Describe in detail what you want in an expensive cup of coffee?

I want a really well-made coffee from great beans, such that I can’t make myself at home.

Which is hard…. (I have a great source of beans that I love, a milk frother, and I grind my beans and do a pour over at 201–202 degrees F.) ... except that I don’t have an espresso machine.

I want it to be milky (cafe au lait or a latte or Cappucino, maybe a chai latte or a mocha), and I want the coffee to be a bean that has a chocolatey flavor, my favorite example of which is a particular Columbian medium roast. I don’t want it to be sour or acidic or have a somewhat burnt flavor. If it’s really good, no sugar is needed to make it delicious. It should be hot, and I’d like a lot of it, at least 12 oz, though it doesn’t really need to be more than one shot of espresso, even if it’s over 16 oz.

I don’t care for strong blends.
I have a Keurig, and I use Donut Shop inserts.

For it to not taste like coffee

My husband drinks his coffee black at home, but when he orders coffee in a coffee shop he gets one of those dessert like coffee drinks. He doesn’t like to spend a ton of money on a cup of coffee coffee, so if he spends a lot it’s usually on something perceived as a treat.

What I want in a coffee shop is good options aside from coffee! I don’t drink coffee, and when I meet friends in a coffee shop I’d like to be able to get a simple normal Black DECAF tea that is not an herb tea. It could be Lipton’s and I would be grateful. Decaf English Breakfast really good. Not orange pekoe not Earl Grey. You can have those for other people, but not me. Don’t charge me $5 for a tea bag. I think the most I’ll pay is $2.50 US.

Water is good too. At least Starbucks has good “tap” water. Starbucks has nothing else I want to drink.

In a younger day I could occasionally score a cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain, which was everything they say it is, smooth, flavorful, distinctive, memorable. At $5 a cup (in the late 70s!) it was a rare indulgence.

Nowadays, I rarely indulge in the super special coffees, I just really like a quality brand (my current morning go-to is Seattle’s Best), and I really like sampling the locally roasted at indie coffee shop blends.

Someday, before my palate is completely shot, I’d like to try the civet cat poop coffee, I’ve been hearing about it forever. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160429-kopi-luwak-captive-civet-coffee-Indonesia

Rarely do I buy coffee when I’m out, because I usually have it in the morning as part of my morning routine at home, and then I’m done for the day with coffee. If I am out and wanting coffee, it’s usually to go, and just a regular blend, regular type in a paper cup. If I’m in a coffee shop (rvery rare occasion), I would like it to be a really nice blend. Starbucks is very popular but to me, too burnt tasting. So a nice, strong blend, with some foamy milk on top would be great. I like it hot, quite hot and then I can cool it down with more milk if I want to.

I agree with @JLeslie that when it comes to tea, I don’t want to spend a lot of money on what is essentially a tea bag. I love Earl Grey, and breakfast blends of tea. At home, I rarely have tea although I was pretty much raised on it.

What I want in a cup of coffee is different from what I want in an espresso drink.

For a cup of coffee I want a ten cup pour-over pot made from 1/10th lb. of fresh Graffeo Roast beans ground just before I make the coffee, served in a 12 ounce mug with 3/16 cup of almond milk or oat milk. There is nothing better to accompany baco, eggs, and toast.

For an espresso, I like a triple shot of espresso and steamed non fat milk in a 12 oz. cup.

Neither of these is “an expensive cup of coffee.”

I have had such coffee at home and in a restaurant. It revolves around the beans and the brewing process.

I’ll take a cup of Kona or Jamaican Blue which is brewed at just the right temperature and steeped for just the right time. Black please as great coffee does not need to be masked with anything else.

Price for the beans I might pay $75 per pound
Price for the cup out maybe $10

Indulging in such experience = Priceless

Well to start with – real coffee

I’m a pretty plain kind of guy. At home I drink Folgers made in a “Mr. Coffee”. When I go to a Coffee shop I like the ones that give you one choice and it’s called “coffee”. I’ve never been to a Star Bucks nor any other elite coffee shop because there is no option for plain coffee. I am not an aficionado but I have several cups every day. I like the warmth and flavor of regular coffee and I won’t spend a fortune for it.

Similar to @Jaxk, most fancy coffee does not impress me. I’m not a big fan of espresso either.

For me to pay good money it certainly wouldn’t be nasty Starbucks that always tastes burnt. Free trade does matter, as well.
I like it strong, like a Colombian with a bit of sugar and cream. The flavored coffee tastes very artificial to me and forget the frothy, sugary frills, gross.

You can get a black coffee at all the starbucks near me?

If you see me in a fancy coffee shop ordering an expensive cup of coffee, call the police! I’ve been kidnapped.
My palate is not that refined. A $0.99 Burger King or McD brew is sufficient. i usually make my own coffee at home . I get the caffeine dose I require and I can sip it comfortably while using my laptop and sitting in my PJs.
I do not understand those expensive, high calorie drinks.

@LuckyGuy Right! When there was a toilet paper shortage I had 6 months of coffee saved up. Can you imagine us all without coffee at the same time? #ThePurge

I want it to taste like coffee. Not watered down, and no special flavors added not nutmeg, or cinnamon coffee. I just want real coffee. And not old coffee that you stocked up for months. Old coffee is often bitter. And I want it to smell like coffee. Italian creamer and sugar is fine. Some of the best coffees I’ve had were in Europe, and Japan, can coffee from the vending machine. I would get the sweetened coffee. If you were sleepy, it would wake you right up. Coffee lately has been horrid. Either too bitter like it’s old or hardly no flavor. I assume there may be an issue for coffee beans right now. Maybe because of covid the crops are suffering because of lack of workers, or something, or maybe some blight. But I know I’m not the only one who thinks the coffee beans have been sucking lately.

I have had the Jamaica blue mountain and it was great. The best beans IMO are from Hawaii and specifically from Kauai. Most will say Kona but I beg to differ. Kauai coffee roasted and fresh ground is simply the best. A bad sinus infection took my sense of smell a while ago. Now any swill from a gas station or a $10 cup taste the same for me. At this point it just needs to be hot and have caffeine.

@Blackwater_Park agreed that once you have had an amazing cup you will always being searching for the next amazing cup. I also agree that Jamaican Blue is superior to Kona

I like @zenvelo‘s answer, “What I want in a cup of coffee is different from what I want in an espresso drink.”
It’s not that hard to make a really good cup of drip coffee at home, good beans + grinder + typical drip machine or French Press = good coffee.

As far as I can tell it’s tough to make a good cup of espresso. The ideal is sometimes called a “God Shot” as it is so perfect and delicious enough to result in a religious experience. Huge flavor and not bitter, divine! I have had only two of those and they were served in old Italian restaurants in Greenwich Village in NYC, eye-opening!
Good espresso depends on a LOT of factors: beans (and their growing conditions), roasting, freshness (how long since roasted), how the puck of ground coffee is formed (uniform compression is essential), the temperature and pressure and “wetness” of the steam, pre-wetting the puck, how long to wait between pre-wet and extraction, length of steam blast….
Dr. Ernesto Illy worked out a lot of this scientifically a century ago and his name is on one of the premier espresso machine makers and their lines of coffees.

@LuckyGuy – McD 99 cent coffee is actually pretty good, much better than it was years ago. It used to be bland. I find it to be just as good as Starbucks these days.