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.

In fact, it turns out that Seattle's Best Coffee is a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks and presents their foray into the lower end of the market, populating fast food restaurants such as the one I visited.

In any case, I was interested to see what it would be like. Fast food restaurants have upped their coffee game noticeably in the last few years, though of course KFC is a newcomer to the scene (which is a different story).

I didn't have a choice what coffee I got, so I'm guessing it was a filtered Breakfast Blend. I really did some digging to try and find the type of bean and the country of origin, but it doesn't seem to be anywhere on their website - slightly worrying, but possibly indicative of an inconsistent blend (using up whatever is to hand, perhaps).

My initial feeling was that there wasn't much flavour too it...and that feeling endured. The coffee served is watery, which was a bit disappointing, but mostly diluted any flavours that might be present. When really thinking about it later on I felt that there was an earthy element to it, with a bold flavour, but it might have been my imagination. Having said that, it wasn't a bad coffee. It was perfectly drinkable and there was no harshness or bitterness that you might expect from a poorly roasted or brewed cup. It certainly hadn't been overbrewed, and it didn't feel like it had been sitting there for ages.

So as far as this coffee goes, it wasn't the worst, but then it most definitely wasn't Seattle's best, either.

Coffee maker's notes (Breakfast Blend):

Imagine waking up, smiling, just before the alarm goes off. Feeling so full of energy that anything is possible. That's the feeling of Breakfast Blend. It may be a long day ahead, but you can't wait to dig in.