PG Tips Pear & Caramel

I bought these a couple of months ago when they first appeared in the shops. Fruit and herb teas are becoming so popular that Britain's oldest and most conservative tea brand has got in on the act. I loved the pear and caramel flavour when I first had these, but over time I noticed the flavour fading. That seemed to happen quite quickly, and now, either I am now accustomed to the flavour or it has completed faded; I no longer taste pear and caramel, just mostly the base rosehip. I mean, it's OK, but just that, OK. I find rosehip to be an unexciting flavour especially as it tends to being a little tart. The delicate and inviting sweet warm flavour doesn't appear to be present any more. If the flavour fades so quickly that it goes within two months, then I won't be getting any more of these. I like them, but not enough to drink 25 in a couple of weeks.


Date: Nov 2017   Score: 4

Raw Bean Mellow Mexican Reserva Finca Aurora Single Origin

Saw this and had to get it - Mexican coffee is rare to find in a supermarket (I think it was Sainsburys), and a new supplier is always interesting to check out - and Raw Bean turns out to be fairly local to me, as it's in Winchester, just a short drive up the road from my home town of Southampton.  One of their Mexican roasts is listed as among the best single estate coffees in a report by The Independent.

Mexican coffee doesn't as a whole have a great reputation, but some locations are known to produce drinkable coffee, and some farms within those locations can add a little character, so independent coffee roasters on the look out for something a little different to offer, may have a Mexican or two on their list, such as Coffee Compass who also sell beans from Finca Aurora (which means something like Eagle Farm).

The finer details

The coffee is not complex, so is easy to make and quite forgiving. It is an easy going, mellow, everyday coffee. The roasters advise adding milk, and I can see why, as it is a soft, sweet, creamy coffee, but I don't find the milk is necessary, as the coffee stands well by itself, with no bitterness, just a lingering rustic roast. There's some pleasing caramel, though little fruit - just a hint of tangerine and raspberry.  This is not an exciting wow coffee, nor something deep and serious to study, this is a good, tasty, drinking coffee, that you can offer to friends as something a little bit different as it comes from Mexico. 


Score: 6

Modern Standard Ethiopia / Konga Cooperative

Picked these up in Sainsbury's for £4.50 for 227g, so a little pricey, but I liked the packaging, I am curious to try a new supplier in a supermarket, and I love Ethiopian coffee.

There's no information on the pack regarding the roast, but it looks like some form of medium roast. After a bit of trial and error I found that three and a half spoons of beans ground fine and left to brew for four and a half minutes gave a very satisfactory brew. Good coffee character with a fine balance between roast and acidity. I found the acidity to be subtle and fragrant with citric flower flavours, and the roast to be intriguing rather than aggressive, with hints of chocolate, roast, and coffee. This is pretty much how coffee should be. Intriguing and satisfying.

The Konga Cooperative is in the highly respected Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia

I will be getting more of this.

Modern Standard were formed in 2015, and have a regular outlet in Sainsbury's. The company is run by Lynsey Harley who was interviewed on a London coffee blog in February 2016.


Score: 8

Ethiopian coffee