Being known as true coffee lovers, whenever Starbucks introduces one of their new reserve blends we are invited to a tasting of the new bean. We tasted two recently. These blends are not for everyone. Some people take coffee as seriously as others take wine, realizing that the climate and terrain directly affect the flavor of the bean. The two we tasted are both quite good and very different. the first, Blue Java, is from Indonesia, is an organic coffee and has a slightly herbaceous undertone not unlike the flavor of sage. This blend is available now in select stores. In the Boston area look for stores with the Clover brewing system (which produces an amazingly clean brew) to carry this reserve.
The new Kona reserve blend will be available March 8. The reserve blends are rare, small batches available in limited supply for a short amount of time and mostly designed for real coffee aficionados looking for an amazing coffee experience.
The Blue Java coffee is rich but remarkably smooth. Most tasters were quite surprised at the remarkable lack of acidity. This coffee is available now at select locations.
At every tasting we try the coffee alone at first and then paired with some food.
The Kona Reserve was paired with cinnamon coffee cake, which really emphasized the cinnamon with a burst of flavor and brought out the natural sweetness of the coffee. Slightly more acidic, you can clearly smell a sweet overtone in the black coffee. Kona comes from the Hawaiian Islands, long famous for rich coffee.
True coffee lovers will like either of these blends. We like the Blue Java for its incredible smoothness and the Kona for it's natural sweetness.
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