Archive for the ‘Coffee Reviews’ Category

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…)

Posted on July 19, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Green Mountain’s Special Reserve Colombian Dos Quebradas

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I’ll admit some prejudice — not altogether unwarranted — against Colombian coffee. Let’s face it, we’ve *all* been told for years now how Colombian coffee is mountain-grown; that only the ripest beans are picked by Juan Valdez (and his faithful little burro). And even while the Colombian Coffee Federation was feeding us this hugely successful marketing campaign they were rounding up beans from all over and carting them to vast processing mills and creating a single, homogeneous flavor profile. And we consumers were most all of us buying our 100% Colombian coffee — the best coffee in the world, mind you — pre-ground in its little red vacuum-packed can and we were satisfied, perhaps… if a little underwhelmed. (more…)

Posted on July 17, 2006 - by deCadmus

Haiku Coffee Reviews

Time is short. I’m left either to write an unbearably long article that hasn’t enjoyed the sundry benefits of editing (1)… or to take another approach. Let’s call it, review Haiku.

Peet’s Viennese Blend

Mahogany-hued –
While it’s lovingly crafted,
Its finish is lost.

Intelligentsia Coffee’s Nepenthe Organic Blend

Its fragrance beckons,
Distilled, yet sweetly assured.
Like a vintage port.

Boca Java’s Sumatran Sunset

Earthy? No, barnyard…
And not a civet in sight.
Not recommended.

(1) In the vein of Blaise Pascal’s, “I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.”
(more…)

Posted on May 8, 2006 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Counter Culture Coffee’s Rwanda Karaba

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100 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri, along the route of Highway 24, you’ll find a pecan the size of a UPS delivery truck. Here, at the confluence of the Grand and Missouri rivers, the fertile bottomlands produce not only roadside attractions worthy of Neil Gaiman’s attention (look for it in his latest work, Yet More American Gods) but also prodigious numbers of black-trunked pecan trees standing in sentinel rows as far as the eye can see. And each tree, in turn, produces prodigious pecans… Oh, they’re not the biggest in the land (that title probably goes to Georgia, despite the many-tonned concrete pecan’s hyperbole) but bite for bite, they’re the tastiest you’ll find anywhere. Nutty, sure… but also buttery, warm and sweet. By flavor alone you might mistake them for cashews… but they’re not one bit tropical, but instead Missouri’s favorite native… er, nut. (more…)

Posted on February 14, 2006 - by deCadmus

On Today’s Tasting Table

In which your author drinks bad coffee so you don’t have to…

Imus Ranch Coffee… claims to be “100% Colombian Coffee”. I don’t see anything on the Imus Ranch package to suggest it’s 100% Arabica coffee, and given its wet cardboard aroma and burnt rubber and ash flavors, I wouldn’t doubt there’s significant Robusta content. Icky, unpleasant and a general assault on the senses.

Not recommended, even for lawyers you intend to later spray with bird-shot.

Hawaiian Gold Fancy Kona Coffee Gourmet Blend… a stellar example of why Kona coffee shouldn’t be blended. Virtually no aroma, and only the most subtle of brightness (yeah, I’m reaching here.) Gold Coffee here offers a mild and mellow flavor (probably Colombian) with a rounded body and a decent, if short finish. Nothing whatsoever about its flavor says anything about Kona coffee, and whomever grows this should be apoplectic and shame-faced about the final result.

Not recommended. Remember, kids… just say no to Kona blends.

Equal Exchange Cafe Salvador… actually, not bad. Not bad at all. A slightly nutty and floral aroma with bitter orange / bergamot brightness and predominantly chocolate flavors, this offering from Equal Exchange is round and slightly roasty, and generally quite slurp-able.

Recommended… and a fine intro to an increasingly impressive array of coffees from El Salvador.

