Mike
Coffee is, like wine, dependent on many variables, including context. I love a strong, deep, complex cup – but hate the over-extracted, boil mess at Starbucks. But let me tell you of one of the best cups of coffee I have ever tasted. We were getting ready to be picked up after a 5 day ambush mission. No fire, nothing hot for 5 days. We entered the extraction landing zone as the sun was just getting ready to pop up over the horizon, with the word that the choppers were less than 10 minutes out. I decided it was time for a cup of coffee. I used a worn tee shirt as a filter to strain some Viet Nam swamp water into an aluminum canteen cup. That got the twigs, leaves, bugs, and frogs out. A couple of Halzone tablets took care of the little things. A chunk of C-4 explosive the size of the end of my thumb brought the water to a boil. Two packs of instant, originally packaged for Korea 20 years earlier, and I had coffee. I sat and enjoyed the sunrise, and my coffee, until the choppers came in. A few months ago my wife and I sat in a New Orleans style bistro enjoying beignets and a wonderful cup of coffee. I shared the story with her. I am not sure which cup of coffee I enjoyed more.
Mar 9, 2014 at 10:02 pm rating: 46
#16
Jami
So for awhile I was in charge of making coffee at work. It rarely gets made now as the majority of coffee drinkers are gone and almost everyone prefers tea.
One day when I walked in after a day off one of the librarians informed me she had tried to make coffee while I was gone. She used 11 scoops. She had never made coffee before, apparently.
So I posted how we do coffee in our house.
For one full pot 3 3/4ths heaping scoops. (And these are big scoops. Not the tiny ones that come with coffee anymore. So the basket is almost, but not quite, full.)
A quick shake of salt – not too much, just enough to bring out the flavor.
A tiny bit – less than 1/4th of a teaspoon – of pre-sweetened hot chocolate/cocoa mix. This takes off the bitter edge.
And that’s how coffee’s made in my house.
I wish though that mom would use my vintage Corningware percolator instead of the Mr. Coffee. Coffee tastes so much better when percolated rather than that nasty Mr. Coffee mess.
Mar 10, 2014 at 1:02 am rating: 5
#17
James
What a nightmare you are all having. I don’t know why but over here in the UK coffee machines and decent coffee don’t seem to have taken off. We have a kettle and a jar of coffee in our works kitchen and I’ve given up training people how to use them properly and now just make my own coffee. Maybe you should all think about that?
Mar 10, 2014 at 4:11 am rating: 4
#18
Caroline
Ugh, American coffee…
Mar 10, 2014 at 6:45 am rating: 3
#19
sharon
Patrick himself is passive-aggressive, “a cup of coffee that will actually wake us up.” Tool.
Mar 10, 2014 at 7:10 am rating: 1
#20
Flabbon
Why are coffee drinkers so friggin’ pretentious?
Mar 10, 2014 at 7:16 am rating: 8
#21
buni
This is why my office bought a Keurig. The salesmen can drink their pot of burnt mud from the coffee maker that hasn’t been drained and cleaned in who knows how long and the rest of us can enjoy a variety of roasts and flavors made just how we like it.
Mar 10, 2014 at 9:33 am rating: 6
#22
NexliB
I hope she doesn’t seriously think 3 scoops makes a good cup of coffee. Might as well just dip a brown crayon in some hot water.
Mar 10, 2014 at 9:43 am rating: 11
#23
helen-louise
I love how all of the amendments which would normally be written on post-it notes are typed – to avoid incriminating handwriting?
Mar 10, 2014 at 9:51 am rating: 8
#24
Shirley
And not one person mentions the best coffee ever, Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica. Once you have had Blue Mountain coffee every other coffee suffers by comparison.
Mar 10, 2014 at 11:33 am rating: 3
#25
The Beast Among Us
These people drink way too much coffee. Perhaps if they stopped drinking coffee, their PANs would be more “to the point” and aggressive.
Mar 10, 2014 at 11:37 am rating: 2
#26
MustacheHam
Throughout my years in the office with a shared coffee machine, I have never witness such a dispute (quite childish) over brewing choices.
Get a Keurig folks if you want something different per person.
Mar 10, 2014 at 9:14 pm rating: 0
#27
wheatless
I can easily see how this would happen in Wisconsin. I think there’s a different interpretation of coffee there than, say, here in New England. During my first visit to my now in-laws in the midwest:
MIL: “Good morning!There’s coffee on.”
In my sleepy state, I wander over to the coffee pot and pour myself a mug full. I look into the mug, and I can still see the bottom of the mug through the tinted liquid.
wheatless: “Wait. What is this? Is this tea?”
FIL: “No, it’s coffee, silly.”
wheatless: “Are you sure?” [takes sip] “Y’know, maybe I’ll just have some tea instead.”
Mar 12, 2014 at 11:30 am rating: 3
#28
deprogrammed
Color and caffeine are two different things. Flavor and caffeine are two different things. However, the more dark roast you add, the more caffeine you get, along with the darker color that people mistake for caffeine. Therefore, coffee syrup will have more caffeine than a normal pot of morning blend – it will also melt your spoon, put hair on the palms of your hands and make you speak in tongues – if your tongue survives.
Mar 12, 2014 at 2:39 pm rating: 2
#29
Carl
Certain big name coffees may be strong, but mainly their beans are over-roasted to the point of being charcoal in look and bitter to the taste. Fresh coffee should never have a bitter taste.
The best coffee is home roasted. Full City+ to Full French Roast is my preference. Beyond that is nearing charcoal territory. With the right bean though, I have been able to get a caramel corn taste at City Roast level.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasted.pict-guide.php
Jun 8, 2014 at 7:19 pm rating: 0
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