Coffee — MomStart

The Best Organic Coffee I’ve Ever Had Portland Roasting Coffee Company

May 12, 2012 By Momstart 16 Comments

As you may know, I’m a huge coffee drinker. My kids love to drink coffee with me too. Of course, they don’t get coffee they just get milk.

Portland Roasting Coffee Company sent me some organic coffee claiming they make better coffee than Seattle. I’ve had Organic coffee before and just didn’t like it. I’m not really sure what about it wasn’t tasteful but I decided to give Portland Roasting Coffee Company a chance to impress me and impressed I am. It’s bold and tasty coffee. So tasty that I’m able to drink it with just vanilla creamer. Mostly when I have coffee I drink it with extra flavored creamer and lots of it. It wasn’t needed with the organic coffee Portland Roasting sent me. I’ve been drinking it and wondering what I’m going to do when I run out. I suppose I’m going to be ordering some more as soon as I run out. That or see if I can find it up here in the Seattle area. It’s really good coffee!

This is a very well balanced Organic Mexico. Starting with a spiced honey aroma, this coffee tastes of chocolate and light citrus with a smooth, velvety body. A creamy finish closes out this pleasing organic.

Another great reason to love Portland Roasting is they are carbon-neutral, and they have been since 2007. Through his work on the SCAA Sustainability Council, Portland Roasting founder, Mark Stell, is leading the charge to help roasters worldwide join his company in adopting this business model.

A pioneer of direct trade, Portland Roasting nurtures longstanding relationships with coffee producers while supporting projects at their farms and in their communities. Portland Roasting abides by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals as a framework for these projects. In 2008, Stell launched Walk for Water PDX, a fundraiser for Water for All in which participants walk more than three miles with a bucket of water in tow, simulating what women and children in developing countries do every day. Proceeds from Walk for Water fund water wells in developing countries.

Photography: A Coffee Delight Start Your Morning Right

March 26, 2012 By Momstart Leave a Comment

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: Coffee, flower in coffee, photography, photos

Krispy Kreme Coffee Doughnut Pairing Suggestions

February 4, 2012 By Momstart 31 Comments

I love doughnuts, I love them almost as much as I love pizza, especially when the doughnuts are hot and fresh. In fact, the fresh ones I eat and eat and eat without realizing how many I’ve eaten. I’ve recently found that I’m not alone when it comes to having such a rampant sweet tooth. Coffee on the other hand I have not always been a big fan of. My husband turned me into the coffee addict that I am and when it comes to coffee, I still prefer coffee with my cream and sugar mixture. My sweet tooth is un-satisfy-able at times.

So when Krispy Kreme asked us to try the coffee straight up with the doughnuts I was skeptical and apprehensive. Even though they were giving me such wonderful doughnuts all I could think of was I have to have my sugar. I never thought the doughnut would actually provide the sweetness itself.

House Blend pairs with the blueberry cake doughnut

Dark Roast pairs with the Raspberry filled doughnut. The coffee really did enhance the flavor of the doughnut.

House Decaf pairs with the original doughnut. It’s strange but the house blend and the house blend decaf taste different and it’s meant to be that way. Of course, I drink coffee for the caffeine kick not for the taste, but I do prefer to drink coffee that I enjoy. Did you know that we add sugar to bad coffee, so if you start out with good coffee you don’t need sugar or in my case you don’t need as much.

My favorite coffee is the Krispy Kreme Dark Roast coffee blend out of the three we tasted. I liked the dark flavors and enjoyed it just a tiny bit black, which for me says a lot about the coffee. Now I’m off to the store to find myself some more Krispy Kreme coffee grinds to use in my Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter. They only sent me home with the House Blend.

Travel and expenses were covered by Krispy Kreme.

Filed Under: personal, review Tagged With: Coffee, Coffee Doughnut Pairing Suggestions, dark roast blend, doughtnut pairing, house blend, house decaf blend, Krispy Kreme

EIGHT Tips For Brewing Up The Perfect Celebration Eight O’Clock Coffee

December 12, 2011 By Momstart 335 Comments

Eight O’Clock Coffee has been celebrating the holidays with American families for over 150 years, and this year they want to make sure that they are included in your family’s holiday traditions. Available in 11 different delicious varieties, Eight O’Clock has some tips to share with your readers on how to alleviate some of the stresses of holiday entertaining.

EIGHT tips for brewing up the perfect celebration:

1. Be your own ‘brewista’. Create a coffee house vibe and offer guests tasty toppings like cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, ginger and flavored creamers.

2. Coffee can be enjoyed any time. Break tradition – hosts don’t have to wait until the end of the meal to begin brewing. Welcome guests to a warm, cozy home filled with the fragrant aroma of coffee. Visitors won’t be able to resist a cup the minute they remove their coats.

3. Open before the holidays. Don’t wait until the night of your soiree to unveil that brand new French press. Play it safe and test out new coffee makers and brewing gadgets long before company comes.

4. Create delicious dessert dishes using coffee ingredients. Create chocolate and coffee-flavored cupcakes, a coffee crumb bunt cake or a batch of coffee brownies and perfectly pair with a cup of your favorite coffee.

5. Coffee to go. Stock up on holiday-themed to go cups with lids and send guests home with a fresh cup of Eight O’Clock Coffee for the road – a must for visitors with a long ride ahead.

