A little over a month ago I reviewed Cafe Latte at Town East Mall in Mesquite. I only go up there about once a month for a hair appointment so I am totally out of the loop as to the daily goings on. I was surprised when Cafe Latte was no longer there but had been replaced by Centaur Coffee. So…Mesquite residents, here is yet another review. Same location, different owner. Still Indy.

I had a mocha latte breve, because to me if it doesn’t have cream it just isn’t worth drinking. It was

So the team at Kohana Coffee made it possible for me to have an totally new experience – I got to name a new coffee blend! How fun is that?
They wanted something that reflected Texas because this coffee is going to be sold on Regional Best, and while I came up with several suggestions they liked Alamo Joe.

I got a bag of beans in the mail yesterday.  When you open the bag the aroma of the beans jumps out at you in an in your face, friendly Texan way. Spicy and rich, the scent is faintly licorice. The flavor is …read more

This is Marc’s and my favorite coffee from Kohana Coffee so far.
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 …read more

I have been on the lookout for various teas that can be used for chilled drinks and popsicles lately. Of those that I have tried I think that (so far, anyway) Stash’s Mangosteen Green Tea is on the top of my list.

The tea is a nice amber, almost diluted cola color with a pinkish tinge. The flavor is what is outstanding. I used a little sweetener and it brought out the complex flavors. I am really not sure whether to describe this as cherry coke or chocolate cherry or something in between. Fruity and sweet with just a slight tang…I …read more

When a saw the Smoked Coffee at Coffee Beans Direct I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I knew I wanted to try it but I was sort of expecting a burnt flavor.
Now, y’all know here in Texas we KNOW smoked.  We smoke almost anything here..Brisket, ribs, roadkill…..
No..not really.  Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.
Anyway I never thought of smoking coffee.  I never heard of smoking coffee. So when I read the description I wanted to try it.

The way they do this is the coffee is first custom blended and then roasted.  The roast coffee is then taken …read more

This is the second coffee I have tried from Boca Java.  Although it is o.k., it is not my favorite.  Once again the beans are gorgeous; dark and shiny and plump with little to no breakage.

The company describes it this way:
Reminiscent of the rich, darker coffees in Europe, Boca Villa has a heavy body that finishes with a hint of spiciness. Its robust, intensely satisfying flavor evokes memories of coffee served at the finest cafés in Paris.
Here is my take on it:
Beans are, as I said, oily and beautiful.
The aroma from the bag is slightly spicy, with definite herbal notes.  …read more

I was not sure what to expect when I emailed Shari of JazzyBird coffee. Normally I don’t request samples of a product to review, people just send them. But this was so intriguing that I could not resist. From the moment I read about this product I knew that it was something I wanted to try.
Problem was, or is, that it is only available in Louisiana and a few places in Mississippi. Would they ship?
You bet they would!

In fact, almost before I had the post published that announced I had found this intriguing item and was …read more

So.  Keep in mind that I gave the Starbucks Ipanema Bourbon a great review…
Starbucks recently introduced what may be the biggest set back for coffee drinkers since it was being boiled with eggshells over open fires by men named Slim, Cookie, and Billy Joe.
Starbucks Via is their newest foray into grasping at straws….  Short for Very Icky Aroma.  So, brace yourselves..because we’re goin’ in..

O.k.. the packaging is nice.  I like it.  Slimline, nice colors…good deco/upscale look.
But it goes down hill from the moment you open it and the scent of the coffee spills out.  If you have ever walked in …read more

The espresso roast from Silver Joe’s was my favorite of the coffee that they sent to me.  It was smooth and dark, without scorching or bitterness.
The beans are dark and shiny, small and plump, without a lot  of broken or cracked coffee beans in the mix.  The aroma was about average on opening the bag, deep coffee scent but without any depth or complexity..you smell coffee.  Which is good, I mean you wouldn’t want to open a bag of espresso and smell hay, or asparagus, or something, right?
But I mean that there were no secondary notes.  Just coffee.

The coffee brewed …read more

When we got the box from Silver Joe’s we just automatically started with the mocha java.  No real reason, it was what we pulled out of the box first.
I really like the look of the bags.  I have some touch sensitivity issues…o.k…a LOT of touch sensitivity issues which get worse all the time.  I thought the bags were going to bother me but they didn’t.