Say No To Bad #Coffee

just say no to bad coffee

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I get coffee sent to me all of the time.  I’ve been really fortunate that the great majority of these coffees have been exceptional. I’m really impressed at the number of coffee roasters that do an amazing job. Companies obviously hope that I like their stuff, and feel obliged to blog about it.  I don’t think they entertain the thought of what will happen if I do not like it.  In the past, I’ve just ignored coffees that were bad and have not shared them with you.  I didn’t want to hurt feelings, or seem disrespectful.  On the other hand, I think it is more important to let the chips fall where they may, and be honest with my visitors.  So here goes nothin’…

Here are a couple of shipments of coffee that I did not really enjoy.  This doesn’t mean that these companies don’t have some quality coffees, but the ones they chose to send to me were less than stellar.


  1. Newhall Coffee
    First up, is Newhall Coffee.  A long time ago, they shipped me a monstrous number of coffees from their California Blends.  Whoever is in charge of shipping coffee to bloggers and reviewers really needs to learn a couple of things.  First, never ship preground coffee to anyone who really cares about coffee.  I tried a cup of each of the blends, and was less than impressed by the bland, thin, and even at times revolting flavors.  Their website says they hand pick the top %1 of beans, but that was definitely not reflective in these blends.
  2. CoffeeAM
    I received some coffees from CoffeeAM recently.  These coffees were not in the poor state that the Newhall coffees were, but they were decidedly underwhelming.  I tasted the Costa Rican Reserve, Kenyan, and Sumatra Black Satin.  None of the coffees were terrible, but they didn’t excite me either.  The worst of the three was the Sumatran.  I like a Sumatran to be roasted full city, but this was charred.  It also left me with an upset stomach with each cup.  The Costa Rican was palatable, but nothing spectacular.  I’ve had Costa Rican coffees that were exceptional, but this wasn’t one of them.  I am tempted to order some Ethiopian Sidama from them, before I make my final determination about this company.  Perhaps I just got a series of coffees that I personally don’t like.

A couple of suggestions of where to buy coffee online are:

GoCoffeeGo.com –  These guys have a collection of coffees from the best roasters in North America, all in one spot!  They have frequent deals, and they make it easy to try new stuff with one easy checkout process.

Camano Island Coffee – This company has a few amazing coffees.  They could have more, but I’ve only had a few of them and I loved all of them.  Most notably was the Papua New Guinea.  A company built on sustainable practices.  Check out my full review of Camano Island Coffee Roasters.

What do you think?!

What do you think about bad coffee?  Is bad coffee better than no coffee?  Do you drink coffee for its medicinal properties, or for the total experience?  I drink it for the total experience, and will opt for water when faced with the choice between bad coffee, or no coffee.  How about you?

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Ingredients of a So-Called Healthy Coffee : #coffee

 
Organo Gold Cafe Latte Ingredients

Ingredients of a ‘Healthy’ Coffee

I’m really down on these ‘healthy’ coffee companies. While there are several other scammy outfits out there selling snake oil, it blows my mind that these people try to market to people who actually know what coffee tastes like, and that whole bean coffee is naturally healthy. It’s like trying to tell a cigar aficionado that a Swisher Sweet is better than a Fuente Fuente OpusX, or serving fish sticks to a food critic who specializes in seafood.

This week, somebody sent me a sample of ORGANO GOLD CAFE LATTE. I had to laugh when I opened the package, as I remember saying “These clowns are relentless!” Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t send me their miracle coffee, begs me to join their healthy coffee company to become a millionaire, or requests to advertise on my site. The answer to all of these requests is NO FREAKING WAY! I have yet to taste a ‘healthy coffee’ that I would even consider finishing the cup, let alone drinking it by choice.

Do yourself a favor and enjoy a cup of the REAL healthy coffee…coffee! The stuff grows on trees, and it is only processed by drying and roasting. How in the world could turning it into a powder and lacing it with preservatives be better than the natural product? By adding a mushroom extract? I don’t think so. Give me the original “healthy coffee”…real coffee!!!! (Health benefits of coffee) The reason for this post is to share the ‘healthy’ ingredients of this “beverage”. No matter what unproven health benefits this mushroom may possess, I would have to say that in this form it would be negligible. I prefer to keep having my mushrooms sauteed and served with steak, not in my coffee.

There’s a reason that the Organo Gold website makes zero claims about having any health benefits. The only people you will ever hear making claims about this product are the ones who are selling it. Nobody buys it retail and the company doesn’t stand behind the claims that their representatives are making. If there’s no documented health benefits and it doesn’t taste good, don’t buy it. If there are health benefits realized by taking the mushroom, buy it from a health food store. Don’t use it to add to a low grade coffee-type beverage.

Organo Gold Cafe Latte Ingredients


Organo Gold Cafe Latte Ingredients

  • Sugar
  • Non-Dairy Creamer
  • Glucose Syrup Solids
  • Vegetable Fats (Palm Oil)
  • Sodium Caseinate
  • Dipotassium Phosphate
  • Pentasodium Triphosphate
  • Mono & Diglycerides
  • Riboflavin
  • Sodium Aluminum Silicate
  • COFFEE
  • Organic Ganoderma Extract

 

 

Healthy Coffee Scam!

Have a coffee question…ASK COFFEENATE!

“Healthy Coffee”…have you seen this garbage?  I think it is quite comical how these Amway type ‘coffee’ sales people try to pedal their nasty swill to people who drink specialty coffee.  Talk about a waste of time!  This is akin to trying to sell Boone’s Farm to a group of wine aficionados, or trying to [Read more…]

#Coffee Anagram…with a little help from you c[_]

latte from Intelligentsia in ChicagoPin It
Latte from Intelligentsia (Chicago: Millennium Park)

 

Here is a little coffee anagram that I wrote. Well, I wrote most of it and left the final “E” to the CoffeeNate.com facebook community, and Drew came through with the perfect phrase! I hope you like it 😀

C –

Caffeine: Without it I would have to sleep.

 

O –

Origins: Many & varied, which uniquely impact each brew.

 

F –

Farmers: The foundation of our daily cup!

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The Clover Coffee Brewer :: Great Northern Roasting Company

Have a coffee question…ASK COFFEENATE!

Roaster Jack Davis : GNRC

A couple of months ago I was griping about never having tasted coffee brewed in the Clover.  Now that the Clover is owned solely by Starbucks appeared to make my quest to taste superb coffee brewed by this method in vain.  Even if I wanted to experience the Starbucks coffee brewed in the Clover, I would have to drive more than 400 miles to the nearest Starbucks that offers Clover brew.  I was lamenting this sad fact on Twitter one day and I was surprised by the response I got.

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