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What I roasted up this morning:
From the package this is supposed to be: “Sweet-savory quality, raisin and fig sweetness, spicy nutmeg, balanced brightness fading to bittersweet finish with cinnamon.”
Sounds like a beer review to me.
You’d think “Los Churchos de Tolima” would be Spanish, but Google Translate insists it’s German and that it means “The Church of Tolima.” This makes me wonder if the beans were grown out in the graveyard.
So far I’ve been surprised by the quality and taste of this Disneyland gift pack coffee.
This last one is no exception.
Judging it against other pre-packaged coffees (and not fresh roasted beans) it’s quite good. Far better than your average pre-packaged coffees.
This one is mild but with a citrusy edge. It features toasty light chocolate, or perhaps cocoa, flavors with a ghostly walnut aftertaste.
My hat’s off to you, Mickey. Whoever is producing these coffees for you is doing a “really swell” job.
It’s a pre-packaged groovy brew.
Other Disney coffees in this series: French Roast | Disney Blend
Tags: disney
Part of a three pack from Disneyland in California, I gave this pre-ground coffee the benefit of the doubt and brewed it up right in a French press.
Minus the expected stale tang of being pre-ground, it’s not bad!
The taste is very chocolaty – the rich, warm milk chocolate notes are prevalent in the flavor, along with a hauntingly familiar maltiness.
Swear to goodness, this tastes like it would be a delicious dark beer, beside it being mildly acidic.
I’d peg this as a good dessert coffee.
Tags: disney
Here’s the answer I received:
Find out how much it would take to kill you, as well as the lethal doses of other common beverages, at Energy Fiend.
My friends over at BuddyBrew.com are having a benefit sale to support East Africa’s most vulnerable children. I thought I’d share it here in case anyone is in that area on that day…
For more information check out Tukutana out at:
While the music itself is only marginally catchy, I loved the video featuring top-notch cinematography and cool retro gadgets. But what really made it for me — and you have to watch for it — is the singing coffee bean.
Retail espresso vendors report an increase in decaffeinated sales in the month of January due to New Year’s resolutions to decrease caffeine intake. Of course, it doesn’t last long.
Part of a three pack from Disneyland in California, I gave this pre-ground coffee the benefit of the doubt and brewed it up right in a French press.
Minus the expected stale tang of being pre-ground, it’s not bad! I’m surprised. I would compare it favorably to the standard pre-ground Starbucks French roast.
Better, in fact.
It makes me wonder if Disney sourced this coffee from Starbucks, or was it grown, harvested and roasted in Toontown?
Tags: disney
This is both a story of good coffee by good people, and of me being a slacker.
I found out about this company nearly a year and a half ago, right when they were getting their business started and right when I first moved to Wheaton, IL. I thought, How cool! A fresh roasting company within two miles of where I live!
I even got ahold of them and asked if I could swing by to try their coffee and write them up in GroovyBrew. But did I do it? No. I kept meaning to – they’re only two freaking miles away, for goodness sakes – but I just never got around to it.
Here’s the deal: not only are they a good roasting company that delivers freshly roasted beans, but they have a humanitarian mission. In their own words: “…we hire and train ex-offenders so they can experience the joy of turning their lives around through meaningful, productive work and a community of acceptance. We use a holistic approach to ‘teach a man to fish,’ providing gainful employment, job training, and life skills. This positively impacts the spiritual, social and economic condition of our employees, their families and the communities where they live. So when you help yourself to a cup of our coffee, you’ll also be helping those in need.”
It turns out they have a booth at the French Market on Saturdays in quaint little downtown Wheaton, and it also turns out I spent this Saturday morning writing at the La Spiaza coffee house, also in downtown Wheaton. I finished, packed up, but didn’t really want to head home – it was a beautiful day, and across the tracks I spotted some sort of outdoor market.
There among produce, pottery, leather wallets, and a robotics booth I stumbled across I Have a Bean. Finally. And I’m glad I did.
I picked up a bag of their Rwandan Rwabisindu, took it home, popped some in the grinder, brewed it, and have been enjoying it all afternoon.
It’s silky smooth – and I mean luxurious – and the taste is a light coco base with vanilla and pecan notes. It ends with a pleasant, dry woodsmoke finish. Freaking delicious and most definitely a groovy brew!
And it’s roasted by a very groovy company. If you live in the area you can stop by and pick up beans roasted that same day, and those not in the area can order via their website and have it delivered within three days of roasting.
I love chocolate. I love beer. And I love coffee.
Well guess what.
I may have found the only thing I have to drink from now on. We have all three ingredients in one bottle. It was a foregone conclusion I would think it’s wonderful.
You can smell the chocolate and the coffee the moment you pop the top. You can taste them, too, mixed with the rich malts and bubbling hops. The coffee edge is even more pronounced than the chocolate. In fact, the coffee taste blends in and piggybacks so closely with the beer malts that my tongue is thoroughly confused.
Am I drinking coffee with a bit of beer in it? Or am I drinking beer with a bit of coffee in it?
It can’t tell one way or the other.
On the finish, the coffee and the hops battle each other for the control of the bitterness. It’s interesting, kind of like watching a back alley fight.
There are some requirements for liking this beer. You have to enjoy a dark, strong ale. And you have to enjoy drinking coffee black with no sugar. I’m not sure if that’s a problem for some people or not, but I can tell you one thing, as good as this stuff is I’m not going to put cream and sugar in it.
The folks at Rogue really are rogues. So far I’ve liked everything of theirs I’ve tried. And I’m serious, I want to move to Oregon. Perhaps when my love and I make it there, we’ll start up a combination brewery, coffee roasting, and chocolate company?
I can dream, right? Anyway…
This stuff is good. It doesn’t quite make the Holy Grail scale, but I wouldn’t have a problem drinking it every day. The coolest thing about Rogue’s Mocha Porter is that I can actually cross post it on both sides of GroovyBrew.com.
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