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October 06, 2006
Cup O' Joe
There was a time when I loathed the taste of coffee. Seriously. I did. I loved the smell of brewing coffee but I hated the bitter heavy taste and hated that aftertaste even more.
But now I love coffee and drink at least a pot every day.
The End.
No. Not the end.
I learned to drink coffee over a period of about 6 months. And I do mean that I literally LEARNED to drink coffee.
It was back those dark days of D-I-V-O-R-C-E (say it like Tammy Wynette) when you try to find yourself, reinvent yourself or just plain want (need) to change yourself. Having tried many diets in my day to drop the weight I listened to people (women) (skinny women) tell me how they once where big fatties and when they started drinking coffee they began to be less hungry and therefore ate less during the day and then one day the magic skinny fairy came along and sprinkled them with skinny powder and voile! they were no longer big fatties but coffee drinking skinnies.
Short version of this story - It did not happen for me. Sure I drank more coffee, ate less, but did not drop any weight. So much for the coffee diet.
Since that time in my life I have developed an appreciation for coffee. A good hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning is a neccesity. And also a treat! Having a cup of coffee during the day is like having dessert for me. And it is not the caffiene. I can sleep after drinking an entire pot of high test as easily as having the decaf.
I have this ideal of what coffee is or should be. It is the days when this country was being settled. The coffee pot was brewed full and strong. Women brewed up a pot of coffee for their hard working men every morning and night. Hot coffee and sandwiches served in times of crisis. Hot coffee at every meal. We southerners like our sweet (and unsweetened) iced tea but we like our coffee as well. I can't even put into words this feeling or picture I have in my mind of what coffee represents. Cowboys drink it by the evening fire on the open range. Rescue workers drink it by the gallons to get through greuling hours of labor. Every factory worker, farmer, fisherman, miner, truck driver, waitress, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, pretty much starts, gets through and ends their day with a simple cup of black coffee.
When it comes to coffee I can be a bit of a pureist. When I want coffee I want coffee and not one of those strangely named creations from places like $t@rBucks and whatnot. Coffee from those places makes my mouth turn over giving me a full body shiver. The taste is not to my pleasure.
I prefer a columbian coffee with a good roast. I don't care for french roast. I don't care for beans from other parts of the world. Columbian is my coffee of choice. Nothing is more perfect that a steaming cup of black with a splash of cream. Steven drinks his just black. No cream splash. Colby drinks her's black with 1 packet of equal (sometimes splenda). See? We are the non-fussy just give it to me kind of coffee drinkers.
When I recieved an email asking me if I would participate in sampling Folger's new Gourmet Selections coffee I was a bit hesitant because I don't really do coffee flavors but I do like Folger's.
(I just bought one of those handy dandy new containers from folgers that keeps your coffee fresher longer. It does work. There is indeed a longer period of freshness. Before one of you coffee fanatics gets after me, yes, I do know that fresh ground is a more perfect way to make every pot of coffee but I am too lazy to grind the beans everytime. I am also too cheap to buy one of those grind/makers that magically grinds and brews and delivers steaming milk on the side. BUT if someone out there wants to send me one of those machines to try and review I would not turn you down. Nope. I sure wouldn't. A coffee center in my kitchen would be bitch'n.)
When I said I would try the new Folger's I didn't know if I would get one tiny package of each flavor that makes one pot of coffee to try or if I would be given a chance to taste and then taste again and really have an informed taste bud opinion of the Folger's product.
I was told I would recieve the coffee samples in 6-8 weeks and would I please inform the sender of the posting of my review. Imagine my surprise when 1 week later I recieved a box with the gourmet selections coffee from Folger's. I recieved the Vanilla Biscotti, Morning Cafe and Lively Columbian. Had I known the Chocolate Truffle was available I would have begged for it. I mean seriously, everyone knows that if there is a chocolate anything available it should go out the door first.
First I tried the Vanilla Biscotti. I love vanilla. I love biscotti. The coffee is a wonderful flavor combination. If you just so happen to have chocolate dipped biscotti on hand to have with the coffee you will want to make sure everyone is at work and/or school and the baby is down for the long afternoon nap so you can indulge alone savoring the coffee and the biscotti. I liked this coffee. I can see myself serving it to guests as well as having an occassional pot alone for myself. It is not a coffee that I could wake up too every morning. The flavor is just too full on to start the day with. I probably would not drink everyday. The flavor is such that it is for me an occassional thing.
Next I moved on to the Morning Cafe. O'kay. People. I could start every morning of the year with this blend. This is a smooth, wake me gently flavor. It smells wonderful while brewing. The first cup is like the first fingers of sunlight that break the eastern sky. Delicious.
