Ordinarily, I’m a frugal kind of guy. And of late, when it comes to coffee, of which I and the Woman drink plenty, I just go for sale coffee. I’ve been on Eight O’Clock Coffee and Chock Full O’ Nuts for weeks. Last week, I swung by the Fairway and while there I picked up some coffee. Fairway’s house blend is $5.49 a pound for whole bean so I figured “What the hell? I’ll bite”

Yesterday, I had run out of the last of the cheap stuff (I only had two scoops left so I threw some Cafe Bustelo in so I could make at least 3 cups) so this morning I had to grind my own. Nothing new – I used to grind my own, especially when using the French press. That’s when I realized that I need to go back to whole bean coffee.

I use a Cuisinart “Coffee on Demand” which uses a holding tank design instead of a coffee pot. It brews a decent cuppajo and is nice and sturdy. Moreover, it showed me why I need to go back to whole bean.

For starters, I like a nice coarse grind. I have found that the grind in the branded pre-ground is too fine to get a good brew out of my coffee makers. I know this because of the sludge I clean out of the bottom of the holding tank.

As soon as I ground the beans, I could smell the difference. There was a rich nutty aroma that was, at the same time, mild and soothing with a good strong earthiness. Moreover, when the coffee was brewed, I tasted how good it fresh ground was. Admittedly, when I re-up I’m going to use a stronger blend with more ground coffee. What brewed this morning, while good, was what my aunt would lovingly call “brown water.”

Maybe I’ll swing by Porto Rico and pick up some Tazmanian Peaberry or Sumatran Mandehling.