LOVE Coffee!!!
I tend to lean more toward the flavor of the roast than the flavor of the beans themselves and definitely like the majority of the dark roasts. I prefer very robust, intense coffee, one that almost bites back when one drinks it. I always take coffee black in order to not alter the taste (down here, they call it taking your coffee "barefoot". Honest. LOL) and I
really dislike flavored coffees (hazelnut and such

).
I would stay away from commercially sold Starbuck's. Blah. I've had excellent luck with Dunkin' Donuts retail bulk coffees. Believe it or not, Aldi's has an excellent, inexpensive coffee that they carry almost all the time. I don't usually buy pre-ground, but this one is a German finely-ground, comes in bricks of both mild and regular, and I try to keep stocked on it in case they decide to discontinue it.
If you're really interested in experimenting, try
www.bocajava.com . I bought gourmet coffees from them for a long time, they roast to order and it's not at all expensive.
Hmmm...if you want the best flavor of whatever you're experimenting with, I was taught by an ex who was a professional barista to always buy coffee in beans rather than pre-ground and keep them in an airtight container in a cool place (I kept mine in the freezer); further, he said the flavor of the beans is released right when they're ground and begins to slowly fade over time regardless of how it's stored, so grind what you need immediately before brewing. He also fussed about using the in-store coffee grinder when buying beans because the they were used publicly, leaving a mishmash traces of all the previous beans ground in it and contaminating whatever you were grinding yourself with the residue. (You can pick up a home mini-grinder for about $10, it's well-worth it.)
~ Mistress Aura
