I know it’s the brew of choice for bookish types and test crammers everywhere, but am I the only who thinks the regular blend of Starbucks is much too harsh on the ‘ol taste buds? I don’t mind dark coffee, but Starbucks’ just seems to have a pervasive bitterness to it that I can’t get past.

Right now, I’m trying Starbucks breakfast blend, and it actually quite a bit better in my book, although breakfast blend in other brands, Maxwell House and the like, seem to be TOO mild. If you actually have a “Coffee” section on your household budget like us, try these: Cafe du Monde chicory, Yuban or New England Coffee. And if you can’t afford that elitist stuff, just go with JFG or the house brand. Honestly, I can’t find a huge difference taste-wise between them and Maxwell House or Folgers.

For run-of-the-mill restaurant coffees, both McDonald’s and Hardees make good brews, and any Ryans, Shoney’s or Waffle House. Huddle House coffee, in my experience, tastes like cigarette ash. That’s assuming I know what cigarette ash tastes like, which I don’t. But if I did, that would be a close estimation.