Millstone Organic Mayan Black Onyx Blend

Organic Mayan Black Onyx Blend by Millstone

When you think of Millstone, you think of a coffee with good quality that is sold primarily in grocery stores. To get some, you just go to a local grocer that carries this brand and get your coffee. But is this coffee really GREAT enough for the coffee connoisseur? In this review I will try to answer that question.

With a ten-dollar name, you expect this coffee to be exceptional - well, let's see...

The beans are almost black in color - hence the name - black onyx. Before I ground the coffee, I smelled of the beans, there was an aroma that was somewhat familiar, but one that I could not get a handle on. After grinding some up for my french press (coarse grind), the mystical aroma still had me confounded - what was it? Finally, after I added the hot water to it, and stirred the grind in, I could smell a definite smoky aroma. It was similar to the aroma that you often smell during the early fall or winter, when only a few people are burning wood in their fireplaces - it is there, but not overpowering.

The coffee has a nice, deep flavor that is similar to what you might expect from a good Starbucks or Seattle's Best dark roast. The difference is that this coffee doesn't come on as aggressively, and doesn't stay on your tongue as long as the other two brands do. The finish is very clean and lingers only a little at the back of your tongue.

Unlike some dark roasts, this blend just doesn't overpower your taste buds. Instead, Millstone's roasters have created a good all-around coffee that would work well for a meal, or for just sipping all day long.

If you add a sweetener to your coffee, be careful not to put much in - I recommend you taste and add until you get the desired sweetness - this coffee has very little bitterness to it.

My only complaint about this brew is that there seemed to be a good amount of fines in the bottom of my cup. I guess this is due, in part, to the very dark roast on the beans. This would make the beans more brittle, and would cause you to have more fine ground coffee, even with a burr grinder, which is what I use for all my grinding.

As to whether a coffee lover should get this blend, I will just say I am going back to the store to get some more of this great coffee!

Feel free to comment - let me know what you think.

As always, may your next cup be the best!

OXO SoftWorks LiquiSeal Travel Mug - Review

OXO SoftWorks LiquiSeal Travel Mug - What is Good and What is Bad

In my search for the ideal travel mug, I have tried out several mugs. Each mug I try has its good and bad points, and this one is without exception.

I purchased my LiquiSeal Travel Mug for under $11. I had heard that this was an awesome mug that would keep my coffee hot for hours, and that it had a great sealing system for preventing spills.

On the first point, keeping coffee hot, the mug did not do as well as I had hoped.
See the tables below for details.


Test #1 - mug cold, poured in coffee at 140° Fahrenheit:





Test #2 - mug preheated with hot tap water at 110° warmed for 5 minutes, emptied, then poured in 150° coffee:



It doesn't seem to matter whether you preheat the mug or not, it still loses approximately 20 degrees each hour that the coffee is in the mug. After the second hour you would want to reheat the coffee. This is a problem since the enclosed information sheet says, "Do not place in the microwave." I guess this is to make sure that the sealing mechanism is not damaged.

On the second point of being very spillproof, it excels in this area. It has a push button sealing system that, when closed, keeps it from leaking even with the mug upside down. Being a bit of a klutz, and having kids that bump into everything, this is a must.

The mug holds 12 ounces of liquid and the screw-on lid is easy to put on. This is much nicer than some mugs that are easily cross-threaded.

I did not test the mug on cold liquids, but it is safe to assume it will keep things cold for a while.

The care instructions tell you not to wash the mug in the dishwasher, and to avoid chlorine-based cleaners when you hand-wash it.

I would rate this mug a 7.5 on performance. The facts that you aren't supposed to microwave it, that it only keeps the coffee warm for 2 hours, and having to hand-wash it bring the score down on this one for me.

Still, it is a good mug for the money. If you drink your coffee within 2 hours and don't require the ability to reheat coffee in it, this could be an ideal mug. The fact that is spill-proof is awesome if you ask me.

Next week I will give you a review on another coffee mug - be watching for it. If you have a favorite mug or coffee that you want me to review, let me know by posting a comment on the blog.

As always, may your next cup be the best!

3 Region Blend Coffee by Starbucks

Starbucks 3 Region Blend - Unique Coffee or Just Another Blend?

According to Starbucks, this limited edition coffee originates in 3 different coffee growing regions: Latin America, Africa/Arabia and Asia/Pacific. To be a little more specific, the beans originate from Guatemala, New Guinea, and Tanzania. They are processed by a "wet" or "wash" method which is supposed to enhance the flavor of them. I bought a cup from my local Starbucks this morning, wanting to see what was so special about this limited edition coffee.


