Not going to lie, I enjoy coffee. I generally have 2-3 cups a day, on occasion when it’s an early day with customer calls, maybe 1-2 more. That said, I am fairly particular on which types of coffee I like. Over the past year or so, I’ve tried the following brands:
Kauai Garden Isle Medium Roast
Caribou Blend Medium Roast
Black Rifle AK47 Medium Roast
Magnum Exotics Big Island Blend
Tullys Hawaiian Blend Extra Bold (whatever that is)
Dunkin Donuts Medium Roast
Maxwell House Medium Blend
I’ve even tried (and generally hated) a number of the variety packs. Keurig makes one that is not all bad, it had Newmans Own Organic, Laughing Man, Donut Shop in it. The worst was the Victor Allen variety pack, there was nothing about it I liked, all of their flavors were at best bad.
Of the various coffee brands I’ve had, I keep ordering the Kauai Garden Isle and Caribou pretty regular. I like the flavor of both, they are pretty consistent quality. The only issue I have with the Kauai coffee is that they sometimes ship it in foil pouches that once open, cause the coffee pods to go stale. I prefer the pods that are sealed individually. The last batch I got was like this.
I like the medium roast because generally the flavor profile is the best. I am not saying that a dark roast or French roast will not taste good, but the darker roasts seem to lose more of the flavor because of the longer roasting time. The darker roasts also have less caffeine in them (go figure, I like my caffeine). While I am a K Cup sort of guy 90% of the time, I do enjoy a good grind, its just that the majority of my time is in my home office where it’s much easier to brew with my Keurig. Prior to 2014 I was an in the office type worker and took whatever we got in our break rooms. After that I became 100% remote working with my first Keurig (lasted 5 years). I am on my second Keurig (not sure which model, does it really matter) which is going strong after 4 years of hard labor
Given all that, what is my favorite coffee, and then what is the best value? I think my favorite is either the Black Rifle AK47 or CAF, depending on my mood at the time. BRCC coffee is fairly expensive on a per cup basis, somewhere over $1 per cup depending on when you buy and if you have any discounts. I generally don’t purchase it without at least a 20% off coupon or free shipping or both.
For me the best value (and taste) is going to be either the Kauai Garden Isle or the Caribou. Both are generally in the .45 cent to .60 cent per cup range. They both taste good and have a great aroma. While I am not a cheapskate at heart, I do try and get the best value for the dollar, for me I regularly drink both the Kauai and Caribou offerings and mix in a few others when I can.