Jim Evans from CoffeeWiz.com has sent over this updated box art for Melitta's coffee pods. Also - expect new coffee pod flavors from Melitta sometime soon.
We've been long time fans of Baronet Coffee based in CT, and they now have a redesigned site, line of coffees, and coffee pods to make our fandom even bigger. Baronet single serve coffee pods come packed individually or in bags, and we really love the variety and choice you can get from Baronet. We've reviewed Baronet coffees in the past, and can tell you their coffees are fresh, and make a great cup of single serve coffee every time.
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July 12, 2010
Review: Fratello Nicaraguan Los Placeres Single Serve Coffee Pods
The latest batch of Fratello pods arrived from Calgary recently, and they don't disappoint! Quite the contrary. You'll find a great new micro-lot from Guatemala, the Guatemala Montecristo, as well as their superb Tanzania Songea Peaberry, which recently became the highest-rated coffee ever to be offered in pod form when Kenneth Davids gave its whole-bean equivalent a 94, and this coffee in whole bean form a 90. And you'd certainly be missing out if you overlooked Fratello's Nicaraguan Los Placeres, perhaps our favorite of them all and our focus in today's review.
With this pod Fratello continues its tradition of offering fantastic single-serve Nicaraguan coffees. Part of their secret seems to be keeping it in the family, so to speak. The Los Placeres Estate is run by the award-winning Mierisch family, who own other estates such as Limoncillo, Mama Mina, and Los Milagros from which coffee for highly regarded pods has been harvested in the past. If you favor a more direct connection to where your morning cup has come from than the big chain roasters can offer, i.e. coffee with a story, look no further.
We've sampled a few already using our Bunn My Cafe coffee pod brewer, and have to say - really solid. Each Cafe Classics coffee pods come packed in an 18 count box with each coffee or tea pod being individually wrapped for freshness.
Breakfast Blend‐ MILD - Great Central Blend
Colombian Supremo‐ MILD - Rich and Full Body
Guatemala Antigua‐ MILD - Bright and Winey
Sumatra Mandheling‐ MILD - Heavy, Rich and Syrupy
Classic Blend‐MEDIUM - Delicate and Caramel‐esque
Donut Shop‐ MEDIUM - Better Than You Remember
Classic Bold‐ BOLD - Did we say Bold?
French Roast‐ BOLD - Smoky and Pungent
Espresso EXTRA BOLD ‐ Darkest Roast - Daring, Decadent, BOLD
Pacific Blend EXTRA BOLD ‐ Darkest Roast - Heady and Robust
Decaf Colombian‐ MEDIUM - Rich and Piquant
Decaf Hazelnut‐ MEDIUM - Rich, Nutty and Spicy
French Vanilla‐ MEDIUM - Full Flavor and Sweet Aroma
Hazelnut‐‐ MEDIUM - Rich, Nutty and Spicy
Jamaican Me Crazy ‐ MEDIUM - Caramel, Vanilla and Rum
English Breakfast ‐ Traditional Ceylon BOP and Darjeeling
Green Tea with Lemon ‐ China’s Finest Green with Lemon
Not only are the various coffees we've tried excellent, but the packaging is really fun with bright colors and interesting pictures. We love the Sumatra called Molten Lava Java, and it's because of the name each morning a little smile has come to our face. Check out the flavors below and make sure to give these Parks Coffee pods a try.
Flavored Variety Pack contains 24 pods; 3 of each 8 flavored coffees in our line-up:
Eiffel Power (French Vanilla)
Nutty Aunt Hazel (Hazelnut)
Bake Sale Supremo
Caramanilla Cream
Caramel Eyes
Cobbler Cafe (Blueberry)
Everything Nice (Cinnamon)
Southern Belle Pecan
Regular Variety Pack contains 22 pods; 2 of each 11 regular coffees in our line-up:
Timothy's World Coffee Breakfast Blend Coffee Pods
When you think of Timothy's World Coffee you'll probably only think of single serve coffee from K-Cups, but did you know Timothy's also makes great coffee pods? Made from pre-measured portions of specialty grade, aromatic Costa Rican beans, this blend has a smoky Guatemalan flavor.
You can also be rest assured you can easily compost these coffee pods as they are made with two biodegradable paper sheets compressed together with the coffee in the middle. Each coffee pod is also individually heat-sealed in a wrapper to ensures freshness.
The line looks to have slimmed down to just Classic Roast and Decaf coffee pods, though the page title at the Home Cafe Folgers site sill includes French Vanilla and other flavors. These coffee pods also tend to be in the 7 gram range. We'll see if we can get some of these to review in the future.
Review: Indian Mysore Coffee Pods from The Coffee Artisan
In August the Coffee Artisan launched its own house brand of premium 10-gram coffee pods, and we have to say we're impressed. Owner Chad Elliott has gone to great lengths to use high-quality beans roasted in small batches so as to showcase the unique character of each variety. The full line-up includes an Italian Roast blend, the Dark Side, along with excellent and affordably priced 100% Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain light roasts, but we'll save those for future posts. To begin with, we'd like to focus on the more exotic single-origin coffees that Chad has brought to market, in particular the Coffee Artisan's Indian Mysore pod.
Indian coffee is not well-known in the U.S. Nevertheless, coffee has been grown in India since the 17th century, when it was imported from Yemen. The beans used in the Coffee Artisan's Indian Mysore pods are 100% Arabica, harvested in the Mysore district of Karnataka state in southern India, and almost certainly wet-processed. Generally speaking, Indian coffees are often described as having "pronounced body, low acidity, and subtle spicy notes" (e.g.). The official description of this pod hits similar notes: "Exceptionally well balanced with moderate acidity, full body, and a fruity-nutty flavor."
Senseo was kind enough to send over a sample bag of their new 10% Kona Coffee Blend coffee pods to review, and we're glad they did. We've been anticipating how good these coffee pods would and could be, and are pleased to say up front - pretty darn good (think Larry David saying that). Kona Coffee tends to be milder and easier on the stomach and palette, and the 10% Kona Coffee blend coffee pods are no exception.
We've yet to try the Cafe Noir Senseo coffee pods, but many readers and reviewers claim an almost french roast like flavor with a full body. We're game, and think it's nice to see Senseo having a full roundup of coffee pods instead of just light, medium, and bold.
Senseo has released a Breakfast Blend Coffee Pod for your Senseo or other single serve coffee pod brewer. The breakfast blend coffee pods are on the milder side, and are a welcome addition to the Senseo line of coffee pods. You may also want to check out their Senseo Kona Blend coffee pods we featured earlier this month as well.
Senseo has a something very exciting for your single serve coffee pod brewer - Kona 10% Coffee Pods. This blend of Kona beans from the Hawaiian Kona belt is enhanced by Arabica beans from the finest coffee growing regions create the perfect balance for this mild brew. Kona coffee gets it's unique flavor from the volcanic soil it grows in, and the cooling tropical breezes that provide an optimum condition for these yummy beans. Due to the rich climate of the Hawaii islands the outcome is a brew balanced in acidity with tones of fruit and chocolate. Coupled with a bold aroma and surprisingly smooth taste this blend is truly a lesson in escapism (we think anything Hawaii related is a bit escapist).
We just got a box of the Brazil Daterra Sweet Blue coffee pods, and we have to say - wow. Not only did these coffee pods deliver on their sweet promise, but they had rich chocolate and orange notes as well. The acid factor here is low, and we like the reference to Kenyan coffee in the description, but think this coffee stands alone.