Rocket Coffee Roasters

The deal of the century. Rocket Coffee offers three pounds of three different types of espresso for a really good price. In their pack comes the Classic Espresso blend, DarkStar blend, and the Caffe' del Razzo blend. (I will include Rocket's descriptions of each type when we sample them.)

For the first tasting we went with the Classic Espresso. Rocket describes it as such: "This classic espresso blend is composed of four different coffees, all of them of the highest quality Arabica. Humongous amounts of crema and a buttery smooth, big body, this espresso is honey sweet with dominating chocolate, exotic spice and cherry fruit notes. This is a well balanced blend that is powerful and complex yet finishes clean. A truly superb shot of espresso!"

Well, let's just say that neither "He" nor I have ever been able to taste all of the super awesome sounding notes that the real coffee tasters pick up on, but man do we wish we could. It definitely pulls us to buy the stuff when in the end we know we're not gonna taste even a 1/4 of what we "should." Nevertheless, here's our reviews:

Our Thoughts

HIS SIDE: I taste cherry, vanilla, and squash. ("She" interjects--"No you don't.") It smells very sweet. Can't say that I taste any of the stuff they mentioned but it's good. Wait...I taste cherry when I swirl it around for just a brief second. More tasting. Oh yeah, definitely tasting the cherries. I like it.

HER SIDE: I can't taste any of the things they described either. ("He" interjects--"That's because you don't know how to taste coffee.") Anyways. I taste the cherries now that it has cooled ever so slightly. Tasting some more. Thinking I might have an aftertaste of cocoa as it sits on my palate. More tasting after "He" says he is DEFINITELY tasting cherries now. I just taste bitterness. Soooooooo not an espresso connoisseur. Bring me my cappuccino! I still like this one, I just prefer it to have milk in it.

Oh yeah baby!

It's espresso time! The doorbell rang today and there on my front porch was manna. THREE POUNDS of it! I'm crazy, I know but it was such a great deal. We get to sample all the different espresso blends from this roaster for a very good price. I couldn't pass it up. I will kick myself later when the beans start to get a little old and the flavor changes yet for now I will stay in denial saying it was worth it for the adventurous sides of us. The sides that love trying new things out even if it's not always prudent.

I couldn't have timed it better as I ran out of our Stumptown beans today. Now we have to pick out which one to try first. There are three very distinct mixes all with descriptions that make my mouth water just reading them. I'm like a kid at Christmas, I tell ya!

Reviews coming soon!

We are still alive

And still drinking coffee! We just haven't bought anything new lately and thus haven't had much to blog about. I am ordering some new espresso today (YEAH!) so keep checking back for tasting results. For the past month or so we've been enjoying some lovely Stumptown espresso but have started itching for a new bean. Being the ever-loving-triers-of-new-coffee we can't stick with one type for too long.

On to some blogging...

Thoughts on Starbucks. I used to love their coffee, or rather their blended drinks. The Caramel Macchiato's were my fav. I craved them and winced at the amount of calories I knew I was consuming. The caramelly goodness was almost irresistible to my sweet tooth. Then I started drinking good coffee and all of that changed. Nevertheless, I continued to be a paying customer at Starbucks as I adored their mugs--still do. Fresh, fun, funky, sized just right, colorful, ecclectic. Seriously, I have an addiction with cute coffee cups. I would come home with a new one and "He" would say, "Another one? Where are you going to put it?" I never knew but I always found a place. I would then lovingly use that mug until I found another one that I lusted after even more. Still, I didn't forget the past mugs and rotated them like a good collector. Unfortunately I learned about the ugly corporate side of Starbucks and have vowed to never give them another cent of my money again. This presents a quandary for me. On the one hand I am dying to go in and drool over the cups (and maybe give in to said weakness and bring one home). On the other hand I am so against everything the big giant stands for that I blanch at the thought of stepping in to the store. I realize our local stores haven't personally harmed any of the small town coffee shops that have been run over by their HQ, but they are a part of the larger picture. So alas, I fight my inner coffee cup fetish with doing what's "right." This makes "Him" quite happy, though. Our shelves are overflowing with my treasures. Maybe it's better this way.

Course I did see the cutest little mug in Fred Meyer's the other day...........

This is how Mondays should be

Did you ever have one of those days where everything went right when it usually goes wrong? We all know how bad Monday's are supposed to suck but so far (knock on wood) my Monday is rocking. It started off like a typical beginning of the week--got up, got the kids ready for school, took them to school, ran errands, did some work, then it happened--I made one of the best cappuccinos I've made in a long time. There is nothing quite like that first sip of a well pulled, perfect microfoam topped cuppa. I know you're going to laugh but I swear I tasted cinnamon this time. Even without that nice little zing it's been awhile since everything went "just right" and I actually sighed directly after drinking it. Lately my shots have been bitter, my foam bordering on "dishsoap" consistency, and I was beginning to think the Espresso Gods had cursed me. Today the curse has been lifted (or is that too soon to say?). My espresso world is once again in harmony and I say, "Bring it, Monday!"

For Jen

How could I not repost this after Jen gave me an awesome Mocha Biscotti recipe?! That would be so not nice--so here goes:

Five Things You Don't Know About Me

I have taken up the challenge to complete this meme. I have to list five things about me that I haven't ever revealed in my blog. Here are the rules:
1. Get tagged
2. List five things that have not been revealed on your blog
3. Tag five others.

"She"
1.) I would love to be a writer.
2.) I want to learn how to ride a motorcycle.
3.) If I won the lottery, I would give most of it away to various charities and things we believe in.
4.) I hate heights.
5.) I LOVE to dance!

I would tag others but I don't know anyone to tag. So feel free to pass this along if you'd like!

Caffe Fresco's Ambrosia

Life has kept us busy and thus away from blogging, but it hasn't stopped us from partaking of espresso. That would be impossible. However, in looking back at Caffe Fresco's website to copy what they wrote about their Ambrosia blend, it appears we did not brew it at the temp they recommend. Instead, we went by other recommendations at a coffee forum. So now this has left me wondering, naturally, how much this affected our pulls. I did have a tough time again with this bean yet nothing like the Redline. "He" had nary an issue--of course--yet I'm thinking it might be wise to hold off on this review after a second go-round. We are unfortunately out of the Ambrosia beans so I apologize for seeming to tempt you guys only to find out we aren't sharing all that much. I will say that it was a nice blend even if we ran it too cold. In the meantime, their website is linked above like always and the Ambrosia is extremely highly rated by others so I would think it's worth checking out no matter what. Hopefully we'll get back to this one soon.