What's Up With Coffee?

It has to be said. Starbucks coffee doesn't taste good. I am all for the ambiance and lemon pound cake, but the coffee... And now even McD's is trying to copy the over-roasted burnt flavor. On my flight Thursday, Delta served the same awful coffee. By the time I got to my sister's I would have given a lot for a decent cup.

I had a friend some time ago whose husband was in the wholesale coffee business and they laughed at how Starbucks burnt the coffee beans to get their distinctive flavor.

To my palate, coffee should be smooth, hot and mellow. Finding a cup matching that description is becoming more and more difficult.

For the "hot" part, my nephew Dean has invented a cup that instantly reduces the heat of your brew to drinking level and keeps it there practically forever. He let me try out the most recent proto-type this weekend. What a pleasure to drink a whole cup of well-brewed java at the perfect temperature - for the WHOLE CUP! In my office I pour a cup, too hot to touch, set it aside, and finish it luke warm, but at least the flavor is consistently good.

I hope to get some input on this subject from Larry's cousin JavaMom who used to own a small group of coffee drive-thru's. Am I the only one on a quest for a decent cup of coffee?