Climpson and Sons

This says "Light Espresso" on the packet - and they mean it. It also says it's fruity in flavour - but this judge didn't get any of it. Not fresh fruit served in the Guatemala rain forest anyway - maybe a waft of tinned fruit cocktail served in a Little Chef. It's all just a bit too weedy for my liking - though it does have flavour and I can appreciate there's quality here - just not enough of it. Maybe if we spoon it up, big time, it'll get the church bells ringing, but at the standard dosage this is one for your mum. And I mean your mum, not mine, who is as hard as nails. (6/10)

The Baron is a real mash up - 4 different types of coffee blended together. Is that for flavour or just a way of using up all the leftovers in the bottom of the bag? Hank had the first couple of goes at this one and it lived up to its name: Baron as fuck. Very weedy with no real punch. So we sent him back to the kitchen for the next one - and it came out the same. Maybe Hank has been spending too long nursing frappacinos down at the BHS cafe - 'cos it seems like he's losing his touch. Judge Nooge had to take over production and really kick some arse with the grinder. Get it ground finer, spoon it up and steep it longer. After that little regime the Baron started firing on all cylinders and shooting down the frappacino lightweights - WOOF WOOF!. There's no complex flavours in this one - it just does the business, when made right. It can go as strong as you like too, there's was no hint of overdone about this one. 8/10 - loses one for the tweaking needed. Not for amateurs.

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.

We love the packaging on these Climpson coffees - they look like they've been bagged out there on the farm. Nothing fancy - just a brown paper bag and label with some better than usual blurb - plus the date is was actually roasted - the 6th Jan in this case. "Plunger lovers in mind" eh? Let's get plunging! Well, it does taste different - somehow it just tastes fresh. Is that because it actually is, or because we read the date on it and it just makes us feel that we're getting something hot from the oven? The taste is super-fragrant - and quite mild. Even after cranking this up an extra spoon, it still didn't get any stronger - it's one to be enjoyed with less milk and less sugar than you might normally have. One to savor rather than kick you up the arse first thing in the morning. 8/10 - only marked down for it's mildness.