Posted by Nicole on April 14, 2009
I picked up this can of Kicking Horse Kick Ass Coffee based purely on the name and the package design, and I’m glad that I did because I otherwise might have overlooked this brand. Kicking Horse Coffee is a Canadian coffee company that sells all organic, Fair-Trade coffee – and it’s actually Canada’s number one Fair Trade coffee company. While it’s available at stores in Canada, it’s not too common in the US (not my part, anyway). I found this at Cost Plus World Market, which seems to carry their whole line.
The Kick Ass coffee – as you might expect from a blend with a name like “kick ass” – is a very dark roast. It reminded me a lot of coffees I’ve brewed with espresso beans, in terms of how bold it was. This coffee is strong and dark, with some burnt sugar notes and a hint of nuttiness. I think this would really appeal to anyone who likes bolder coffees, but at the same time it won’t put off those who usually prefer a lighter roast because it is smooth and rich tasting, not overly aggressive.
Posted by Nicole on April 1, 2009
I’ve been disappointed by a lot of the light roast coffees I’ve had in recent weeks. Many have been really lacking in the flavor department. I can safely say that Starbucks’ Brazil Ipanema Bourbon coffee was not one of these. The light roast coffee – categorized as a mild by Starbucks – is packed with different flavors. It starts off really clean, with a subtle hazelnut taste. There are also some sweet and vaguely fruity notes, and a finish that is a little bit darker, with a hint cocoa or chocolate. It is not woodsy or overly roasty (i.e. burnt) tasting at all. It’s low acidity and is smooth and easy to drink from start to finish. This is a really nice coffee overall and should be popular with all kinds of coffee drinkers.
Incidentally, the coffee is not not pronounced “BOUR-bon” like the liquor. Starbucks says, “Bourbon” (pronounced bur-BONE) refers to the specific variety of coffee plant from which these beans come. Arabica Bourbon is one of the world’s oldest and rarest species of coffee. The Bourbon tree is carefully nurtured to maturity, its prized cherries hand selected to ensure ripeness and peak flavor.
Posted by Nicole on March 19, 2009
The huge logo on Trader Joe’s Wake Up Blend Coffee pulled me in – I was shopping early and who couldn’t use a little pick-me-up before noon? – as did the jumbo-sized can that the beans came in. This is twice the size of TJ’s standard coffee containers, which makes it a convenient option if you go through a lot of coffee in a short time (brewing multiple pots per day for a family or a small office, for instance).
I anticipated that this coffee would be fairly mild and acidic, as many”breakfast” coffees are, even though it was a medium roast. While it was quite acidic, it had a fairly full bodied flavor. It was much better when brewed a little on the strong side, so that the flavor of the coffee could temper some of the slightly aggressive acidity. Once you get past the first few sips, more flavors seem to emerge and the coffee takes on a pleasantly nutty taste, reminiscent of hazelnuts with maybe a hint of nutmeg to it. It took a little more experimentation with the coffee-to-water ratio than I usually need to do to accommodate a new blend, so keep that in mind if you brew this and it doesn’t come out to your tastes the first time around.
Posted by Nicole on March 11, 2009
Starbucks Bella Vista FW Tres Rios is a Costa Rican whole bean coffee blend, medium roast, that was added to the Starbucks lineup fairly recently. The bag is gorgeous, with artwork that depicts a Costa Rican coffee plantation. Not that this has anything to do with the coffee, of course, but it did make the bag easy on the eyes when it was sitting on my kitchen counter.
The coffee has a deep, roasty flavor to it an a light, slightly acidic finish. Even though it was a medium roast, I found it to be a little on the darker side, with the brightness at the end serving to really lighten it up. It has some slightly spicy notes to it, but comes off as a smooth and balanced coffee that doesn’t really standout dramatically from the pack, although it is very nice overall and worth buying again.
Posted by Nicole on February 25, 2009
I’m not sure that I’ve ever tasted a coffee from Yemen before tasting Paradise Roasters’ Yemen Ameera. It’s a light roast coffee, and the roaster describes it has having floral fruity notes. For me, this coffee has fruity notes in the same way that dark chocolate does because it smelled and tasted a lot like very dark chocolate. It had deep cocoa notes – and bitterness to match them – a hint of fruitiness, and a very bright acidity. Surprisingly, it had a pretty clean finish and most of the flavors faded away smoothly, so you’re not going to be left with an overly acidic taste in your mouth.
Also like dark chocolate, I suspect that this coffee is not for everyone. If you prefer mellower, smoother milk chocolate for its rich sweetness, than the relatively intense dark chocolate-ness of this coffee probably isn’t going to be right for you.
