No worries @keepontryin you and me both we are in the same boat. I drink Maxwell House at home and when I am out a simple cup of whatever they have that is hot and fresh is just fine for me.

So no I don't think the good ole'days are gone they just get pushed to the back a bit by the adverts and the overvalued caffeinated beverages they pass off as coffee get bought up by the newbies and the never satisfied "I have to have it" crowd.

We know a good cup when we see it.. fresh, hot and free if possible after all that's the neighborly thing to do. I got surprised by a new neighbor of mine just the other day by an invite to their home for coffee, guess what they were serving.. Maxwell House. I'm fitting right in.

Don't join the ranks of the over caffeinated and recently under-walleted, stay right where you are.

"Special coffee"? I thought all coffee was special. Its the life blood of the American way of life.

I real coffee drink gets up in the morning, makes a pot of coffee (or two) and enjoys it ASAP. No special brewing required. No special equipment. Just brew and drink. What more can you ask for.

I drink Maxwell House and Folgers. Sometimes drink a little more then my doctor would like me too. LOL

You are all invited to my house of a cup of coffee anytime.

Don't tell your friends. Just order "Cafe Americano" - same thing and only slightly more money than your local coffeeshop!

If you truly enjoy the taste of coffee and it's effects, plain coffee is your best choice. Other than the caffiene, it's lowest in calories and fat, and will save you money. But not everyone drinks coffee for the same reasons. Some people want the effects of coffee, but they don't like hot drinks, or they want something sweet, or they just don't like the strong taste of coffee. Most of the time I drink standard coffee as well... 1 milk, 1 sugar... those are the days I need something to keep me awake after a late night. I don't enjoy the taste as much as some of the other drinks though. Sometimes I drink cappucinos or iced coffees instead - they have just a hint of coffee flavor, their sweet, hot or cold, and usually not as harsh on your stomach. You can usually get a powdered mix for these things which are *almost* as cheap. Even hot chocolate can be a good alternative. Sometimes I mix them together to get more of a coffee taste but with the interesting sweetness and creaminess of a cappuccino. While I do like several of those fancy drinks (vanilla ice frappucino), I rarely get them. They're horrible for you, and can cost up to 6 dollars. When I do, I get them for the taste rather than for the caffeine. I think I've had less than 10 "fancy" coffees in my life, though I do drink powdered cappuccino frequently. It's more like candy than a coffee for the most part.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of instant coffee. I just don't like the taste and prefer properly made coffee much better, even though my family swears by instant. I'm just 1 person so It's not worth it for me to make a pot of coffee as I usually only drink one cup. The times I need coffee are usually when I'm on the go. My favorite place to get coffee (which people call me crazy for), is Mc Donalds. McDonalds makes AMAZING coffee - and it's cheap! Usually people are very hesitant to try it, but once they do, many of my friends have agreed it's probably one of best coffees out there. I have friends who daily go to mcD's for coffee but never eat their food.

Maybe my creativity is fueled by my nights working a coffee shop job - all drinks were free while we worked so we came up with some pretty unusual combinations - mint tea bags in a hot chocolate, for example - Very tasty.. you'd be surprised the unique and delicious combinations people came up with... for a time we had orange flavored syrup.. mixed with a hot chocolate, it was like drinking a hot liquid terry's chocolate orange. Strangely enough, I hated (HATED) the coffee and rarely drank it.

So I think it really comes down to whether you truly enjoy the taste of coffee - or just it's effects. Either way, do what you want! Plain coffee is likely the best choice when its what you want anyways.

Enjoy!

I am in your boat. Actually I think that the coffee at expensive shops is GROSS. Most of it is meant for smokers or caffeine junkies. McCaffe actually tastes like an ash tray smells to me. I don't think you need to explain yourself. If anyone asks, let them know that you just prefer the flavor of what 7-11 has.

Some expensive wines are gross to me too. So, I guess I'm a social misfit.

Just admit it. If somebody's going to be snobbish about the type of coffee other people drink, they're probably snobbish about a lot of other things, too. It's fine to have preferences for yourself, but you shouldn't extend them to other people.

Personally, I can't stand coffee. The smell is great, but the taste ruins it.

Folger's Breakfast Blend or nothing at all. I can't see spending $5 or more for coffee.

I used to work in a grocery store, and believe me, when Maxwell House and Folgers were on sale, we could not keep them stocked. When the specialty coffees were on sale, it was another story. The only specialty coffee that sold well was Dunkin' Donuts brand. And Eight O'clock brand sold like hotcakes. I've figured out that most real people like real coffee, made at home.

