Kauai Coffee Company Chocolate Macadamia

Review of Kauai Coffee Company Chocolate Macadamia

I recently ran out of coffee and made a mad dash to the grocery store. I started to grab a well-known dark roast coffee, when this flavored coffee from Kauai Coffee Company caught my eye. I decided that I had to try it out.

Upon opening the package, the aroma of the macadamia and chocolate flavoring hit my nose. I have found more often than not, that when the flavoring comes out in the dry coffee that the flavoring will overpower the coffee. In this instance, my presumption was wrong.

The first taste of the unsweetened brew, which I made up in my drip machine, was earthy in flavor. The flavoring that was there was a mild chocolate and macadamia flavor - it was nice and pleasant and complemented the coffee, and did not overpower it. The mouth feel and finish on this coffee are very smooth.

The package says it is a medium roast and the flavor is just that with no noticable bitterness. Without sweetener it is a very nice drink that you could sip all day and really enjoy.

After sweetener is added the chocolate flavor is more noticeable, as is the macadamia flavoring, but it is still just enhances the coffee flavor and doesn't taste sugary or excessively sweet.

This is a single origin coffee from the island of Kauai. The company says that they process all their beans at the source location. This is an excellent quality control method as it insures that you get the freshest coffee available.

I really enjoyed this coffee and hope that you can get some too. It is a very nice flavored coffee and would be great for serving guests by itself or with some dessert.

I hope you have found this review helpful, and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Customer Service and Espresso Machines

Warranty Service on Espresso Machines from Hamilton Beach

I purchased an espresso machine from a local Wal-Mart in February of this year (2010). This was the third one I had bought during the last six months. I had exchanged a couple of the previous units when the pump went out on them at the store I had purchased them from. Wal-Mart has an excellent return policy on items for the first 90 days - I really think they are awesome for this!




Click Here to Buy Hamilton Beach 2-c. Cappuccino Plus Espresso Machine, Black

Anyway, about six months out on the latest machine, the pump died on it. I guess I am terribly hard on espresso machines built for home use - I make up to 4 or 5 Americanos a day and sometimes an occasional cappuccino. When I had purchased the machine I had registered it on Hamilton Beach's site - this ended up being very much in my favor.

I called HB's customer service and after a few minutes they had checked to see if my machine had a recall or any known problems - there were none. Despite the fact that I had lost my receipt (which I later found), they agreed to replace the machine. All I had to do was to pay them $12 for the shipping of the new machine and send back a specific part of my non-working machine.

In a couple of weeks I had my new machine producing the same great dark roast coffee that the old one did. Thank you, Hamilton Beach for being true to your warranty agreement!

This goes to show that there are still companies out there that are good and fair to the customer. Always choose reputable companies to buy from and buy equipment made by companies that have a good customer service reputation - and make sure you register your products just in case you lose your receipt!

As always, may your next cup be your best!

Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Company Vanilla Macadamia Nut

Review of Vanilla Macadamia Nut by Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Company

The holiday season always seems to make it possible to try out some great new food and drink items. This season I was fortunate enough to get some coffee from Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Company. I sampled their Vanilla Macadamia Nut coffee as an Americano.

This coffee is a medium roast, with some bitterness that is similar to a dark roast. The aroma is not overpowering with vanilla or macadamia nut smell. It is subtle and pleasant, with the macadamia flavor being the stronger of the two essences.

The first taste of this ten percent Kona blend has a good deal of earthiness to it. Despite this, the mouth feel is very smooth for a flavored coffee. It definitely hits the back of the tongue with a good bitterness that is characteristic of good coffee.

After I sweetened it, the vanilla and macadamia flavors came to life. This coffee is almost like a desert when sweetener is added. I would assume that it would be a good pairing with anything that is really sweet, especially if the brew is not sweetened at all. If you do sweeten your coffee, add just a bit and you will be fine, add too much, and it will ruin the great flavor of this blend.

This coffee is an excellent drink, by itself or to accompany any really great dessert. I personally like it by itself, with a little sweetener.

I hope you have found this review helpful, and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Starbucks Christmas Blend

Review of Starbucks Christmas Blend

Starbucks always takes pride in its special blends produced for the Holiday Season. This is true of their seasonal offerings such as the Thanksgiving Blend, and more recently, Christmas Blend.




This coffee hits the palette with a taste that is more reminiscent of some of Starbucks competitor's coffee. The first one that comes to mind is Gevalia, because the first taste of this blend hits the middle of the tongue with a slight bitterness and bite that reminds me of some of Gevalia's traditional offerings. The mouth feel of the coffee is good, with a slight "bite" to it. The bitterness comes through even when I add my usual sweetener to it. This makes it a very good pairing with the very sweet items you will find yourself snacking on during the Christmas holiday season.

As the coffee cools, it doesn't seem to get more bitter - thanks to the great work of Starbucks roasters. This is a great feature in this brew for people like me, who don't like the bitterness of cold coffee. In addition, as the coffee cools, you notice some earthiness that comes into play. At times, I tasted and smelled a hint of cinnamon in the blend - a very classic holiday spice, indeed.

