Ugly Mug et Moi
May 27, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Coffee
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.
New this year is a streamlined fundraising program for schools that helps
students see the origin of coffee products and helps schools raise money
with a premium product that is not overpriced.
Let me know you pleasure and we will get roasting here.
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
WOW! I am totally jealous!
Cool! I just sent them an inquiry to see if our allergy banned ingredients are in their hot cocoa. Either way, I’m gonna buy a mug… I think it’s neat! And I did tell them about you….
hello! thank you for visiting my blog! I have a similar experience with tea stuff….a bias toward the big players. The sad thing is, the little businesses, combined, reach so many people, too! Yeah for Ugly Mug!
Hi Marye,
Super!!! Do they happen to have an organic blend? We love supporting small and upcoming businesses…
Regarding the comment about how I begin to see repeating patterns in different things — quilting has done that for me, hahaha. Now, I even look at clouds with a different perspective and see how I can adapt what I see into quilting motif. Pretty pathetic, huh?!
Hahaha!
Have a wonderful day!
Keeping checking Betsy, I have a surprise coming up.
Monica- awesome! I hope you can have it.
Steph – gotta love the little guys, huh?
Ivory- yes it is organic and fair trade.
To my knowledge, all our beans are 100% organic. We just choose not to pay extra to put the label on the packaging… This helps us give more back to the coffee growing regions as well as keep pricing lower for you!
Sooo glad to hear you are enjoying the coffee.
Check with your local schools this fall and see if they are using us for their fundraising needs. You get great coffee, the schools make a great profit, and we are giving back to communities locally and world wide!
Kayla! Thank you for stopping by and clearing that up! The coffee IS awesome!
If you live in Shelby County, you can find this coffee at Schnucks and Kroger. For some reason Target doesn’t carry it. Boo on them. Of course, you can order online as well.
And I forgot about the cool clips. I use them to close small bags of stuff. Saving Grace decaf is my favorite — and so pretty. The beans are three different shades.
Peggy- again, thank you! I really like htis coffee.
I’m really surprised about Green Mtn. I wrote them during a little experiment of mine a few months ago and they sent a ton of samples. But, I was writing as a consumer who was interested in buying their coffee (which I do when I can).
Stash was great with samples, they sent one of everything! Celestial Seasonings was the best, those guys really want people to try their teas before buying. They sent a big brown envelope of 10 samples each of their most popular flavors plus a nice letter. Guess what bagged tea I buy the most? Ok, so the chammomile is from Stash, but the rest is from Celestial.
The Ugly Mug chai sounds like my cup of…joe. (almost said tea, but that’d be a bad pun). Thanks for the heads up, C.Q.
Julie…hey, that’s what I am here for.
They emailed me back, same day . (that was very cool) We can’t drink their hot chocolate, but I’m still gonna buy a mug…
Sorry Monica.
I’ve always had good experiences with Green Mountain. I’m sorry that they were so rude to you. I’ll definitely be checking out Ugly Mug. Thank you for the recommendation!
Oh ..they were not rude, No! They are a great company. They just are less likely to send samples than they used to be.
Hi Marye, I’m sorry about your experience with Green Mountain Coffee. We do get lots of calls from folks wanting to try our coffee. I do my best to accommodate requests for samples from writers and reviewers in particular, so I’m sorry that your request didn’t find its way to me.
We hope you’re still willing to try us out! If you can send me your mailing address, I’d be happy to get you some samples of our newest selections.