I hate how coffee houses seem to think everyone wants their coffee so strong it can stir itself. If I'm forced to go to Starbucks, I get one coffee, and one cup of hot water, with an extra cup and water it down. It's disgusting!

I think that Starbucks is a status thing. People figure if you can afford a $6 cup of coffee, you must be doing well.

I am a Maxwell House girl and so was my dad and my granddad. I think it is silly to spend $4 or $5 on a cup of coffee to make me go when it takes that much in gas to make my truck go! Nah! I'll stick with basics. Heck, we still make our own biscuits and gravy!

Well... when I need coffee, I need coffee, and I don't care when and where, which means a spoon or two of instant Max instant in the morning, nuked in the microwave, or cold with water out of the tap... I don't care...

BUT... I like it with lots of cream and sugar, whether instant, or hot or cold or whatever, so maybe I decorate it with so much stuff that I wouldn't be able to distinguish "good" coffee from mud if it came in a gold cup.

That being said, I get a tad annoyed sometimes when I say, "Let's go for joe," and my arm gets twisted into the retro-beatnik realms of $3.00-per-small right next-door to the 7-11 with perfectly good coffee at twice the volume and half the price, so... I doctor the pricey stuff up the same amount of sugar and cream as I would anywhere, and when the associates see me doing that, and they say, "Euww... why so much cream and sugar?", I say, "So it will taste the same as the stuff next door."

But that's just me. If they push it any further I put down a napkin and draw them pictures of the molecular structure of caffeine, and then I tell them the story about how coffee was discovered and how the Catholic church almost banned it until the Pope tried a cup and told the Cardinals that they didn't have a snowball's chance of every Prohibitioning it, and how a couple years ago there was a glut of coffee on the world market such that coffee growing nations were getting so underpaid for their work that those nations were having trouble meeting financial obligations to the IMF while aloof bean-houses were still selling it retail for the same high prices as before, etc... and I keep it up until they get off my case and never bug me again about my 7-11 or Tim Hortons...

Ever had common Brazilian coffee? Every shop has a big cylinder of the stuff, and they make it by loading it up with as much coffee and sugar-until-the-sugar-won't-dissolve, and then they boil the bejeebers out of it. You can get it *anywhere*, it's dirt cheep, and the average Brazilian down 14 cups of the stuff per day.

And of course, I'm sure you already know, but coffee is the world's second greatest trading commodity... after oil.

What's also interesting, I think, is that most humans on this planet have at least a mild addiction to caffeine, whether it be from coffee or tea or Pepsi or whatever... and those few who don't have to make a religious principal out of it in order to avoid the lure... that's how appealing grunt-mud coffee (and tea and colas) is to humans.

No, of course not. You live within your own means and choices, not by consumerism mandated by the masses just to fit in to some current overpriced trend.

The old prices may be long gone but that does not mean you have to pay astronomical prices to get a decent cup of coffee and good service.

I am on a strict budget and I let people know trendy items are not something I can throw money away on, especially not to fit some public relations produced image that is being shoved down my throat by advertising dollars, or to fit into a popularity mode.

You can make your own specialty coffees at home without spending 5 dollars per.

Let them act like you are from another planet. You are living on the planet of reality. Good for you.

I have one other way to get around it. I don't drink coffee.

No, I agree paying premium prices for coffee is over-rated. I wish I had a place nearby where I could get coffee for 25 cents. While the trumped up concoctions being created nowadays are tasty, I shudder at the amount of money this would cost at the end of he month. Just one cup a day on a 20 day work month at $5 per cup means $100 spent on coffee. They should be saved for the occational treat not a daily necessity.
I like to go to coffee house to read and write on my computer, I get the cheapest thing which is hot tea-plain. The smallest one still costs $1.50.
For me, as long as I get coffee in the morning, I do not care where I get it from as long as it is cheap. I don't have disposable inclone to waste on coffee. What hapened to the days of making it at home and taking it along in a tavel mug.
Keep on getting your 25 cent coffee and you should consider yourself the smartest of your group of friends. Fit in by telling jokes instead.

You don't need to explain or justify anything- if your friends of critical of what you're drinking, they are not your friends. Unfortunately 25 cent coffee is tough to find-- but you can probably find an ordinary cup of joe for 1- 1.50 at convenience stores-- or better yet, make your own and carry around a themos.