Lame Cuppa Joe

[plumtreeblossom]

I bought a bag of drip-grind Equal Exchange fair trade coffee for $8 (12 oz) at a non-profit gift shop in Central Square. I'm almost to the end of the bag, and the coffee has uniformly come out watery and flavorless in spite of increases to the coffee-to-water ratio. I have a drip coffee maker, and it doesn't have settings, so all I could do was decrease the water level. It's still like drinking weak broom straw tea.

This was my first try with fair trade coffee. At this point I'm disinclined to try it again, though I wish that wasn't the case. My usual brand is Maxwell House, which is about $5 for a standard size can, and it's always good (to the last drop, I might add). I'm not interested in buying fancy brewing equipment in this economy, and I'm not fond of espresso or steamer drinks made with it. I just like regular drip coffee. My thinking is that the Equal Exchange was just crappy quality coffee.

But my question: are there other brands of fair trade coffee that are better and can produce a good brew in a standard drip machine? I do have a grinder, if that matters. _{(Note: I don't shop at Whole Foods, so elsewhere will have to do.)}

Comments

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

What *kind* of Equal Exchange did you get? It comes in about 15 varieties, all of which taste different. I absolutely swear by the French Roast and only the French Roast. You can get it at Harvest Coop, or possibly even Star/Shaws now, but Trader Joe's sells it cheaper as Cafe Pajaro (still marked as fair trade). I have tried dozens of other kinds and keep coming back to this as my one true coffee love.

As a gut reaction, I would be very wary of the quality of any coffee bought pre-ground in a gift shop (however chichi) rather than a food emporium.