Just like any specialty blend, this coffee is not for everyone, but if you want to enjoy a cup that will go well with cinnamon, chocolate, or any really sweet treat, this IS your coffee. It also is just a great change from the regular Starbucks line, and should provide a good pick-me-up during the holiday season.

I hope you try some of this great blend to make your Christmas merrier. You might even think of having a hot cup available for Santa when he pops by - that, with some cookies will make the jolly old elf happy, for sure.

As always, may your next cup be your best!

Archer Farms Kona Blend

Kona Blend Coffee by Archer Farms

Before I started this blog, I had never tasted Archer Farms' coffee. After I had some of their Fair Trade Tierra Del Sol coffee, I was convinced that this Target store brand had some serious merit.

This Kona Blend has an aroma that reminds me of freshly sanded wood. I know that this is not an aroma on the traditional coffee aroma wheel, but that is what I smelled. It is a very relaxing aroma, indeed.

This is a very likable brew, which I tasted as an Americano. I would say that the flavor is that of a medium roast, although the scale on the package states it is a mild roast. It has a mouth feel that is good. The flavor of this blend hits the tip of the tongue at first, then works its way to the middle at the finish. The result is a nice little "bite" of at the end of each sip.

This coffee would pair well with traditional holiday sweets such as fudge or cookies. Unsweetened, it would be a near perfect match.

Archer Farms has done a good job with this blend. I don't think has as much universal appeal as the Tierra Del Sol, but it is a quality coffee that won't disappoint.

May you have a joyous Holiday Season, no matter what you are celebrating. Take care when travelling, as there are others who may be drinking something much stronger than coffee before they drive.

I hope you have found this review helpful, and as always, may your next cup be your best!

Seattle's Best Organic House Blend

Review - Organic House Blend by Seattle's Best

Seattle's Best has changed the look of their packaging. It is so much unlike the familiar red bags that it caught me off guard. At first I thought the store had removed one of my favorite coffee brands from the shelves. Fortunately, there were a few of the old-style packages next to the new ones to get my attention.


Besides being an organic coffee, it is a fair trade blend. When you purchase it, you are not only getting a coffee that is free of pesticides, which is good for the planet, you are also making sure that those who produce it are not taken advantage of financially. This is a win-win for everyone involved.

I tasted this coffee as an Americano. The coffee is definitely a dark roast coffee, but it is not as overpowering as most. The folks at Seattle's Best rate this coffee, according to their new scale as a "Level 4". This means it is a dark roast that is one step below their maximum scale of Level 5. Click on Seattle's Best Level System to download a pdf document of the press release that gives more info about the new packaging.

There is a definite earthiness to the coffee, although it is not exceptionally strong. The flavor has a mild bite to it with a really nice bitterness. This is a coffee that should only be sweetened a little, as too much sweetener would detract from the coffee's dark roast flavor. The flavor is definitely deeper than a medium roast, but not as strong as most dark roasts. The mouth-feel is smooth, and the finish of this blend is very clean - it dissipates in about four seconds.

I would recommend this coffee for pairing with fruit, such as strawberries or perhaps peaches. It will not cover their flavor, it will only enhance. I tried this blend with some homemade Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chip cookies with pecans in them and found it to be a very pleasant combination. Again, this coffee seems to pair well with a little sweetness, not a large amount.

The new packaging on Seattle's Best is very informative. Those familiar with the old packaging will like the large number on the package - finding your desired roasts is very easy with the level system.

Thermos Sportsman Mug

Review - Sportsman 20 Ounce Travel Mug by Thermos

This mug is nicely made - it has a plastic inner lining with a tapered plastic bottom. The center portion on the outside of the mug is made of textured stainless steel. This mug is definitely made to last.

In between the walls of the mug is foam insulation, not the usual dead air space you find in most low-cost mugs. This mug can be purchased for around $6.00, so it is a great choice for the economy-minded shopper. The fact that it is durable is definitely an asset when you are outdoors.

I found that the tapered bottom worked nicely in my cup holder in both my cars. The only time I found that it gave me any trouble was when I tried to put it into my cup holder in my folding chair I use when I go fishing. The mug was too top heavy when filled to capacity and it just kept trying to fall out. I guess you can't have everything!

I tested the mug on how well it kept my dark roast coffee warm and was pleasantly surprised. The mug kept my coffee at a drinkable temperature for 2 hours. After that, the temperature seems to fall off rather quickly. See the chart below for details.



I noticed that due to the foam insulation it holds temperature better than some of the dead air space insulated mugs I have tested. It does lose temperature more quickly in a cold breeze outside, though.

The mug lid seals with a half-turn of the lid. You can place the opening can be placed wherever you want it by placing the opening directly across from where you want it to be, then rotating it on to the cup. This allows you to have the handle in a left or right handed position.