God Save The Tea!

     Hello all! I couldn't think of another blend of coffee to do today, so I decided to do another tea, this time Black Tea. Black tea is a wonderfully refreshing beverage, either sweetened or unsweetened. My favorite blend of black tea is Earl Grey. Earl Grey tea is a simple black tea that can be enjoyed hot or iced. I personally prefer it piping hot with some vanilla and creamer, but that’s simply my cup of tea…. Pun totally intended. This tea completely embodies what it is to be British. It warms you up when it’s cold (which I hear is a common occurrence across the pond) and goes great with scones (which I hear are enjoyed thoroughly across the pond). But enough about ponds and such, lets musicfy this tea.

       

    When I mix up my tea, I add in some vanilla and half and half. This creates a wonderfully hot concoction which tastes like Fruit Loops. No joke, I swear this tea was created by the British version of Toucan Sam… Robin Robin or Alby Albatross?… or the dynamic duo of Robin Robin and Alby Albatross! Bringing Earl Grey Tea to the rest of the world! And teaching them about the wonders of tea!

     Well, in the words of Austin Powers, I just went “all sixes and sevens” for a second. Let’s get to some music things. Because Earl Grey is so British, I have to throw some Queen into the mix of flavor. I Want To Break Free is a good song for this tea because Earl Grey is supposedly a basic black tea, but is so different from other breakfast teas, making it anything but basic. It has that distinct flavor of Early Grey, which is next to impossible to describe. Imagine drinking a cup of England! The tea almost screams “drink me whilst reading some Charles Dickens, wearing a turtle neck sweater and listening to The Smiths!” It’s almost comical how British I feel drinking my cuppa Earl Grey.

            

     Sadly, I’m not British. So this is an unfulfilled dream, and shall likely remain so unless someone wants to buy me a ticket to a certain foggy island? Anywho, thank you for reading my blog, it has been fun, maybe I’ll continue blogging, maybe not. Until I decide if I want to or not, this is goodbye. God Save The Queen!

Green Tea! Not Coffee, but close enough?

Hello readers! For today’s blog (well I should say tonight), I’m going to  do something a bit different. I’m going to venture into the world of tea. You may think “Pfbbbt! This is supposed to be a coffee blog, tea doesn’t count” but you are….. really freaking super duper full of poop…er wrong. Although different in taste, tea is (for the most part) a healthier alternative to coffee. My particular favorite, green tea, is jam packed full of anti-oxidants and other healthy science things. It also packs a ton of caffeine, serving the same purpose as coffee. It is for this reason that I have Tazo’s Zen Green Iced Tea as my choice for today.

Before starting with the tasting, let’s get some green tea vibes going. For some reason, whenever I think of green tea, I think of hippies. Hippies aren’t bad people. In fact, they are really good people sometimes. All that acid short dropped short-circuited them every once in a while and caused them to forget where their house is, but I think the weed helped chill them out. It is due to these chilled out acid trippers association with the ganga that green tea seems to work in my brain. Sure, Mr. Hendrix lit his guitar on fire, but I’d like to think that after going nuts on stage he kicked back with some groupies and drank tons of green tea to help him relax… or consumed something green at least…

Anyway, I got really off-topic, so time to return to my tea. Zen Green Tea boasts that it is a simple green tea with hints of spearmint and lemongrass. These added hints of flavor help to create the refreshing taste I love in green tea. The spearmint isn’t overpowering, it doesn’t send you to some icy, mountainous region full coldness with  Lindsey Stirling, but it does provide that needed minty-ness to the equation. To add to the mind, in comes the lemongrass. You must be thinking, spearmint and lemongrass? Tazo must be on CRAZY PILLZ! But it works so well! The lemongrass is subtle, like adding lemon to a glass of water, it simply enhances the flavor from boring water to “HOLY CRAP! MY WATER IS CITRUSY!”

Making the tea is simple. Get some hot water. Pour it over some green tea bags. Let that water steep for 5 minutes. Take the teabags out and then dilute the concentrated tea with equal parts water. Bam. You now have green tea. So why don’t we taste it?

