If you are looking for something adorable to add to your tea collection check out this adorable tea for one set from The English Tea Store!
He is called Chubby Bunny, for obvious reasons!
Even the grumpiest, most hormonal person could not resist smiling when using this!
Image: English Tea Store
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 to one of those pancake houses where the Bunn has been sitting on the burner with the same coffee in it for three days…OR if you have ever had the coffee at the OCmpany B mess hall at the Presidio of Monterey then you will have experienced the exotic aroma that wafted up from the package upon tearing it open. And I hadn’t even added water yet.
I poured a little out on my hand. It was a beautiful, dark, microgrind. I tasted it. After my tongue uncurled I felt read to go on to making the coffee.
Pouring the package into the water was easy. Stirring it, yep, easy. It was the drinking that was tough.
The odor of carefully and methodically scorched coffee intensified until it permeated my room. The liquer is murkyand dark and if you don’t get it all stirred in you have sort of a sludge buildup on the sides of the cup. Nice.
Taste is bitter, scorched, and stale. If you have a fantasy of becoming a 1930s style journalist with a cigarette, a fedora, and a cheap suit then this is the coffee for you for sure. If not, go ahead and donate it to the displaced cowboys society of Wyoming or something.
On a scale of 1-5? Let’s not go there. This is on equal footing with the Duncan Donuts coffee I reviewed.
Image: Starbucks
Starbucks Brazil Ipanema Coffee beans are only going to be around for a short period. I am not sure what that means, other than you had better go ahead and order it now.
This was a delightful coffee. It was a big surprise to me, because as you know I am not a Starbucks fan. This coffee is worth driving for. Mild and sweet, Brazil Ipanema Bourbon is smooth and a perfect way to start the day….or end it.
Distinct milk chocolate notes with an almost hazelnut finish make this a must try. The usual scorched acidity that Starbucks is so proud of is no where to be found in this cup.
The unbrewed beans are glossy, and heavily perfumed. There is a spicy floral scent that is hard to describe.
The aroma is delicate and comforting and yet exotic and elegant. It reminds me of really good vanilla, although it is not a vanilla flavor- if that makes sense.
On a scale of 1 to 5 I would give this a 4 1/2 and I know that is the best rating I have given anything Starbucks does.
Image: marye audet (c) 2009
Starbucks has a coffee out now that is considered seasonal and they will not be carrying it permanently. I am not taking the time to review it at the moment because I want to cup it again tomorrow so I can be more specific than my memory allows right now. My tasting notes are at home and I am at Panera…watching it rain…listening to quiet jazz….
I have some awesome pictures of the beans. I will say that this is the very best coffee, in my opinion, that Starbucks has come out with. Don’t wait for the review…go buy it now.
Image:marye audet (c) 2009
One of my favorite Christmas movies is Christmas in Connecticut, the old original version with Barbara Stanwyck. Barbara plays a food writer who writes these amazing articles about her family, cooking adventures and life on a large farm in Connecticut. The problem is that she is a single woman, living in a cramped apartment in New York …and she can’t cook at all.
Now, I am not saying that I have been lying about who I am..let’s get that straight right now…but I seem to have a RSS feed of my alternate life going through my head all the time..You know, the one where my house is spotless, I wear vintage aprons, and take a break two times a day to gaze out the window and sip tea from an antique china cup whilst nibbling (alter egos always nibble..munching is for reality) on a biscotti, cookie, or scone.
And honestly sometimes it is hard to live comfortably in one reality while another is playing through your head.
So…thoughts? Anyone else besides me feel that way? Or do I need to make another appointment with the VA?
What is your real life like? The one that plays in your head? And if you were a book character who would you be?
Image:SXC
Easter is coming up pretty quickly. If you are planning a luscious brunch after that chilly sunrise service you might want to consider some of the following teas.
Now, I have not tried all of these, but they are from companies that I buy from, and trust. The flavors are those that made me think of spring. Light, floral, fruity…clean and fresh tastes.
If you are going to have a heavy lunch/dinner then keep your brunch on the light side with fresh fruit and an assortment of breads like brioche, muffins, and scones. Add several jellies and curds, or maybe think about experimenting with different types of honey. A simple, creative presentation with fresh flowers, and some colored eggs or other whimsical decor should just about make it perfect.
Of course there are a ton of other types of teas that you can try. For a brunch, though, especially if you are going light remember to keep it light.
image: Pleasures of Tea Tranquility White
I read this and I was like, “You can’t be serious, Dude! Seriously!”
Apparently they are serious. Microbrewed beer is an up and coming artisan trend and apparently beer tastings are on the increase. You take a sip, you swish and spit..and then turn to your companion and say sagely, “sparkling and effervescent, I detect chocolate notes with a nutty finish”.
If you always say that I think you are o.k. It is a code or something.
Anyway, so I was reading along and trying not to work when I read this article about coffee flavored beer. I knew you would want to know.
You realize that coffee flavored beer is the product of the 70’s drug culture growing up, making money, and retiring. Yes..from the same people that brought you brownies laced with marijuana we have…coffee flavored beer…at your local grocers now.
We always were a lazy bunch…brownies were created so that you could get high and vanquish the munchies at the same time. Now you can get plastered and buzzed all at once…
I could say more but…why?
Read it. Come to your own conclusions. Make humorous comments. I mean, that IS what we are all about here at Kettle and Cup, isnt it?
image:sxc
If you have eaten all the powdered donuts you can handle and can’t finish your green tea there is no need to throw out the leftovers. Just put them together to make a solar cell.
Apparently there is a substance in powdered sugar that turns into a pretty darn good solar collector when mixed with herb and fruit tea. And, Tazo passionfruit seems to be the best.
Personally I find this to be just a tiny bit frightening. Why? Well…..here is the deal.
We all know policemen are addicted to donuts. I have seen a lot of the local officers in the various Starbucks. Now, what if they start drinking the tea and glowing in the dark? hmmm?
I mean, GMOs aside..isn’t this a little too Robo-cop for you?
Check out the video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVwzJEhMmD8]
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 up nice and dark. We did almost double the amount of coffee we used. I am wondering if it is the Arabica beans that they use, if we got a batch that was not as fresh as it could have been, or if they just roast a less robust coffee? This was my one disappointment with Silver Joe’s. The advertising is very extreme but the coffee is very couch potato. Not a bad coffee at all, very good in its own way…but not extreme. Nothing unexpected, no depth or edginess. A little flat.
I do recommend trying the Silver Joe’s Coffee. It is a nice coffee. Just don’t expect to get swept off to exotic places as you drink the cup… Maybe Iowa.
Image:Silver Joes
After the Silver Joe’s Mocha Java we moved on to the Kona.
I liked the Kona better than the Mocha Java. The beans were shinier, with more oil. The coffee was smooth and rich and tasted like…Kona coffee.
With each of the coffees that we have tried we found that we had to use a little more than we normally do to get the depth of flavor we prefer. If you get this coffee, and you like a stronger brew, it would be good to keep that in mind.
The Kona handled milk or half and half well but the heavy cream that I prefer over powered the coffee. I am not totally sure why. This is a good all purpose coffee, but I would not try to serve it with rich desserts.
We were also sent the Hazelnut ground coffee in the way cool can. I was not impressed with this, but I would have to add that I don’t drink coffee that has been ground more than a few minutes because it just tastes stale to me. The hazelnut that Silver Joe’s sent tasted weak and stale, without much hazelnut flavor. I think that there are better flavored coffees that you can invest your money in.
Saying that, the company puts out a good product. My favorite of what I was sent was the espresso roast, and I will review that…tomorrow. 
Image:Silver Joe’s
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