Biggby Coffee

Alright, alright, I realize that I have been spending way too much time trying and posting about store bought coffee. You are correct to be getting sick of it and considering me a turn-coat because this site was founded upon the purism of freshly home-roasted coffee. I promise, I will return to my roots but for now, well, I have to use this store bought coffee before it gets any more stale.

I don't know if you have noticed one of the 150 or so Biggby stores that have popped up in 6 states. But they are around us and I've noticed. I would like to do some research concerning their business model and how they plan to compete with Starbuck's and the others but I'll leave that for another day. Today I'll simply talk about the coffee.

I could say it is "AWESOME!", I could say that it is "great", I could say that I have been converted from my home-roasting ways but then I would be a liar. At best the Biggby Coffee was a lot better than the Ugly Mug and light years passed the Seattle's Best. I would concede that it is on par with Dunkin's Coffee and less burnt than Charbucks. So if you want a really great cup of coffee learn to home roast.

Ugly Mug Coffee

It would seem that my latest coffee exploits have veered away from the original scope of this blog (to review my home roasted coffees) - but hey, at least I am still posting.

I tried a new coffee from the store called Ugly Mug Coffee. It's not all that great but a heck of a lot better than my Seattle's Best sample. The best part of this Memphis brew seems to me to be the packaging and the dreadful morning pictures of people that they use on their packaging and website.

Oh. The taste review? Hold on a sec while I go brew a cup...... Alright, here it is.

This roast is called "BOLD" and while it is certainly dark roasted the flavor nor the aroma calls out to me. This could be in part because the package indicates that it would have been best if used by last month but hey - that explains why it was on sale. However, the flavor is good enough that I am not trying to figure out what I can mix it with to mask any annoying attributes.

This brew does remind me of a cup of coffee that I can only get in the office break room, early in the winter morning when it is still dark and nobody else is there to disturb the few moments of peace before the work day begins. The coffee made from a mass packet of grounds that has been in the cupboard for only God knows how long and brewed with office sink water. In those moments it is not the flavor of the cup that stands out but the peacefulness and warmth of the moment.

So Ugly Mug Coffee is not exceptional coffee but it does seem to have a nostalgic quality about it.

Dunkin Donuts

I purchased a bag of Dunkin Donuts coffee to have on hand when I was out of fresh roasted beans. I have to say that I was expecting something really extraordinary by the way people gush about the stuff. I found it a little bitter with a flowery note. It was better than Seattle's Best - but then again Folger's is better than Seattle's Best is.

To correct the DD's bitter and floral taste I did add a 50% mix of Seattle's Best to the mix and it was not a bad blend at all. I need to sample it again but I think I found a decent blend of store bought coffees. I'll keep you posted.

Seattle's Best Coffee

I've not been able to roast coffee as quickly as I drink it so I have a stash of store bought coffee that I use when I am empty. I picked up a bag of something called Seattle's Best Coffee and I must say that this stuff is horrible!!! It is considered a "dark roast" which simply means that it is burned, they could be using any bean from anywhere because there is no flavor to this cup except the taste of burn. They call this sludge Seattle's Best Coffee and I cannot help but feel sorry for the folks in Seattle if this is the best that they have. The name reminds me of that beer Milwaukee's Best which is also pretty sad for the people of Milwaukee.

El Salvador Organic - Cuzcachapa

The fun of this coffee began the moment that I tried to pronounce its name. I finally have it phonetically but I am quite sure that my accent is way off. ;-)

I roasted this bean to just through the 1st crack and it ground just slightly darker than cinnamon. The flavor is very full and is supposed to have a definite chocolate note. I did not notice this, what is dominant to me is the floral qualities of this bean. I am sensitive to the florals because I'm especially fond of them.

The body of this cup is wonderful! As it cooled and I could take a full swallow I realized that this is a very viscous coffee which makes it more a meal than a warm and comforting drink.

The next time I roast this bean I will take it through the 2nd Crack and explore the flavors through caramelized sugars.

Indonesian - Timor (Organic)

This has been a nice tasting coffee (it could be the coffee or is could be that I drank the Columbian House from the freezer for a week before I got around to roasting). I roasted these beans just seconds into the second crack which gave me a grind that smells faintly of cocoa. Even my 5 year old daughter commented how good it smelled.

This is an organic coffee which always leaves me skeptical but the coffee is surprisingly flavorful. It has a fruity note and as it cools there is a definite chocolate flavor that emerges.

I gave this coffee to friends as a gift and one of the recipients emailed me that they really loved the coffee. i suspect that it is the first time that they ever had a coffee that was roasted less than 24 hrs of its brewing and consumption.

Boqette - Carmen (Panama SHB)

The name "Boqette" is very fitting from this Panamanian bean. While roasting the floral perfume fragrance is very noticeable and when this coffee is brewed the house smells of its aroma.

The flavor is rich and satisfying without the least trace of bitter. Even as this cup cools the flavor is stable and always pleasurable.

It was a very fast transition between the 1st and 2nd cracks so I had to be very careful not to over-roast these beans.

Cepicafe - Peru

This is an organic Peruvian coffee. It has been quite a few weeks since I last sampled it but what was noteworthy was that the flavor in this bean required that it be roasted well into the 2nd crack. If it was not French Roasted then the flavor was not pleasant, but after it had been roasted to very-dark the flavor was indeed good.

How Much Coffee You Drink...

25 people responded to the question "How Many Cups Of Coffee Per Day Do You Consume?" Here's how it shook out.


The survey was flawed in that it did not allow people the option to choose "Ewwww! - NO Cups." SO it is a good thing that I am not getting paid for this.

However, for the 25 cultured people who responded, the majority (68%) said that they drink 5 or less cups of coffee per day while just 12% said that they drink more than 5 and 20% responded by indicating that their only source of fluid intake is coffee.

What are the implications of this survey's results? First, that only a lousy 25 people in over 30 days came to this blog AND could bother clicking a button (no, no, I'm not bitter). And second, that 20% of the survey group probrably need to drink some straight water once in a while - I mean really, your kidney's need a break once in a while.

Sulawesi

Kalossi

The taste of the this Sulawesi is unique in a peaberry-ish sort of way. Its dominant attributes are its remarkable, almost chocolate, aroma and its Spicy note which makes it flavor akin to the peaberry.

The raw beans were a darker green - indicating a higher moisture content. They roasted to a very nice Full City without creating much chaff. The smell from the roasting process lingered quite a long time (in comparison to other beans) which made the house quite pleasant.

I am going to like the rest of these beans for sure.