As many readers of this site know, the East Olive Way Starbucks has regular coffee seminars, every other Monday evening, at 6:00 PM. They are free and open to the public. I always hope that I will see you there!
Tonight, Coffee Master Megan G. and Coffee-Master-In-Training Lindsey walked us through tasting and pairing for two coffees:
Starbucks Reserve Brazil Fazenda Apucarana – This is a limited Starbucks Reserve coffee. It’s available until supplies run out. You’ll find it in any Starbucks Clover – Reserve location, or online at StarbucksStore.com.
Starbucks Breakfast Blend – This is a core Starbucks offering, widely available. You’ll find it inside Starbucks stores, online at Starbucksstore.com, and you’ll find it at some grocery retailers. By the way, I highly recommend that you read this previous StarbucksMelody.com article on a little history behind Breakfast Blend. It’s been in the Starbucks coffee lineup since 1998.
Megan and Lindsey walked us through the four steps of a coffee tasting. About seven people turned out for the East Olive Way coffee tasting.
I have a weakness for an excellent “smell” photo. Here are Megan and Lindsey smelling the coffee:
Both coffees were prepared via a French Press. We tried the Breakfast Blend first, and paired it with the Reduced-Fat Berry Coffee Cake. This was such an excellent pairing. The coffee cake is quite light and doesn’t overpower the Breakfast Blend. The sweetness of the lemon crumble atop the coffee taste adds just a hint of sweetness to the coffee. The Breakfast Blend has very little lingering mouth flavor or feel to it, and with the coffee cake, it’s finish was very clean.
We had quite a discussion about Breakfast Blend. As it turns out, it’s one of Lindsey’s favorite coffees. I know that I personally spend too little time re-tasting the core coffees, so it was super fun to compare Breakfast Blend with the Brazil. As Lindsey commented, “We’re having a little tour of Latin America.”
Also, in comparing the whole bean side by side, one can easily see that the Breakfast Blend is roasted to a much lighter profile than the Brazil Fazenda Apucarana. Up until the introduction of Willow Blend and Veranda Blend, Breakfast Blend was the lightest coffee in the Starbucks core coffee lineup.
We paired a traditional Spanish flan dessert with the Brazil coffee. You can see the food for pairing here. Sorry that it’s a bit blurry of a photo:
One thing that came up in the discussion of the Brazil coffee is that it’s very full-bodied for a “medium” profile coffee. We agreed that it seemed medium to dark roast. The big flavor profile lingers on your tongue, even after you’re finished. A few people in our group commented that the brown sugar flavors in the flan complemented the coffee, making it seem sweeter. One person called it “custard-y magic.”
I enjoyed the flan quite a bit! It was so delicious. The one thing about this pairing is that I thought the big flavor of the Brazil seemed to overpower the flan a bit. It seemed that everyone got something different out of this pairing!
Have you tried this coffees?
Hope you enjoyed your quick coffee tasting event for these two coffees. Looking forward to your comments.
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Breakfast Blend was one of the first coffees in my coffee journey that I actually liked, before I knew about the magic of pairing. Now that I’m more into the medium/dark roasts, Breakfast Blend would be a nice change of scenery in my passport.
Yep, breakfast blend is an old friend of mine. While i’m more a medium roast kind of guy, i certainly can appreciate the flavor profile of breakfast blend. I really have to check out some of the more recent reserved offerings.
Breakfast Blend and Light Note is what originally brought me into Starbucks, and the rest is history. The rest has been a learning experience.
I was disappointed with the Brazil Fazenda Apucarana. I just couldn’t taste “Subtle sweet berry aromas with flavor notes of raisin and chocolate.” of this Reserve. I found it to be flat.
@Melody – What did you think of the return of the Yirgacheffe? I was also disappointed with that too. It just seems to be lacking. I’ve had it 3 times, and it’s just not as good IMHO. My wife and I both couldn’t finish ours last weekend. We tossed them. I had a half of a Venti in my cup that I just couldn’t enjoy. I would have preferred something out of a gas station. 🙁
@Chgo: We’re on our second round of Yergacheffe around here. When I had the first batch in Feb. (I think….maybe March?) I thought I was disappointed and I kept trying to convince myself: I love this coffee! But this year it just was not really hitting the mark. I waited for rxns from a couple other long-time Yergacheffe-lovers and apparently we all thought the same thing: just not good enough this year 🙁
I have enjoyed the Maui Mokka more….
@Denise – Prior to this year, I had never had Yirgacheffe! So I don’t know what to compare it to in the past. I personally did love it when it came out earlier this year. It’s this second round that has returned that I have been disappointed with. It’s gotten 3 strikes so far from me. I would like to say this…… If I liked the Yirgacheffe that came out earlier, even though you were personally disappointed, then I can only imagine how much better it should have tasted. I trust your judgement if you say it could’ve been better. That is considering you have a passion for that coffee. 😉
@Chgo and Denise – It feels too hot for coffee. I haven’t been drinking much. I don’t even know that I’ve had any of the new lot of yirgacheffe. Will try it soon and let you know. i thought the Peru Chonti was pretty amazing!
@Melody: I can’t imagine it ever being too hot for coffee! 😉 If it’s too hot, I always hope I’m in a/c…could not imagine starting the early morning with a cup of hot, good coffee.
I keep trying (well, didn’t buy any bags of the 2nd batch, as I did the first) the Yergacheffe now…just had a cup Saturday. But, it’s just ‘lacking’. I probably will never give it up as my first LOVE in coffee but will have to wait til it comes around again to (hopefully) find that I’m truly loving drinking it again.
@Chgo: keep trying it whenever it comes around…. this yr does not ‘represent’!