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It was a dark and stormy night…

No.  Really.  It’s a dark and stormy night.  I just raced an ice storm north from Davenport to Chicago.  Tomorrow morning I’ll have to chisel my way into my car.  It’s the 9th circle of frozen Hell out there.

It’s nice and warm in my cottage, and I just brewed up some Columbian Supremo that Buddy Brew sent me, settling in to do some work before recording a podcast – drinking coffee because I have to be sharp and alert to keep up with the witty banter of the show hosts – and also, to be efficient, try and squeeze in a review.

This coffee is sharp and snappy at the onset, giving a crisp tartness supported by a rich undercurrent of wood smoke.  It is really good.  Delicious.  And I’m not just saying this because I consider the Buddy Brew folks my friends.  It’s a very good brew, good even after you’re done because it finishes with a creamy, milk-chocolaty aftertaste that lingers for a good while.

As you’d probably guess, I have a high caffeine tolerance.  I can drink a double espresso and fall asleep.  But this bean seems to pack an extra punch because after just one mug I’m wired and wondering if maybe it was a bad idea drinking it in the evening.

The lights are flickering.  I may loose power soon.  Going to finish this up and post it before I do.

Buddy Brew’s Columbian Supremo Popayan = a groovy brew!

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Cowabunga! Surf’s up!  It’s California blend in the French Press this morning.

There is snow outside the window as I type this.  I sit here thinking about California, a long way away from me at the moment, but a place that fills my childhood memories.  Curvy coast highways, wild and powerful beaches, cable cars and giant redwoods.  Hollywood and Humboldt.

This coffee blend is aptly named.  Mild and laid back — but not Kona laid back, not like that Hawaiian coffee that puts me to sleep — this is California laid back.  It puts me in a relaxed but alert, contemplative mood.  Introspective.  Creative.

It has a bold first wave, not strong as much as flavorful, and as that washes across your palate it fades nicely like a sunset’s warm glow, ending smooth and rich.  It finishes with a nice, mildly-tart aftertaste that hints lightly of hazelnut and perhaps the ghost of French Roast.

I find this coffee does well in both a coffee press and also in a plain old drip maker.  If I were to classify it, I’d say it’s more an afternoon coffee than a morning blend, and perhaps even a dessert coffee.  It’s not one to chug and forget, but to savor, linger over, and — if you’re so inclined — use to fuel some nice daydreams.

Like, perhaps, being somewhere too warm for snow.

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UPDATE: Their site is now up and running.

Newhall Coffee Roasting Company was kind enough to send me some of their fresh roasted beans to try, but as I originally wrote this review, their website appeared to have problems and now it’s down altogether.

It’s a shame, too, because this Patriot blend of theirs is good.  In fact it’s very good, though the flavor is not complex.  It’s a mild, low-acid delicious coffee with a strong undercurrent of dark chocolate.  That sums it up right there.

Mild, delicious, with strong coco notes.

Everyone I’ve had sample it has said the same thing.  “I like this one.”

Created specifically to honor Americans in military service, a portion of the proceeds of this blend go toward sending coffee to those on active duty.  From their website (when it was up):  “In honor of American Patriots serving this great country, we have created the Patriot Blend. These Patriots deserve our support and that is why with your purchase of this bag we are sending free coffee to an active duty military man or woman as a ‘Thank You’ for their service. It may seem like a small thing, but a little ‘cup of moral’ goes a long way for Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines away from their home.”

The plan apparently was that, when you logged into Newhall Coffee’s website, you would actually be able to read letters from the troops that have already received some of this free coffee.  The letters weren’t there, though, and when I contacted Newhall Coffee about this, they stated there was a problem with their web development partner.

I feel for them about that, because like I said, as I write this their website is now down completely.  Hard to send traffic their way if their website is down!  But try it anyway, it might be up later:  www.NewhallCoffee.com

I hope it does clear up.  Having your website down really sucks.

Anyway, thank you to Newhall for sending some very groovy coffee, and also thank you for showing America’s Armed Forces some support!

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It’s November, 2009.  And every November it’s National Novel Writing Month, or as those in the know call it, NaNoWriMo.

What does that mean?  It means there are over 70,000 new or seasoned novelists banging away at their keyboards in a frenzy this month, all trying to make the goal of writing at least 50,000 words before Midnight, November 30th.

Some are fueled by pure inspiration.  Others are fueled by alcohol or other substances.  A small percentage are fueled by tea.  But most, as is my impression, are fueled by coffee.

I’m a writer.  I know a lot of writers.  Just about all of us drink coffee like maniacs.

And this year, my own personal coffee of choice for banging away at my new novel, is this one:  Buddy Brew’s Brazil Cerrado.

It’s a perfect writer’s coffee.  They know my tastes pretty well, and fired these babies up to a full city roast.  Dark, husky, bold and smoky, it brews up black like the darkest typewriter ink, and the flavor features wonderful milk chocolate undertones and finishes with high walnut notes.  It’s so fresh that in my French Press it fizzed like seltzer when I poured the hot water in.  No joke, it was like a science experiment.  My friends, when you get a coffee that does that, you know you have some seriously roasted-day-before-yesterday coffee.

