Archive for the ‘Coffee Reviews’ Category

Posted on March 14, 2007 - by deCadmus

Peet’s Colombia Caracol: Voluptuous Magnificence

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Nuanced, balanced and complex with a lip-smacking semi-sweet finish.

Peet’s current Special Offering — a limited run of a Colombian Caracol (peaberry, en Español) — is an heirloom bean (typica, a very low yield, high quality varietal) from the Huila region of Colombia, and it’s a lovely cup, indeed.

Its deep chocolate and flowers fragrance gives way to chocolate, smoke and leather with a subtle grapefruit acid zing. It’s body is liquid velvet — so smooth, so luxurious — and the slightly impatient, astringent nip in its musky-sweet finish just leaves you wanting more.

In a press this is Sappho in a cup; its poetry is only slightly muted with a manual drip method. (We won’t tell Mr. coffee, okay?)

Highly recommended. Get it while you can. (Maybe dab some behind your ears on Friday night and get lucky.)

Posted on February 20, 2007 - by deCadmus

Green Mountain Special Reserve Ethiopian Sidamo

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An extraordinary, and extraordinarily fruited, dry process Ethiopian Sidamo.

I’ll warn you right up front that this is one of those coffees that’s simply unavailable at any price. I’ll tell you why in a moment or two, but let’s talk about the coffee first, shall we?
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Posted on February 19, 2007 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Peet’s Major Dickason’s Blend

There are hoards of Peetniks up and down the Left Coast, but how will Peet’s signature deep-as-night roast style play in New England? Time will tell. Meanwhile, I spied one of their displays in the neighborhood grocery this week, and thought I’d give ‘em a try.

Peet’s grocery packaging differs from their retail store and home delivery options. Their bags are 12 ounces versus the full pound you’ll find in outlets they own, nitrogen-flushed and sport a one-way valve. The bag of Major Dickason’s Blend® I picked up assured freshness “for 90 days” from roasting. That’s something of a departure from their home delivery “roast to order” guarantee. Actually, that’s a whale of a departure, and I’d wager there’s some gnashing of teeth in Berkeley over it. (more…)

Posted on August 14, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Two for the Small Cup

Despite my aspirations I have yet to get my espresso machine — A.K.A. Miss Silvia — tuned up and ready to claim her long-coveted counter space. I suspect my claim of eminent kitchen counter domain is still in the appellate court of domestic bliss, and herself sits as chief justice on that bench. (I remain confident she can be bribed with a well-prepared chocolate cappuccino.)

Meanwhile this presents something of a quandary. I now have two coffees awaiting review that in one way or another demand espresso preparation: one being specifically blended for espresso, and another that I understand really shows its stuff only when pulled as a single-origin shot. What to do? (more…)

Posted on August 12, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Ecco Caffe’s Colombia La Virginia

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I’ve recently written about my new-found appreciation for Colombian coffee — a growing region I’d long written off as an example of style over substance; marketing over matter. The past few weeks I’ve had not only opportunity to eat most of my prior sour words, but also the sweet pleasure of some fine Colombian coffees with which to wash them down. And this one… well, it’s the sweetest yet. (more…)

Posted on August 10, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Coffee Emergency’s Kenya AA Mtaro

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Jason Anderson and Sharon Grossman, husband and wife co-proprietors of Coffee Emergency, launched into the specialty coffee trade a scant two years ago and quickly made a splash. Code Brown — their signature espresso blend — wowed the Coffee Geek espressorati; no mean feat, that. It’s all the more remarkable given the fledgling company was still working its way out of the nest… they’d just revved up a mobile espresso van and were still roasting their coffee in tiny batches on a gas grill. (Something not altogether unlike like this.)

I get the impression that these folks haven’t let their early success go to their head. Their web site is spare and simple; so’s their shop. Just the same, they continue to pile on the accolades, and recently received a whopping 93 from Kenneth Davids for their Colombian Inza Cauca. (more…)

Posted on July 31, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Kenya Gethumbwini Peaberry

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So many Kenyan coffees of late cup heavy on citrus notes (lemon, and in particular, grapefruit flavors abound right now) so it’s a real pleasure — and a welcome change — to find a richly fruited coffee that features a different hue from Kenya’s vast palate (palette?) of flavors. (more…)

Posted on July 26, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Seattle’s Best Organic Sumatra

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This is the story about a coffee that got its big break: a spiffy new package — with birds and butterflies and lots and lots of green leaves — and brand new positioning in the organic aisle of your local supermarket. It had the look. But on the inside… really it was just the same ol’ bean. A little earthy. A little nutty. A little sweet. And just a touch confused. (more…)

Posted on July 25, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Uganda Bugisu Mbale

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Pondering my coffee cup, my thoughts inevitably turn to the land where the coffee was grown. And when that land is locked in a civil struggle I’m frequently curious and wary… Who grew this coffee? Which side are they on? Which side is right? (That’s rarely an easy answer.) And most importantly, are my coffee dollars part of the problem, or a potential solution? (more…)

Posted on July 21, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: FTO Ethiopian Sidamo

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“You’ve already won me over-in spite of me. So don’t be alarmed if I fall head over feet. And don’t be surprised if I love you for all that you are. I couldn’t help it — it’s all your fault.”
– Alanis Morissette

I’m back at the roaster after too long away, working my way through a care package just arrived from Sweet Maria’s. First on my roast list, a dry-processed Ethiopian Sidamo. This bean is Fair Trade Certified and Organic, and it bears a familiar name — Oromia — the same coop that processes the Fair Trade Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe we roast at Green Mountain. (more…)