Catch-up Post

This blog was born out of a piece of paper on my refrigerator. For my own curiosity, and goal of not repeating coffee blends too often, I write down when I start using a particular brand/bean. Since I'm the only person in my home who drinks coffee and I only drink in the morning, a typical pound of coffee lasts a few weeks. The blog started because I thought, "Hey I should type this list on my computer so I don't lose it." Then I had the realization, "Maybe I should blog about my coffee!" In order to catch-up to what I am presently drinking, here's a review of what I've been drinking over the past few months along with my thoughts on what it tasted like, for those that I can remember. You'll be able to see how inconsistent I was with writing down, particularly though most of 2012


2011
9/1 - Barnie's Guatemala Antigua
9/25 - Barnie's Ethopian Sidamo
I have tried this a few times and have been pretty pleased.
??? - Sweetwater something
11/21 - Barnie's Tanzanian Peaberry
I am amazed how well this bean lives up to the title of peaberry. It's TINY! I don't recall much about the flavor, but the bean is close to half the size of other beans.

2012
3/24 - Barnie's Blend
This blend was likely something that I drank though much of that blank space. I would purchase it roughly every 3rd bag. It's fairly inexpensive, for Barnie's coffee around $9.99/lb if I recall. Simple flavor, nothing complex. The kind of coffee that you can drink a couple cups and will still enjoy every last sip.
8/2 - Barnie's Global Blend
If I remember this correctly this is a little more pricey than the Barnie's Blend with maybe a little more complex flavor.
9/2 - Fairway Supreme Blend
Fairway Market is a wonderful supermarket to shop in. It has a feel of a small mom and pop store. Every employee is an expert in their area and the coffee guy/girl is no exception. I don't recall details on this coffee, but will have a detailed review on Fairway to Heaven Blend very soon. (I'm drinking that one now.)
9/2 - Dunkin Donut's
DD's used to be a great coffee to drink at their stores. When I made it at home it didn't have the same smoothness. Now both the coffee at their stores and making it at home is less than stellar. I've messed around with different amounts of beans/water, but can't seem to find the right mix between bitter and watered-down. I'm pretty sure this was BOGO at Publix, which is why I bought it.
10/6 - Sweetwater Viennese
From what I recall this was a very tasty coffee.
11/1 - Publix Greenwise Columbian
Another sale coffee. I had low expectations for this coming in, but was pleasantly surprised. Publix brands generally are pretty good (their muenster cheese is 1000x better than Boar's Head!) It's a decent coffee especially when you catch it on a good sale.
11/15 - Caribou Mahogany
Yuck! Taste's like blah with a splash of caramel.
12/2 - Caribou Columbia
Yuck! Taste's like blah without the excitement of caramel.
??? - Santa's White Christmas
It's not Thanksgiving/Christmas without this wonderful coffee! Generally I am not a flavored coffee fan, except for in the evening. Since I VERY rarely drink coffee at night it's even more rare for me to drink flavored coffee. SWC is the perfect amount of holiday flair and just good coffee. The good news is Barnie's does stock this year-round, so if I get the holiday urges in July I can satisfy them. Wait!?! Who gets holiday urges in Florida, in July, when it's 95 degrees out!?!

Look for 2013 in future posts! Fairway to Heaven Blend is up next!

Equipment

Here is what I use to brew my daily coffee!

Black & Decker CBM210 Stainless Steel Burr Coffee Mill

I purchased this grinder around August 2010. I saw the burr mill and cheap cost, around $25 on sale at Kohl's, and was attracted to it. Prior to this I used a standard blade grinder. Like many of the reviews on Amazon, it seems to grind the beans a little uneven, but seems to do the job fairly well. Yes, my wife says I should clean it more often. 

Cuisinart DCC-2000 Coffee-on-Demand 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker

This coffee maker was a wedding gift on our registry. It was destined to be the "party" coffee maker, but my small glass carafe met an unwilling demise on the kitchen floor. Instead of going out to purchase a new one we decided to break this one out of the wrapper.

I'm the only one in the house, so a 12-cup coffee maker might be a bit overkill, but it works. My morning "cup" consists of five cups on the easy-to-read side water gauge. The auto-on function is very useful for having that hot cup ready to go as soon as you wake up. Very useful for me!