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Shiver Coffee Stout Beer

I tried this unique beer from Bombastic Brewing; it’s called Shiver Coffee Stout. The supposed coffee flavor isn’t the only thing about it that caught my interest; its 10.5% alcohol content made it a must try. After perusing the shelf of commercial micro-brews, the Shiver won the buzz giver award. It came in a four pack, and justifiably so for us light weights. And I will say its 10.5% did not disappoint. It is stout beer. My first impression, after a big drink, was that this is definitely dark beer. I’m not sure if my taste is consistent, black coffee and dark beer, but I’ll take it over tea and IPA. Its dark flavor made an impression. According to the can, “look for waves of dark chocolate, vanilla, and hints of molasses.” As an afterthought, they tell you, “Add Thomas Hamer cold brew coffee.” With my first taste, I was quickly aware of the beer’s dark flavor. My tongue was enriched with a thick alcoholic aftertaste broadened by intense smokey tartness, which I am accustomed to. I en...
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Cutters Point Original Coffee

This critique is special because I try Cutters Point Original coffee. Up front, I absolutely enjoy this coffee. Don’t let its plain brown bag appearance fool you. Its package is almost over engineered for resealing this product’s freshness. And that said, its smell is the freshest. It smells like fresh ground coffee in the northwest mountains. This coffee comes from Gig Harbor, Washington. While many of the popular coffees out now are from the Seattle area, Cutters is different for its medium roasted blend of stable flavors. There is no salient pop-culture flavor screaming for attention here. It is just the smoothest, richest, dark coffee a connoisseur can wake up too. The package describes its flavor, “notes of raisins, are balanced with an excellent caramel-like sweetness, finished with buttery undertones.” This seems complex, but my taste started with a black, unsweetened cup that had rich coffee flavor with possibly a raisin tarnish to calm acidity. My second cup had sweetener add...
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Black Rifle, Beyond Black

Black coffee, from my perspective, is a natural go-to for comfort.  Some people just  desire  a cup of black coffee; they do not want some fancy, complex,  extravagant  beverage that  receives  more attention than some children get in the morning before school.  With this  said,   I  decided  to try   a basic ,  black, gourmet coffee.  Beyond Black from the Black Rifle Coffee Company comes in an impressiv e package with a soldier wearing night optics pictured.  It  doesn’t  list flavors or holidays on the front and  just reads, “beyond black . ”   Upon  filling my  cup, after a simple pour-through  brew ,  I am pleased with the taste of dark, adequately roasted, coffee beans.  I get a broad swath of  black organic, caff e inated  brew across my tongue.  I get a pleasurable tinge of flavor that is not acidic. This is a smooth black coffee.   The...
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Starbucks Pumpkin Spice

  The coffee for this critique is Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice light roast. Something to be aware of is the suggested preparation of this coffee on the package. With the suggested preparation, this coffee should be “reminiscent” of Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte. Without going into details, I will say they suggest more cream and sugar than I care to use. This said, I approached the tasting of this coffee same as previous critiques, pour-over brew, no cream, no sugar; a second cup with sugar.  When I opened the package and sniffed, the scent was light and organic. I sniffed it a few times thinking it had hints of something close to cinnamon and nutmeg, but it wasn’t boldly recognizable. When I poured hot water over it, the scent came to life and my desire for tasting it grew. My first cup reminded me of an organic tea. My experience with light roasts has given me the impression of thin coffee flavor: less coffee, more organic, not tea, just tea texture. With sips, I could recognize...
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Peet's, Medium Roast, Brazil Coffee

Before any supposed tariffs were to kick in, I purchased a bag of Peet’s medium roast, Brazil coffee. There has been some media discourse about Brazilian coffee and tariffs, so I thought I should try it. A couple things pointed out on the package are “single origin” and “tasting notes.” I am assuming that single origin is coffee from the beans of one plantation; from one plant seems beyond any mass marketable reality. Under “tasting notes” Peet’s has printed: “balanced, dried fruit, hazel nut.” I’ll get to this later. Upon smelling the coffee in the package, I notice that its scent is not overwhelming. I push my nose in and take some big sniffs. It does have an agreeable scent that lingers with my virtual senses, those senses reacquired from memory. There is nothing harsh or overly tactile about it. Upon tasting the coffee, after brewing, it backs up its scent with a very smooth presence and a decidedly pleasurable coffee flavor. This coffee seems grown in a pleasurable atmosphere. The...
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Peet's Light Roast, Sun Catcher Coffee

For this Coffee tasting I tried Peet’s, light roast, Sun Catcher coffee. I often search for coffees that are more distinctive than contemporary, familiar flavors. This coffee seems to be commercially evasive (IMO). The package reads, “strawberry jam, citrus, and honeysuckle.” When I open the gourmet pouch and sniff, I shove my nose in to make sure I’m getting a good smell. The smell is good and unique. I think the honeysuckle and jam are new with the coffee scent; they create something I can’t describe. I brew the coffee and fill my cup. When I taste it unsweetened, I get a good, strong, coffee flavor with a light presence on my tongue. There is something going on here. The back flavor of citrus I have become familiar with, it seems to be a redeeming quality in the gourmet coffee market. The honeysuckle piques my interest, it is not strong or defining, but it is there. I like it. Strawberry jam? I don’t taste it. There does seem to be a hint at sweetness. There seems to be an abstracte...
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Stumptown, Holler Mountain Ground Coffee

Stumptown, Holler Mountain Coffee is quoted on the package as a signature blend. The smell of this moderately ground coffee leaves me curious. On my first taste of this coffee, it seems nothing like the flavors promoted on the package: coffee beans, caramel, hazelnut, and citrus. There is something complex going on with the flavor of this coffee. I had to let it rest on my whole tongue so all my taste buds could inform my understanding of a coffee maker’s experienced pallet. The flavors prompted on the package are not used to add flavor directly but are used to create a unique experience regarding how coffee tactilely reacts in the consumer’s mouth. There is something very blue-collar about this coffee, but at the same time, it transcends to something gourmet. With effort, there is a caramel buffer at the sides of the tongue, a distant nuttiness with the coffee, and a late, back end of citrus without the acidity. This coffee reminds me of a blue-collar ideal of working in the Southwest...
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