Then I had the Lively Columbian. Columbian. My favorite. Just perfect. Thank you very much. This is a fine coffee. Just fine. This one I brewed in the afternoon. Because lively is what I need to be after Steven has had his nap.
Now I have tried other flavor blend coffee (you know that one that will also send you a free coffee maker or stainless stell thermal carafe and starts with a 'G'?)and I didn't like it at all. Folger's has produced a superior product that suits my tastes. And I think it might suit yours as well. Give it try.
There is only one thing I would change if I were making the Folger's Gourmey Selections coffee. Amaretto flavor. I love Amaretto coffee after a nice dinner. It would be a wonderful flavor to have during the holidays, too.
Folger's? What do you think? Amaretto maybe in the future?
Please?
Posted by Angie at October 6, 2006 04:33 AM
Comments
From one Columbian coffee lover to another, try Millstone Columbian and Millstone Hazelnut (amaretto) flavor. They are the coffees of choice for me, and failing to find those, I buy Eight O' Clock. I drink it black, no cream, no sugar, no Splenda. I drink 2-3 pots (8 cups) per day, and if a doctor were to tell me I had to give it up, I'd sooner die.
Posted by: kenju at October 6, 2006 08:34 AM
I love french roast coffees. And I drink Folgers Columbian regularly. I admit I like flavored creamers, because not everyone in my house likes the same flavor of coffee. But I do like looking for a special blend for special occasions. I'll have to look for the Vanilla Biscotti around Christmas time!
Posted by: InterstellarLass at October 6, 2006 11:57 AM
I recently discovered Wolgang Puck's coffee...absolutely amazine! It's very smooth with no aftertaste at all. I discovered it during chemotherapy and liked it anyway. That's saying something.
Posted by: ggirl at October 6, 2006 12:43 PM
I have tried and tried and tried to like coffee. I mean, they even give it to you for free in lobbies and waiting rooms the world over! But I have never been able to develop a taste for it, at all. I've tried flavored coffees and high-end coffees and everything and it's all just watery burnt beans to me.
You make a compelling case for it though, Angie! Makes me wish even more than I could appreciate the taste, but I just don't.
Posted by: Badger at October 6, 2006 01:21 PM
I am so jealous I love coffee. I would love to have tasted it for folgers and given them a review. I will be trying those coffee's they sound divine. So does the carmel one I saw on their site!
Have a great weekend Angie!
Posted by: kate at October 6, 2006 04:52 PM
The coffee love! I have it, too! And I much prefer a cup of my own coffee to a Starbucks creation.
Posted by: Miz S at October 6, 2006 06:32 PM
I can't wait to try these! I am a true fan of Chocolate Velvet by Millstone, but will not pay $7 per week to feed my addiction. I will add the chocolate Folgers to my list this week and give it a try!
Posted by: renn at October 6, 2006 06:46 PM
You make me want to break out my machine and buy some Folgers. I get so bored of green tea. My favorite hot drink is hot chocolate with baileys and amaretto, mmmmmgood.
Posted by: Hope at October 6, 2006 07:14 PM
I gave in and bought Folger's Chocolate Silk. It cost a little over $3, which is $4 cheaper than the Millstone Chocolate Velvet.
It is DELICIOUS.
Posted by: rennratt at October 7, 2006 03:59 PM
I am a coffee addict. It's bad, Ang. Seriously...
About a year ago, for my husband's birthday he got a new kind of coffee machine called "Keurig". http://www.keurig.com/
It is a one cup at a time coffee maker. I was totally against this at first but now I am a convert. It makes one cup fresh every time and it is the best coffee I've ever had at home. DELISH! The little K-cups are delivered to your house and you can go online and choose your flavors. It is the gift we are giving to quite a handful of friends & family this season. I have not been this excited about a product since Tivo!!
PS- I'm on the coffee diet now too :-/
Posted by: MommaK at October 8, 2006 11:28 AM
That's funny...that's not the comment I made at all. I'll try again...you should try Wolfgang Puck's coffee if you ever get a chance. Yum!
Posted by: ggirl at October 9, 2006 01:25 PM
Wow! I'm definitely going to try it now!
I'm soooo with you, though, on the coffee is like a dessert during the day. I LOVE a good cup of plain coffee, plain flavored, I mean. With milk and sugar, it is like having a treat in the middle of the day. In Argentina coffee is this huge socialization thing too. You are always going out for coffee with so and so, or sitting around for hours over coffee, and I just love the whole idea. It seems like such a treat.
And I drink decaf, so I definitely don't do it for the caffeine.
Posted by: halloweenlover at October 10, 2006 07:16 PM