Safeway Select Colombian Supremo
New England Coffee Roasters EyeOpener Blend
Newman's Own Cafe Almond Biscotti
Green Mountain Colombian Fair Trade Select
Green Mountain Vermont Country Blend
Green Mountain Extra Bold Dark Magic
Green Mountain French Roast
Green Mountain Lake & Lodge
December 20, 2008 Green Mountain Hazelnut (Flavored) (K-cups) [GOOD] Has a nice, strong hazelnut flavor, perfect for drinking with a lot of cream and sugar if that's your thing. I can imagine this would make a great iced coffee drink.
December 19, 2008 Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice (Whole Bean) [EXCELLENT] Another amazing flavored coffee from Green Mountain. This is the seasonal Fall flavored coffee.
December 18, 2008 Green Mountain Rain Forest Nut (Flavored) (K-cups) [EXCELLENT] My favorite flavored coffee ever
December 18, 2008 Green Mountain Kenya AA Extra Bold (K-cups) [OKAY] Bold and exceedingly smooth. However, any awesomeness that the non-extra bold variety had has been roasted away in this edition
November 6, 2008 Van Houtte French Vanilla (Flavored) (K-cups) [GOOD] This flavored coffee has a pleasant sweet smoothness to it when you add cream and sugar.
October 27, 2008 Emeril's Big Easy Bold (K-cups) [GOOD] Without cream and sugar, this coffee has a deep charcoal taste and finishes with a burnt-paper aftertaste. Cream and sugar fixes the problem and brings out a rich, bold flavor.
August 25, 2008 Beanetics Costa Rica La Magnolia [EXCELLENT] "A deep sweet chocolate flavor that catches everyone by surprise. The smell of the ground coffee is heavenly, the taste of it brewed is even better. A medium roast, smooth, that compliments a little cream." I found this coffee to be extremely well-balanced. The chocolate flavors are very pronounced.
Cafe du Monde Coffee & Chicory
Trader Joe's Organic Breakfast Blend
Sam's Choice Breakfast Blend
July 23, 2008 Maxwell House Smooth Master Blend [GOOD]
July 20, 2008 Green Mountain Costa Rican Peaberry Select [EXCELLENT]
July 19, 2008 Central Coffee Ethiopian Longberry Harrar [EXCELLENT]
July 10, 2008 Green Mountain Summer Symphony Blend [GOOD]
July 9, 2008 World Market Kauai Peaberry [GOOD]
Keurig B30
Cuisinart 10-cup Grind-n-brew
aroma: smoky, sweet, cardboard
taste: charcoal, full bodied, soft, silky, dry chocolate
finish: charcoal, smooth
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India AA Elkhill Estate 10/10
date: 2007-05-18
roast: light
Coffee Review rating: 95 (10/10)
notes:
Kenya AA Kiambui 9/10
date: 2007-05-18
Coffee Review rating: 93 (10/10)
notes:
Rwanda Karaba Reserve 7/10
date: 2007-04-15
notes:
Caf-fiend 2/10
date: 2007-03-31
notes:
Honduras - Marcala - El Puente by Marysabel Caballero 8/10
date: 2007-03-20
notes:
India AA Elkhill Estate 10/10
date: 2007-05-18
roast: light
Coffee Review rating: 95 (10/10)
notes:
Colombia Tolima Reynel Perez Micro-Lot 10/10
date: 2007-02-06
roast: medium
Coffee Review rating: 96 (10/10)
notes:
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Kenyan AA 10/10
date: 2007-01-11
roast: Medium-Light
Coffee Review rating: 96 (10/10)
notes:
Kenya AA Kiambui 9/10
date: 2007-05-18
Coffee Review rating: 93 (10/10)
notes:
Peet's Coffee & Tea Major Dickason's Blend 9/10
date: 2007-01-28
roast: Dark
Coffee Review rating: 87 (8/10)
notes:
2008/03/29
Roasted by: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
From the package: “Deep and dark, with syrupy body, dried fruit notes, and a chocolate finish”
Starts off like smoky mohagany, finishes clean with hints of chocolate.