First Sip: Summer comes along

Second Sip: Me and green tea are gonna be friends

Third Sip: Say it aint so, green tea! You can’t already be gone!

Green tea is much like summer for me. I get it, I enjoy it and relax, and forget I have stuff to do until I realize that summer is already gone, along with my green tea. If you are not a coffee person (it’s okay if you’re not. Perfection is not for everyone), then I strongly recommend trying green tea. If you must sweeten it, don’t put sugar, but throw in some honey from a local beekeeper (it will help with your allergies. Some science things about the bees and pollen that I don’t want to get into because I will never finish this blog by midnight and I doubt you want to read five more paragraphs explaining the wonderful world of bees).  Thanks for reading, and enjoy your summer! 

Caffe Verona: The Classiest Coffee You Will Ever Experience.

Hello all! As the semester begins to wind down, the assignments begin to pile up and the stress begins to build. It is due to the eminent doom of the coming finals that I have decided to do a blog that will help to relax you as you study for those tests and pound out those papers. It is for this reason that I have chosen my favorite coffee provided by Starbucks, Caffe Verona.

Verona is a blend that can be best described in one word: classy. This coffee is smooth and suave, filling your senses with chocolaty, roasty, goodness.  For me, it’s everything a good blend of coffee should be. It keeps a balance between a smooth body and subtle acidity. It’s the kind of coffee that I imagine one would drink: at home, snuggled up in a blanket and watching Disney movies; at two in the morning trying to stay awake in order to type up that last paragraph of a ten page paper; or at a ritzy coffee tasting event (I don’t know if such a place exists, but due to my love of coffee, I like to tell myself that it does). With this in mind, I will briefly walk you through a tasting of Verona. Keep in mind, my adoration for this blend provides a strong bias, but I believe the bias is justified.

In order to fully enjoy this tasting, I put on some mood music.  

The first sip of Verona is always the best sip of coffee you will ever enjoy… until you get to the second sip. Verona is typically a dessert coffee. It carries undertones of chocolate and nuts, therefore I encourage you to eat a chocolate chip cookie or five while drinking it. If you don’t have chocolate chip cookies, anything else chocolate works just as good… and if you don’t have chocolate in your house, you probably aren’t a good person and should leave my blog immediately (just kidding… but seriously… get some damn chocolate!). I can’t simply describe one sip, due to the euphoric state I am transported to upon drinking this coffee, but I can describe my emotions as my cup slowly travels from a state of overflowing to a state of emptiness. They go as follows:

Full Cup: Happy

Half Full: Still Happy, but know the end is soon

Empty Cup: “HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!?!?!? I MUST HAVE MORE!”

I sound like a drug addict, but I can’t help it! Verona is the best coffee I have had to date. Other coffees, such as Bella Donavon from Blue Bottle, are fantastic, but I don’t think anybody has been able to achieve so fine a blend as Starbucks’ Caffe Verona. It’s like a chocolate cello of sound and my mouth is the lucky recipient of this beautiful concerto concerto.  While drinking it, I I do believe Andrea Bocelli Singing Por Ti Volare in the background would be ideal, but sadly, he is otherwise occupied and is actually quite expensive as a private entertainer, so I must be satisfied with his presence on Youtube.

Well, that is all I have time for, so hopefully you enjoyed this blog and I pray that it helped you relax.  Thanks for reading!

                Nathan

Grady's Cold Brew (Smoother Than Michael Jackson)

Hello everyone!

              First, play this song before you begin reading and let it play as you read. Second, I would like to apologize for this blog being bit later than usual. I’ve been on Spring Break and my brain really doesn’t want to do some more blogging. But, I have finally slain the beast of procrastination and picked another coffee to taste. Today I picked Grady's Cold Brew. Grady’s is interesting due to a very complicated way they process the coffee which I didn’t quite understand and I don’t think many people do. As best as I can understand, they brew coffee through a filtration system that brews the coffee cold rather than hot, unlike most ice coffees, which are brewed hot and then poured over ice. This makes for a unique blend of coffee that has made Grady’s rather popular in New York, where it originated.

