My friends over at Buddy Brew Coffee take you behind the scenes!

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“Chickory?”  Not chicory?

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a bushy perennial herb, also known as “coffeeweed,” the roots of which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute as well as an additive.  It’s popular in India, Southeast Asia and also in … you guessed it … New Orleans.

I remember my dad used to tell me that’s all they could get during WWII, and that he’d actually developed a taste for it.

This explains why it continues on even to this day as a coffee additive.

This Chickadee Brand coffee from BigCityCoffee.com surprised me by being not only palatable, but quite good.  It tastes like a medium bold coffee with chocolate and pecans – and I don’t mean subtle hints of these flavors, either.  It’s quite yummy.

Would I prefer it to normal, everyday coffee?  Well, no.  At least not the stuff I drink.  But compared to something like Folgers?  Yes.

To my taste, I would definitely classify it as a dessert coffee.  Good for late afternoon or right after dinner.

Considering I don’t usually like chicory (or “chickory,” per Big City Coffee), I’d have to say this is pretty a pretty groovy brew.  Portion-pack groovy, no less.

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Coffee snobs (including me) may recoil in horror at a pre-ground portion pack of coffee, but that’s only because we’ve grown used to something that’s above and beyond.

The fact remains that the majority of coffee drinkers still buy their coffees pre-ground.

So here, when I review a pre-ground coffee, I don’t compare it to fresh roasted, fresh ground coffee.  That would be unfair.

When BigCityCoffee.com sent me an assortment to try, I didn’t balk.  I’ll review it in the spirit of those who prefer packaged coffee.  Lord knows I was one of them, once.  Before I was spoiled.

I brewed this pack in my French Press.  It turned out nice, strong, and full bodied.  There’s a warm, light-chocolate wood-smoke taste to it, very inviting and laid back.  There is only a hint of acidity – at first I missed it, not thinking it was there at all.  The flavor has me constantly taking another sip.

This is a good afternoon or even after-desert coffee, and being that you can get it in portion packs, it’s perfect for an office environment.  And while it’s not cutting edge fresh, the one I sampled wasn’t stale.

It was, in fact, quite good!  I liked it and would happily drink it again.

I hereby officially proclaim Tiki Club as portion-pack groovy.

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You’re looking at the Java Wand.

It’s simple, clever, and definitely a groovy little gizmo.

Invented by Nancy Raimondo and marketed via Wisdom Wands, this is — literally — a tiny coffee maker at the end of a glass straw. And before you scoff, trust me, I had some doubts as well. The first thing I thought was that sucking hot coffee through a straw would lead directly to a seared tongue and a ruined day. So I want to state right up front that this is not the case.

How the Java Wand works is simple. It’s a straw with a French press type filter at the end. You put coffee in your mug, add hot water (and whatever else you’d like), put the straw in and stir for a bit, then let it set a few minutes.

Letting it set does two things. One, it lets the coffee steep, and two, it lets it cool a bit.

Here’s a good place to mention that, even when making coffee the normal way, you don’t want to use boiling water. You want it hot, and perhaps close to boiling, but not actually bubbling. With the Java Wand this is doubly true.

So you let the coffee steep a bit, and then you take a careful, experimental sip from the Java Wand. Keep in mind this is exactly how you’d approach a hot cup of coffee. Sip carefully until it cools. The Java Wand works the same way.

That’s all there is to it. You’re drinking coffee.

Take a moment to think about that. What does a coffee maker do, anyway? It mixes hot water with coffee then filters the grounds.

It’s not complicated. It’s not rocket science. The Java Wand is a wonderful reminder of this fact — a return to the basics. People spend hundreds of dollars for machines that do nothing more, really, than this little filtered straw does.

Like I said, even I was skeptical at first. I thought I’d burn my tongue right up front. But no, this is thick quality glass, and it has the same heat-handling properties as a coffee mug. I made my first cup using CoffeeBeanDirect.com Dark Costa Rican (as pictured to the left — that’s the actual first cup I made) and was able to sip on it without any burning of lips or tongue at all. It was delicious, but I’d ground it too fine. So I had to try again.

