I love the Starbucks latte's and their chocolate croissants. And the camaraderie of the regulars. Its not just about the coffee..

Starbucks calls it coffee but I'm not sure what it really is. While on the subject, there really isn't a place to buy a good cup of coffee in The Villages. There are a few good baristas in and around the Orlando area but, unless you happen to be in the ares, that's a bit far to go. (P.S. I'm an admitted coffee snob but those who know good coffee will know what I'm talking about)

I don't even know what a latte is, but the Starbucks regular coffee is cheaper than most of the breakfast restaurants in The Villages, except the fast food places.

If you really want to be cheap--get a 32 oz travel mug-go to McDonalds get a senior coffee-keep refilling your mug- till its full--

I've seen several people do this

Curious to know what brand of coffee you purchase for home brewing?

Up north we had Willoughby's, a local roaster chain. It was slow-roast low-heat and their Sumatra Mandheling was to die for. It was also stupidly expensive, $19/lb. But it was a best seller and they roasted it a couple times every month. We had a few other local roasters as well but again it was expensive, and we'd usually just pick up 1/4 lb for a special treat to last us a few days.

Our usual brand was - believe it or not - 8 o'clock Columbian, right off the supermarket shelves. We also liked the supermarket's brand of organic Sumatra. Not as good as fresh-roasted but it was still nutty, smooth, and robust.

At the moment we're enjoying Cafe Bustelo espresso-style coffee, because I have a Keurig Cafe coffeemaker with built-in milk steamer/frother. So I'm drinking a cappuccino every single morning. With powdered cinnamon.

I also come from the land of 100 Starbucks. I don't like their coffee, but I get free Starbucks credits for various survey stuff and staying at Choice Hotels whenever we travel. When I do go, I don't pay for it and haven't EVER actually paid out of pocket for Starbucks. I doubt I ever will. But they have a chicken with basil and melted cheese sandwich that is filling and not overly offensive-tasting, and once in awhile I "earn" a free cappuccino - which of course I take advantage of.

Thanks for that info, I never heard of Willoughby’s but just discovered there’s one in Branford near the TA truck stop. Just so happens I’ll be traveling in that area Thanksgiving week. I’m always looking for good coffee I’ll have to make a stop there.

I had a uncle a former NY Yankee who swore by 8 O’Clock coffee. I’ll have to try that Columbian blend.

They're right near Chowder Pot, if that helps you find it. I used to work downtown New Haven and that was one of my weekly splurges on my lunch break. With lunch next door at Claire's. If you have a chance to get there, you'll find THE best vegetarian restaurant in the state. I'm not a vegetarian but sometimes you just really want a fresh, crispy, scrumptious salad with feta cheese and organic field greens and home-made tahini dressing, and personal-sized marbled whole grain loaf of yeasty amazing still-warm-from-the-oven bread.

I've travelled over much of the globe visiting coffee growers and sampling numerous varieties of coffee. My sister runs a coffee plantation on Bali, Indonesia which is a great visit. While I enjoy sampling beans from producers all over the world, if I had to pick a favorite I would have to say Arabica beans from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia. These beans are not too difficult to find in the US. Counter Culture Idido, Orinoco Organic Yirgachaffe, and Intelligentsia El Gallo can all be found on the Internet for a reasonable price. I also know the owner of Old Crown Coffee Roasters in Fort Wayne, IN and they can provide east African beans as well (also on the Internet). All will provide a recent roast date. Be careful of Amazon purchases as you might not get a recent roast. None of these roasters over roast their beans like Starbucks does. Also, these are all medium to medium-light roasts which allow the unique flavors of each variety to manifest. But, if you are into the dark Spanish, Italian, or French roast levels it doesnt really much matter what beans you use.
I grind my own beans just before use and typically use a French Press or Moka pot brew method but for my wife I do a pour-over.
I would never buy pre-ground coffee (it degrades very quickly) nor would I use distilled water to brew coffee - filtered water is best. Brewing coffee to get the most out of it is a highly nuanced process. I've recently written a white paper on optimizing the home brewing process and would be happy to provide a copy to you. Let me know. Win

:ohdear: Actually it's between BB&T and Village Dental. The Olive Garden is across from the High School. :oops:

Thank my lucky stars I get by with Folgers Instant.
All this roasting, grinding, filtering with the correct water, and thats after tracking down some bean that I can't pronounce, from a country you only read about when they have blown another % of the population to Kingdome Come.
I would be dehydrated and exhausted before the cup touched my lips!:icon_wink:

5 bucks, Not starbucks..

My ancestors would roll in their graves if I spent five dollars on a cup of coffee.

Best coffee ever is the cup next to me, delivered every morning with a kiss from daughter Helene.

Personally I feel Starbucks is more of a cult thing, last time I wanted a cup of coffee @ a Starbucks, was when I was waiting for the Verizon store to open, went into the Starbucks next door, after hearing a millennial, something ordering a coffee , in some kind of a dialogue that sounded like some religious chants --I walked out-he spent close to 5 minutes ordering coffee--had no idea what he wanted--decided the place was not for me

Stopped one time, got the blank stare when I ordered black coffee, no extra anything.