Trader Joe’s Smooth and Mellow Blend, reviewed

When I hear a name like “smooth and mellow” my first thought is that a coffee will be boring and flat. This is largely because so many brands of caffeinated drinks – including coffee – try to make their blends sound energizing with words like “buzz,” “jump,” etc., as well as with words about the strength/darkness of the roast. Fortunately, Trader Joe’s Smooth and Mellow Blend succeeds in being a good blend of medium-roasted beans that is neither boring, nor flat. The thing that is really nice about this coffee is that it is smooth and mellow – medium to low acidity with a smooth finish. It has notes of cinnamon and (strange as it may sound) toast, as well as a mild hint at a nutty flavor. It is not the most dynamic coffee I’ve ever tasted, but it is very drinkable and is the kind of blend that pretty much everyone can enjoy.

Nescafé Dolce Gusto by Krups, reviewed

Hands down, the new Nescafé Dolce Gusto from Krups is one of the cutest single-serve espresso machines on the market. Available in three different colors, they all basically look like little round birds perched on your countertop. The black model reminds me of a penguin. Cuteness aside, these are pod espresso machines and, like most, they do tend to put convenience over the coffee. The pods – called capsules, as they have a new design – are good quality and will brew a much larger cup of coffee than many other pod machines, and the resulting coffee will not taste as watered down as others (a big problem, I’ve found). This is because of an unusual feature of the machine:  it is not fully automated. There is a lever at the top that allows you to adjust the water flow, so that you can control the temperature of the drink – hot water or cold – as well as the strength, by adding more or less water. This is a nice feature when you compare it to many pod machines that turn out very watered down cups.

The capsules are not bad, but there is one that stands out from the rest. The Cappuccino Ice flavor is a cold, sweet, frothy drink that comes out of the machine perfectly mixed and ready to drink. This is made possible by the cold water control wand. This was, hands down, the best flavor I tried and good enough that I’d want to drink it again and again.

Trader Joe’s Organic Five Country Espresso Blend

An espresso blend is normally not my first choice for a brewed drip coffee because some of the somewhat burnt notes resulting from a dark roast become too strong (and bitter) when pulled as a drip. But when they were brewing samples of Trader Joe’s Organic Five Country Espresso Blend the last time I stopped into TJs, I liked it enough to give it a chance and bring some home with me. The coffee is strong and fruity, and while it doesn’t come close to the richness of a good espresso, it still had a bit of the smoky caramel note to it that makes espresso so good. It had a unexpectedly smooth finish, although not as smooth as the low-acid French Roast from TJ’s. I haven’t pulled any espresso with it yet, but I’m hoping that the fruitiness carries through and turns into a nice sweet-caramel combination in a shot. I’ll definitely pick this one up again.

Trader Joe’s Maragogype Coffee, reviewed

The first thing that you’ll notice about the Trader Joe’s new, limited edition Maragogype Coffee is that the name is hard to pronounce. The second thing is that the beans inside the can are enormous, at least twice the size of the average bean I see in Trader Joe’s other coffees, and very impressive to look at. They’d make great chocolate-covered coffee beans for anyone who is a fan.

The coffee itself is a medium roast, with a medium body and low-to-medium acidity. It wasn’t the most dramatic coffee I’ve ever had, but it did have a subtle caramelized sugar flavor with a hint of smokiness, kind of like the top of a creme brulee. It’s a good, balanced flavor that almost everyone will like – a huge plus if you buy coffee for a whole family – and it’s a coffee I will definitely get again, especially considering that it’s a limited edition and there is no telling how long it will be available!

Starbucks Colombia Nariño Supremo, reviewed

Colombia Nariño Supremo is one of the newest limited edition offerings from Starbucks. I’ve been impressed so far with the quality and flavor most of their seasonal beans (enough to wish that some, like the Aged Sumatra, were always available!) and this one didn’t disappoint me either. Colombia Nariño Supremo is a medium-roast coffee with a wonderfully nutty flavor. The bag says that it is reminiscent of walnuts, and while there is a tiny hint of bitterness that did remind me of those, I thought that the coffee tasted a lot more like macadamia nuts due to how buttery it was.

The coffee has a slight acidity to its finish, which serves to break up that buttery flavor of the nuts and leave your palate feeling clean. This is a coffee that would probably do very well with all kinds of foods. If you have it in a Starbucks store, ask to have it brewed in a french press, as that is where the rich, nutty flavors will really be enhanced (mostly due to the extra oil pressed from the beans in a french press).