FoodProof Coffee Challenge - Result #1

After my original post I ended up ordering two blends from Blue Bottle Coffee. 

Bella Donovan
and
100% Yemen

I ordered at the end of the week, I think it was a thursday or so.  Blue Bottle Coffee is interesting in that they only ship coffee on tuesdays, so we received it the following wednesday.  We also didn't own a coffee grinder, so I also ordered a coffee grinder from them.

When we received the coffee, it was in two rustic looking coffee bags that looked more like brown paper bags than storebought coffee.  They were both put inside a zip lock bag which i assume helps to preserve freshness.

The next morning when I woke I was very excited.  I am used to crappy coffee in the morning, usually we drink tully's, which is OK, but ... nowhere near as good as this stuff.  This morning I decided that we would start with the "Bella Donavan" blend.  I had never had this blend before and ordered it really for 2 reasons.  1. I thought the name was nice (good marketing) 2. I liked their description of this blend:

"The Bella is the wool sweater of our blends - warm, comforting, familiar. Wild and citrusy organic Ethiopian paired with earthy organic Sumatrian makes for a vivid and fairly complex Mokka/Java blend. It seems to weather the rigors of the automatic drip machine as well...this is, perhaps, why it's our most popular blend. It is also on the darker side: nice and thick without being inelegant. Bella stands up to milk or cream well, and is easily enjoyed black."

I mean really, this description is great!  Who doesn't want their coffee to be comforting and familiar? 

So, the only comparisons that i went into this tastings with was the other Blue Bottle Coffee that I had had before, being the Three Africans blend I believe.  On first taste, it was definately leaps and bounds better than my normal daily coffee, but it was also not quite as tasty as the three africans.  I did get a hint of citrus, but it also tasted slightly over roasted, meaning a tad burnt.  I actually like and appreciate the slight burned flavor in my coffee, but to be honest, because of my experiences with their other blend, I just wasnt expecting it.

The true test of a morning coffee for me though is:

Do I want it the next morning?
  - Definately Yes!

Do I want a second cup?
  - Oh Hell Yes!

Does it make me feel warm all over?
  - Surprisingly, not really.

Does the bottom of the cup taste the same as the top?
  - Yes totally, and it was great!

Am I sad when my cup is done?
  - Actually no.  I was expecting to be.

Will I order it again?
  - Probably Not.

If i had to rate this out of 10, I would give this a 7.  To put some other coffees on this same scale, I would put a starbucks at a 4, a tullies also at a 4, a trader joes coffee at a 3.

So, to sum up, this was a "Damn Fine Cup of Coffee" (to put it in the words of agent cooper), but it wasnt as smooth as I wanted, and definately wasn't like a sweater.

Try it for yourself and see if you agree!