There is a fruity aroma I detected in this brew. It is not overpowering, it is subtle in nature - I had to smell the coffee several times to narrow it down. The taste is pleasant, with an very nice finish. The coffee hits the tip of the tongue, and tasted a little salty to me. It doesn't linger on your tongue like a lot of Starbucks' blends. This coffee has a medium body and the mouth feel is excellent. Although Starbucks rates this coffee as bold, I would say it is what I would term as medium - halfway between bold and bright.

3 Region Blend is one that I just HAVE to try with some good chocolate later today. It is so smooth that it would easily pair with chocolate or just about any fruit - it would only enhance the flavors as it is not an overpowering coffee.

This is a coffee that you have just got to try - I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

As always, may your next cup be the best!

McDonalds Coffee - A Coffee Lover's Opinion

Is the Coffee Served at McDonald's Good Enough for a Coffee Lover?

When most coffee lovers think of McDonald's, they think of taking their kids or grandkids to the playplace, or a menu that is traditionally tailored around their hamburgers and fries. Like all misconceptions, this is not totally correct. Most of us don't think of McDonald's as a coffee shop, but they do serve coffee, so it requires investigation.

I arrived at noon with my kids. They were exited about playing, I was exited about drinking a cup of Joe. I have had their coffee before, but it was with other food items, so I had never looked at McDonald's coffee as a serious "I am going out to get a cup of coffee," choice. So I decided to give it the Dark Roast Coffee test - does it cut the mustard (or should that be the cream and sugar)?

This coffee appears, by taste, to be a medium roast. It is has a smooth taste and a really nice mouth feel which is not very heavy or excessively strong. The coffee has an aroma that reminds me of the smell of my parent's coffee from my youth (Folgers - percolated).

McDonald's coffee is a very good match for breakfast, or any other meal for that matter. When tasting it, the taste hits the back of the tongue lightly and is very definite when it hits the middle of the tongue. The fact that it hits the back of the tongue indicates a slight bitterness which is something that a lot of us love in our coffee.

This coffee is custom-roasted for McDonald's by Gaviña. According to the information about this brew, Gaviña created this roast of coffee for McDonald's 25 years ago. Click on the links at the top or bottom of this article to get the full story or to go to the Gaviña Gourmet Coffee website.

So - is McDonald's a good place for coffee - my vote on this one is a definite YES! I really enjoyed my cup there and will do it again for sure.

As always, may your next cup be the best!

What Effect Does The Grind Have on Brewing Coffee

Why Can't I Just Grind All My Coffee At One Time?

Like many others, I used to think that I could just grind up all my coffee at the grocer's or have them grind it up at the coffee shop and I would be set for the next week. Then I found out that coffee loses a large portion of its flavor within a few hours of being ground. This loss of flavor in coffee that you have paid a good price for just doesn't make sense. If you haven't invested in a coffee grinder, I strongly suggest you do. For less than twenty dollars, you can get a small grinder that will do the job. If you want automation and better control over the grind, you can get a decent burr grinder for under thirty-five dollars - it is well worth the investment.

Why Is It Important To Control The Size of the Grind of Coffee?

The way we get the flavor out of the coffee bean and into our coffee is through extraction. Each type of coffee maker is different on how it extracts the coffee. The only common thread to this is the fact that all coffee makers use water as the solvent to get the flavor out of the ground coffee beans.

That being said, we need to look at why each grind should be a certain way to properly match the extraction method that we are using.

We will start with coarse ground coffee. The french press is commonly paired with coarse ground coffee for several reasons. The grind needs to be coarse to allow the metal screens to separate the grounds from the extracted coffee. In addition, coffee made in this device is made with water that is just below the boiling point. This means that a lot of extraction can occur in a very short time - usually three to four minutes. By using a coarse grind the coffee is not over-extracted. Too much extraction will result in you getting a pot of bitter coffee - not a good thing.

Next, let us look at medium grind. This is most suitable for extraction times that are still fairly short (3 to 5 minutes), but at lower temperatures, much like those produced by a drip coffee maker. The temperature here is usually around 165° Fahrenheit. The lower temperature means that you need smaller particles of coffee to extract adequate flavor from the coffee. If the grind is too coarse, it will take a LOT more coffee to get good flavor in the pot. If the grind is too fine, the coffee will be over-extracted and be bitter to the taste.

Finally, we look at fine grinds, including espresso grind. The contact time here is only a few seconds at high pressure and with pump machines, a temperature just below boiling. With this type of extraction, you must have very fine coffee or a very weak brew will result. The short contact time insures that you don't over-extract the coffee and get a bitter cup.

I hope this information helps to clarify WHY we use certain grinds of coffee for a brewing method, and why it is very important to grind the coffee just before you brew - it is all to get that perfect cup of Joe.

As always, may your next cup be the best!