Kenya

Percol have gone through a bit of a rebranding exercise recently which, let's face it, was long overdue. All those cheap and nasty looking packets have now been replaced by more sophisticated looking designs and now feel generally less like crisp packets. The coffees, they say, are un-changed. But this one we didn't have in the old range - so it's up for the Judges to have a go. It's a super coarse ground coffee - and very fibrous - there's a lot of chaff in there. Made in the plunger it looks amazing - it foams up with a lovely thick caramel looking head which would be more at home on a pint of real ale. And yes, like any East African brew, it's got a nice lemon twang to it. We loved it - but it didn't take too kindly to be spooned up to the kind of strength the Judges like - it got a bit metallic. Still - that's our problem, the normal user can't go wrong with this one. 8/10

Kenyan coffee is normally the bee's knees - so we snapped this one off the shelf on a recent trip to Morrisons - which itself seems to have gentrified since the last time this judge was in their aisles way back in the nineties in the dusty back streets of Bradford. Instead of being all pies and Yorkshire Puds it's now all artisan bread, wet misted veg and - well - Kenyan coffee. Bring it on.two packs for a fiver is the deal of the year too. Taste-wise the wasn't quite as good their Ethiopian offering - it just had a slightly metallic twang to it. Probably because we over cooked it - but then we'll never know as we won't be making a weaker version any time soon. Still - it's a great coffee - looks good with a nice head on it. It makes a great paring with the Ethiopian - buy them both. 7/10

We all know Waitrose for supplying some poncy stuff - but mainly the same old stuff as Tesco but to posh people, and charging double the price. That's why they always have such large windows - so they can see the Toffs coming from a mile off. Having said that, if there was one near me I'd be in there like a rat up a drainpipe stocking up on un-leavened bread and exotic chillies. So we came by this one sent through the post by Judge Hank himself, who has upgraded his life and now buys his everything in Waitrose. Enough of the carping - he warned us this was good. But we weren't prepared for quite how good. It's up there with the best - a no questions 10/10. Why? First - you can't cock it up - being a strength 3 even if you try and OD on it, you will fail. Secondly that citrus sweetness they mention on the packet really is there, in spades. When we ground this the whole office woke up and they all wanted some of it - it smells glorious. We could slurp the whole packet down in a day if we had to. Although that wouldn't be that many cups - as the beans are massive and I don't think we'll get more than three rounds out of this bag. But it's only £3.29 a bag. So stop reading this, go find your local Toff shop and buy it now. Well done Waitrose. 10/10

One of the Judges picked this up on a recent trip to Le Mans from the Arnage Supermarche. We've learnt our lesson on buying French coffees - they have hundreds to choose from , but always choose from the right hand side of the display - i.e. the more expensive, because they have more than their fair share of cheapies which are frankly un drinkable. We had no idea what this one was, but saw the word Kenya on it and snapped it up. And it's a good 'un - you can make it as strong or as weak as you like and yet the lemony Kenyan twang pokes through at you. So forget those Cafe Maison trad French coffees and go for this one  - you won't regret it. A whopping 9/10

The initial smell of this coffee bodes well - the lemony twang you expect from a Kenyan - and I don't mean a marathon runner. But this is a strength TWO - which as we all know, means weak as hell. There is no such thing as a strength one - the scale starts at two - so this is as weak as it gets. And it's true - this one has all the right hints of quality that you'd look for - but just not enough of them. It's like having a quickie behind the bike sheds - alright but just not satisfying, leaving you wanting more. Your mum would like this one for sure - and I don't mean the quickie. Or maybe she would - who knows - I've not seen her in a while. We're on a trial separation.  6/10

Despite all the bold claims on the back of the packet that this is "Bursting with delicious citrus notes" it's not quite true. OK it does have a lemony twang to it - but somehow it just tastes a bit cheap - like stirring a spoon of Lift into an averagely drinkable coffee. It's still nice enough, and the coffee taste hangs around in your mouth after you've glugged it. But in the end, the citrus twist just isn't enough to elevate this thing. Maybe it's because it's a strength 3 which us judges cannot cope with. If this had a bit more grunt, it'd be there. So, if you want a kiddie-level introduction to Kenyan Coffee, this one will probably do you well - it's rated a 12A, or a (6/10)

It's 10 past nine and there's still nothing on the table... "I'm going to brew up" I say.. "NO - i'll do it" shouts Hank, grabs the Climpson's bag and off he trots. He's got an obsession with these little brown paper bags, of which we've got four. In his head he's already loving it - this just goes to show how important the packaging can be to a coffee drinker. He makes it strong and finely ground - yet the result is not heavy. It's a mild, sweet brew - almost needing no sugar or milk. Is this a feature of these Climpson coffees? This one feels just tasty, without that feeling that it's doing damage to you, from which you'll never recover. It's too mild for me - maybe I need to try this in the new Gaggia machine gracing the kitchen at home. Until then, 7/10.

This looked great straight away - a nice gentle foam on the top. The only thing that detracted was it seemed to have an oily surface - almost like a mini oil slick swirling around in there. Once you get over that though, the taste is right up there. Us judges now know about the whole Kenya/Altitude/Citrus thing (thanks, Mike Riley of Taylors) so when we read about it on the side of the pack, we were ready to believe it. What was the first thing Judge Coughee said when he glugged it?  It tastes of fruit! Hank's still not quite having it though. I'm on it though - a definite lemony twang. It hits you the second it's in your mouth, but it doesn't linger on. When it's gone, it's gone. It's like a fruity bullet just grazing your tongue as it speeds past. A great coffee - would be a 9, but at the usual Starbucks extortionate price of £3.95, it can only score an 8/10 from me.