My Date with Joe

 

Whenever me and Mumsie are out and about (or just Mumsie if I get left home #bearabuse) we are always on the look-out for new, never-been-tried coffee. Usually it is the packaging that catches my eye. I don’t read labels, so I notice bright colors or shiny cans. Mumsie, on the other paw, does read labels (a good thing, really) so she is usually on the look out for interesting names, flavors and different countries of origin, stuff like that.

Recently, on a solo outing, Mumsie spotted a bag of coffee in a plain, brown bag with the word JOE on it in big red letters. I hate to admit, I would have passed it by…. but not Mumsie. Perhaps it was the big red (her favorite color) letters or the name (her favorite boy name) Joe, either way, it came home with her! She was excited to show me and even more excited to try it. I was willing to forgive her for leaving me home IF this was indeed a “good cuppa JOE”.

The coffee was touted as “Tall, dark and Handsome, A dark roasted, ground coffee”.

Sounded promising. With the usual preparation… cool water, clean filter… I readied my drip coffee maker. Once open, the aroma of this coffee was, well…. a bit off putting. It didn’t have that fresh-just-opened-yummy-coffee smell I wait for and always enjoy. It had a rather strong almost musky smell…. I was worried.

Giving Mum a nervous look and an “If this is bad, you can never leave me home and pick out coffee on your own again” glare, we brewed up a pot. The aroma as it brewed was…. okay. The coffee was beary dark in color. I added my usual spoon of sugar (yes real sugar…. no artificial sweeteners for this bear) and a bit of cream, I took a sip. Not too bad, not great, it was just…..okay.

I am, as you should know by now dear reader, a beary honest bear. So I will tell you quite honestly, meh.

This coffee gets 3 out of 5 paws. Sorry Joe.

 

Teapig’s Organic Matcha

The following review is by my good furend Jeremy Bear. I know you will enjoy his raw, honest review and his sharp, clever humor as he tells us about his experience with….

“Teapigs Organic Matcha

Never one to ignore a trendy new fad, I have decided to try organic Matcha, which is finely ground green tea leaves. I purchased a 30g tin from the UK online tea retailer Teapigs, which they import from Japan. It was quite expensive at £25, but included a free sample of Darjeeling Earl Grey (which was delicious), Liquorice & Peppermint (revolting), and Manuka honey (they clearly knew they were shipping to a bear).

Apparently Matcha contains 137 times the antioxidants of standard green tea, although i’m not sure why we’re so anti oxygen- surely we need it to breathe? *Grabs Jennifer Aniston wig* here comes the science bit, concentrate…..

Matcha tea leaves are grown under cover and the shade causes the chlorophyll levels to increase. The leaves are dried and ground into a fine powder and sealed, locking in the nutrients. Once opened, the tin must be refrigerated and consumed within 30 days.

Well that’s all well and good, but how does it taste? In time honoured tradition, I shall provide a short and long version of my findings.

Short version: vomit.

Long version:

1. First I put half a tea spoon full in my evening hot milk. The powder isn’t very soluble, so you need a good whisk to get it fully dissolved. Daddy said the flavour was reminiscent of a green tea latte he once had in Singapore. I say it tasted like vomit.
2. Next we put half a tea spoon full in hot water. We both agreed on this one. Vomit.
3. Then we tried a quarter of a tea spoon full in a coconut and pineapple smoothie. The strong exotic flavour of our smoothie drowned out the Matcha. Diluted vomit.
4. Finally we put a tiny sprinkle in our caffeine free Diet Coke. Never again.

On a final note, one of the health benefits of Matcha is supposedly its calming effect. Certainly, when I’ve had normal Green Tea, I have indeed felt zen like calm for a couple of hours afterwards. However, I suspect the caffeine content of Matcha is quite high as all I felt after drinking it was minor palpitations and a touch of anxiety. Maybe that was a result of checking my bank balance after spending £25 on a small tin of powdered green puke? Only Jennifer Aniston can answer this.”

Fank you Jeremy for that fun, funny and informative review!  

Read more by Jeremy on his blog Jezzer Checks Chocs. 

Goldie’s cup of gold

 

Recently, I enjoyed a trip to the market to shop for coffee. This particular market is known for having coffee as well as many other food items from all over the world. It’s one of my favorite places! I stared at the wall of coffee, mesmerized! Mum poked me back to reality and told me to chose one. ONE!? So, after much paw-rolling and several “eeny-meeny-miney-mo’s later, I decided on my new coffee.

