Review: Water Avenue Coffee Company Pinot Noir Barrel Aged El Salvador (Portland, Oregon)

This coffee is going to likely be the closest I ever get to reviewing a flavored coffee on the blog. Water Avenue was on my “must try” list while I was in Portland, and it was the very last bag that I picked up. At that point, I had acquired two Kenyans, a blend, and […]

Review: Coava Coffee Roasters El Salvador La Esperanza, Limited Edition (Portland, Oregon)

Coava (pronounced KOH-vuh) has made quite a reputation for itself in the Portland coffee scene. The word “coava” refers to green (unroasted) coffee beans. This company offers only single-origin coffees; no blends. I had the pleasure of visiting one of their cafes while in Portland and had a memorable cup of Guatemalan coffee while sitting at […]

Review: Heart Coffee Roasters Kenya Kiangoi (Portland, Oregon)

After my lovely experience reviewing Heart Coffee Roasters Stereo Blend, I was very much looking forward to visiting a Heart cafe location while in Portland and picking up some of their single-origin beans. There were multiple locations in Portland and I don’t think I ended up at the biggest one, but the smallish location I visited […]

Review: Novel Coffee Roasters Ethiopia Idido (Dallas, Texas)

Novel Coffee Roasters is a Dallas-based company that is starting to gain a national presence; their coffees are currently available for purchase in coffeehouses in eight states, as well as online through their website (with FREE shipping!). I did a little googling on Novel and was charmed by the story of how they picked their […]

Review: Tweed Staycation Ethiopian Blend (Dallas, Texas)

On my most recent visit to Houndstooth Coffee, the baristas used me as a guinea pig and had me try an interesting concoction that was espresso + tonic water + lemon ice cubes + a sprig of rosemary. It was quite sweet and I told them it tasted like liquefied lemon LifeSavers, which they seemed pleased […]

Review: Ascension Brazil Rainha Farms (Dallas, Texas)

Sometimes, when I talk to people about the flavors in coffee, they get confused and think that I drink flavored coffees… you know, stuff like Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Peppermint Mochas, Red Velvet Frappuccinos. I admit that I enjoyed some vanilla lattes in my youth, but I haven’t had a “flavored” coffee in quite some time. You […]

Review: Lexington Coffee Roasters Guatemala Waykan (Lexington, Virginia)

Thanks again to my friend Sarah for these beans! 🙂 I consider my tasting skills to be decent, but I can’t hold a candle to the fine folks at Coffee Review. I purposely did not pay attention to the tasting notes on this coffee until after I was finished, and I’m always interested to see […]

Mini Review: Lexington Coffee Roasters Colombia Huila (Lexington, Virginia)

The next two coffees I will be reviewing were gifts from my lovely friend Sarah. Thanks, Sarah! 🙂 I usually will talk a bit about the individual roasters at this point, but instead, I’m just going to link to Lexington Coffee Roasters’ “About Us” page, because I think it encapsulates their personality better than I possibly […]

Review: Quasar Coffee Rwanda Kibuye Valley (Chicago, Illinois)

I kind of take for granted these days that pretty much all companies will have websites. It was a surprise when in the process of writing this review, I could barely find any hint of an online presence for Quasar Coffee Roasters, outside of a sparse Instagram feed and a Twitter account (both of which […]

Review: Kickapoo Coffee Roasters Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Idido Cooperative (Viroqua, Wisconsin)

Kickapoo Coffee is another award-winning roaster featured in my most recent shipment from Craft Coffee. Like many roasters, their standard size is 12 oz, but instead of using bags, Kickapoo ships in cans. I did not receive a can since I got the sampler bag from Craft, but it looks like it would be a […]