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Four Sigmatic Focus Organic Coffee

In the gourmet coffee aisle, I see the same brands, often they stock their takes on the same flavors and roasts, but this time I almost overlooked something different. For this tasting I chose Four Sigmatic Focus Organic Coffee. While the packaging is top quality, its graphical design is not as eye-catching as the other brands. What captures my attention about it is its claim of mental clarity and energy. These terms are subjective, but in my experience mental clarity is always desirable. Today’s fast-paced world can be unforgiving; some clarity is always appreciated. The subjectivity of mental clarity led me to the decision of trying this coffee over a period of two days rather than one. Before I talk about this coffee, I bring up a caveat on the package: “consult your physician before use if you are pregnant, lactating, have a medical condition or are taking any medication.” I believe all natural supplements are subjected to such warnings. I’ll let buyers make their own judgments. My...
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Death Wish Pumpkin Chai Coffee

Sadly, maybe for economic reasons, retailers are putting out holiday merchandise way earlier than when said holidays are celebrated. This leads to my next coffee tasting. Death Wish Pumpkin Chai Coffee was placed in a mid-aisle display for Halloween. It was July when I purchased it. I love pumpkin spice because I remember when I was young and my elders baked real pumpkin pies in the kitchen; they were the most incredible treats. But, pumpkin chai is not pumpkin spice. Pumpkin chai may be a made up promotional flavor. Chai, an Indian tea mix, has cinnamon and cardamon, ginger, and cloves. It may be similar to pumpkin spice. The smell of this coffee is interesting. I had to smell it a couple times to get its aroma set in mind. It is not bad; it has a good smell that I haven't met before. My first cup is tasty, and it does remind me of pumpkin spice. There is something unusual about it. The coffee roast seems very light. I do not taste coffee, at least not like a darker roast. I find ...
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Starbucks' Veranda Blend Coffee

The flavor in flavored coffees is broadly generalized. The notes on the package are always more specific than the taste of the coffee. Reflecting on this observation, I decided to try a coffee from Starbucks. Often, I try to find small independent businesses to support. But I have found myself floundering in a wide spectrum of quality, so in this corporate age of overshadowed independence, I thought I would try a safe commercial coffee. Starbucks’ Veranda Blend coffee is a light roast with notes of toasted malt and milk chocolate. When I sniffed the coffee, I found it very enjoyable. I found myself occasionally sniffing the grounds when I had the chance. The grind is a commercial size, not fine, not coarse, common in commercial coffees. When I poured hot water over the grounds the resulting brew didn’t appear as an obvious light roast. It is not opaque, but it is dark in appearance. I was pleasantly surprised with my first drinks of the Veranda Blend. While I could tell it was a light ...
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Cravens' Buttery, Caramel, Butterscotch, Medium Roast Coffee

 When a person tastes a variety of gourmet coffees long enough, they begin to recognize characteristics of how coffee will taste. Cravens, Buttery, Caramel, Butterscotch is a good example. Its packaging is a decorative bag, good design, that has a sticker on the front giving a brief description of the coffee: single origin, medium roast. Upon opening the bag, the smell is mundane. The scent is reminiscent of plastic tub coffees rather than gourmet coffee. Its grind is fine, so much so that it can cause some difficulty with filters.  This Cravens Coffee selection is a flavored coffee: butter, caramel, and butterscotch. With my first cup, unsweetened, I can taste none of these. There is a medium roast consistency in the coffee. Its unsweetened flavor is very much a tub coffee flavor match. It is smooth, with some coffee flavor with a bitterness that warns the drinker of the next sip. Its presence on the tongue and cheeks is negligible with an acidic aftertaste. I sweetened the s...
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Red Brick, Texas Pecan, Light Roast Coffee

For this coffee tasting I try a flavored coffee. Flavored coffees add something to the roast, so the drinker not only tastes the coffee and its preparation but also the added ingredients needed for the proposed flavor. When I began critiquing gourmet coffees, I was unaware of this. It is easy to believe the coffee is made to emulate its advertised flavor, but more is actually going on. In this tasting I explore this phenomenon. The coffee I have brewed is Red Brick, Texas Pecan, Light Roast. The smell of this coffee is addictive. I kept sniffing it after opening the package. When I poured hot water on it the scent was beautiful. “Waft that pecan coffee heaven to your nose.” It was easy to taste the roast in my first unsweetened cup. While it was thin and light on my palette, there was enough roasted arabica bean flavor to keep it interesting. Add the pecan nut to the roast and I was able to enjoy a pleasing combination of flavors, a hot cup of tasty coffee. For my second cup I added sw...
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Draft Mule, Runaway Wagon, Dark Roast Coffee

  For this tasting of Draft Mule, Runaway Wagon dark roast coffee I needed a second day to be sure of what I was experiencing. Draft Mule, dark roast coffee smells and appears reminiscent of coffee from a plastic tub. Its smell is innocuous in the bag, but when poured out is less than desirable. It is a coarse grind and is not what I would call a dark roast appearance. After pouring hot water through it, there is a dark tint rather than an opaque liquidity, like a good dark roast. The packaging is enticing, it made me want to try it. The package appears simple and practical, like a paper bag with a mule on the front. Draft Mule’s package is designed well; in fact, it is overengineered. Its graphics catch the eye because of how exact they are. The paper bag is actually a plastic insulated containment pouch with a pull tab that exposes a zip lock access hole. After scooping some of the coffee into my pour-over funnel I started to notice how much attention was given to the packaging v...
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Fire Department Coffee

It may be difficult for me to give Fire Department Coffee, original medium roast, a fair and objective review. The reason for inaccuracy is a case of covid that I have spent a lengthy amount of time getting over. During this time I have been drinking a commercial brand from a plastic tub. In essence, soaking my pallet in generic flavor. Let’s be reasonable. The tub brands, for lack of a better term, are not bad. They are what the majority of us drink in this economy that seems to stifle us from leisurely luxuries. Upon opening the red package of Fire Department Coffee and sniffing, I notice nothing special or beyond the ordinary scent of fresh coffee. The grind appears to be finer than most. I scoop it into my pour-over brew pot and heat up some fresh water. When I try my first cup it is better than what I have been drinking lately. The package is the simplest I have seen. For ingredients it simply reads, “Coffee.” There are no tasting notes or esoteric flavors listed for consumer hype...
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