              

            I actually acquired this blend from a friend of mine who insisted I try it after I explained to him my blog. Honestly, at first thought, Grady’s sounded rather… Okie to me. I imagined a bunch of Hillbillies jumping around a giant iceberg made of coffee, hyped up on coffee and singing Cotton Eye Joe. Whilst looking for a version I recognized, I found many strange versions of Cotton Eye Joe, One Remix was most amusing.  After making some very unfortunate guesses as to what this blend would taste like (moonshine, corn, chicken, unfortunate marital decisions, etc.), I decided to take a sip.

First sip: Smooth

Second Sip: Smoother

Rest of the cup: Smoothest

                This off coffee must have been brewed by mostly-white Michael Jackson himself. Smooth and light, but maintaining enough of that darkness to keep it dancing on my tongue (sorry if that offends you, but… I don’t care). The coffee was wonderful, and I suggest you try it for yourself. To buy some of this delicious coffee brewed by the king of pop himself, visit the Grady’s website hyperlinked in the blog. Other than that, Enjoy the fantastic smoothness of Mr. Jackson whilst you continue to read other blogs.

Iced Coffee, Plus A Playlist!

                Hi guys! As I was thinking of what kind of coffee to talk about for this blog, I noticed the increased warmth of the weather as we slowly slide into the two weeks of spring we, as inhabitants of the central valley, enjoy. With this in mind, I think it is necessary to take a look into at least one (if not more) blends of ice coffee to try in the next couple of posts. For my first ice coffee blog, I decided to stay in my comfort zone and go with Starbucks’ iced coffee blend. Some people enjoy their ice coffee with milk and sugar in it, but I like to taste my coffee in hardcore mode, so I do without the foofiness and go with a simple cup of black ice coffee as I rock out to some Noah and the Whale in my car (and yes, I do sing obnoxiously loud as I drive, it’s the only way to drive).

                

              The first thing to mention about the Starbucks’ version of ice coffee is that is normally brewed at double strength and then poured over ice in order to dilute it. Some coffee purists say that this ruins the taste of the beverage, but I beg to differ. I thoroughly enjoy it just the way it is.

              

               But enough with the chit-chat, let’s talk about some coffee! Starbucks’ ice coffee blend used to be called Gazebo, but I guess they thought it was confusing for people, so they renamed it simply the Ice Coffee blend. It’s a medium roast coffee, so it’s a bit stronger than a blonde coffee (thank god), but not so strong that you feel like you’re drinking liquid dirt. It’s tough to describe the smell of the drink, because I kept getting my nose wet, but it seems to stay on that basic coffee smell that is associated with deliciousness. Anywhos, let’s talk about the taste in relation to music.

               

                I briefly mentioned my pick being somewhat influenced by the weather. With this in mind, I have decided to pair ice coffee with some happy, sun-shiny music. When drinking ice coffee, I can’t help but think of the Avett Brother’s Kick Drum Heart. This song makes me want to go do things involving sunshine and happiness. This song is also great for blasting whilst driving around town with the windows down. To add to this idea of spring time happiness, I have to include Brand New Key by Melanie; it’s such an enjoyable little tune.

                There are so many songs that I wanted to jam into this blog, that rather than placing them in hyperlinks within the actual explanation (of sorts) of coffee, I decided to create a list of essential songs to listen to while you enjoy the fantasmal weather we are currently experiencing (you don’t have to listen to them, but if I had to give one recommendation, I would have to suggest Dance Number 802 by Oreskaband, it’s the ultimate happy song).

1. Summer House - Gold Motel

2. Pool Party - The Aquabats

3. Hold It In - Jukebox The Ghost

4. Tighten Up - The Black Keys

5. She's Got Sorcery - I Fight Dragons

6. Mississippi Isabel - King Charles

7. Dance Number 802 - Oreskaband

8. Kids' - MGMT

         

Christmas Coffee? Could It Be?

      Hello readers! As I have consumed coffee over the years, I have learned it is important to branch out of your normal blends of coffee, and try something a little different. With this in mind, I decided to do a tasting of Blue Bottle Coffee’s Bella Donavon Blend. I’m going to spoil the next couple of paragraphs just to say that this coffee was an incredible treat. As it sat in the French press, waiting to be poured into a simple porcelain cup, I could see delectable drink slowly transforming itself into an adventurous tasting session. With this being said, I guess I should begin to share my experience with the coffee.