What Ken thinks: 89/100
Cost: $0.76/ounce
Steve’s Rating: 8/10
2008/03/28
Roasted by: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
From the package: "Floral aroma, hints of tropical fruit, and a milk chocolate body"
Has a mild smoky walnut aroma. Has a very watered-down walnut taste with a hint cedar, especially in the aftertaste.
Cost: $0.76/ounce
Steve's Rating: 7/10
2008/03/20
Origin: Blend
Whole Bean Cost: 42¢/ounce
Where to get it: Shoppers Food
From the Package: “The secret to our great taste is the Java Trading Co. Roasting System. This patented process roasts every bean on a bed of hot air unlocking the rich flavor without the burnt or bitter aftertastes of traditional drum-roasting methods”
Has a rich, earthy, roasted aroma. The taste is very full and acidic in the mouth, but goes down smooth with the aroma of the coffee lingering as a strong aftertaste.
Steve’s Rating: 8/10
2008/03/06
Origin: Blend of Central and South American coffees
Whole Bean Cost: $0.33/ounce
Where to get it: Grocery store or Amazon.com
From the Package: "A special blend of lightly roasted beans from Central and South America with a delightfully rich and smooth flavor"
A flat, sweet, nutty aroma with a slight mahogany overtone. Acidic in the mouth, but goes down smooth with a mellow mahogany aftertaste. Cream and sugar gets rid of the acidity, but also gets rid of pretty much all of the flavor, leaving only the mellow aftertaste.
Steve's Rating: 7/10
2008/01/06
Coffee Review by Kenneth Davids has become the most respected source for coffee ratings. When I buy coffee, I like to troll his “Highest Rated” lists for coffees that I can get for under $15. The reviews are very descriptive (if not downright geeky), but every once in awhile he tries a coffee that’s so nasty that the review is hilarious. Here are two recent reviews of great coffees:
Green Mountain Kenyan Highland Cooperatives
“The aroma is very deep and sweet-toned with lush references to banana, coconut, dusk flowers. In the cup the acidity is extraordinarily rich and round-toned, the mouthfeel supple, the nuance opulent with coconut, red wine, chocolate and floral notes. Rich, long, flavor-saturated finish.”
96 points
Paradise Roasters Ethiopian Biloya Special
“Intense, sweet-toned, chocolate and blueberry aroma with a slight pungent edge. In the cup sweetly acidy, with a full, syrupy mouthfeel and lavish red wine and blueberry notes. The finish is rich, berry-toned and extraordinarily clean for this style of coffee.”
97 points
…And then the bad. Two reviews of coffees that Ken thought were nasty:
Eight O’Clock Coffee Original Bean Coffee
“Fermented notes, barely detectable in the acidy notes of the aroma, dominate in the cup, particularly as the coffee cools, turning from mild distraction to barnyard nasty.”
60 points
Kirkland Signature Rwandan French Roast
“Decent but flawed ultra-dark-roast. Begins well: Roundly and gently charred in the aroma with hints of dark chocolate and butter. In the cup medium body and a simple but richly, buttery charred character with a continued slight suggestion of chocolate. A rather rich astringency in the short finish grows more insistent in the long. As the cup cools the hints of chocolate regrettably give way to hints of rubber.”
80 points
So what has Steve been drinking recently?
I just finished a cup of Green Mountain Kenyan Highland Cooperatives. I’m not sure if I actually tasted “lush references to banana, coconut, dusk flowers”. Maybe my sense of taste hasn’t gotten to that level of sophistication yet, but I agree that it’s one of the finest cups of coffee to be had.
Also in my cupboard are a can of Cafe du Monde Coffee & Chicory (purchased in person from the original Cafe du Monde in New Orleans) , and three bags of Green Mountain flavored coffees — Spicy Eggnog, Rain Forest Nut, and Southern Pecan. Of the flavored coffees, Rain Forest Nut is by far the best (but the others are also good). The Coffee & Chicory is some strong stuff that’ll burn a hole in your stomach if not taken with extra sugar, milk, and beignets.
2007/10/01
PT’s Huila El Palacio Colombia
I could taste the caramel flavors with cedar and cocoa hints just as Ken Davids described
Steve’s Rating: 9/10
2007/10/01
PT’s Costa Rica La Minita Estate
A well-rounded lighter tasting coffee. Good for that morning cup.
