“Its comforting aroma will make you feel like you are leisurely sipping your coffee on a lazy summer morning at home, even if you are at the office.  It has a crisp finish, which makes it the perfect early morning brew.”

I love there descriptions of the coffee. It already is making this coffee sound amazing. Let’s see if that holds true.

It has a nice soft aroma to it with notes of sweetness to it and an all around smoothness.

The taste is even better. It’s bright, earthy, and wonderfully smooth tasting. There’s a wonderful citrusy flavor that seems to emerge as the coffee cools a little more. The coffee is not overpowering in flavor. It’s got that perfect balance of flavor for a simple all around great coffee for those mornings when you need something to wake you up, but you don’t want to go extreme with those bright coffees.

There’s a bit of an aftertaste to it, but overall I’m really liking this coffee.

I still don’t know what blend of coffees they are using, but that’s okay. I am not holding that against them.

I would have to give this coffee a 3.5 out of 5 mugs.

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Fine Print

Sunrise Ceremony from Cherokee Coffee Reivew is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

The Drink: Ridge Crest from Cherokee Coffee
Type: Ground (Medium Roast)
Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5 Coffee Mugs

I tend to expect the worst when it comes to pre-ground coffee. Why coffee companies still offer the option to grind it up before sending it out is beyond me. If you can’t buy a cheap grinder to grind it up yourself than you are not experiencing coffee the way it should be experienced.

Cherokee Coffee was nice enough to have some coffee sent my way to review. Cherokee Coffee offers 100% organic & fair trade coffee. They offer four types of coffee: a light, medium, dark, and decaf roast. Simple enough.

The coffee I am reviewing is the medium roast called Ridge Crest, which is said to be “dynamic, smooth and features nutty flavors with a hint of cocoa.”

“One sip of this you and you will snap out of any mid-day sluggishness.  Its subtle sweetness and rich finish will peak your senses and give you the energy to get through the day.”

Upon the first sniff I noticed the coffee was very smooth with a slight sweetness and nutty aroma.

The first sip came as a shock. I was expecting the coffee to have no life in it, but it did. It has a smooth and balanced flavor to it. There was also some nuttiness coming at me with some slight sweetness.

I noticed the coffee to linger around a bit with an ash like flavor. Not pleasing at all, but it doesn’t seem to stick around too long. Other than the aftertaste, I am overall very happy with what this coffee and company had to offer.

It may not seem like a big company, and with only a mere four coffees being offered, it’s definitely a place you should check out for your next order of coffee.

I’m also very curious as to what origin of coffee they used for this medium roast. It seems a little confusing.

I would have to give this coffee a 3.25 out of 5 mugs.

You can grab yourself a 1lb bag of this coffee for $9.99

Ridge Crest from Cherokee Coffee Review is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

The Drink: Kona Kili Coffee from Dard Roast
Type: Whole Bean (Dark Roast)
Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5 Coffee Mugs

So today I am reviewing some 100% Hawaiian Kona Coffee from a company called Dard Roast. Dard and Penei Aller are a small 1.25 Acre coffee farmers on the Big Island of Hawaii. They are on their second year of production from harvesting their 648 trees.

The name of the coffee I am trying is called Kona Kili Coffee.

From the aroma I am getting a dark smell, a sweetness with hints of cocoa, a slight chocolate smell, and spice.

The first initial taste I get is the darkness from the roast, but with hint of sweetness. I am starting to taste a bit of spice and smokiness to the coffee as well. There is also a cocoa flavor coming through that becomes a little more pronounced as the coffee cools. The coffee leaves a smoky flavor that does seem to linger on your tongue a bit which is not that pleasant.

I must say my first initial feeling of this coffee was bad. I must have made the coffee too strong or something because the smokiness in the coffee was so overpowering that I couldn’t drink it.

After having a third cup of this I would have to say that overall this is a pretty good cup of coffee minus the smoky flavor lingering on your tongue.

From the first sip that hits your tongue you know it’s a dark roast coffee, but it’s not bitter. It has a more rounded, and smooth flavor with hints of cocoa and smokiness lingering on your tongue.

I would have to give this coffee a 3.25 out of 5 cups.

They company has a lot going on the site from chocolate covered coffee beans, to optional flavors to add to the coffee, green coffee beans if you’d like to roast your own coffee at home, as well as many other cool things.

You can grab yourself an 8oz bag of this coffee for $12 plus shipping or double up the size and grab a 16oz bag for $24 plus shipping.

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Fine Print

Kona Kili Coffee from Dard Roast is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

The Drink: Global Warming from Rocketfuel Coffee
Type: Whole Bean
Overall Rating: 3.25 Out Of 5 Coffee Mugs

A favorite coffee company of mine is Rocketfuel, run by Lisa Rotenberg has some new coffee out as you may or may not have noticed. The coffee I will be reviewing is Global Warming which is a new house blend of Jamaican Blue Mountain, Hawaiian Kona and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.

Two things I love about Lisa’s company is her original artwork for labels, and well, the name. Who could resist ordering from a company with an awesome name like Rocketfuel?

