Kohana Panama is silky smooth with  flavors of smoky cinnamon toast and rose.

The one thing I can say about Kohana coffee, at least so far, is that the coffee is unique. I think at this point I could pick out a cup of Kohana in a blind taste test.  The aroma is smokey and slightly exotic…You guys know how weird I am when it comes to personifying coffee, right? Well this coffee is a mysterious, wealthy traveler on the Orient Express. Very Art Deco. Miss Scarlet in a game of Clue.

Panama is a coffee for curling up in a comfy, slightly faded chintz chair, by a fireplace on a chilly autumn day. Pair it with a good mystery and slice of fresh brioche, toasted and  slathered with butter.

On the Marye Coffee Scale Kohana Panama gets a 4.75 out of a possible 5. I love the uniqueness of this coffee.

images:Marye Audet

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O.k., Kohana, NOW we’re talkin. I loved this coffee. The aroma was interesting, just a hint of citrus with a full fruity aroma. First sip was smooth with a definite milk chocolate essence followed by a hint of pepper and orange.

This is a sweet brew in more ways than one. Not quite the sexiness of an Italian roast…more like a Boho poet. Romantic and deep, with flashes of the unexpected. This is a barefoot coffee, one for gazing at sunrises and sunsets, walking barefoot in the park, listening to jazz with your best friend. For me it was a gypsy skirt and leather fringe..

I am giving Kohana Rockin’ Like Austin a 4.5. I loved this coffee and I would buy it again. I would suggest it with a flaky European type pastry and a Rod McKuen paperback….

Image: Marye Audet

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This morning we tore into the bag of French Konnexion.

French Konnexion is a Peruvian coffee (I just typed Koffee ), French roasted and the site describes it as chocolate-caramel-hazelnut. Hmmm.

As usual, I am tasting something totally different. Geez y’all, I hope my taste hasn’t been affected by the surgery! I just thought of that. Naaah….

I liked French Konnexion but not as well as the Morning Mayhem.. Here’s what I thought:

Very smooth, slightly smoky. Not burnt, mind you, but a nice smokiness like if you were drinking coffee in front of a campfire in the early morning, with a couple of trout fryin’ in the pan along with your bacon. That kind of smoky.

A little more acidic than the Mayhem and not as sweet or rich. Cumin, Cinnamon,Herbs, and Anise make this seem more Aztec than French! Bright finish flavor reminds your tongue you have been drinking coffee. I liked it alot and I am giving it a 4/5. Point lost because it was a little too acidic for my idea of perfect coffee.

While I found Morning Mayhem to be elegant and complex, I found French Konnexion to be straightforward and obvious. Plaid flannel, canoes, and hiking boots, with a day’s worth of beard stubble. My money says that Mike at Daily Shot of Coffee is going to like Konnexion better than Mayhem…

I am going to be ordering coffee at Kinetic Koffee. Although Mayhem will ALWAYS be in that order I am interested in trying some of the other coffees. Added bonus? Organic, and they donate to excellent causes. The price is amazingly reasonable.

image:Kinetic Koffee

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Light Up Las Olas is a dark roast, blended from Columbian and Brazillian coffees. The aroma of the beans is spicy and licorice-y.  Nice.

The flavor is described on the site as having notes of cocoa. Eh. Maybe.

The flavor is warm and smoky, a bit too acidic at the end for my tastes. Slight nuances of marshmallow on the intake, makes you think you are going to have a toasted marshmallow flavor but at the last minute it morphs into almost an amaretto-pecan.

Oddly, with the flavors invoked this is not a smooth coffee. After the first few sips you lose track of the flavor of it and it becomes just coffee.

On a scale of 1-5 it gets a 3. There is nothing outstanding about it and yet it isn’t bad. I liked it much better sweetened and cream added.

By the way? If you are interested, you can follow me on Twitter… never a dull moment I promise.

Image:Boca Java

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Then I read about Mike having the Maple Bacon coffee and I was intrigued..still waiting to get it but intrigued.  THEN I discovered the Farm Town Ap on Facebook and found out if I ordered a trial amount of their coffee I  got 20,000 or so points fo buy farm animals with.  Who can resist a deal like that?

I now have replace my horses that I had to give away last summer with cyber horses.

My experience was not as quick as Mikes.  It took almost a week for the coffee to arrive, although I was contacted and told that it was shipped the day after I ordered.  I ordered four 1/2 lbs.

The first that I tried is the South Beach Rhythm.  It is described by the company as:

Exotic and smoky, this very full bodied dark roast is made from premium Colombian and Panamanian beans.

O.k.  That isn’t helpful.  I mean really.  Yes that sounds wonderful but it tells me nothing about how the coffee tastes. Not really.  It is like sauying a wine is fruity and full bodied.   These companies should stop hiring writers to write descriptions and start hiring coffee writers..right Mike? Oh, and the words chocolate, nutty, and smoky can’t be used. Ever.

Here are my thoughts.

The beans are very dark and coated with a nice layer of oil.  The sheen is incredible.  They are plump and perfect, not broken or fragmented.  They are on the small side. I don’t know if this really matters but I have noticed that the flavor of the smaller beans seems to be better.

The beans smell spicy. They remind me of something …I can’t quite identify.  There is almost a marzipan scent and an underlying sassafras soda smell.  O.k.  Yes, I am sitting here huffing a bag of coffee beans, and your point is? If you ever had a real A &W Root Beer from the real drive in….you are old…but you will also recognize some of the intriguing scent in this coffee.

