IT Pros and Coffee

Never did like coffee much ... (Except, maybe, espresso) ...

I get through 8-9 cups of hot chocolate and a couple of cokes during an average working day ...

I hope this doesn't ruin my reputation as an IT person ...

]:)

Well, I am English. I probably get through about ten mugs during the average working day. English style, Indian or Sri Lankan Tea with milk.

This will mean nothing to the US peers but anyway... the company that I work for is kind enough to supply six different teas including one decaff (turns and spits) and I favour Twinings Breakfast Tea.

Believe it or not, coffee is good for you. It has antioxidants. Tea does also but coffee is better. Like most things, there's a dark cloud in every silver lining. Too much caffeine is not good for you. So two or three cups a day is about the limit you should drink.

...if it's in wikipedia. :D

We have [b]proper[/b] pints! Imperial Pints. Not the wussy little things that you guys use!

Sorry to jump in but it needed saying.

It is 1 mile each way from the department store to my office ... :D

]:)

Hopefully I've got a little while to go before making it to that Big Coffee Pot in the Sky, but the company would be nice.

I didn't drink coffee very much until we moved into our new office this past September. They started serving Starbucks for the patient waiting room and for our lounge. I tried the Breakfast Blend and it was really good. (I wouldn't go to Starbucks and pay 3-4 dollars a cup though.)

I used to drink about two liters of Coke (cola) a day but had to cut back.

and I dont like coffee either ...

All I can drink is coke and hot chocolate ... and that too I have to cut back because I am afraid my teeth might turn up like my mom's ... she has lost all of hers at the age of 45 ..

Oh, why why cant we have everything in life??

]:)

After reading a few of Jaqui's posts lately, I'm thinking that those pots he was referring is actually marijuana. haha (No offense to Jaqui for using him as a prop to my joke).

a loose reference to a statement (I thought is was you but it could have been someone else) to a post to or about NZ and the other kid saying something to the effect that most people on TR are over 25... Not a big deal. Not trying to start anything. Just a very loose reference with not much impact meant. Please disregard.

Havent you yet realized the effect the phrase "please disregard" has on us? ... :D

By the way, that was jd who made that comment ... I wanted to correct him and say that there are some people younger than 25 ... but thought the better of it :)

]:)

But your last sentence told me to disregard it. So I HAVE to reply! How dare you confuse me with someone else? Were you trying to start an argument with me? :D (OG, you should know by now when I'm joking around, but you don't < grabs Old Guy and shakes him > ... so I'll let you that I'm joking around with you. We all make mistakes, even me, and you mistook someone else's post for mine. No big deal).

But instead of saying "some" people on TR are younger than 25, it's probably more accurate to say TWO people are younger than 25. ?:| That would be you and uh... Underage Guy. :O It's proof that age isn't a surefire indicator of maturity.

Well, you know how confusion comes with old people. So, you go around beatin? up on old guys, huh? Just wait until that gets around TR.:)

In the last sentence of my previous post, I was comparing the difference between stargazer and Underage Guy. It was meant to be a compliment to starg and a putdown to Underage Boy. I'm not sure if it comes out that way when you read it.

I march to the tune of my own drummer. At least I don't follow the national trend of beating up homeless people. :D
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060120/1054596.asp

It did seem like a "I will get you for this" sentence at first ... but then I shook my head and read again ....

Thank You Mark :)

]:)

Mark, that is just sick. I know it has been happening. Unfortunatel Oz nailed it correctly when he said that America is going to hell in a handbasket and this just further proves that.

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=187837&messageID=1927828

I'm glad I issued my clarification. Just like Old Guy should know by now when I'm joking, you should also know by now that I wouldn't inentionally say anything mean to you. Brutally honest, yes. But not mean or hurtful.

< Grabs OG and SG and shakes them vigorously >

Old Guy, I don't think America is going down the tubes. Idiotic things like what's in that story about homeless people is not a trend for the worse. It's just more of the same thing has been going on forever. Not only in this country but wherever people live. These things just seem worse because it's happening here and now.

We really do have a knack of slipping off topic, dont we?? :p

I know Mark that you wont say anything mean to me ... I wouldnt let you live, if you do ....

]:)

thanks to the Please Disregard non-discussion.

re: revenge for saying something mean - I'd wear a disguise so you wouldn't be able to find me. I just need to wear dark sunglasses and you wouldn't recognize me. This is me wearing sunglasses --> B-) looks nothing like me though. I can make myself even more unrecognizable by stuffing my shirt with turnips to make me look fat.

That turnips catch fire very easily? (as I discovered in an experiment)

And I am very good at weilding blow torches ....

Put 2 and 2 together .... I heard you are good at math ... ;)

]:)

I asked my wife if it would be ok if you shook me up with Stargazerr and she said it's ok. Nothing to worry about. ;-)

2 or 3 pots of coffee a day, it's 7 pots of coffee a day, down from 14 pots of coffee a day.

to kill M_A_R_K you only have to pull the battery from his pacemaker. ]:)
He did say he is far past 25 years old. ]:)

of hot chocolate ...

