Comments on: Allegro Coffee Red Sea Blend:Notes from a Coffee Dufus

By: Marye Audet

Marye Audet — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:14:12 +0000

Thank you for your suggestions.

By: Lorde Swithin-Hawg

Lorde Swithin-Hawg — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:39:12 +0000

Allegro Red Sea blend is the best of the Allegros offered at Whole Foods … except with the possible exception of Mocha Java (a blend also heavily Yemeni). Perhaps if your impression of Red Sea as “not particularly striking” was because you bought one of their pre-bagged portions? Those are roasted at Allegro’s Central Massive Production Facility.

In my local Whole Foods there are open bins of fresh-roasted coffee, and you can see the roasting date. Of course, I must admit that Red Sea is not currently in the offerings and Mocha Java is currently available only in the less-than-freshly roasted bags.

Anyhow, here’s what I do to capture the full impact of Red Sea or Mocha Java (I also use Allegro’s Eye-Opener Blend): grind it extra fine with my ($150) Starbucks Barrista burr grinder, directly into an espresso basket and run out a double shot from my Starbucks ($250) Barrista espresso machine. If you can’t handle mainline smack, bring it up to a 8-10 oz’s with 160-degree hot water from the convenient side-nozzle. It’s not just coffee-making, its a full blown expensive hobby with disturbing addictive aspects.

Then you be gettin’ the idea of those chocolate blueberries or whatever they say it taste like. Intense, fruity, sweet … sometimes if I hit it just right, I don’t need to add any Splenda at all (don’t want to add diabetes to my upcoming heart attack…).

Also, in the name of Gawd I implore you to use a decent grade of purified water.

By: Marye

Marye — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:20:46 +0000

thanks Baz! WHoohoo! I did better than I thought…so let me ask you..
do you get frustrated when every other coffee review says the coffee was nutty and chocolatey?

Because that seems to be the main two adjectives used in coffee reviews..:)

By: baz

baz — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:02:35 +0000

actually, I picked two nose characteristics: chocolate and tobacco … those are the adjectives i came up before heading to the internet to read what others’ wrote…. i’m a foodie and wine collector so my analyses usually match up in blind tastings with the review. don’t get down on yourself… it just tastes practice!

By: Marye

Marye — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:18:27 +0000

Wow, thank you Carrie.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:28:43 +0000

beautiful photo Marye!

By: Marye

Marye — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:20:38 +0000

LOL thanks Ruth!

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:55:59 +0000

I understand how you feel…sometimes I just can’t make the connection between what “others” are saying about a product and my reaction to it. I’m quite sure you’re not a dofus!

By: Julie F.

Julie F. — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:22:32 +0000

Just about being Texan by injection.

By: Marye

Marye — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:16:54 +0000

LOL! Which comment was that, Julie?