Hello readers! Those of you who frequent this site probably noticed my long absence. The especially astute will notice that it coincided with the holiday season.  Yes I know I do this every year, and apologize for my vanishing act every year. Like it probably has been for many of you, this past season has been a doozy. Got a new vehicle and a new TV. December was spent traveling around visiting family, helping take decorations up and down, and having dinner after heaping dinner. January has been spent in busy season at my job, dodging the cold weather whenever possible, and watching the sunlight return one extra minute of daylight at a time. Wherefore art thou, equinox?

I simply haven’t had time to visit any coffee houses. The good news is, this year the coffee houses came to me! My Mom bought me a lot of new gourmet coffee for Christmas (somehow she guessed that I enjoy such things), and I’m going to showcase a few of those new finds here in lieu of new coffee spots. In fact I have several places that I want to visit in the near future, one of them in Baltimore, so stay tuned. Plus, I’m revamping the site with an all-new system for grading the overall “coffeehouse experience.” Until then, enjoy a few tastes of what I got for Christmas!

The one right below is from Gold Box Roastery (obviously) based in the city of Newcastle in the UK.  My first impression was that it makes a good afternoon or lunch blend. It’s made from Arabica beans sourced from Dubai. It has a very refined flavor, but not quite as good as the bouquet which is really spectacular and nice to smell in the kitchen! That being said, all of the specialty coffees from this roaster receive over 80 points (in cupping), so this is high quality stuff. I would say that, flavorwise, it exemplifies the Arabica bean in its floral and nutty overtones.

Now this coffee was fun. It’s the brand created by Joey Kramer of Aerosmith for some reason. This is definitely more of a breakfast blend, having a more “bright” and acidy quality. It’s a medium roast, but treat it as a light roast.

I saved the best for last. This is an offering from Green Mountain Coffee in Vermont. It’s a venerable name and easily recognizable to anyone who really gets into the coffee world. It’s a fair trade organic blend, and they don’t say what it’s blended from. From the earthiness of the overall package I’d guess somewhere in South America. It’s a more typical (and I would say better quality) blend than the previous coffee (sorry Aerosmith), but I’ve always favored heavier, less acidic mixtures. Have this with cookies or with dinner if you don’t mind a late night.