Bittersweet micro-roasts their coffee beans to maintain more control over the finished product. The coffee beans are small and plump and very fragrant with a classic cocoa mocha aroma. Once brewed the aroma takes on a floral perfume, light and delicate with  citrus top notes. This is one tricky coffee!

The flavor is a little acidic for me…Keep in mind that my heart belongs to intense, dark roasts. But beyond that it has a sparkle that is very light and fresh.  This coffee would be especially good with citrus flavors: orange and chocolate cake for example.

I think this is a good San Francisco Hippie Chick kind of coffee. Think white gauze peasant tops, flowers in the hair,  and bare feet.If you like a light city roast you may like this. I would not buy it but I did enjoy trying it.  The Bittersweet Cafés are located in San Francisco on Fillmore Street, College Avenue in Oakland and the Rose Garden Shopping Center in Danville.

Discaimer: This review is unbiased. The coffee was sent to me for review and no money changed hands. They don’t want the coffee back.  No animals were harmed in the writing of this review. thank you.

image:marye audet

Post from: Kettle and Cup

Could I have a show of hands? Did anyone really think it would? Because I want to know.  Coffee, like great food, should not even be imbibed when tipsy because it is a total taste waste! If you are smashed you should drink water. City, tap water. Lukewarm. It doesn’t matter.

Drinking coffee will not make you smarter...You will just think you are.

In light of that I decided to list 10 things coffee won’t do. Ready?

10 Things Coffee Won’t Do

1. Coffee will not cause you to get an A on your term paper. If you haven’t studied before now you are screwed. Deal with it.
2. Coffee will not make your husband adore you even if it is GOOD coffee. Mrs. Oleson was wrong. Get over it.
3. Coffee drinking will not sober up a drunk person. It will however make you laugh when they are drunk AND caffeinated and decided to sing the Major General song from Pirates of Penzance at warp speed, thus sounding like Alvin the Chipmunk.
4. Coffee will not stunt your growth.
5. Coffee is only the best part of waking up if you have no life.
6. Instant coffee will never taste just like brewed coffee unless the brewed coffee is really bad.
7. Coffee will not relax you. People do not really relax with a cup of coffee unless they have added booze. Be careful with this. See point #3.
8. Coffee drinking will not  make you look more grown up.
9. Interestngly coffee will ultimately not give you more energy. Caffeine is a drug and as such requires increasinly more to do the same job. Thus the caffeine IV.
10. Drinking coffee will not help you lose weight especially if you add heavy cream and sugar. Not that I would ever do that.

image:  sxc

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Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte

I was expecting a strong, creamy vanilla flavor with a caramel finish. What I got was somewhat tasteless, watery, and not as sweet or rich as I would have expected. If you are expecting something with the flavor of the Gingerbread Latte or the Pumpkin Spice Latte you will be disappointed. It just isn’t here. However, if you are looking for something less sweet this may be the type of latte you are looking for.

Starbucks describes the drink this way on their site:
We’ve combined Starbucks espresso and steamed milk with a rich caramel sauce and topped it with whipped cream and shimmery pieces of caramel topping.

I would suggest starting with a tall to make sure that you like it. The flavor sounds great but doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

image: Starbucks

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Anyway, between now and December 8, 2009 YOU could win a free $50 gift card from DD. Just use your twitter account and tell Dunkin Donuts how they keep you going though the holidays. Tweet @DunkinDonuts AND include the hashtag #HoliDDay to be included in this promotion.

They are giving away a card a day. Maybe you will be lucky. $50 in coffee gift cards would keep ya caffeinated for…oh….. ten days or so?

If you have a twitter account an you are always on there anyway, Tweet DD and see how it goes. Free coffee is free coffee. Gotta love it!

Good luck!

image: SXC

Post from: Kettle and Cup

The White Rhino is situated in an older home in Cedar Hill. I am guessing the house was built in the 1930s – 40s… a bit of a transitional Arts and Crafts/ Atomic Age. The hardwood floors are warm welcoming and I could definitely see myself sitting here for hours, staring out the windows, drinking coffee and listening to the music…which is just the right blend of jazz/piano bar style.

