Dunkin' Donuts Coffee

Dunkin' Donuts Original Blend Coffee

Today I had to go to the appliance parts store to get a thermostat for my clothes dryer. Since I was headed into a part of town with several coffee shops in it, I decided to make a slight detour to get myself some coffee and reward myself.

I decided that I would go by Dunkin' Donuts and get a cup and a blueberry cake donut. This is a combination you can't beat with a stick. After I had consumed the donut, I decided to do a coffee tasting on the remaining coffee so here it is...

The aroma of the coffee has a very subtle smell of grass. Don't ask why, but that is what the undertone of it seems to be. The richness of this brew is targeted at mainstream America, not too strong and not too heavy on taste.

When tasting it, I notice a slightly bitter and salty mix. The body of it is medium, again, I think that the roasters knew what they were doing, as it is a perfect complement to sweet items, such as donuts.

The finish on this coffee has a sharpness to it that is like Dutch Bros or Gevalia - although I think it is a bit smoother than the Dutch Bros coffee.

Overall, an excellent brew - one that wakes up a lot of people every single day. Dunkin' Donuts has quite a bit of coffee information on their website, including brewing tips and a coffee glossary. They also have a slideshow on their website that covers, in some detail, how they get this great tasting coffee to you, the consumer. I hope you enjoy it.

May your next cup be the best!

Making Coffee With a French Press

How to Make Coffee With a French Press

When it comes to coffee, most Americans just go to Starbucks or some other coffee shop to buy their brew, while others use a drip coffee maker at home to get the job done. Then there are those of us that must have espresso, americano, or cappuccino - so we use the espresso machine at home.

That covers probably 85 to 90 percent of the folks out there (my estimate). That only leaves fifteen percent - or less - of U.S. coffee drinkers using the french press. That seems unusual for a device that was invented in France in the 1850's, and patented in Italy in 1929. Not only has this device been around for a long time, but it makes some of the best coffee you will ever taste - I'm serious!

One of the pastors at my church told me that coffee from the french press was awesome several months ago. Since I have a coffee blog and my job is to inform you about coffee, I decided I had to get a press and try it out. The thing that kept me from getting one over the years is that I thought it would be hard to use - quite the opposite is true - it is very easy to use, and not really that messy. So much for my complaints...

I started searching for a local solution to my need for a low-cost french press. I quickly found out that the local Walmart didn't have one in stock (according to the website). I did find several listed online that were available at the local Target stores. I targeted the Brazil, which is made by Bodum. This pot is a 8-cup unit. Note: these are 4 ounce coffee cups, so this particular model brews 32 ounces of high-quality coffee - just enough for my wife and myself to have a good cup in the morning...nice! I got out of Target for $19.99 plus tax - not bad for a great coffee maker.

Ok, so now to the preparation. I took the unit home, washed it up, set up my video equipment and proceeded to make my first french press coffee. Yes, you are watching me brew my first pot! Here are the steps I followed:

1. Heat up 34 ounces of water to between 195° to 205° Fahrenheit.
2. Add 1 heaping Tablespoon of Coarse ground coffee per cup to the pot (8 Tbsp).
3. Pour in the water - stop filling at about one-half inch from the top of the pot.
4. Stir with a plastic or wood spoon - remember, THE POT IS GLASS.
   
5. Let the coffee steep for 4 minutes.
6. Stir the coffee at the end of the 4 minutes, remove the spoon.
7. Carefully put in the plunger unit.
8. Press down slowly - take 10 seconds or so to do this - you will be rewarded with few, if any, grounds in your coffee.
   
9. Once you reach bottom, you are done. Pour up a cup and enjoy!
10. Suggestion - pour remaining coffee into a heat-resistant container to keep from over-brewing your remaining coffee.
11. Rinse out coffee pot and dry for next time.

That's it. Here is the video to show you how simple it is to make awesome french press coffee.

May your next cup be the best!

Coffee Mugs - Starbucks Red To Go Mug

Starbucks Red To Go Mug

I don't know about you, but I like to drink my coffee almost everywhere. I also like for it to stay hot, so I have spent my fair share of money on travel mugs.

The majority of travel mugs don't keep coffee warm for long, and are very often, not microwave or dishwasher safe. I am not sure about the reasoning for this. Coffee is a drink that is best served hot or warm, so why do so many of the cup manufacturers make and sell non-microwavable cups? In addition, most homes have a dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher, you most likely want to wash your cup in it to keep it sparkling clean and germ-free. So why are these two criteria ignored? Over the next few months I will review at least one coffee mug a week and give you my good bad and ugly about it. I will give you my unvarnished opinion on each mug and supply you with a link for more information or to a site to purchase the item.

Earlier this week I bought a Starbucks Coffee 12-oz. (STARBUCKS)^RED To Go Mug. This mug cost me eleven dollars, plus tax. It is designed to look like the traditional Starbucks take out cup, but it is not made of paper - it is ceramic and plastic. The ceramic portion of the mug is double-layered with airspace between the layers. This provides a noticeable insulating quality. The lid is made of a heavy plastic with a silicone seal that is held down by a 1/8 turn twist of the lower part of the lid. It seals well and I can state I haven't spilled a drop of coffee from this mug all week.

Because it is a double-layered ceramic container, the Starbucks Red To Go Mug has some weight to it. The only way I knew I was out of coffee was the fact that I tilted it up and had no coffee to drink.

Coffee mugs usually leave a certain amount of coffee in the cup because of poor lid design. This cup lets you get all but about half a tablespoon of coffee out when drinking through the lid. The cup is easy to hold. You do notice a little warmth since the cup's design does have some thermal leakage. The coffee stays warm for an hour or so, making it a better solution than the paper cup, and in the long term, a better choice for the environment. I wish it did keep the coffee hot for a longer period of time, but it is a trade-off. The cup is not dishwasher or microwave safe - although I think a lot of this has to do with the lid an its seal. You might want to contact Starbucks if you REALLY need these features.

One additional nice feature of this mug is that you can use it with the lid off if you wish. It is one nice looking cup.

Overall, I would rate this mug between 6.5 to 7.0 on performance. I really prefer a mug that keeps coffee hot longer and I would prefer for it to be microwave safe. A couple of notes here - I have tried pre-heating the cup by leaving hot water in it for a couple of minutes before filling and have noticed that it does extend the time that the coffee stays warm. I have also "cheated" and microwaved the cup with coffee in it for 30 seconds WITHOUT THE LID with no negative results - do this at your own risk - I don't know if there is a danger of the thing exploding or anything else.

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!