I’ve had every coffee she’s had listed on her site except for the espresso potso and I think I can honestly say that I haven’t had coffee from her that I did not like. She’s just an average woman who loves great coffee and is sharing her love of great coffee with us.

So getting to the aroma of the beans, I noticed a pleasant smell of sweet and maybe a hint of bold as well. I also caught an earthy aroma which was more pronounced when I opened the bag.

The taste wasn’t what I expected considering I’ve had all three of the coffee’s used in this house blend. The coffee is light and smooth tasting, but it also has a hint of a darker roast at the end. I mean an ever so slight darker flavor coming though. It is most likely the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe that I’m getting.

I get some sweetness to the coffee and some slight tanginess. There’s not much of a bitterness at all with the coffee. It’s quite smooth and there is really no acidity to it either. The coffee is simple which surprised me a little considering all three of the coffees used have unique flavors of their own so when these were mixed I was assuming this would be more complex.

At first I had been thinking this coffee might have been a letdown, but considering tastes of coffee changes when different beans are mixed together and roasted, I have really changed what I think about this coffee. It took me a couple days, but I am starting to like this coffee greatly.

I would have to give this coffee a 3.25 out of 5 mugs.

You can grab yourself a pound of this coffee for $20 plus shipping or grab two pounds for $35 plus shipping.

Global Warming from Rocketfuel Coffee is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

The Drink: Cafe Collection Vienna Roast from Melitta Coffee
Type: Ground Dark Roast
Overall Rating: Three Of Out Five Coffee Mugs

You’ve probably seen their products in the coffee section of your local grocery store.  They’re not one of those stranger coffee companies you’ve never heard of.

Today, I am reviewing a cafe collection from Melitta Coffee called Vienna Roast. With a couple locations doing various jobs, their roastery lies in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and has been for more than 40 years.

So while Melitta is no stranger in town let’s get down to reviewing.  The Vienna Roast as the name suggests is a dark roast with “Deep Intense Flavor with a Velvety Finish. Superbly Balanced. Never Bitter.”

Upon opening the bag I wasn’t greeted with much of anything.  Since it came already ground that’s most likely the culprit.  Try not to let that influence your opinion too much.

As for flavor I was a little surprised considering it was a dark roast.  The flavor was smooth like they had mentioned, but with a slight dark flavor lingering at the end. I also noticed a very slight bitterness to the coffee, but that’s if you are strictly a black coffee drinker.  For me I have to have some half and half.

As the coffee cooled some more I noticed a new flavor appearing.  A slight smokiness coming through.  I am not a fan of the smoky flavor, but it was light, and it was there.  It wasn’t overpowering like some dark roasts can be.  Although the smoky flavor threw me off a bit, I wouldn’t call it a coffee killer.

Considering the last few dark roast coffee’s I’ve had have changed my opinion toward dark roasts I would give this coffee a 3 out of 5 mugs.

You can get yourself a 9oz bag of this for $6.99 in the whole bean or a 10oz bag already ground for $6.99.  Prices are the same, but with a slight 1oz difference between the two.

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Fine Print

Cafe Collection Vienna Roast From Melitta Coffee is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog

The Drink: Roaster’s Select from Honey Bean Coffee
Type: Whole Bean
Overall Rating: 3.25 Of Out Five Coffee Mugs

I was given a bag of a blended coffee by Mike from Honey Bean Coffee. This particular coffee is called Roaster’s Select.

Honey Bean Coffee is located in Bluegrass, Lexington, K.Y. and is dedicated to providing the best coffee in the world.  They not only sell coffee, but they sell tea as well and are constantly adding new varieties of coffee and tea to their site.

Now upon opening the bag I was greeted with a mix of medium and dark beans which infused together creating a pleasant smell.  I would have been interested to know what types of beans they used to create this blend, but there is not much information on the site.

The taste on their site said that this coffee is a “Complex blend with a well balanced taste with a slightly smoky sharpness.”

The taste was very different for me.  Upon first taste I got a hint of bitterness which was very pleasant and a slightly sweet and nutty flavor coming after it.  As the coffee started to cool a little more I noticed a slight earthy flavor coming through.  It wasn’t overpowering which was good and added to an overall well rounded cup of coffee.

I didn’t experience much of a smoky flavor the company had mentioned in the info about it, but I was surprised with some of the other flavors that came through in the coffee.  My first impression of the coffee was mediocre, but I know think this coffee and the company deserve a little more credit.

When you are tight on money, but don’t want to skimp on coffee this is definitely worth a go.  You can grab yourself a 12oz bag of Honey Bean Coffee for $9.53 which is a great deal.

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Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since she was 11 or so. One morning in June 2009, she realized that there’s better coffee other than Folgers. Since then, she’s been drinking freshly roasted coffee.

She recently started a blog called Coffee Adventures to document her new found passion for home roasting. She says it hasn’t produced the best coffee, but it’s been fun just to try. Her blog has evolved into coffee reviews and is a staff writer for Daily Shot Of Coffee.

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Fine Print

Roaster’s Select From Honey Bean Coffee Review is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee Blog