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Posted on November 10, 2005 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Seattle’s Best “Henry’s Blend”

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The story on the oh-so-hipster bag says that Henry’s Blend is “named after the big friendly cat that once lived at the original Seattle’s Best Coffee roasting plant on Vashon Island.”

Aptly so.

The trouble with a stray cat is, that cat’s never really gonna be your friend. A stray cat’s got no boss, no loyalties and no apologies — ever. Oh sure, you might think that cat’s your buddy… but you’re kidding yourself. If a better deal comes along it’s outta here and gone, and don’t you go making the mistake of getting in its way. No sir, a stray cat is inconstant as a November sky. (more…)

Posted on November 4, 2005 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Peet’s Blend 101

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What is it about Peet’s coffee that bends its will toward a French Press? That refuses to really bloom — to show its complexity and depth and subtle acidity — unless it’s had a good soak in a cafetiere? Consider –

Recently a pound of Peet’s Blend 101 found its way to the office coffee table… which is outfitted with various bits of coffee-making gear: a Zojirushi drip brewer, a Bodum eSantos vacuum pot, various single-cup brewers (tricked-out Keurig machines and austere Melitta pour-over filter cones), the occasional espresso machine and the oddest assortment of curious coffee brewing apparati sent to us by folks who’d really, really like to be in the catalog, pretty please.

In the Zoji — a truly capable drip brewer, even more so outfitted with a SwissGold filter cone — I got nothin’. Really. I got a muddy brew that didn’t reveal much about its origins, nor did it invite one to linger and contemplate them. I double-checked the grind — no worries there… the Capresso Infinity yields a very uniform grind and virtually no dust or fines — and tried again using a Melitta pour-over cone. Worse! Still altogether indistinct and unremarkable… and now it had a bit of a cardboard taste, too. Hmm.

Next up, the eSantos. There’s virtually no coffee that can’t be enhanced by a vacuum pot’s unique method of brewing, which at once maintains precise brewing temperatures, allows water and coffee thoroughly interact and — with either a nylon mesh or glass filter — allows aromatic coffee oils to pass through to the cup unhindered. Plus, it’s just fun to watch while it’s brewing.

The result? While better by far than either drip method, still this blend just wasn’t right. After all, unlike most Peet’s coffee, Blend 101 is based on American coffees, so I’d expect that, even given its deep roast, there’d be some acidity lurking in there… however, this cup was still flat.

Enter the cafetiere… or coffee press, or French press. Call it what you will, the press is one of the most useful tools in your coffee brewing arsenal; dead simple, utterly reliable and versatile, too (how many other coffee brewers do you own that are also great for brewing tea?) And for this blend, it’s just the ticket.

In the press, Blend 101 opens up to reveal substantial character; it’s trademark deep roast certainly lends a lot of weight to the cup, but there remains substantial and shimmering citrus acidity that’s the hallmark of Central American coffees. Its flavors lean toward dark chocolate and toasty oak; its finish is clean and brisk.

So there you are. For reasons I don’t claim to understand, Peet’s must steep… any other method of brewing just isn’t up to the task.

Recommended... if you’ve got the gear for it.

Posted on October 14, 2005 - by deCadmus

Such a Pretty Package… Millstone’s Mountain Moonlight Coffee

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If you’re a parent, or have ever had the dubious joy of giving a gift to a small child (a niece, or a nephew, maybe) then you will be passing familiar with the experience of said child opening the pretty package, glancing appraisingly at the carefully selected gift inside… and then dumping the gift on the floor to play instead with the box it came in. Such is the stuff that memories are made of. (more…)

Posted on August 17, 2005 - by deCadmus

Tasting: Equal Exchange Mind, Body & Soul

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Equal Exchange is an unusual company. It’s not simply an employee-owned business (a growing number of companies are, for a given value of employee owned) but is instead a worker-owned cooperative… which is a very interesting and balanced thing to be when one deals with a great many worker-owned coffee cooperatives. There’s kind of a Zen thing at play there. (more…)