Asda Extra Special Indian Elephant Farm

Interesting and attractive name, which the coffee doesn't live up to. Roasted slightly dark in order to attain some flavour out of it. This doesn't taste "Extra Special", it tastes ordinary. That doesn't mean it tastes bad, but I wonder why Asda selected this for their Extra Special range.

While it is a darker roast than I usually like, so the flavour is largely derived from the roasting rather than the character of the bean, it still does have enough acidity to cut through and balance the darker, deeper notes. It’s clearly not a classic coffee, but it’s decent enough. There’s milky chocolate, crushed walnuts, and a hint of blackcurrant and date. A reasonable coffee with pleasant lingering notes. It makes a decent if unexciting brew.

Not special, but quite drinkable.

The coffee is from Karnataka in India. On the whole coffee from India does not have a big reputation. It is low in acidity and character. The best coffee beans come from Karnataka, and at their best can rival beans from around the Pacific rim, but are mostly simply regarded as pleasant everyday coffees - which is what this is.


Score: 4

Asda tea and coffee

Asda Extra Special Organic Nicaraguan Coffee

Nicaraguan coffee was once seen as among the best in the world, but after internal and external problems in the 1980s, coffee production and quality suffered. There was too much use of pesticide, and the soil suffered. But the country's farmers have pulled themselves together, and have been creating organic coffee farms high in the cloud forests of the north, where conditions are best for growing quality arabica. Today Nicaraguan coffee is re-establishing its reputation, and often features in the top three in the world during international tastings. While there is no defined Nicaraguan coffee style, the flavours varying somewhat depending on the region, there is a tendency for mild, balanced coffees, rather than highly acidic ones. This suits me - for I do like a balanced, drinkable coffee, and I'm personally not in favour of highly acidic coffees - same as I'm not in favour of highly roasted coffees. Always give me balance.

This is a highly drinkable and relaxing coffee. Chocolate and hazelnut flavours blend to create a very pleasant everyday coffee. There is little here that stands out, and there is a lack of character, so this is not a coffee to drink and consider, but it's a damn good drink.

Score: 6


See:   Percol Nicaragua coffee

Asda tea and coffee

Asda Extra Special Ethiopian Mocha Limu

I like a smooth, pleasant mouthful of flavoursome coffee which also has subtle notes for me to pick up as I drink. This has that. Great drinkability - it hits the mouth straight away with melting chocolate, with enough roast notes to balance the smooth sweetness. And then the notes of honey, almonds, rose-hips, violets, lemon cupcakes, come through. Each sip providing new notes to explore. Wonderful!

Tasting notes
* A little watery though with pleasant buttery notes, gentle, lingering and developing coffee flavours. Quite subtle and attractive. An easy drinkable and pleasant coffee. Not assertive, not over-balanced, just pleasant and gently flavoursome
* Initially weak, watery, and fruity, with a mildly acidic character, this gradually emerged as a buttery and reasonably pleasant drink. Lacked character, but was inoffensive and pleasantly drinkable. Became a contender as the butter notes emerged.
*Rounded and smooth with gentle chocolate notes and a creamy mouthfeel. very pleasant.
*Some soft apricot fruit balanced with dots of milk chocolate.

The coffee beans come from the Limu region of Ethiopia, one of the areas identified as producing beans of quality. The Mocha name was originally applied to beans shipped through the Yemen port of Mocha, which often included beans from Ethiopia; it can now also apply to certain beans. The coffee costs £2.50 for 227g (£1.10 per 100g).

This is currently my favourite Ethiopian coffee.

Score: 8/10

Other reviews
*The Guardian  (7/10)

Asda tea and coffee

Ethiopian coffee

Twinings Fresh & Fruity Cranberry, Raspberry, & Elderflower

Delicate and refreshing fruit tea by Twinings. The flavours meld together delightfully, and the colour is a sparkling cranberry red. The elderflower makes itself noticed in the aroma. On drinking there is a pleasant sweetness, informed by fruit flavours and a light acidity. This is a very fine blend of ingredients, which curiously doesn't involve cranberries. The main ingredient is hibiscus, which makes a popular herbal tea in the Middle East and West Indies - that would provide both the colour and the tartness and cranberry flavour; the next ingredient is dried apple, which would provide the balancing sweetness; then rose hips, which also make a pleasant tea by themselves. There is a pleasant base note of licorice, which lingers after the higher fruit notes have evaporated, and this is provided by a small amount of licorice root.

Twinings Fresh & Fruity
Cranberry, Raspberry & Elderflower
Friday, 15 November 2013

Twinings

Taylors Guatemala Cloud Forests

A full bodied and well flavoured coffee. Good balance between deep roasted coffee notes and flowery, lemony citric notes, with pleasant caramel and honey notes in between. There's not much of a range of flavours beyond that, and there's nothing especially interesting or distinctive going on; this is simple, everyday coffee - and that's what is needed most days. Easy drinking, nice flavours, very pleasant all round.

I like that Taylors are doing FairTrade. I've always enjoyed Taylors for their drinkability - decent, flavoursome coffees - nothing high brow, but good quality everyday drinking. I've not looked at their packs for some years because I had them down as being a non-FairTrade company. So when I saw this, I snapped it up - a regional FairTrade coffee, at a decent price, from a company I know will make a drinkable blend.

Cloud forests are good locations for coffee production - the altitude and moisture produces decent levels of acidity. Traditionally coffee is grown within the forests which provide shade for the coffee plants, though some large coffee companies clear away the forests in order to maximise production and profit.

Rating: 5

Taylors of Harrogate

Guatemala coffee

Sainsburys Taste the Difference Sumatra Mandheling Fairtrade Coffee

Indonesia is the fourth largest producer of coffee in the world, with a reputation for low acidity and strong flavour which inclines them to blending or use in high roasts such as espresso where coffee character and individuality is not as important as strength. However, some parts of  Indonesia are known for producing beans of character, and Sumatra, particularly the north region where Mandheling branded coffees come from, produces beans which have both depth of flavour and enough acidity to produce character and intriguing lime notes. The  Mandheling name comes from the Mandailing people who live in the area and grow the coffee.

This Sainsburys Mandheling coffee is rich, smooth and easy drinking with just enough acidity to lift it above the ordinary and to justify its single origin unblended status. The aroma is inviting - gentle yet compelling, with notes of violets and fresh cut grass to balance the deep coffee tones. This is coffee which can be drunk at any time, and can be offered to anyone. It is not challenging, yet is very satisfying, creamy and flavoursome with no harshness or bitterness. It has enough of interest to intrigue those who enjoy good coffee and have the palate to detect it, while keeping everyone else happy with a decent and unobtrusive cup of coffee. It's not a profound coffee, and will not excite the senses nor provoke discussion, but is good enough in all departments.


Score: 8/10

Indonesian coffee

Sainsbury's own label
tea and coffee

Good African Rwenzori Mountain coffee

I like this. Full bodied and rich. Good flavour with a gentle and interesting flowery citric nip. This is a versatile everyday coffee with enough character to be enjoyable, but not so much as to be distracting. I prefer this to the company's Rukoki Gold.


Score: 6

Good Africa
Rukoki Gold