I recently received one of those packages you open with glee: a box full of coffee samples. Folgers is promoting a new line of Gourmet Selections. To be perfectly honest, Folgers is not the place I would have started to look for gourmet coffees. I've always thought of them as the staple of average coffee, the stuff gramma served, the stuff you get at a Denny's or whatever. But these are quite good. I've only had time to try a few, but I thought I'd make a start on my thoughts. (You can request some free samples from their website if you wanna taste along here.)
Lively Columbian - I'd give this one a 7 (out of 10). Whole beans get an 8 for greater freshness. The body is good, nice and full, and it's got a rich earthy flavor. This is the one I'm drinking most. In fact, it's what's in my cup right now.
Morning Café - I would compare this to a Starbucks House Blend, light roast, medium flavor, neither intrusive or impressive. About a 5 on my scale. I asked the hubs to try it, since he really likes the Starbucks House, and he made the mistake of making espresso with it. Heh. Silly hubs. It's really not an espresso kind of coffee, but I'll make him a regular pot of this later and see what he thinks of that.
Vanilla Biscotti - There was something in the smell of this that I didn't like. But taste doesn't always follow smell, and the taste of this was great. The only thing was, it's not good for a whole pot at full strength. At least not for me. The full-on flavor was heavenly in the first cup. After that it was too much. So I made a second pot using a combination of the Morning Café and Vanilla Biscotti. That did the trick! I don't think it would blend well with a dark roast, but the light roast was a good taste combo.
Chocolate Truffle - Smell and flavor both heavenly. I walked around with my nose in the bag while the coffee was brewing, it smelled so wonderful and chocolatey. But again, more than one cup at full strength was too much. Maybe I'm not really a flavored coffee drinker. But I really REALLY like this one combined with the Columbian. Double-richness in a cup.
I've got a few more samples to try, and I'll be posting my thoughts as I go. Has anybody else had a chance to try these? Let me know what you think.
I am definitely not a flavoured coffee drinker. In fact, just the aroma of it on the morning train would make me nauseous. Having said this however, I can see why some people might be attracted to it. But give me a black African mountain coffee or a Costa Rican earthy purity. I drink at most 2 cups of coffee a day but mamma do I ever enjoy them!
Posted by: Kevin | October 10, 2006 at 08:32 PM
Hi Heather, It is my personal blog, and no, I didn't start it to make money. I wish I could say the ads were a great source of revenue, but they're not. I leave them up because, hey, every little drop in the bucket helps and I don't have the kind of healthy ego that can just say "GIVE ME MONEY!"
Posted by: Christine | October 08, 2006 at 01:32 PM
Hello, I came upon this site looking for a apple torte recipe that I used to make. The one I found here is exactly it!! THank you. We went apple picking today, gorgeous blue sky, warm air and leaves starting to change.
As for the site, forgive my ignorance, but it seems like someones personal blog, but with ads all through it. Do you get paid for this? Did you plan on developing a blog to make money? Sounds quite interesting, and again, forgive my ignorance, just curious.
P.S. All your recipes look really yummy, THanks. Heather
Posted by: Heather | October 08, 2006 at 11:58 AM