No coffee in the world tastes better than coffee roasted day-before-yesterday.

And to me, nothing fuels a manic tumbling word spilling writing session like fresh, strong coffee.

Not only do I declare the Brazil Cerrado a groovy brew, I hereby personally endorse it to be considered as the official NaNoWriMo coffee.  Not that this means anything – Dave at Buddy Brew has no idea I’m doing this – so don’t expect a discount if you all rush over there and place orders.  Do expect, however, some outrageously awesome coffee.

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Here is a company that is going full blast with its internet marketing.  It seems every type of coffee they roast has a separate brand and its own URL.  No matter which URL for which brand you type in, though, they all lead you to BigCityCoffee.com.

I have liked everything they’ve sent me, but I have to tell you right now, this one I absolutely love.

Rich milk chocolaty tones dominate this smooth, mild coffee — so much so, I can’t find any other words to describe it.  Rich.  Milk chocolaty.  Smooth.  Mild.

Extremely delicious.  A winner.

If it tastes this good pre-packed and pre-ground, I can only image how delicious the fresh roasted beans would taste.  Because you know they sell it that way, too.  And, come to think of it, I won’t imply imagine it.  I’ve just put it on my “things to buy” list.

This is most definitely portion pack groovy.  I would go so far as to say that this has to be the best coffee I have ever tasted to come out of a portion pack.

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No, you’re not imagining things.

This is Weasel Coffee from ThinkGeek.com.  Supposedly the raw beans are eaten by a type of weasel in Vietnam and then puked up, collected, and roasted for your drinking pleasure.

This is a rather special review as:

1) My friend Tim had to talk me into it.

2) We recorded the little adventure.

So instead of writing about it, I present it here as a podcast.  Is Weasel Puke Coffee the best tasting coffee in the world, as some purport?

Listen and find out.

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I messed this coffee up!  Darn it!

Well, I don’t know for sure, because I’m still letting it steep in the French Press.  But I goofed and didn’t boil enough water, and didn’t realize that until I’d already started pouring it in.  So I quickly boiled some more and added it … which usually gives coffee the taint of what I call “dilution tang.”  In essence, it just went from fresh coffee to the equivalent of instant coffee.

We’ll see though.  I’ll subtract any negative tang away from the review.

It should be ready now…

Okay, I poured my cup.  Taking a taste.  And…

Yes, I messed it up.  I taste the tang of dilution as well as a hint of staleness.  The first one is my fault, and the second one is the risk you get when you go with a pre-ground pre-packaged coffee.  It probably wasn’t stale when they sent it to me, but truth be told, this has been sitting in my inbox for quite a while.

Also, Big City Coffee offers this blend as fresh roasted unground beans.

According to their website, this is what you should expect:  “This mellow blend delivers a flavor and aroma that will have you snapping your fingers and movin’ to the groove. The lightly spiced African beans are nicely balanced by the mild Latins. If this was a Martini, it would be shaken, not stirred. We hand select these beans and lovingly artisan roast them in small batches weekly.”

This is a laid back coffee – not quite the light flavor of Kona, it is more spicy and complex – I detect a fairly high acid spike, and a very pleasant dusky wood smoke infusion.  My impression is this would be a good beat poetry coffee, a relaxed yet jazzy combo to fuel some serious art.

Kind of like, in fact, the spunky retro-art on the package label.

Which makes me wonder, did I get that image from the coffee flavor, or subliminally from the packaging?  Hmmm.

To sum up, while I did botch the brewing, I still enjoyed the coffee, and it gave me a good idea of how yummy you can expect the freshly ground version to be.

I’ll call this groovy by default.  I’d be happy to drink it again.

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I have no issues with the FCC’s new guidelines on disclosure for bloggers.  Coffee companies send me coffee to review here.  Some coffee I pay for but most I don’t.

If you see a savage review of an awful coffee (there hasn’t been many) it was a coffee that I paid for.  You don’t see them for coffee that was gifted to me because if I dislike it, I don’t review it.  It’s a fine line to walk, but … you don’t take a gift from someone then turn around and then bite them.  That just not cool.

I’m glad to say that I have never really hated a coffee that a roaster has given me.  So there’s never been a situation that I didn’t warn people away from awful coffee.

Sounds like I’m leading up to something bad, doesn’t it?  Actually, I’m not.  This coffee is wonderful.  If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be reviewing it.

This organic blend from Big City Coffee is a good morning or even all day coffee.  Because of that, it would make a kick-ass office coffee, or a perfect choice for a small cafe to use as their “standard” regular coffee.  It’s a strong, bold, city ++ roast with a nice and complex flavor featuring walnut and pecan notes.  The body is medium, lively, and has a good bite to it, but it’s not bitter.  It’s also fresh, as – unlike the prepackaged coffees this company also sells – this is fresh roasted three times a week in small batches, and sent out immediately.

That is definitely the way to do it.

I would place this as a high-standard everyday coffee and give it the official stamp of groovy.  Good stuff.  I like it!

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