Coffee... What really is the difference between American coffee and Swedish coffee manufacturing to cause the taste to be so different? Swedish coffee (I'm speaking from the experience of mainly drinking a medium roast, although I have had other roasts here in Sweden.) is a richer, fuller taste when a strong pot of coffee is brewed, while American coffee just gets bitter if you try to make it any stronger than the brown water that is served almost everywhere in the States. Does anyone know? I mean really know (not just guessing) the difference in the processes these coffees go through to make the taste differences I've noticed?

We've taken to buying whole beans and grinding them fresh ourselves when we make a pot of coffee. That has been an adventure in itself, as our little town had one place that we could buy beans and that was the Shell gas station, only because they had a machine that made freshly ground coffee and they would sell you a kilo bag from their stock at a ridiculous price! It was an Italian blend and a bit too strong for our tastes. So, we would go on the hunt for bags of whole beans when we went to larger grocery stores an hour or so away and stock up. We ended up settling on Zoega's Blue Java. Just noticed the other day that our local Konsum had 500 gram bags of Löfbergs Lila medium roast, my husband's favorite coffee. We asked them some time ago to order some, but they were unable to get it at the time. So, it looks like I won't have to go on coffee hunts anymore, as long as they keep stocking our favorite.

I did buy whole beans while we were in the States. So far, the only one we have tried is Starbuck's Columbia mild roast. But, I find that it has a bit of a burned taste that is exacerbated when we make it strong like Swedish coffee should be.