November 2013

Brown Bear Christmas Coffee Beans

Brown Bear Christmas Coffee BeansWhenever we see the word "Christmas" on a coffee it normally means steer well clear. The word normally implies the most horrible concoction of herbs and spices has been cut into the coffee in the name of Christmas cheer.

Cloves, nutmeg, chicory... we've had - and been repulsed - by it all. Thank God the folks at Brown Bear have decided to steer clear of all this Yuletide Mumbo Jumbo - and instead concentrate on the packaging. This comes in a lovely "Illy" style tin - pressure sealed so that when we opened it the smell of those dark beans just exploded in our faces. And dark they are! As the blurb on the tin says, this is not a coffee for the boring. The beans genuinely do glisten and look good enough to eat. And yes, they are smokey - this one has been well and truly roasted on an open fire. It's strong and punchy, and a doddle to make. We never over or under did it - it always seemed to come out right. This really would go down well with a rich slice of fruit cake. Hang on - is this cynical Judge coming over all festive?! Not quite - but good try Brown Bear. This would make a good present for a coffee drinker - but be warned. They will grimace when they see it - you will just have to explain to them quickly - there's no cloves or nutmeg - it's fine! Its a 9/10.

7.6
Average: 7.6 (5 votes)
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Roundsquare Roastery House Blend Coffee Beans

Roundsquare Roastery House Blend Coffee Beans

This is the only offering from Roundsquare Roastery - and to be honest just calling it House Blend doesn't really get you fired up for anything spectacular. And so it proved.

It's fine - but that's all we can say. If anything, this has been a tad over roasted - the first cup we made was ashy and harsh. But for the second cup we toned it down a bit and it came out pretty fine. But there's just no depth of flavour in there. We couldn't find any chocolate or caramel in there - there was just nothing to stand it apart from the run of the mill stuff. These guys are really suppliers to the trade - and if I'd had this coffee in a shop I'd sure I'd be more than happy - I suspect this really comes into its own when pushed through a proper espresso machine - but in our lowly French Press it was just left lacking and so only gets a 6/10

 

 

 
8.28571
Average: 8.3 (7 votes)
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