Um... Coffee

[Sol-Blackguy]

I haven't had a need for caffeine in a while, but since I started this new data entry job I keep dozing off. Soda doesn't work, energy drinks cause me to crash at the end of the day, and that 5-hour shit used to give me heart problems. Coffee seems to do the trick, but it tastes like shit and a bad case of the bubble guts from 2-3 cups. Anyone have a special blend they use that doesn't taste like a sweaty gym sock and is easier on the insides?
My office has a pretty state of the art mixer that makes over 3,000 different drinks from coffee to cappuccino so anything and everything would be helpful. I don't know too much about coffee and don't have the patience to try every single combination.

[Plow]

Raspberry or Hazelnut flavors seem to be awfully popular for people that "don't like coffee" but want to drink it anyway.

[Atreides]

typically speaking darker roasts have lower caffeine contents, so something like espresso has less caffeine per volume than a mild roast at starbucks. As for your indigestion I'd limit your intake to 1-2 cups, maybe small amounts of espresso with a little milk to cut the taste. Adding sugar will only make you crash later. Generally caffeine consumed after 2-3pm will start to affect your sleep cycles, but most medical types recommending dealing with the 3pm slump in other ways.

I like espresso a lot but I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with varieties, usually I just buy whole beans at trader joes/starbucks but you might want to consider going to Whole Foods and hitting up one of their coffee experts.

In terms of a high/rush I've found that Matte (a south american tea-like drink, the national drink of Argentina/Uruguay) tends to give a much "cleaner" buzz than coffee/tea, with less of a crash afterwards, but it can be kinda hard to find in the U.S.

[Cow_k]

Anything mocha is the only stuff I can ever get the wife to even taste and she despises coffee.

[Despain]

Here in Georgia we have a gas station called QuikTrip that has the best French Vanilla cappuccino... that does the trick for me, and it tastes delicious.

[Plow]

Anything mocha is the only stuff I can ever get the wife to even taste and she despises coffee.

Really, really easy way to make pretty good mocha is just fill your carafe with however much hot chocolate mix you would use for the same amount of water, and let it brew into that and mix it up.

Here in Georgia we have a gas station called QuikTrip

lol ;p

[Xfaustx]

Cafe au Lait is made with a ratio of 1:1 coffee to milk, so that might be better, then add in flavors you enjoy... Cafe Breva is cappucino with half and half instead of milk, so also creamier... generally if you cant stand the flavor of coffees add in some form of cream and flavor/sugar. Also do you get to pick the style of coffee you drink? aka the region it comes from? or do the use one brand of coffee and make it different styles? because region vastly influences the flavor and darkness of coffees.

[Vuitton]

Maybe try Green Tea or Macha Green Tea. The caffeine content in those are super high. One cup of macha green tea for is about the same as two cups of coffee, and there are other things in the tea that make you feel nice as well as alert.

Also, I've had some black teas that were super potent as well. This tea:

http://www.peets.com/shop/tea_detail...=1335&cid=2006

Is super fucking powerful. It looks like black coffee after brewing.

[finalwolf]

can try drinking tea, some brands have more caffeine then others. If tea is an option for you and if you like tea.

::edit beaten to tea, navigating through pashhow::

[Blarg]

I find coffee only makes my stomach feel weird if I haven't had enough to eat.

[Shade]

Really, really easy way to make pretty good mocha is just fill your carafe with however much hot chocolate mix you would use for the same amount of water, and let it brew into that and mix it up.

I do this on a regular basis, it is pretty awesome. You can also cut it with water or milk if its too strong for you, but I think the bitter coffee taste and the sweet of the chocolate go really well together.

OP- by "machine" at the office do you mean a vending machine or some countertop device? Yours sounds pretty fancy, so ymmv, but my experience with the former has been that no matter what way you mix it, it still tastes pretty shit.

Here's the starbucks coffee chart to explain some different mixes.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...ks_formula.jpg

[Gryffes]

I have a nice Gaggia coffemachine that grinds beans. I really like Guatamalan and Columbian beans the most

/elitistcoffeeprick.

[Sol-Blackguy]

Cafe au Lait is made with a ratio of 1:1 coffee to milk, so that might be better, then add in flavors you enjoy... Cafe Breva is cappucino with half and half instead of milk, so also creamier... generally if you cant stand the flavor of coffees add in some form of cream and flavor/sugar. Also do you get to pick the style of coffee you drink? aka the region it comes from? or do the use one brand of coffee and make it different styles? because region vastly influences the flavor and darkness of coffees.