Steve’s Rating: 9/10
2007/10/01
Green Mountain Guatemala Finca Dos Marias
One of my favorites. Very bold and rich.
Steve’s Rating: 10/10
2007/10/01
Green Mountain Organic Sumatran Reserve
It’s got a certain herbal aroma to it that’s hard to describe
Steve’s Rating: 9/10
2007/10/01
Allegro Rwanda Karaba Fair Trade
This one is about as flavorful a coffee as you can get.
Steve’s Rating: 10/10
2007/10/01
Extremely dry and bold. Lovers of strong tasting coffee will enjoy this.
Steve’s Rating: 9/10
Interesting note: I was running out of the Green Mountain Guatemalan Finca Dos Marias, so I blended it with some Allegro Kenya Grand Cru, and the results were amazing. I got a smooth rich chocolaty cup of coffee, very much like hot cocoa. I would say it was my most successful attempt at blending to date (all my other attempts produced either something tasting odd, or something that was not quite as good as the unblended coffees).
2007/07/09
New Harvest Rwanda Bourbon Ingoboka Cooperative
Ken Davids seems to taste chocolate, butter, cherries, and flowers (huh?) in this one. I only taste caramel. I guess that’s why he’s the pro :) Whatever you taste in it, it’s a great coffee nonetheless.
Steve’s Rating: 8/10
2007/07/09
New Harvest Timor Maubesse Light Roast
No matter how many beans I use, this one comes out extremely light like black tea. I guess that’s just the way it is. Makes for a nice light breakfast coffee.
Steve’s Rating: 7/10
2007/07/09
I got this one as a free sample that came with the other two coffees. Smells like peanut butter and tastes like warm peanut butter chocolate cookies, just as it says on the bag. I liked this better than the two that I picked out (though they are all great coffees). I suppose that’s why they threw it in as a sampler.
Steve’s Rating: 9/10
2007/06/25
This was the cheapest coffee I could find at the Giant grocery store. At about $0.20/ounce, this is one of those coffees that shows price does not necessarily correspond to taste. Although noticeably not one of the higher quality coffees, Yuban Original makes a good cup for a few pennies in cost.
Steve’s Rating: 6/10
2007/06/25
I think I found my favorite coffee of all time! Ever since I bought this coffee, I’ve been looking forward to mornings when I brew it. There are few coffees that I can tolerate drinking black, and this is one of them.
Steve’s Rating: 10/10
2007/06/25
Green Mountain Summer Celebration Blend
A blend of three continents, this is an all-around good coffee. Lots of well-balanced flavor without too much acidity. Perfect cup of coffee to drink with breakfast on a summer weekend.
Steve’s Rating: 8/10
2007/06/25
Willoughby’s India AA Elkhill Estate
A very light, clean-tasting coffee. It’s forest-grown in India, supposedly with wild elephants and wildlife running about among the coffee plants, which I think is really cool 
Steve’s Rating: 10/10
2007/06/25
Willoughby’s Kenya AA Kiambui
Especially nice, complex, small lot, single plantation coffee. Not much to say about this one, except that it was very good, but overshadowed by the other coffees I was brewing at the time (listed above).
Steve’s Rating: 8/10
2007/05/26
Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea is the latest coffee roaster that I’ve purchased coffee from. They sell a lot of award-winning coffees as well as tea. I bought two pounds of coffee: the India AA Elkhill Estate and the Kenya AA Kiambui. The India AA recently scored 95 points on Coffee Review, while Willoughby’s had produced a 93-point Kenya AA in the past.2007/04/21
Murky Coffee is considered one of the best coffee houses in the Washington, D.C. area. They have two locations - one next to Eastern Market, and another in Arlington. I stopped by both locations. Both locations have a very old small-town coffee shop feel.
What makes Murky Coffee special is their serious approach to coffee. Unlike what you get at a Starbucks or a Caribou, at Murky you get top quality house-roasted coffee prepared for you by champion baristas. The service might not be that great at times, and the shops might feel a bit run down, but the coffee is noticeably better than what you get at a chain coffee shop. Check out my mocha latte on the right!
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