Percol

Percol was founded in 1987, and mainly sells coffee from Central and South America

Percol (the main brand of  the Food Brands Group), operates their own Good for Life charity that supports families in third world communities.

Guardian article

Facebook

CoffeeJudges

Percol Colombia

Score: 4/10

Percol Guatemala

Score: 4/10

Percol Plantation Wharf Laid Back

Score: 4/10

Percol Italiano

Score:  3

Percol Plantation Wharf Dark Ric

Score: 2

Colombian coffee

Colombian coffee is regarded by many as among the best, if not the best, in the world. Since 2011 the coffee growing area has been a World Heritage Site.The coffee is apparently comparable to Costa Rican or higher grade Brazilian..

"The highland Arabicas thrive under ideal climate conditions: clouds, guamo and banana trees protect the coffee plants from scorching heat and severe winds. The Colombian coffees are a generally soft but very aromatic. Their body is somewhat richer than Brazilian coffees, but equally soft and rounded in taste. The Supremo coffee with its big beans can be described as velvety and well balanced."

"Colombia is second only to Brazil in overall coffee production and first in quantity of Arabicas grown. The Juan Valdez ad campaign helped make Colombia the best known origin. “Supremo” is the highest grade, based on bean size. Colombian coffee has long been considered generally good, but unspectacular. Some really fine coffees, however, are produced in Colombia, mostly in the southwest part of the country."


 Coffee Review

ColombianCoffeeHub

CoffeeChemistry

FastCompany

Dallmayr.

InterAmerican

Reviews

Lidl Deluxe Colombian Risaralda 
Best quality Colombian coffee
Score: 7  Price: £2.49 for 227g

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference
Colombian (Finlays)
Score: 7  Price: £3.30 for 227g

Aldi Alcafe Colombian 
Best cheap Colombian coffee
Score: 5  Price: £1.69 for 200g

Lidl Bellarom Colombian 
Best value for money Colombian coffee
Score: 5  Price:  £3.59 for 454g

CafeDirect Colombia 
Score: 5   Price: £3.79 for 227g

Tesco Finest 
Colombian Supremo coffee beans 
Score: 5   Price £2.99 for 227g

Taylors Cacao Superior Colombian
Score: 5
Price £3.50 - £4.50

Tesco Colombian Coffee 
Score: 4 - 5  
Price: £2.00 for £227g

Taylors
Colombian High Andes 
Score: 5  
Price: Currently not available

Starbucks Colombia 
Score: 5   Price:  £3.50 for 200g

Percol Colombian 
Score: 4 - 5  
Price: £2.50 for 227g & 200g

Lidl Deluxe 
Colombian Supremo Coffee 
Score: 3  Price:  £2.39 for 227g

Asda Extra Special 
Colombian Coffee 
Score: 2  Price: £2.79 for 227g

***

Lidl Deluxe Colombian Supremo

£2.39 for 227g from Lidl. Roast 3. This is a a full flavoured and rather assertive coffee, especially for a grade 3 roast. I have been struggling with it a bit, and have tried both smaller measures and less brewing time to get the right strength for me. I think the right approach is to use the standard 3 spoons, quick stir, and then plunge, pushing down slowly, raising the plunger to allow the coffee to settle, and then finishing off. The mouthfeel is creamy dense, and there's chocolate and all sorts of darkness, but nothing much to contrast it - no acidity or fruit, except a hint of violets. This is pure darkness. It feels intense, as though packed with caffeine, and I am wary of it. The finish is too bitter for me. I'd like to like this coffee, but I am still struggling with it.

"Supremo" relates to the size of the bean - it is the largest of the beans grown in Colombia. Other regions have different names for their largest bean, such as Superior, AA, or Extra Fancy. From what I 've been reading, some feel that as long as beans are the same size when roasted, so they all roast at the same rate, then size doesn't have an impact on the flavour, while others feel that larger size generally results in better quality. Beans grown at higher altitude tend to grow more slowly, and are harder, larger, denser, with more acidity and flavour.
"Highland" refers to the altitude at which the beans are grown. Generally the higher the altitude the more valuable and better tasting the coffee.


