Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Fritz Frischer, Flavored Coffee, and the Girlfriend


Good morning! I wanted to stop in, and do a quick post. As of late, my graduate work has been overwhelming my blogging responsibilities. As seen in the pic, this hasn't stopped my coffee consumption, in fact, it has done the opposite. The most recent book I read was Germany's War Aims in the First World War by Fritz Fischer. This behemoth weighs in at a paltry 600 pages, and has jealously gobbled up my precious spare time.

In other coffee news, the Girlfriend bought some Dunkin Donuts coffee that was pre-ground, (ehh!), but it was mint infused. I opened up the air tight canister she put it in, and the aroma that permeated reminded me of Andes candies, which is a good thing! Initially she put brewed it using a French Press, but stated the taste came out way too strong. This morning, (I haven't had the chance to talk to her), she used the drip machine which will reduce the boldness of the coffee.
(Clearly not my hands: credit to Wikipedia Commons)

My question is, when coffee chains use flavors, artificial or natural, do they purposefully make the flavors extra bold to overcome the flavor stealing paper filters, which then makes it difficult to drink from a press pot?

I have heard good things about Starbucks's natural infused coffees from dailyshotofcoffee.com (who gave it a 3.75/5!). Hmm, perhaps tonight I shall try out this Andes-like DD coffee.
__________________________________________
*Update*
Since writing this post, the Girlfriend has stopped drinking the Dunkin Donuts Mint coffee. She brewed it in a drip machine and in the French Press, and states that the results are inconsistent. Naturally, this may be attributed to barista error, but I would never say so. My experience with flavored coffees are hit or miss, and I would rather spend my money on quality single-origin beans. Nevertheless, my question still remains whether coffee companies over flavor their coffee to hide bad beans and to account for paper filters.

Thank you for Daily Shot of Coffee for citing me in Fresh Brews. Be sure to check them out, one of the best coffee blogs on the internet with daily posts and continual content.

8 comments:

  1. I can't talk about Dunkin Donuts specifically because it's been a while since I've had any of their flavored coffee. However, I've noticed that a lot of the bigger companies load their coffees with flavor to hide the fact that they're using some really bad beans. That's what I like the Starbucks Infusions, besides the natural flavoring, it wasn't like they were trying to hide anything.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's true, I forgot about that aspect where the company wants to disguise their poorly roasted beans. I have run into this with Coffee AM's flavored coffees, where they are loaded with syrups that make some of their coffee taste pretty putrid.

    Thanks for "like" on FB too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The think I notice with flavored coffee is that it usually has a implanted, fake or chemical taste to it which is not appealing at all. I do like the idea of natural flavoring as apposed to unnatural but on a personal note I prefer completely natural unflavored to flavored. Which do you prefer?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I know what you are saying Jason. When I have had artificially flavored coffee, the primary focus is the syrupy flavor of rum, chocolate, butterscotch...etc. The flavors don't enhance the coffee, they overpower it.

    I generally don't go with flavored coffees anymore, but adding a dash of vanilla or pumpkin in the coffee grounds so it brews together always works for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Too bad; I was about to compliment you on your nail polish.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi dude i really like your blog because here i am find some new information about flavored coffee . hope i will get some other information in future through your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for the compliments Bob. Hope I can supply the information!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've tried several different flavored coffees from different roasters. I love flavored coffee when it is made with good bean quality. I've been ordering from www.honeybean.com . Theirs is really good and they have a great selection. I have a short attention span so I like different things all the time! LOL
    Ann

    ReplyDelete