]:)

Now all I have to do is pin Mark down and dig my fingernails into his chest .... :D

]:)

since I just got stargazerr to plan on ripping your clothes of and playing with you. >:)

He gets the good stuff only until I manage to smash his rib cage and gently remove the batteries from his pacemaker ...

Know anyone who could use it after Mark's done with it??

]:)

I don't drink coffee, I inhale it as well as absorb through osmosis.
[ literally absorbed some in 20 seconds that had been spilled onto the table, by putting my hand on it. after 20 seconds no trace of coffee on the table, and my hand was dry, not wet with coffee ]

Coffee priorities:

1. Free
2. Hot
3. Fast
4. Good tasting

I can always load it with creamers and flavouring. :^O

My objective has changed. It is no longer to wear a silly sunglassed, turnip-laden disguise and to run and hide from a blowtorch-wielding little stargazer. The objective is now to be found. To make it easier to find me, here is me without a disguise --> :8}

Smash my rib cage, huh? Are you planning to do that with your torpedo or with your bare hands?The best part about all this is that you won't find a pacemaker. So the poking and prodding may last quite a while. :D

P.S. Thanks, Jaqui! ]:)

Where I work now, they like the coffee VERY strong. I make the coffee everyday and use nearly double the amount recommended.

Personally I like coffee with flavor, a lot of sugar and a little cream. So I buy those flavored creamers a lot. Irish Creme is my fav (too bad it's not REAL Irish Creme! alas)

If I had my way I'd be drinking at least 2-4 cups a day (I'm a night owl but work 9-5), but I've cut back since I was diagnosed with PKD a year ago.

Check out Ravensbrew.com (no, I don't work there and this is not a paid endorsement). The coffe is not roasted until you order it. You cannot get coffee more flavorful (flavourful, for our Canadian brethren) than this unless you roast it yourself. Of course, if you do that it can take years of trial and error to come up with good blends; they take that task off of your hands.

I love the smell of coffee, like coffee ice cream, but hate to drink it. I'm a Diet Dr. Pepper fan. Plain is the best, but occasionally, if I feel particularly festive, I might splurge on the cherry vanilla version. Diet Dr. P has seen me through many a long night.

Tea - Earl Grey

Coffee - Community Coffee with Chicory (New Orleans Blend)
You can find Community Coffee online and order it there.

I'm a big fan of Kona coffee, or at least a Kona blend. Either is a bit pricy, so I can't afford to drink it daily, but otherwise I stick with brewing SBUX Cafe Verona at home...

After thirty years of drinking coffee, I just don't get the whole gourmet coffee thing. For me it is pure 100% Columbian blend made with distilled water. Nothing like having coffee that actually tastes like it smells! Nothing worse than having it grab you by the nose and drag you to the break area only to to have your tongue slap your brain and say, "We've been lied to!" Variations may be good for combating boredom, but I'll stick with Juan Valdez for my source of the heavenly nectar.

About 24 cups daily, made in a Black & Decker Coffeemaker.

1. Trader Joe's Bay Blend
Strong, flavorful, and relatively inexpensive.
Hey, something West Coast that's actually quite
good!

2. Trader Joe's Island Blend
Rich flavor, relatively inexpensive.

3. Eight O'Clock - Original
That you can get great-tasting whole-bean coffee
for this price (under $5) is just awesome!

4. Chock Full O'Nuts - Original
At just under $5 a can, it's affordable. Also,
it's got a rich taste and is not too acidic.

5. Dunkin' Donuts coffee
My finacee's dad loves the stuff. But, he's from
Connecticut and thinks ANYTHING from New England
is the best. (The company is based in
Massachusetts.) One of these days I'm going to
have to show him that the best stuff is WEST of
Greenwich, Conn., not east (or south and north if
you go by the direction signs on I-95). As for
the coffee, it's not bad, though too acidic for
my tastes. And at nearly $10 for a package, it's
definitely NOT worth the price.

FREE COFFEE tops the list. For me, coffee is one of the four major food groups along with Grease, Sugar and Everything else. Daddy told me long ago to learn to drink my coffee black and strong. As a traveling trainer/consultant I'm at the mercy of whatever facility I'm working in.

As Oracle geeks, we got tired of driving 35 miles to get a halfway-decent cup of coffee. So, we simply opened our own coffee house, and turned it into an Internet Cafe with gourmet wraps and good stuff (chocolate croissantss!).

It was so successful we've opened a second. We brew Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters products here in New York - to support local business, and it is a mighty fine brand of different coffees!

Check out www.coffee-creek.com - it's the juice that supports CobbleSoft and our helpdesk software! We'll even send you free coffee when you buy the software - that's how good it is!

I love the African and Far Eastern Coffees. But Expresso roast arabica coffee made into a Cafe Latte or drunk as Expresso with cream and sweetner.

I guess I'm not a geek. I prefer sleep over caffeine.

