ethiopia sudamo

i forgot how good this coffee is. it's been a while since they've had it on their menu. when spotted it as their bold on wednesday, i was almost animated i was excited.

ethiopia sudamo is an african coffee with hints of lemon. as such, it pairs well with lemon foods. i don't remember the lemon, but if they still have it on the board tomorrow morning i will definitely get the lemon pound cake as my morning pastry.

"a fleeting, floral aroma"...this i will have to pay attention to next trip as well. i guess the phrase of "stopping to smell the roses" and "wake up and smell the coffee" combine in this blend.

jamaican coffee

a colleague of mine is originally from jamaica. she went home for the holidays. i told her that she needed to bring back some pictures of there since i have not been there (yet?). instead of pictures, she brought me back some native coffee. the brand is jablum.

i brewed a cup up this morning at work. from the moment i opened the bag, i could smell the nutty aroma that surrounds this blend. it's very earthy, very nutty. the packaging claims,

...a balanced medley of fleeting richness, sweetness and tempered acidity. But it is the lingering experience, the haunting aftertaste that still defies description.

i believe this is a true statement. i can detect the fleeting richness and haunting aftertaste in each gulp. there is no pairing listed on the package, but if i had to find one i would probably suggest carmel or toffee, possibly even banana to compliment this blend.

being from jamaica, though, makes this blend automatically unique for me. after tasting it, it is very good, quite different compared to the coffee i usually drink.

strong decaf

i swung by the bux (yes, starbucks) last night for a tall decaf (black, of course) and then to head to the house, but i ended up chatting with jeff, a barista at the bux. they had on tap some sumatra for their decaf. sumatra is indonesian, a single bean rather than a blend of different. jeff hooked me up with a small sample of the komodo dragon, their featured bold, to compare the flavors. i went back and forth between the two analyzing what i was tasting. the komodo, also indonesian but a blend, was not as powerful a flavor as the sumatra was. this surprised me as the latter was decaf. it was a stronger tasting coffee leaving its strong flavor on my taste buds longer than the komodo. this is an excerpt from the starbucks website about the sumatra:

Decaf Sumatra is our most flavorful decaf with an earthy aroma and virtually no acidity. It has a syrupy, full body like Sumatra and will change the way you think of decaf coffees.

it was a rich coffee with a definite full body taste (the longer lasting flavor). i was challenged to rethink decaf, although i believe i'll be hard pressed to find a decaf this good. i found it interesting to note that none of the arabica coffees come in decaf. mostly the asian and some latin american blends. this may have to do with the decaffeination process, as was suggested to me.

starbucks recommend a rich dessert, perhaps crème brûlée. since that's not something you just have lying around, i bet something with caramel might substitute well.

i think i might have found my favorite decaf coffee.

african coffees

i have been paying more attention to the types of coffees that i get when i go to starbucks. just recently, they have repackaged their coffee giving color codes to the bags based on region of the beans. so far, i have found that the african/arabia blends have been my favorites. these tend to be darker, bolder roasts. i currently have four out of the five listed from this region (in the link above) either at home or at my office. if you like dark, strong coffee, i would definitely recommend any of these. (the rift valley is the only one i don't currently have, but i do remember tasting it and liking it.)

the one major exception to this trend is starbuck's columbian coffee. for some reason, i really love this blend. and it is classified as a mild blend, not bold. every time i order a cup of columbian, i find myself saying, "wow!" the taste is truly remarkable.

addicted or dependent

i just need to state for the record that i am not addicted to caffeine. i might be dependent on it, but i am not addicted.

there is a difference.

kenya

stopped by the bux this morning for a cup of kenya, which is the feature this week. the description from the site indicates flavors of berry and fruit (sweet tropical) as part of the this particular bean. however, before i looked it up, i tasted my cup of kenya to see what i could ascertain using my own tastebuds. i registered more of an earthy, nutty taste than citrus tones. perhaps if i tasted this alongside another coffee for comparison, i might detect more of what is said i should expect.

they also mention that this coffee is "prized for its bright and refreshing acidity." this i can verify. it is not overly acidic. it is distinguishable.

food recommendations for this blend are:

Berries, oranges and currants evoke Kenya's fruity undertones - sip it over a berry tart for complete insight into Kenya's awesome depth.

hmm...i'll have to try some berry pastry next time i swing by and receive a cup of kenya. i like this blend. it is from the african/arabica region and it is definitely strong coffee.

note: i drink my coffee black. sometimes with a pastry, the sugar will enhance the taste of the coffee as i drink it. if you are one to put sugar in your coffee, there is a chance you might find some of the flavor mentioned above. not sure. try it and see.

elephant kinjia

i found this black apron exclusive this past summer while in frisco this past summer. i purchased a few bags being that it was very hard to find even in a city with a good share of starbucks. tonight, i ground up some beans and ran the grounds through my cappuccino machine.

although my home equipment doesn't seem to make coffee as great tasting as an actual starbucks shop, i could still taste the chocolate as i drank the cup. perhaps my unfiltered water or the unseasoned machine made a difference in the flavor, but i missed the black current and cherry notes in this round. since i need to finish up this bag, i will probably try again through my mr. coffee to see if i can find that taste.

this is a tanzanian coffee. bold. the blurb at starbucks (first link in this entry) mentions that pineapple and/or mango would compliment this coffee. i will have to break open a can of pineapple the next time i brew this blend.