Wisdom Wands recommends medium ground coffee, about two tablespoons per cup. For the second try that’s what I used.

The next cup turned out perfect. I was impressed and happy with it, and even though it seemed odd to be drinking hot coffee through a straw it didn’t take long to adjust. Especially after cooling a few minutes, you’ll be sucking coffee down without even thinking about it.

Here’s an unexpected side effect, though. I’m one of those people who can drink two large strong cups of coffee and still go to sleep. I have over the years developed a high caffeine tolerance.

But two cups of coffee sucked through the Java Wand had me so wired I was bouncing around like the Energizer Bunny. It took me by surprise. What I figure is that since you’re drinking the whole cup of coffee through the grounds, you must end up with an extra dose of caffeine. In effect, the Java Wand becomes a coffee supercharger.

The next day I took the Java Wand down to the corporate offices to see if it could be used in the fight against horrible office coffee. It seemed perfect for this because you make your own coffee one cup at a time, and it’s so quick it’s like you’re making instant coffee. Also — and this is the key point — you’re free to make your coffee however you like. Stronger, bolder, with your own coffee or theirs. It puts you in control.

I gave it the ultimate test: could it, in fact, improve the taste of plain old Folgers pre-ground canned coffee?

It did! I can’t say it was good, but it was better than before. It was significantly better than the Folgers made in the old rusty Bunn office machine, especially considering most other office denizens think it only takes two tablespoons to produce 12 cups of coffee.

This morning I’m using it as I write this, having made a delicious cup of SpecialtyCoffee.com’s New York New York. This afternoon I plan on trying it with some loose tea leaves. (Yes, tea lovers can use this too.)

I’m thoroughly charmed with this little gizmo. It’s not going to replace my little one cup filter maker at home, but it will be something I use every day at the office. In its own little way, I can honestly say the Java Wand has improved the quality of my life.

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No, I am not insane.  I swear this is true.

My friend Tim and I just came out of a movie theater and went for a coffee.  The nearest Starbucks turned out to be inside a Target store, and in there, we were confronted by three earnest young people in Starbucks uniforms.

Pushing instant coffee.

I knew then what happened.  We were in the correct universe when we entered the theater.  When we exited, though, we stumbled into the wrong universe.

An evil, alternate universe

The same universe where James T. Kirk is a ruthless war monger and Spock’s chin is adorned by a demonic goatee.

And Starbucks sells instant coffee.

Madness!

The three earnest young Starbucks minions espoused the wonderful properties of this revolutionary new thing called instant coffee, like it’s never existed before, and how wonderful it is because of how finely it’s been ground.

And get this – you know what it tastes like?

Instant coffee!

Amazing.

Please, someone light a beacon, and lead me back to the correct universe.  Please?

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The famous Lloyd’s of London insurance company started out as a coffee house which catered primarily to seafarers and merchants.  In this coffee house, Edward Lloyd used to prepare "ship’s lists" for underwriters who met there to have coffee and offer insurance to the seafarers.

Another famous establishment which surprisingly started as a London coffee house was The Stock Exchange.

By 1700 there were over two thousand coffee houses in London, and they came to be known as “penny universities” because that was the price of a cup of coffee, and while drinking that coffee you could sit and listen to amazing and enlightening conversations.

- Lifted from Uncommon Grounds By Mark Pendergrast
(as well as the Lloyd’s of London website)

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I haven’t reviewed Tanzanian Peaberry beans for about two years.

What’s happened since then?  Hmm.  I’ve moved twice.  I’ve changed jobs twice, and careers once.  And I’ve discovered this great roasting company called “Buddy Brew Coffee.”

Here’s once thing that hasn’t changed:  I loved Tanzanian Peaberry then, and I love it now.

This is a sensuous – nay, a downright sexy – warm-toned coffee, with a touch of almond in a taste that’s dominated by a rich smokiness, and underscored with delicious woody notes.  Very smooth, rich without being overbearing – a balanced, natural brew that is quite a bit different than what you’d meet in your day to day coffees.

