Review 12: Seattle's 'Best' Coffee

Source: KFC Reading Gate
Date: 27/05/2015
Country: Don't know
Beans: Don't know
Preparation: Not sure, but probably filtered

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Deep, dark brown
Nose of brew: Not much, though a slightly alarming chemical hint
Early flavours: Light and bland
Finish: Not a great deal, but not bad either. Some rounded bitterness

Tasting notes:

Any coffee marketing itself as 'Seattle's Best Coffee' (it's not actually a marketing slogan - it's their name) is asking to be held up to high scrutiny. Many will know that Seattle has a reputation for high quality coffees, and Starbucks itself originated from that city. Here in the UK Starbucks made its big break by buying the Seattle Coffee Company chain and converting them to Starbucks.

Review 11: Lincoln Coffee House, Reading

Source: Lincoln Coffee House
Date: 23/05
Country: Rwanda/Guatemala
Beans: 60% Rwandan Gisuma; 40% Guatemalan Finca la Esperonza
Preparation: Americano

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Rich, reddish-brown
Nose of brew: Light, earthy
Early flavours: Chocolate, toffee, nutty - almond or hazelnut
Finish: Even, rounded, no bitterness

Tasting notes:

It's been a fair old while since I've posted a review - just over a year, in fact. It's not that I've stopped drinking coffee; it's just that I got busy and stopped updating. And not only that but I've started another blog in the meantime - a collaboration with some friends around the sheer joy of food. Go and have a look at food.matsuya.co.uk.

I was walking in a part of Reading that I don't normally see that much, and I noticed that there was a new coffee shop. It looked interesting, so I dropped in.

I was hoping for a good filter brew, but the only options were espresso-based. Going for the americano, I noticed that their brew was written on the wall - and very interesting, too. I've never had a Rwandan coffee and don't know anything about it; in fact, I'd never heard of either coffee bean (Gisuma and Finca la Esperonza). I found out a bit of information about each on the internet, but not a lot; but what I've seen looks interesting.

Tasting the coffee, I immediately felt that this was slightly different to usual. There was very little nose to it, and no sharp aromas at all. Tasting it, I immediately got a hit of sweetness - a nutty toffee with some chocolate to it too. It was beautifully rounded with no bitterness or acidity at all; it really slipped down easily. None of the flavours were what I would call 'bold' but everything was fairly subtle, which I really liked. The only thing I might hold against it was that it was a touch watery - perhaps there was a little too much water in it but I wasn't convinced that the strength of the brew was right.

But an excellent coffee. If I was having it again I'd have an espresso, to see what the flavours were like a little more concentrated. On the whole, though, a really worth-while visit and a great coffee to kick-start my reviews again.