The coffee is very dark and glossy.  The fresh brewed aroma is less intense than I would have expected and has a slight herbal scent.  The flavor is smooth with a subtle winey note and a pleasant acidity left on the tongue.  If there are chocolate notes they would be chocolate fudge and not anything less rich.  This is a rich and satisfying cup, aptly named.  It brings to mind the velvet and sensual darkness of a tropical night.  The company says that there are notes of caramel but I did not find them.  I think they are just not experienced enough foodies to know the difference between caramel and marzipan.

I wish it had more aroma while it was being brewed but other than that I can’t fault it. It is definitely a complex brew, revealing layers of flavor as you sip, like an exotic dancer taking off veils.

I could not find answers to my questions on the website so I called.  Their customer service is quite good.  My question was whether or not the coffee was organic/Fair Trade/Rainforest Alliance.  The answer? SOME of the coffee is.  If this is important to you, then read carefully.  The majority of the coffee is not.  So, that is my second disappointment with the coffee.

Now, I have to apologize for my images.  I had a decent camera.  My five year old was carefully bringing it to me when she tripped.  Camera case broke.  Had to buy another.  Sadly, I had only the money for a rather (very) cheap camera that does not do closeups.  Since I primarily do close ups this really stinks.   Even photo editing only helps a little.  Bear with me while I save up. :/

images:marye audet

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I was a little uneasy when a representative from Community Coffee contacted me about reviewing two of their coffees.  I had tried Community Coffee years ago and really was unimpressed.

But honey, this is not your mama’s Community Coffee. I was surprised.

The Sumatra Mandheling is smooth and rich.  A very oily bean with a wonderful deep aroma.  The pot  brewed up with the scent of the coffee filling the kitchen.

Yum.

The first sip was interesting.  O.k..actually it was too hot and I had to put the cup aside for a few minutes.  Cupping it there was a syrupy rich  texture with a clean finish.  Nice.  Velvety. Notes of cocoa and spice complete the comfort of this cup.

This is a bold, comfortable coffee.  The kind you sip on a chilly evening in front of a crackling fire.  Like a very good friend it challenges you without being in your face.  This is one of my favorites and is a must try for anyone that loves a smooth, bold cup.

While other reviews detected herbal, earthy notes I did not.  Just a very smooth, cocoa spice cup.

Price for this coffee is exceptional.  7.99/ 12 oz

images:marye audet (c)2009 all rights reserved

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This is awesome.

Lavazza is one of the top rated espressos.  It is the incredible coffee that I had when I went to the Landmark Restaurant at the Melrose.

Lavazza is considered by many to be the Rolls Royce of coffees.

And Amazon has it on sale.

You enter the code: LAVAZZ77 at checkout and get 15%.  And then, if you order it as a recurring delivery you get another 15%.  That brings it down to a little less than $8.00 a pound.  Coupoin code is good through February.  I am going to add the link to my Kettle and Cup store, so if you DO decide to buy it order through there and you’ll be buying me a cup of coffee as well!

image:amazon

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Last week I had an interesting observation.  The bigger a company gets the less likely they are to be interested in sending samples to small coffee blogs.  I contacted Green Mountain for some sample of their new stuff and got a politely terse “buy it, Loser” letter back.  I do like their coffee but the ‘tude stinks as far as I am concerned.

Imagine my delight then, when less than 12 hours later I contacted Ugly Mug with the same request and they were not only nice but generous.

Now, when I ask for a sample of coffee to review, I am o.k. with getting just an oz or so, enough to make a short pot. I just want to see the beans and taste the coffee so I can tell you guys what is available. I am not asking for free coffee for a year or anything.

Here is the email I got back:

We would love to send you samples. Do you have a preference for coffee?
Light, Medium, Dark. Single origin, Flavored, Blends? We also have a great
line of hot chocolates and chai teas.

Thanks for the interest.

Wow. I now feel like the Queen of Coffee.

So I said that we liked about anything…but dark roast was our favorite and Friday afternoon (the email was received TUESDAY) the Fed-Ex guy toted a box down the entire length of our driveway, swearing in spanish the whole way.  That has nothing to do with the coffee, by the way, but the Fed-ex guy does not speak english and apparently he HATES our driveway.

I open the box to find that it is Christmas and Tim, at Ugly Mug Coffee,  is Santa Claus.  Not one, but TWO full pound of dark roast coffee, a bag of the chai latte mix, a coffee mug of my very own (how did he know I needed one?) and a scoop to scoop out the coffee with.

So..here we are.  What do I think?

The beans are plump, dark and oily.  The aroma coming out of the bags is superb..rich, bold.

I decided to try the  Making Waves.

Can I just say…..YUM!

The coffee is dark in the cup.   They describe it as full bodied with chocolate overtones.  I  did  get the chocolate but there is a clean citrus topnote that is intriguing..almost like the Ethiopian Yrigacheffe. Absolutely no scorched aftertaste. In fact, this coffee is so clean and light in the mouth, despite the bold roast that there is not an aftertaste at all.

We have our custom roast that was specifically blended and roasted for us…I am not sure but I think I like this better. Did I mention the way cool mug they sent.  I love this mug.

So.  I highly recommend this coffee. It is reasonably priced. The 12 oz retail bag is 9.95  It is Fair Trade and they are working on some unique programs with Growers First.  Kudos for being ahead of the game, guys!

If you are in the mid-south you may be able to find this coffee at your grocers.  Otherwise head over to their website and tell them you heard it here first, ‘k? I want brownie points with these guys.

Images:Marye Audet 

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