Sampling Panera Bakery’s New Coffees

I know, it’s a hard job but someone has to do it right?

I was up dark and early this morning.  Here, not only was it 3:30 a.m. but it was dark, coldish, and drizzling.  Not the morning you want to crawl out of bed and head anywhere. Since I was up so early Marc hadn’t gotten up before me to start the fire in the kitchen or make coffee.  Say it with me…”Awwwwwwww”

But I had a purpose.  I was headed over to Panera to meet with Marketing Manager -Krista Moberg,  The General Manager Jason Russell, and Stan Sears, Panera’s Bakery Training Specialist in this area.  And they promised me coffee.

You guys know that coffee will lure me out of almost anywhere.  Even at 0 dark thirty, even on a drizzly, chilly day.

It isn’t that Panera hasn’t had coffee in the past.  It is that they decided that they wanted to upgrade their coffee to the same artisan quality of their bread.

Did they do it?  Yeah they did.

I will be honest and tell you that I did not try the decaf.

The dark roast is sweet and slightly smoky in a pleasant way.  None of the scorched flavor that some other coffees have.  It was smooth when black, and handled the cream well.  The coffee presented full bodied winey  characteristics on cupping.  The beans are 100% El Indio from Tarrazu.  El Indio beans are known for a deep flavor that is characteristic of European coffees.  A perfect choice to accompany the artisan European style breads.  Tom Gumple, Panera’s head baker, created a list of pairings for each type of coffee.  His suggestions for the dark roast are:

*Pecan Braid

*Sesame Seed Bagel

*Sesame Semolina Toast

The regular roast is very well done.  As you know, my tastes tend toward the dark roast but this was a very nice full city roast.  It presented bright notes at cupping and is well balanced and sweet.  Great for people that just want a cup of coffee.

Suggested pairings are:

• Blueberry scone
• Asiago bagel
• Cinnamon raisin toast

The last coffee I tried was the Hazelnut.  By now I was on a caffeine buzz in a major way.  The hazelnut flavor was intense at first sip, fading into exotic vanilla before leaving a classic coffee finish.  Obviously the flavor is not covering up inferior beans in this coffee.

Pairing suggestions are:

• Croissant
• Cinnamon Crunch Bagel
• Whole grain toast

They have great coffee plus espresso, caramel lattes, cafe mocha, and other espresso based drinks. Honestly, Panera blows Starbucks out of the water.   And that is without even considering their breads and sandwiches.  Consider the following:

• Coffee, much better than Starbucks.
• Most companies will either buy from big multinational sources and/or not disclose the source for their coffee.  Panera has made a commitment to small, sustainable Central American farms.
• The coffee for all Panera stores is roasted at a Tyler, Texas roaster, Distant Lands.  Doing a little research let me know that Distant lands is committed to sustainable coffee raised without herbicides or pesticides.  It is not certified organic because of the fertilizers and fungicides used.
• Free WiFi
• Fireplace for ambiance
• Really smells GOOD
• Tables are comfortable
• They open at 6 a.m.  Seriously.  I did not know this.  I knew about Panera for lunch but did not have a clue about breakfast.

If you need to meet a client, work online, or just relax with a really good, honest cup of coffee, skip Starbucks and head for Panera.  the pastries are fresh, the coffee is good, and the price is right.

Now, on Wednesday Panera will be giving away samples of the breakfast sandwiches and granola as well as free coffee.  It is a great time to taste for yourself what I am talking about.  And, if you are in Dallas/Fort Worth, I will be live blogging from the Panera on Pleasant Run in Cedar Hill from about 8 a.m. until who knows.

I will be giving away Panera Coffee cups until they run out, so stop by and visit and pick up your coffee mug.

I will be publishing a lot of images and information about the bakery side of the business on Baking Delights a little later.