There are those of us in offices who rely on you IT Pros to keep the IT perking along who also are coffee snobs. As an accountant and tax pro, I drink quite a bit of Starbucks. My dad works in the office also, and he actually brought in whole beans (Starbucks French Roast) and a coffee grinder for our afternoon
pick-me-up. And I've just ordered a pair of great coffee t-shirts from ThinkGeek.com for my new boyfriend and myself.

I have found a way to reduce my coffee imput. it is called Gano Excel it is Brazillian coffee and reishi mushroom and has only 1/12 the caffeine but still gives a lift to get you to the computer. also it is alkaline, since you know coffe is very acid and all my vegan friends laughed at me for drinking anything acid. no headaches when I cut back my caffeine level from about 200 grams a day, now about 4.

Wouldn't do coffee on a bet. However, a Diet Pepsi can be siphoned in a heartbeat. I'm sure there are lots of other Geeks out there that do either soda or tea also.

Hello there,

I don't know what the trends are but my recommendation would be plain old Folgers......of course, there are flavored coffee grounds, and so on so forth.......so the ultimate best pick would probably be whatever your coworkers and yourself are able to compromise on.

Slightly off topic, but I must tell you all about this.

I was in Tainan, Taiwan (just outside of Kaohsiung) on business, and I found a great, not just good, coffee spot there! My host, who had lived in San Francisco for several years, took me to "Mellow Quaffable" for coffee after a local's breakfast of beef soup with ginger. He said it was way better than anything he could find in SF. It was the finest shot of coffee I've ever had. The place buys green beans of several varieties. They'll roast them to order if you want to buy some. Man, I can still recall the taste of that latte.

When doing serious work, I guess I am allowed to use the four letter word here, strong black coffee keeps me going, any brand. Being self employed I can call the shots as a big percentage of my work is done in the home office. Fixing someone elses computer, coffee is a must as a brain stimulant. Working on my own marketing campaigns or websites is sometimes accompanied by Scotch or Irish whisky and usually occurs late at night, I find whisky helps some of the artistic side of my brain the chance to break through the strict guidelines laid down by the logical side. Then comes the relaxing time on the computer, right now it's Saturday afternoon and, thanks to the internet, I will shortly be having a beer with my son. I am in Saskatoon, Canada and he is in Scotland where it is Saturday evening, what a great thing a web cam is.
Maybe I am a little off topic but computers can accompany a variety of beverages, just watch out not to spill it in the keyboard!!

Water used has a lot to do with the quality of coffee. I use only bottled distilled or drinking water with no additives.

Graffeo (Bay Area & Beverly Hills) dark blend is one of the best. Of course, make it in a pot over the stove!

Chocolate - one of the best is Richuiti in SF. Good coco is hard to find:(

Hot chocolate - it has to be drank as Mayans did. Look it up and you'll forget about Hershey hot chocolate.

One last thing. Cheese! Unpausterised milk Eppoise. Extremely hard to find:(

New Orleans is the city of coffee (not chocolate as our mayor claims). We have many brands roasted and sold in the city. My favorites are Community Dark Roast and Community New Orleans Blend (Coffee and Chicory). You have to be a native to like the chicory blend; we're raised with it.

We also have many coffee houses and cafes. Starbucks has a difficult time making it here; our home grown coffee houses are SO much better. Besides, how can anyone enjoy burnt coffee? That's what Starbucks tastes like to me.

No self respecting member of the Geek or IT communities arsenal would be complete without caffene. The ultimate blend comes from Trader Joe's. Start with one large can of French Roast beans poured into an extra large mixing pan. Add one bag of Ultra Dark coffee bean, One bag of Double Dark coffee beans and a regular can of Espresso beans. Mix well and place in sealable storage containers. Grind desired amount and brew when the inevitable urge for caffene strikes! The flavor of this blend is wonderful, the caffene high is supreme and after 6 or 7 cups your online experience while be sublime...

ok, not to speak for 'everyone' in toronto - but i think that i speak for most of my colleagues when i say that Tim Horton's coffee is the best.

- that is, if you're not grinding your own coffee beans...

The best freshest coffee I have found is when you roast it yourself. If you want to take the Geek factor to the next level, through about two cups of green beans into your pop corn popper(Usually found at a local coffee roaster for about half the price of regular coffee or online for even less). It takes about ten minutes. The beans come out writhing in there own oils. If you grind them while they are still warm, now that is what IT specialists really need. Don't be worried about it leaving a taste and wreaking your pop corn on the next go, just wipe the oils down with a paper towel. Honestly, I have been doing both in our tired old popper for over a year now and have yet to find coffee that tastes like popcorn or vice-versa. Try it, you will get hooked, and be more productive(The caffeine content seems higher).

Is there anything other than coffee? If I don't have my morning injection of jet fuel I'll get a migraine and have homicidal urges. Lay coffee plants on my casket and mark my grave with a Folger's can. Give my regards to The Coffee Gallery and Aroma House. Oh! And if it's decaf.. IT"S NOT COFFEE!

I prefer a good hot cup of Tim Horton's coffee!