Starbucks Tanzania Citrus and Blackcurrant Coffee

Starbucks Tanzania Citrus and Blackcurrant CoffeeOur first Starbucks – people have been asking Where are the Starbucks?!!  So we picked this one to start, drawn in by the idea that this tastes of black currants. First things first: it doesn’t. Again we fall foul of the self grind and I think over grind it, giving a very muddy coffee resulting in a dry taste. There’s nothing else that stands out about this – which is shocking considering the whopping £4.25 price tag. That’s nigh on double the cost of a packet of the Taylors Hot Lava Java. Needs a second try. Initial Judge rating just 5/10!

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Taylors Colombia High Andes Coffee

    Taylors Colombia High Andes CoffeeFrom reading the blurb on the packet from Taylors (see below) you'd expect this to taste more like a fruit bowl than coffee. Well thank god it actually is coffee. The only way you'll taste "lemony citrus notes" in this is if you suck on a lemon for half an hour before hand. Why is "lemony" a desirable "note" to have anyway?  And what the f*#k is a "note" and why is it in my cup? Anyway – the coffee is pretty fine – heavy and full of flavour. There maybe is a slight metallic aftertaste – you can still feel the coffee ten minutes later. For that reason I'd take it down a peg from a Judges rating of 7 to 6.

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Cafe Direct Kilimanjaro Tanzania Coffee

Cafe Direct Kilimanjaro Tanzania CoffeeThis one is not bad at all. Looks and smells great – the whole room had the warm and welcoming feel from the aroma wafting off these 3 cups. the pale head was there at the start, and stayed there all the way down to the bottom. A very full taste with maybe a hint of a sour aftertaste that lingers for a while on the very back of the tongue. This is a strength 3 officially – but it’s hitting above that I think – a 4 easily. Judges rating 7/10

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Tesco Finest Colombian Supremo Coffee

Tesco Finest Colombian Supremo CoffeeA good white foam on this one – it looks fantastic. But the taste is dry, bitter and lemony. The aftertaste really stays on your tongue too – there’s no escaping this one once you’ve swilled some down -you’re committed to this thing for the next 15 minutes, like it or not. Maybe it needs a bit more sugar than normal to try and balance it out. It doesn’t have that cheap French-Hypermarket-Coffee burn, but it may as well be as cheap as it’s as undrinkable – just in a different way. A very low judge rating of 4/10.

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Sainsburys Taste the Difference Costa Rica Tarrazu Coffee

Sainsburys Taste the Difference Costa Rica Tarrazu CoffeeThis came out lovely with a nice head on it in the mug. The strength was good and bitter – but it just lacked that smoothness that you need to help a strong coffee slip down. It was slightly fighting with my throat on the way down – resisting being drunk. There’s a slight citrusy twang to it, not in Fairy Liquid kind of way; much more subtle. This could be due to the slice of lemon cake I ate just beforehand though. The packaging of these Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference coffees is all wrong though – and I think that sets your mind ready to eat a packet of raisons and not drink coffee. I’m sure that’s caused it to lose a point… Judges Rating – 7/10

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Miles Coffee Mr. Miles Blend

Miles Coffee Mr. Miles Blend

The packet of this looks tacky – it looks more like a bag of twiglets. The coffee comes out good though – strong and bitter with a long lasting taste, yet no burning after taste. It must be ground quite fine as there were tell tale ring marks down the side of the mug – but in this case I think it added to the taste as they rate this as only a strength 3. Rated 7/10

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Caffe Nero Classico House Blend Coffee

Caffe Nero Classico House Blend Coffee

There’s no strength on this – it just says “medium roast” – so we’ve put it down as a 3, and it tastes like it. From the moment I spooned it in it felt very granular and that 5 spoons just would not be enough. It wasn’t – it had no depth of flavour at all. The taste is fine though – it’s just yet another coffee that needs to be tweaked from the norm when making it. SIX spoons next time!  Judges rating 6/10

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Cafe Direct Machu Picchu Peru Coffee Beans

Cafe Direct Machu Picchu Peru Coffee

So we have to grind the beans for this one. I’m never sure if it makes any difference – that fresh ground is better that already ground. It’s easier to OD though – you know that 5 spoons of this would be too harsh. The smell from the cup is not massive – it could be anything – but that’s always the way with freshly ground. This is an expensive brew – 4 quid a packet – and for that I expect a lot. At 4 spoons I just don’t think it does the trick – the lingering heavy coffee aftertaste is just not there. It’s nice for sure… but needs a re-test on 5 spoons. Rated 6/10 on this first taste.

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Good African Uganda Rukoki Gold Coffee

Good African Uganda Rukoki Gold Coffee

This looks good when you open it – a funky packet, very modern, yet very “fair trade”, nice and granular with a good whiff. In the jar it foams well – you are expecting a good cup from this. And yes, it is good. It looks like hot chocolate and I don’t know if this is just the power of suggestion, but it has a choccy taste to it. It different for sure to our recent run of Taylors. Though its leaving ring marks down the side of my cup as it depletes. Is this what it’s doing to me too? The “fruity overtones” never happened. Thank God. Judges at 7/10

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Taylors After Dark Coffee

Taylors After Dark Coffee

The packaging on this says it’s is going to be good. Luxurious and still a healthy strength 5. I think we’ve been spoilt though by another knockout Lava Java this morning, because this one just lacks any depth at all. Rich and velvety is the description of the Java, not this. It’s hard to judge it objectively now – it needs to be the first of the day and not following in the Java’s wake. For now a 7/10… then updated to an 8/10!

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