              

    I learned of the Blue Bottle Coffee Company due to a video emailed to me by the wonderful Kathy Godfrey which interviewed three coffee companies who roast their own coffee. Each of these companies, Lamill Coffee, Handsome Coffee, and Blue Bottle Coffee provides excellent blends, roasted to perfection, all of which I can’t wait to try. It was impossible to choose between which of these I wanted to start with, so I did eeny-meeny-miney-moe, and ended up with Blue Bottle’s Bella Donavon.

               

       

     Bella Donavon is described by its manufacturer as having heavy, comforting, and deeply-fruited attributes. The thought I immediately got was a heavy wool sweater coffee, which reminded me of Christmas, which sent me to possibly the best Christmas song, Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. This is all the research I decided to do before taking a sip because I didn’t want any pre-conceived notions to sway my opinion on this blend, so with Christmas in mind and a sweater as a garment, I took my first sip.

BAM!

               

       It wasn’t Christmas, but it was some heavy comfort that rested itself onto my palette. It was a mixture of a little bit of the delicious bitterness of a good coffee with a weight that kept the bitterness in check; the balance between the acidity of the coffee and the fullness of its flavor immediately made me want to drink a gallon or two. Sadly, I did not buy enough beans for a gallon, so I stayed with the twelve ounces of Bella Donavon.

               

          As I sat, contemplating how I could characterize this coffee musically, my computer began playing a new artist that I had recently acquired called The Venetia Fair. I looked to what song was playing, and believe it or not, the song was titled Only In The Morning. I would like to warn you that this song is a bit heavy, but I couldn’t help it. This song seemed to be a godsend. It’s almost too heavy at the beginning, but the chorus lightens up the mood, adding that little bit of, for the sake of comparison, acidity which is needed to balance. By acidity, I’m referring to the lead singer, Benny Santoro’s vocals. They’re almost high-pitched, but they don’t get to that screech that makes you want to tear you ear-holes apart.

       So that is that. Sorry for the length of this post, but I couldn’t help myself. If you would like to purchase some of Blue Bottle’s Bella Donavon, go to their website: http://www.bluebottlecoffee.com. If you would like to watch the video that I watched which introduced me to this company, here is the link. If you want to check out Venetia Fair, here is their Facebook page. Thank you for reading!

Nathan

Casi Cielo! (Flamenco Style Coffee)

      In my last post, I talked about a lighter roast of coffee called Veranda. I feel bad starting out with such an awful coffee that I have decided to jump to something amazing and awesome in order to make up for it. So, without further ado, I present you with one of my favorite blends: Starbucks’ Casi Cielo.

    Casi Cielo is a wonderfully rich blend of beans. It originates from Guatemala and is claimed by Starbucks to be such a great coffee that they gave it a name which translates to “Almost heaven”. The description given by Starbucks states that Cielo will have undertones of lemon and dark cocoa. With this in mind, I sped over to the nearest grocery store and grabbed a bag of assorted Ghirardelli chocolates and began my exploration into this Spanish heaven contained in the coffee.

    While thinking about the origins of Cielo, I attempted to think of a good blend of music to go with the coffee. With the descriptions, the one thing that kept popping up in my mind was Antonio Banderas, a smooth, classy Spaniard who has the same appeal to the ladies (and some gentleman as well) as chocolate does. Lo and behold, there is a video of Mr. (er. I mean Sr) Banderas playing guitar from the movie "Once Upon A Time In Mexico". 

And thus began my first sip of “almost heaven.”

     The result was something along the lines of this.

My mind was blown. I loved it. I wanted the coffee materialize into a Spanish women so I could take her flamenco dancing to the music inspired by this tasting. It was indeed “almost heaven”. The combination of the Ghirardelli chocolates  added to the chocolate texture and as I continued to consume both the chocolate and the coffee simultaneously, I slowly fell in love with this dark, mysterious coffee from Guatemala.