#BeckThinks

No lie. I was embarrassed to type this title. Extraneous foreign language alert! This KCup literally says “Hot Fudge Brownie With Hot Fudge.” Why the French, Guy? Aren’t you Italian anyway?   I really wanted you to redeem yourself, Guy. I was rooting for you. Now, its time to give you a piece of my caffeinated mind.  Fragrance:   The smell started out nicely. A dark roast with some warm chocolate. Upon closer inspection, it smells like fake chocolate flavor syrup. Flavor:  I confess. I’ve cheated. I added a LOT of milk to this bitter, syrupy brew. If you wonder what a brownie from a low-powered Star Trek food replicator probably tastes like, it’s this. Chemical, cloying, almost chocolate.   Am I turning into a “get off my lawn” lady or are flavored beans just failing left and right?? If you’re going to flavor your beans, use the highest quality ingredients you can find. If you’re cutting quality corners for mass production, I probably won’t drink it. You can tas...

  A dark roast called “Breakfast Blend?” Seems counterintuitive to me.   Fragrance: When an American orders coffee with their breakfast, they likely expect a full mug of dark liquid with no additives. When Italians order coffee with their breakfast, it comes as no surprise when they are served a very small cup of strong espresso and a bit of steamed milk dusted with cocoa powder. (IMO, this says a lot about the Italian philosophy of taking mealtime slowly, including the time to savor and appreciate your food and drink.) This full mug of dark liquid with no additives smells just like that very small Italian cup.   Flavor: With the exception of the milk, this mug also tastes like that tiny cup. Bold hits of espresso roast, dark chocolate, and that blessed nutty, carbon flavor that keeps me coming back for another sip. NOW I get why this is labeled the way it is!  It’s not “breakfast blend.” It’s “VENETIAN breakfast blend.”   Recommended for: Mangia bene ! Take y...

I was so excited to try this that I forgot to snap the pic before brewing!!! Barnie’s Coffee brings back great memories. They used to have a small walk-up cafe in my local mall growing up. My mom loves to shop, so we were often there bonding over our shared love of coffee. Something about sitting in a cafe with adults made this teenage girl feel very grown up. :)   Anyway- once the Starbucks moved in downstairs, time was ticking for the Barnie’s store. My mother fought for it, claiming that she wants her flavors in the roast, not by way of additives to unflavored coffee.   I admit, Barnie’s, I often chose the Starbucks. Chai had just become a thing and it got me. Ordering an obscure Turkish tea drink that I sampled during its limited release in Los Angeles trounced sitting in a cafe with adults.   However, any time I smelled White Christmas blend or walked by the cafe, Barnie’s got my love again.   So, many years after that cafe’s closing, one could imagine how excit...

A coffee from the company that makes one of my favorite popcorn snacks AND the most delicious individually wrapped pears ever?? Sign me up. Just a caveat: Maple Walnut flavored things can go very VERY wrong. So I approached this cup with excitement and apprehension.   Fragrance: Throw out your Yankee Candles. You can brew this stuff and your whole house will smell like a comfy, Canadian ski lodge with a fire and fluffy socks. Wait... the sock reference was illustrative of the FEEL,   not the SMELL. It doesn’t smell like socks. Unless they were maple walnut socks. That aren’t actually socks. Sock-adjacent maple walnut thingees. That.   Flavor: Holy cannoli! This is flipping delicious! The coffee itself is actually kinda bitter and acidic, but it needs to be in order to balance out the syrupy sweet maple walnut flavor. I don’t tend to like heavily flavored coffees, but with a little milk foam and some cinnamon... I’d die and go to Home Barista Heaven.   Recommended for...

  Here’s a honest-to-goodness actual review of Folgers Classic Roast.        Okay, so it’s the coffee that reminds me of visiting someone’s grandma. And the weird-ass Folgers Crystals thing. WTH, y’all. It’s motel room coffee machine coffee, right? The swill languishing in the bottom of a glass carafe brewer that sits buzzing and lurching in the nameless highway exit gas station.      No? Just me?        So, I admit that I have bias. Folgers and Maxwell House do not bring forth pleasant imagery of work worn hands plucking tropical beans for pre-roast inspection. They remind me of waiting rooms, service stations with dirty bathrooms, and uncomfortable conversations.        When I saw this pod in my newest variety pack, I rolled my eyes. Great. They sent me the worst part of waking up. Peter must have come home for Christmas. Get my pink bath robe and some hot rollers.        Then, my lawye...

  Just a warning in advance. This review may be biased because there are Manatees involved. Manatees are everything.  Though, they should have called it "dark island."  Carry on.   Fragrance: Dark chocolate, campfire s’mores, and a hint of floral. Sorta like a beach bonfire.   Flavor: Like it’s namesake, this brew is strong and gentle. Rich, full bodied roast that doesn’t leave you with a sharkbite aftertaste. It does have a rich chocolate undertone, but not in a candy bar sort of way. More like a $15 thimble full of chocolate mousse at a restaurant that requires a jacket. Similarly to watching a sea cow chomp on some floating lettuce, this brew is comforting, sweet, has a big presence, and is flipping majestic.   Recommended for:   Beachside sips while watching the sunset. This dark roast won’t hop you up all night.   A pleasant, slow swim. Take your time with this one.   Dessert. Cuz who’s counting calories around here?   Not recommen...

  Barista Prima Coffeehouse House Blend Medium Roast Coffee. That's a long ass name. This review proves that coffees covered in fancy sounding words in multiple languages are probably a let-down.  Fragrance:   It smells like hot chocolate with some coffee mixed into it. It’s a tad floral as well.    Flavor:   This is a very strong, somewhat bitter cup. I think some of the beans were over roasted, probably due to blending low quality beans with higher quality and roasting them at the same temperature and duration. The chocolate flavor is almost totally drowned by the bitterness. This cup reminds me of Maxwell House’s fancy blends. That’s not a compliment. Maxwell House is pretty terrible no matter what blend they sell you.  I tried adding a splash of milk and a touch of sugar to cut the bitterness. It was a little better, but the sugar and the coffee did a dance that left my mouth reeling between sweetness and bitterness. The additives felt separate fro...