Aldi's K-Cup - Fair Trade Colombian Blend Review

Well, I was a little harsh on one of Aldi's coffees.  If you think saying it was better to cut off your tongue with rusty scissors rather than drinking it was harsh.

Let it not be said that I am not a glutton for punishment - here is yet another review - this time of one of their K-Cup coffees - coffee made to use in your Keurig brewer.

I love my Keurig - it lets me have a decent cup of coffee at work, so I don't drink the office swill.  And since the office coffee is free (and I am cheap), you really should believe me that it is swill.

My usual blend is Newman's Special Blend, which is an "extra bold" roast, and I usually put three of my land o' lakes half and half's into it.  But at $5.99 for 12 K cups, the Aldi's blend met my criteria for K-cups - I want to pay less than 50 cents per cup.  So, what the heck.

First off, it is a "blend", so I don't know exactly how much "columbian" coffee is in it - all, or just a whisper.   However, I don't care that much - it is all about the taste.

Second, for those that care, it is fair trade certified.  Nice, but if it tastes like crap, really, who cares?

So - what do you get?

Labeled a "medium" roast, I would almost agree.  Seemed to be a light to medium roast.  The taste is good, not harsh, but definitely not too strong.  Good if you drink it black.  I did not have cream, but I am not sure if I would use it - seems like it is not strong enough to hold up to it.  But as black coffee - good.

Moderate scent - doesn't knock you over or impress that much

Seems a little thin in color.

Overall - I will buy it again at sub $6 a box of 12.  Decent coffee.  Good price.  If you like a light to medium roast black cup of coffee, I think this will pass your test.

If you want a lot of K-cup reviews, try here - this guys has to much money on his hands, but hey, good for us.

Aldi's Coffee Review Part Deux - Donut Store Blend

After the last fiasco with Aldi's Coffee, where I threw out the cat poop after one cup, I tried a different blend  - Aldi's Donut Store Blend, Whole Bean.  It's a good thing I bought them at the same time, because the first try was so awful.

So - Donut Store Blend.  A pale to medium roast - quite variable between beans.  I ground in our burr grinder fairly fine, then brewed in our drip brewer.  While it is a blonde roast, if  you use enough, it still brews strong.  Daughter #3 liked it well enough black, but it had enough body to taste decent with cream.  Daughter #1's response was a shrug - eh, ok.

So - overall, a decent brew for the cost ($4.99 for 12 oz whole beans).  Not my favorite, but drinkable.

Drink Coffee, Live Longer

JustSayin

Money Quote - In this large prospective study, coffee consumption was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality. 

Worst Coffee Ever

So bad it makes Folgers seem like fresh roasted Sidamo

So bad you would rather drink tea

So bad you would just as soon cut your tongue out with rusty scissors

I love Aldi's.  Cheap.  Good food (for the most part).  So shoot me, I tried one of their coffees.

So I went for the ground, Specially Selected Dark Roasted Ground Espresso

So incredibly awful.

So if you are thinking about buying some of this, remember the immortal words of Nancy Reagan

Starbucks Pumpkin Scone – dry, bland and just plain bad

I had some time to fill between meetings.  I like Starbucks if for no other reason I can get wifi and plow through some work.  I pay for this by purchasing a burnt coffee and some type of frozen and thawed/reheated bakery product.  It's generally edible, but like I said, I am paying for the wifi and ability to get some work done.

In doing this, I usually stick to one of their breads – lemon often.  It’s ok.  Nothing to write home about, but it’s generally edible.

No, I did not try to make those crumbs

I instead went for the pumpkin scone this week.  Bad Choice

Let’s see….it’s good points were….nothing.  Not much pumpkin flavor, dry, crumbly.  A perfectly terrible waste of $2.25.  I mean, awful.  Is it really so hard to make a product that your average starbuckian employee could thaw/reheat?

New York Times Article Hating on Starbucks – as Stupid as it Gets

The gray lady as an article on competing with Starbucks in Seattle, and posits it as Starbucks v. the little guy.  “Struggling against the Starbucks Tide”

Now, there are plenty of reasons to not like Starbucks.  Terrible bakery, bad coffee.  But the article talks about one chain (Starbucks) out competing a second chain (Tully's)  Really?  This is your point?  One corporation beating another is worthy of this screed. Tully's is freaking world wide, and somehow we should care?  Tully's strategy was to open up next to a Starbucks.  And they lost.  This could be an article on stupid business decisions, but no, it try's to make you think it is the big bad Starbucks putting down another local coffee shop.

Pheeh.

Starbuks Verismo - the promise of so much

Starbucks Verismo - promises to let you brew Starbucks Latte, Americanos, and all other Starbucks drinks.  Out for Christmas, they are peddling the story that it will destroy the rest of the market. I don't know - there are a lot of Keurigs out there already - can they overcome that lead?

Hopefully it will be a better tasting product than Via. While it certainly has good market share, it's taste is terrible.  I mean stale, burnt folgers bad.

Cute video for the Verismo however.

Good Coffee, TERRIBLE food

Cattails Coffee - Marshfield, WI.

They serve Alterra Coffee - perhaps the second best coffee you can buy (just behind Just Coffee), but if you reversed the two I would not be offended.

Cattails brew it alright (could use more coffee) but the food - a crime what they sell

How do they make scones - 4 easy steps

1. Open Freezer
2. Take out Box
3. Place premade scone on serving tray
4. Sell

$2 for a dry, tasteless, nasty scone.

Free Wifi. Good Coffee. Terrible Food.

Power to the People Coffee!

Great Coffee, from Just Coffee in Madison Wi.

They may be hippies, but darn fine coffee. Here in Eau Claire it is used as the coffee for Harmony Cafe (closed, but reportedly reopening). My kids find it funny that a climate change denying republican leaning old guy loves hippie coffee, but there you go

My favorite is Revolution Roast, but I have never tried one that wasn't great