The space is well laid out. They didn’t try to jam too many tables in but left lots of room for privacy and traffic flow.  There is a large t.v.  over the fireplace (sadly the fireplace doesn’t work) that is currently silently playing scenes from Mr. Bean’s Holiday.  You can also choose to sit out on the large, covered front patio and watch the world go by…or at least the traffic.

Mike is gonna laugh at me but…The espresso is nutty and rich…and even chocolatey. Nice shiny surface, touch of acidity. I like it. I like to get espressos because you just can’t hide behind them – the flavor is either there or it isn’t. Kudos to White Rhino. Flavor was definitely in the house.

The Sebastian is what  I am extremely impressed with. Oh my gosh. I am trying to describe the amazing party going on in this drink. Raspberry, white chocolate, whipped cream…do I detect a bit of fleur de sel? Something a little salty.  Just a hint..and served breve with whipped cream and caramel. Oh my. Oddly this is not an extremely sweet drink. It is sweet but the salt is a perfect compliment…(later : Amazingly when I asked they said no salt was added. Very odd..still very good)

The plain coffee, White Rhino Blend, is a full city roast. I realize this is a necessity because more people like it, while I prefer the dark, mysterious, emo nuances of a really dark Italian Roast. However, for a full city roast it was good. Smooth, sparkly, and slightly citrus.

White Rhino has cakes, coffee cakes, and pie available. I asked where they came from and was told that Costco was the supplier. They have tried local suppliers and not had good results but the Costco items  were good, sold well, and consistent.  I give them kudos for honesty – although I would have loved to hear that they were using someone local.

Their roaster is, however, local and I was glad to hear it.  White Rhino offers a variety of coffee beans for sale as well. Oh, and they DO have real cups. You know I am freaky about using cardboard/styrofoam/other ickiness.

It was not crowded but there did seem to be a steady stream of customers. The baristas handled my many interruptions and questions very well, and never rolled their eyes at me once. Bravo!  I think that by 12:15 they had decided I had moved in, however.

I would have liked better lighting because of images but the lighting is just right for a calm, peaceful atmosphere.  If you live in the South Dallas area: Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Midlothian, Lancaster, De Soto, Grand Prairie then White Rhino is a nice INDY change from the corporate chaos of you know who. Worth the drive.  I would have liked to have gotten an interview but they never returned my emails.

Score? On a Marye scale of 1 to 5 this coffee shop gets a 4.5 . The coffee is wonderful, I was was comfortable there, and anyone who likes Mr. Bean is my kind of people. Nice job, guys.

Address:
230 W. Beltline Road, Cedar Hill Texas

Web: White Rhino Coffee

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White Chocolate Mocha

• 1/4 cup light cream
• 4 oz espresso
• 2 tablespoons white chocolate syrup
• 1 oz white chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp Creme de Cacao
• 1 tsp Amaretto
• Whipped cream

1. Heat cream until it almost boils. Remove it from the heat
2. Add the chopped white chocolate and whisk
3. Stir in the Creme de Cacao and Amaretto, whisk well.
4. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the white chocolate around the sides of a heated mug
5. Pour in espresso and then the cream
6. top with whipped cream and drizzle with remaining white chocolate

Serves 1

image:sxc

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The basic formula for coffee syrup is one cup of water to one cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves and then simmer for about five minutes, or until the syrup is reduced by half. The different flavors come in when you add cinnamon or vanilla or whatever you like. As a general rule the flavors should be added during the simmering phase to get the most out of them. Then, just pour the syrup through a strainer and you have your syrup. If you are using extracts add them after the syrup is removed from the heat.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• 1/2 of a vanilla bean
• 2 tsp maple extract
• 1 star anise
• 2 tsp almond

Experiment with whatever you like. You can afford to with this, it costs very little.

image:sxc

Post from: Kettle and Cup

Unless you are doing a review, or are a coffee roaster (or similar) you probably should just enjoy the flavor.

What makes coffee perfect, to my mind, is the reason you are drinking it. I loved the coffee dates Marc and I used to have, sipping coffee and just being together. It was the being not the doing that was important. I dislike coffee cuppings because all the slurping makes me cringe. I am, after all, a rather experienced mom and when I hear those kinds of noises whilst someone is drinking I want to tell them to drink it right or leave the table.