A bright gold can caught my eye. The label read:  “LavAzza”  “Qualita Oro” which Mum told me meant “ Gold Quality” It was touted as Italy’s favorite coffee, 100% Arabica ground coffee. Ooh, this just had to be good! Once home, I got my drip coffee pot ready… cool water, clean filter… then Mum opened my new can of coffee. I looked in the can, and to my surprise the coffee was ground to a fine powder! I was expecting a courser ground. After-all, the label did not say “espresso”. Well, since the drip machine was ready, I decided to brew it up. The aroma was marvelous! The coffee was a dark, rich color and the taste was good with just an ever-so-slight bitter note.  With the addition of a little cream and sugar it was delish… I drank every drop!

Next, I wanted to try this coffee in my espresso machine. The espresso was rich, a bit stronger and equally delicious! A coffee that can be brewed both drip and espresso! For me, this was a first. As a coffee purist, I never mix my grinds!! So, let this be a lesson to all you bears out there, there’s a first time for everything and never say never!

This coffee gets 4 out of 5 paws for flavor! And a special mention for versatility!

 

To grind or not to grind

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. My Mumsie and I decided to spend part of the day shopping, for coffee of course! We went to a large local market that sells coffee from other countries (reviews on what I got to come soon). As I stood there, marveling at all the choices, I realized I had several decisions on my paws. Not only about which coffee to try, but whether or not to get my coffee ground or whole bean.

Most of the time, Mum buys ground coffee. Commercially ground coffee is ground up and quickly vacuum sealed to preserve it’s freshness. It’s convenient and usually produces a good cuppa joe. But whole bean coffee is a good alternative if you don’t mind the extra time involved and it produces a wonderful cuppa joe!

Grinding beans fresh releases all of the coffee’s essential oils, flavor and aroma ~ at that moment ~ and all that goodness ends up in your cup! Of course, if you choose whole bean, you will need to have a grinder at home. Small grinders are sold wherever coffee is sold and are, in this bear’s opinion, a good investment. Make sure you small bears out there have adult supervision when you operate them!

A word to the coffee wise, if you choose whole bean, resist the urge to grind it all at once in the commercial grinders that are available in most stores. Yes, they are convenient and I will even admit, they are fun to use!  But sadly, remember all of that goodness I mentioned above? Well, it will be released right then and there and will not end up in your cup! (unless you bring a vacuum seal machine with you and I usually don’t carry one around with me!) tee hee.

If you’ve never tried whole bean, but always wanted to, I say go for it!  But if you choose to remain loyal to your “already ground” well, that’s OK too! This bear makes no judgment on that. :o)
So, the decision to grind or not to grind is all yours!

Cuppa Hugs,
Goldie

Just how does a bruin brew?

I’m often asked what method I use when I brew coffee. I have several different machines. I have the traditional drip or “Mr.Coffee” as they are sometimes called. I have a couple of percolators, a French Press and an espresso machine.  As I review different coffees, I will use different brewing methods and let you know what they are, and of course what I think of it! Below is a picture of my coffee machines, clockwise from top left they are, Drip, Percolator, Espresso and French Press.

I will also give you my humble opinion about the different machines, their strengths and weaknesses and the quality cup of coffee they produce.  In addition to the various machines used, I also use different “grinds”. I will explain more about that in the reviews.

Cuppa Hugs!

A bear and her coffee cup

Hi! My name is Goldie Bruin. Please, call me Goldie! I’m a bear on a mission. My mission: to taste and critique coffee… all coffees from everywhere! But first, a little about me…

A few years ago, I was just another bear waiting for someone to adopt me. Then one day, a lovely lady came in to the store where I was waiting. She looked around a bit, then walked over to where I was sitting. She picked me up, examined me every which way and then tucked me under her arm. Could it be? Yes! She was the one! As she walked around the shop, I realized she was picking out clothes for me! (Hence my love of fashion) I also noticed how she smelled of flowers, citrus and sunshine! The aroma was intoxicating!

After we arrived home, I was placed on a soft bed with pillows and several other stuffies. After a few, quick introductions, I fell asleep. I must have been tired because the next thing I knew, the sun was rising and my first full day in my new home had begun. I could hear chatter in the next room. As I lay there, I different and new aroma drifted past my nose. It was like nothing I had ever smelled before. Like the sweet aroma of my new Mumsie, it too was intoxicating! I had to find out what it was!!

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long. My new Mum came in and got me and sat me down next to her. It was then I realized the intoxicating aroma was coming from the mug she had in her hand.  “More coffee?” she said….. Coffee? This wonderful smelling drink is coffee? Where had it been all my life?  I was hooked.

And so a mission was born…. to find, brew and taste any and all coffees I can get my paws on! Here, on this blog, I will brew, taste and critique coffee. Just coffee. I will do my best to give the  most honest and sincere reviews possible. I will rate the coffee I sample on a scale of 1 through 5 paws. 1 being the poorest, 5 being amazing! Occasionally, you might even see one get the coveted “Golden Cup” award. That special award is saved only for the most amazing, delish coffees.

So, grab your own cuppa and enjoy!

Cuppa Hugs, Goldie