#BeckThinks

  Tre Venezie Nero Barocco Dark Roast Yep! We've got another blend from Tre Venezie! I’ve reviewed a couple coffees from this company and really enjoyed them. Though, I’m not normally a dark roast girl, so this one had me worried.   It’s a very very dark roast. So much can go wrong. One second too long on the heat and you’ll have a bitter, carbon-filled cup on your hands. Roasting to a perfect dark is a game of finesse and exacting standards that I frankly don’t trust most roasters to maintain.   So, I was worried this roast would ruin my good opinion of Tre Venezie as a great, if not a little timid roaster.   Oh, me of little faith. 😏 Fragrance: This is a complex mix of florals and smoke. All the fruitiness has been roasted away, but what is left is a swirling sweetness and a bold presence that immediately beckoned me to tuck in.   Flavor: As I said, Dark roast can go terribly wrong very quickly. The perfect dark roast appears for milliseconds when exposed t...

  Holy moly, y’all. H&D is at it again, making all the other flavored coffees look like child’s play. I’ve got a new favorite! Fragrance: As soon as this liquid happiness hit the cup, I was overcome by the smell of warm cinnamon. Hazelnut praline followed after. I was overcome with images of snowy mountain cabins and cozy sweaters by the fireplace. This is exactly the drink you hope for after building a snowman.   Flavor: Now THIS was a surprise. There’s something minty going on here! Almost like the scent of pine, but as a flavor. The toasted nuttiness and cinnamon round out this Christmas on Martha’s Vineyard in a cup.   Recommended for:   Restoring your faith in flavored coffee.   Dessert. These flavors are cozy and decadent.   Get up and go. This cup both relaxes and energizes me.   Not recommended for: Heavy additives. This coffee is perfect black. Any sugar risks making it cloying and anything but a splash of cream could overwhelm it. Coffee...

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...