In any case, rather than coffee being the focus, good coffee should be the backdrop of what you are doing. Analyze it to death in private if you must, but coffee has always and should always be a social event.  Nearly every town has some old restaurant where everyone goes for coffee and to find out who left who and who is moving out of state.

I guess I am tired of all the hoopla. Just drink the darn stuff and enjoy it. Somethings shouldn’t be analyzed. Some should just be savored in the moment.

Go ahead, grab a cup. Take a break. Don’t try to taste the citrus, tobacco, or chocolatey-nuttiness. Just sip it and be mindless for a few minutes.

Felt good, didn’ t it?

image:sxc

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The Blue Cow coffee shop is in the lobby of the library. It is large and sunny and very comfortable. The colors are warm and welcoming; browns, golds, and yellows. It s sort of a Texas Meets Italia decor.

You walk in to the lobby area and are immediately in the large, spacious coffee shop. The aroma is heavenly, as you can imagine. Coffee and books? Yes please!

Because of wifi spillover from the library you can even pick up a wifi signal. Now, what I loved about this place is that you can bring your coffee mug and they will mark your name on it and hang it on your own special hook on the wall.

Downside? If you don’t know to bring your own cup you are stuck with Styrofoam. Ewww.

So, the baristas are friendly, and knowledgeable. They are not the fastest on the planet but I am usually not in a hurry.  There are a number of interesting things on the menu, it will take me months to try them all. The lattes are very good, served extremely hot. I bemoan the loss of whipped cream that I always had added at the other place but..my thighs are thankful.

I had a John Wayne, which is caramel, vanilla, and 2 shots of espresso. It was quite good. Marc had the Caramel Macchiato which he liked as well.

I was fascinated by the idea of a Dr. Pepper Chocolate Chip Cookie and so we ordered two. Incredibly disappointing, the cookie was dry bland, and not very appetizing with big clumps of half melted white chocolate on it. A bit too much baking soda in the mix. Still..I loved the idea and plan to create my own version on Baking Delights soon.

Next time I plan on trying the stuffed pretzels.

Blue Cow is growing and has plans to open in other cities both in Texas and around the country.

Here’s how is stacked up:

Good

• Keeping a cup for me (love it!)
• Coffee is excellent
• Decor
• Location
• Friendly
• Comfortable
• WiFi
• Interesting selection of menu items.

Not Good

• The cookie is a waste of ingredients. They should rework the recipe because it is not working now.
• If you are in a hurry call or text in your order or you are screwed.
• Acoustics from the large lobby, tile floors, etc. means that everything is LOUD. When the blender was on Marc couldn’t hear me talk.
• Because of where it is located the parking is not real convenient. Marc is disabled and we had to walk much longer ways than we should have. I was glad he was out of the wheel chair.
• Coffee Mate was prominently displayed on the counter but not real cream. Marc said they probably would have had it if I had asked but I don’t think I should have to ask. Yes. I have issues.
• Too much throwaway stuff. Would like to see them lose all the throw away, plastic forks, etc. and replace it with the real thing.
• I don’t think the coffee is organic or fair trade.

Should you go? Yeah. You should. I am thinking about moving my office there.

images: maryeaudet

Post from: Kettle and Cup

Thing is, I can’t get them anymore. They closed the Starbucks locally that was good and left the one where all the really lazy people work open. Not sure how that worked but it did. Anyway..I figured it was time to learn how to make my own copy cat gingerbread latte.

If you want to make this really easy start out with the JazzyBird Espresso.

Gingerbread Latte Recipe

• 2- 4 oz espresso shot
• 2 tbs Monin Gingerbread Syrup
• 1/2 cup of whole milk steamed and frothed
• 3- 4 tbs whipped cream
• 1 tbs candied ginger
• 2 tbs caramel sauce
• Fresh grated nutmeg

1. A quick way to steam milk without a steamer is to heat it to a simmer on the stove (or in the microwave) and carefully blend it until it is frothy. Be careful though. It is very hot and if it flies out of the blender it will burn you.
2. Add the espresso shot to a warmed coffee mug.
3. Stir in the syrup
4. Add the milk
5. Put whipped cream on top, drizzle with caramel syrup, sprinkle with grated nutmeg and add the candied ginger

Serves 1

image SXC

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