beverage upon beverage upon beverage

Friday, 8 July 2016

Naber Kaffee Mocca

A proper pukka Vienna coffee: roasted by a Viennese coffee company (Naber Kaffee) to a traditional Viennese roast, and purchased in Vienna. Vienna was one of the early places in Europe where coffee was drunk. Venice, England, and Paris had already established coffeehouses, but it appears few other places outside of North Africa and the Middle East had been introduced to coffee. Following the decisive Battle of Vienna in 1683, the defeated Turks left behind their stores of coffee beans which, according to tradition, were given to Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki who set up a coffeehouse in Vienna. In 1980 a historian questioned the tradition, and put forward evidence that the first Viennese coffeehouse (The Blue Bottle Coffee House) was founded in 1703 by an Armenian, Isaac de Luca, and that many of the stories attributed to Kulczycki were invented by Gottfried Uhlich in 1783. I like the Battle of Vienna story, and so did the Viennese who put up numerous statues to Kulczycki, and held an annual festival in his honour. Seems this has now stopped.

Anyway, the coffee? Well, it's drinkable, but unremarkable. It's more roast than coffee, with no acidity and no character. Any cheap dark roast would taste similar. The "Mocca" name is probably a reference to Mocha, in Yemen, where coffee was first marketed, and was the gateway to coffee for hundreds of years. The company website says: "This mixture is very firm and aromatic, for coffee connoisseurs who love the strong espresso." Essentially it is a blend of cheap coffee beans so dark roasted it doesn't matter what their origin.

Score: 3

Coffee roasts

Thursday, 23 June 2016

Monoprix Cafe Moulu Honduras

Brought back from France by Chrissie. Monoprix is the French equivalent of Marks & Sparks. This is a lovely coffee. Lots of flavour, but not aggressive or assertive or too bitter. There's a decent level of character here with subtle notes of violets and almonds. Easy to make and very forgiving, this is a great everyday coffee that can also be served to guests as something a little different, and very tasty.

Honduras coffee has improved in quality and reputation in recent years, and is now regarded as among the world's best. The country uses Bourbon, Catuari, Caturra, Typica and Pacas varieties of Arabica.

Score: 7+

Thursday, 16 June 2016

Asda Extra Special Colombian Coffee

Tried this again. Still not my thing. There's an assertive bitterness that I don't geyt on with, and no compensating interesting or delightful flavours. This comes over, for me, as harsh and blunt, with little finesse.

Date: March 2017 Score; 2

Medium roast 3. Fairtrade. £2.49 for 227g from Asda. I haven't got on with this. Too thin and acidic for my taste. I am drinking it with milk to balance out the acidity.

Date: June 2016 Score: 2

***

Asda tea and coffee

Colombian coffee

Monday, 16 May 2016

Co-operative Fairtrade Espresso Roast & Ground Coffee

Espresso is not a coffee blend or roast, but a brewing method. However, because the espresso method is a little crude, so doesn't allow subtle character to come through, the roast tends to be dark so what people taste is the roast notes, then a number of darker roasts get called Espresso. This is a Co-op branded dark roast. The beans are non specific, and come from various countries. There is no character here at all, just the flavour of dark roast. If that is what you want, then it works fine.

Score: 3

Coffee roasts

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Percol Bold Nicaragua

Pleasant rounded coffee. Easy drinking with some finishing bitterness edged with chocolate. Not a memorable coffee, but acceptable for everyday drinking. Easy to make.

Date: April 2016 Score: 5

This is a bold coffee. It's so bold as to be almost blunt. There is some balancing acidity, but it fairly plain, there's no fruit or citrus or joy in it, it's just a bit of sharpness, a bit of acid, in the coffee. And the coffee flavour is also blunt. Not crude, but certainly lacking in finesse. It doesn't hover, it just pushes forward with a big mouthful of coffee flavour that hints at chocolate, but doesn't quite deliver. In its favour it isn't bitter or over assertive. It is a drinkable cup, and it has body and flavour. It's just that there are no delights here. There's nothing to savour. There's no twists. It['s a straight ahead coffee. Bold or simple or both. It is what it is.

I just noticed that I had this coffee in April this year, under a slightly different name, and a different wrapper.

Date: Oct 2016 Score: 4

See:

* Wikipedia on Nicaragua coffee
* History of Nicaragua coffee
* Coffee Review Nicaragua
* Asda Nicaraguan Coffee