I get to pick whatever style is available. There's about 500 different single bag blends and the machine is capable of making just about anything hot or cold with coffee in it. I might give the Cafe Breva a try tomorrow.

I find coffee only makes my stomach feel weird if I haven't had enough to eat.

So far, I need about 2-3 cups just to get through the day. I never had a problem getting tired at work, but staring at serial numbers all day can take its toll. I even need more sleep at night compared to my old warehouse job.

I do this on a regular basis, it is pretty awesome. You can also cut it with water or milk if its too strong for you, but I think the bitter coffee taste and the sweet of the chocolate go really well together.

OP- by "machine" at the office do you mean a vending machine or some countertop device? Yours sounds pretty fancy, so ymmv, but my experience with the former has been that no matter what way you mix it, it still tastes pretty shit.

Here's the starbucks coffee chart to explain some different mixes.

Spoiler: show

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...ks_formula.jpg

It's a single cup machine that takes filter packs. You can choose different blends and beverages from what's available. They keep it pretty stocked, so there's always a wide selection to make any Starbucks jealous. Best of all, it's pretty much free since they're letting us test it out. Thanks for the chart, this should help out a lot.

[Atreides]

are you talking about a keurig machine (k-cups)? they had one of those at an office where I worked a while ago, it actually makes really good coffee.

edit: if they are K-cups, my office used to stock the full variety of Green Mountain coffee. The Extra Bold Dark Magic is what I used to drink, dark roast so low caffeine content but super powerful coffee flavor. Was really great.

[Xenega]

I work at Starbucks... so, if you don't like the coffee taste there are like a billion flavors to cover it a little.
For a Latte:
Mocha/Chocolate seems to cover it the most. Personally, I like the White Mocha a lot better. It's a lot less of a strong chocolate taste.
But if you have Vanilla that can help a lot too. With a little Caramel, you have a Caramel Macchiato.

Also, it's HELLA fatty, but a Cappuccino with 1/2 n' 1/2 milk and Espresso tastes pretty good surprisingly, without any syrup.

But, if you have any specific questions on something that you want in particular, feel free to message me... I can give some pretty good tips if you would like for what might taste good!
[=

[Drex]

if you don't like how coffee tastes, you could always drink something else

[Cesaria]

I like decent coffee - vending machine shite is a no-no. I used to work at a large utility company that provided free "coffee" to their employees. Before I left I always planned to spill a cup down the bannisters in the stairway as I was sure it would probably strip the varnish from the railing.

The only way we ever found to make that shit drinkable was to get a cup of coffee, cup of hot chocolate and mix the two in a kinda ghetto mocha dealie... we wasted soo much time making cocktails with various options from that vending machine.

Have you thought of going down the iced coffee route?

[Xfaustx]

I work at Starbucks... so, if you don't like the coffee taste there are like a billion flavors to cover it a little.
For a Latte:
Mocha/Chocolate seems to cover it the most.
[=

not to be an argumentative douche but coffee and chocolate are very similar beans grown in the same regions with close flavor complexes, so generally chocolate will compliment coffee more than cover up the taste, but it could make it more bearable and easier to get use to the flavor of coffee. white chocolate would be your best bet since white chocolate isnt actually chocolate... its the leftover cocoa butter (from the processing of making milk and dark chocolate) mixed with sugar and vanilla. me personally, i love fruit flavors with coffee when im not in the mood for the strong coffee taste.

[Mistress Stowastiq]

I haven't had a need for caffeine in a while, but since I started this new data entry job I keep dozing off. Soda doesn't work, energy drinks cause me to crash at the end of the day, and that 5-hour shit used to give me heart problems. Coffee seems to do the trick, but it tastes like shit and a bad case of the bubble guts from 2-3 cups. Anyone have a special blend they use that doesn't taste like a sweaty gym sock and is easier on the insides?
My office has a pretty state of the art mixer that makes over 3,000 different drinks from coffee to cappuccino so anything and everything would be helpful. I don't know too much about coffee and don't have the patience to try every single combination.

Try cafe mocha with one shot of espresso. I don't know how to make one but it is my favorite. Maybe something with more milk unless you are lactose intolerant. Also with energy drinks, you don't have to drink the whole can. Most of them have more than one serving.

[SamanosukeShiva]

dude, try jasmine tea. 1 glass could probably match like 5 cans of red bull lol
taste good too.

speaking of cofee, have anyone ever tried "Kopi Luwak"? it's supposedly world's rarest/most expensive coffee. ($120+/pound)