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