Date:  Sept 2015   Score: 3/10

I didn't get on with this. Found it lacked distinctive flavour - just giving off generic strong, bitter coffee vibes. Tried using less, and brewing for shorter times, but still found it too strong and bitter. Ended up drinking it with milk. 

Date: Feb 2018  Score: 3

Colombian coffee

Lidl Tea & Coffee

Tesco Finest Chocolate Tea

Black tea with 5% cocoa and a little bit of vanilla. I've tried it a few times now, and while I don't actively dislike it, I haven't fully warmed to it yet. I prefer it with milk, as that softens it a little. I think the main problem for me is the vanilla. I like vanilla - I love it in yoghurt and ice cream; but I'm not so keen on it when used as a flavouring in herbal teas. The vanilla tends to dominate so that is more of what I encounter than the cocoa. The chocolate is more of a tannic bitterness and a faint caramel note than full chocolate flavour, but it does make itself noticed in the finish.

4/10

Tesco tea and coffee

Pukka Peppermint & Licorice tea

This has more licorice than the Lidl Peppermint & Liquorice, 40% compared with 35%, so is a little sweeter and a little heavier. I prefer the cleaner, fresher, zippier taste of the Lidl - it feels more balanced to me. But it's a minor point, and it's each to their own. Cost is around £2.40 for 20 bags (30 gms). The bags are individually wrapped in packets, but inside is a standard tea bag. The Lidl has the better quality pyramid bags.

The tea  has the earthy warmth and sweetness of the licorice, and the lively zest of the peppermint. They go well together. This is a nice tea, and I  like the box - it's attractively printed inside and out.  If I hadn't had the Lidl version first, I would be excited to find it, but I'm quite happy with my Lidl tea.

Pukka teas are from the Pukka Herbs company, founded in 2001 in Bristol.  They have an extensive range of attractive organic teas. They are FairTrade and trade ethically and responsibly. I like the company, I like the flavour combinations, and the packaging, I love the whole idea. But they tend to be a little pricey.

Date: Sept 2015   Score: 6

***

Mint tea

Pukka teas

Lidl Deluxe Peppermint & Liquorice tea

Intriguing balance of licorice and peppermint.  Refreshing and zippy with mint, and sweet ad earthy with the licorice. Nice one. 

Date: Oct 2020   Score: 8 

I love this. A perfect combination - the freshness and zest of the peppermint, with the dark, malty, earthy sweetness of the liquorice. Lots of companies are doing this combination right now, and I'll be interested to try the others, but from my experience of comparing peppermint teas, I suspect there won't be any significant difference, and I'll end up with the cheapest.


Date: Sept 2015  Score: 8

***

Mint tea

Lidl Tea & Coffee

Ikea Bryggkaffe Mellanrost (Filter coffee Medium Roast)

On a rare visit to Ikea (getting wooden railway parts for my 6 year old daughter) I see they do coffee and beer (which I also collect and review), so I grab some. It's reasonably priced at £1.90  for 0.25 kg, but that doesn't make it good value. It's a blend of coffee beans from around the world - mostly Brazil, but also Vietnam and Uganda, countries known more for the amount of coffee they export rather than the quality. This is not a quality coffee. It's not actually nasty, but it's not a coffee for folks that like coffee. Made normally it is bland and inoffensive, lacking in character and flavour. It's barely there. Made a little stronger, or left a little longer to brew and it becomes bitter and sludgy with little redeeming factors. There's no depth or range of flavours here to compensate. To be fair I'll play around with it for a while, but I suspect I'll end up blending this with other coffees.

One funky aspect of Ikea using Utz Certified coffee beans is that it's traceable (sort of). Put in the expiry date and you'll be presented with a long list of producers - I assume these are the producers used in the batch that was blended. Most of the coffee I like can be traced to one farm, so it's interesting to have a coffee that is traced to around 50 different farms around the world! 


Rating: 2

Coffee roasts