Tanzania, where the beans originated, is an African country formed when Tanganyika, its mainland part, joined with the Zanzibar islands off its east coast. After uniting they became the United Republic of Tanzania, who not only kicked Uganda’s invading butt in 1979, but within its borders hold the remains of the earliest humans to walk the Earth.

If that wasn’t enough to make this country cool, they grow the sexiest coffee I have ever tasted.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I have to say it again because it’s important:  the folks at Buddy Brew roast your beans to order and ship them to you immediately.  It’s the next best thing to roasting them yourself.

And you know, my friends, freshness is the Holy Grail of coffee.  Because if you let these beans get stale, they’re no longer sexy.

And that would be a shame.

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When Two Brothers make a porter ale, it’s excellent.  I had one in a restaurant that featured local brews – a German place deep within Chicagoland suburbia – and that was the beer which set me down this porter rabbit hole I’ve been exploring.

So here I find a beautiful 1 pint 6 ounce bottle of Two Brothers COFFEE porter – a black ale brewed with coffee beans.  Coffee?  And porter ale?

It’s almost like they brewed it especially for me.

You can smell deep roasted dark malt but no coffee.  First sip, though – COFFEE.  Yes indeed, and lots of it.  Of all the coffee ales I’ve tasted, this one tastes the most like coffee.  Really strong black coffee.

Mixed with beer.

I like it but I wouldn’t say I love it – not like I loved their regular porter.  It’s not sweet enough for my sweet tooth, and its not hoppy enough to account for its bitterness.

It’s a good one-off novelty drink.  Fun at a party.  But it’s not an all-night swilling ale.  So…

I’ll call it groovy, not holy.  Good, but not over-the-top.  A fun experiment.

Worth trying.

Especially if you love strong black coffee.

(In case you haven’t guessed, this is a cross over review from the beer side of GroovyBrew.com)

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Now this is a coffee to be reckoned with.

Dusky, smoky, it has a dark oak flavor with a nice sharp spike of acidity, with a hint of chocolate, and more powerfully, caramel.  It leaves the palate with a almost citrusy tanginess.

This is a bold gourmet "wake-up!" coffee if there ever was one.   This is a coffee to start the day when you have something extra-important that you have to be wide awake for, and you want to be sharp and in a good mood.

Yes, that is what this coffee is about.  Good, strong, delicious, important.

Buddy Brew roasts their coffees by hand in small batches, order by order, and sends them out in bags hand-labeled in pencil.  This is like having a good friend who knows how to roast coffee beans to perfection, and hands you a package of something extra special every week.  It’s not just business to them, it’s personal.  They love coffee.  They are entrusting it to you.

I’ll tell you what — that’s exactly how it should be.  If you just don’t have time to roast your own, find someone like these guys and get it from them.  It’s the only way.

It just is the only way.

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Kona Luna coffee in just two words:  Mellow and smooth.

I’m not a big fan of Kona beans, because in general they’re just too mellow for my own personal tastes.  But the beans Kona Luna sent are different, somehow.  I would almost say they’re bolder than I’d usually associate with standard Kona, but that’s not quite true.  Maybe it’s that they’re richer, but it’s hard to tell because the coffee is just so smooth, so laid back, it’s hard to pin that quality down.

You’d be hard pressed to find any kind of acidity in this coffee.  I did find a ghost of it but that’s only because I left it steeping longer than usual in my French press.  It’s gentle, relaxed, and mellow.  The taste is coffee, pure coffee, with a light lattice of pecan notes, and maybe — though this is probably just my imagination — a touch of coconut.

I haven’t been to Hawaii since I was 16.  At that point I was not yet a coffee drinker, so as far as the Kona beans go, the trip was lost on me.  I was more attuned to bikinis, surfing, snorkeling, and diving with whales (true story).  Also, since the drinking age there was only 18, and I easily passed for a 19 at the time, it was another entirely different type of "brew" on which I focused.

To sum up, if I were a fan of Kona, I’d be a huge fan of Kona Luna’s coffee.  And even though I’m not, I do like it quite a bit, and heartily recommend it to anyone who’s into the Hawaiian bean.

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