6. Don’t forget the decaffeinated. Make sure you have options – be prepared for caffeine-conscious guests.

7. Coffee for large parties. If brewing coffee in a high-capacity urn, consider storing and serving coffee in carafes after brewing. Carafes keep coffee hot and fresh, while urns may “burn” your brew over time.

8. BYOC – be unique and bring coffee. While most partygoers bring wine, you’ll be as distinct and tasteful as your gift of Eight O’Clock Coffee.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Michael.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: celebration tips, Coffee, coffee brewing tips, Eight O'clock, giveaway, party tips

Barista Prima Coffeehouse K-Cup Portion Packs & GreenMountain Discount Code

November 26, 2011 By Momstart 2 Comments

This month I received the Barista Prima Coffeehouse® K-Cup® portion packs from GreenMountain as part of the Your Perfect Cup Ambassador program that I’m part of and for the first time, I really didn’t like the coffee very much. Now, before you X this coffee brand off your list you need to know why I don’t like it because it might just be your next coffee brand. You see, this coffee is STOUT, strong, deep, rich, it’s not a sweet cup of Joe. I like sweet, my husband on the other hand, he likes a stronger cup of coffee than I do so this has been his month.

the Barista Prima Coffeehouse® K-Cup® portion packs from GreenMountain are an exclusive collection of the world’s finest Arabica coffees roasted in the tradition of Europe’s most celebrated coffee houses. They are designed for the passionate coffee lover, the richest, darkest varieties for the Keurig® brewer are now available at the touch of a button.

· Barista Prima Coffeehouse® K-Cup® portion packs are available in four varieties:

Colombia

Medium-dark Roast
High-altitude treasure from a land of legendary coffee
Accented by wondrously bright, bold fruit notes and a distinctive hint of walnut, this deeply roasted cup elevates satisfaction into a realm all its own

House Blend

Medium-dark Roast
The timeless perfection of your best-loved coffee house cup
Classically balanced with a lively splash of citrus, subtle hints of bittersweet chocolate and a well-rounded, toasted-nut finish

Italian Roast

Dark Roast
A deep, dark-roasted delight, done right
This robust, heavy-bodied cup with its ripe fruit and berry notes epitomizes the time-honored Italian tradition of dark-roasted coffee house brews
Subtle hint of smokiness and a bright clean finish

French Roast

Darkest Roast
Sweet, smoky love song to the cafés of Paris
Daringly dark, smoky-sweet brew with a surprisingly light mouth feel
This intensely bold, elegantly-bodied cup provides indisputable proof of our roast masters’ consummate artistry

Out of these four blends the only one that I kind of liked was the House Blend, the next one I would drink would be the Columbia but I really gave all of these flavors to my husband because for me to like them I had to have half a cup of creamer with them. Really, I like my coffee sweet! I’m a sugar girl.

Barista Prima Coffeehouse can be purchased online at www.BaristaPrima.com and www.Keurig.com, as well as in select grocery stores and specialty retailers nationwide^®.

COUPON CODE:

AM0015-3602. Use this code on www.GreenMountainCoffee.com to receive a 15% discount on the entire store as well as free standard shipping. This code is valid now through December 15^th, and may not be combined with any offer or discount including Café EXPRESS.

I am a Green Mountain/Keurig Coffee Ambassador.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: Coffee, Green Mountain, green mountain discount code., K-cup, k-cup portion packs, Keurig

Green Mountain K-Cup Portion Pack Coffee Picks Pumpkin Included

November 6, 2011 By Momstart 5 Comments

I’m so excited that Green Mountain saw my request for a Pumpkin flavored coffee. Oh wait, I only wrote about that a month or two ago, that’s pretty arrogant to think they made this new coffee blend just for me, but let me tell you, I’m enjoying it. In fact, I’m out of what they sent me and will have to buy some more. I LOVE it. So to start off my Green Mountain K-Cup Portion Pack Coffee Pick list, Pumpkin is at the top.

Green Mountain Coffee Pumpkin Spice

Green Mountain Coffee Dark Magic, Extra Bold, Dark Roast

Green Mountain Coffee Caramel Vanilla Cream

Green Mountain Coffee Breakfast Blend

Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Blend

Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Colombian Select

Green Mountain Wild Mountain Blueberry

Green Mountain Coffee French Vanilla

Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Organic Sumatran Reserve

I also can’t wait to try out these two limited edition coffee flavors:

Green Mountain Coffee Golden French Toast

Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Spicy Eggnog

You may have noticed that some of the blends I mentioned above are Fair Trade blends. Fair trade provides a fair price to coffee farmers for their beans, resulting in high-quality coffee for coffee lovers, and a higher quality of life for coffee farmers and their families. Fair Trade builds economic independence for farmers by:

- Guaranteeing a fair price
- Providing affordable access to credit
- Promoting sustainable farming practices
- Providing access to consumer markets, cutting out unnecessary middlemen
- Enabling farmers to plan for the future

Learn more about the benefits of fair trade and Green Mountain Coffee’s efforts on the brand’s Facebook page. For more information about Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Certified coffees.

I’m a Green Mountain/Keurig K-cup Portion Pack Coffee Ambassador and receive coffee shipments once a month.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: Caramel Vanilla Cream coffee, Coffee, Fair Trade coffee, Fair Trade Organic, French Vanilla, Green Mountain, Keurig, Pumpkin Spice Coffee