I had this Kirkland coffee while working on a school project with my kids at the local church. It's alright, fairly balanced and smooth, with chocolate-forward notes, but it's a tad woody and has a slight aftertaste. If you told me it was specialty-grade coffee that had a varying level of freshness, I'd believe that.

Cupping Method:Filter from Mr. Coffee type machine. I opened the bag and made the coffee.

Actually made this accidentally, but had some of it. Decent cup of decaf for a car dearlership. Had a bit of it with my muffin then went back for a different cup with caffiene (Breakfast Blend). The breakfast blend was quite a bit tastier. This decaf is a bit light in flavor and balance/structure is just a little bit off kilter.

Better than hotel coffee, not quite specialty coffee. Drinks as a pleasant medium breakfast blend. All very pleasant except a slightly chemical aftertaste.

Cupping Method:Made it as pourover but got the bag in an Ohio AirBNB

I wrestled with this one a lot. I got OK but not fantastic espresso out of it, and couldn't dial-in any of the milk drinks. I let it de-gas for awhile as it had a massive crema on the first couple of extractions. Still couldn't really get this one to balance out. I get this sometimes with seasonal single-origin espressos. It's not that it's a bit acidic really, it's that it's sort of a flat citric acidity that's not floral or fruity in a way that works well.

Best outcome was actually as pourover where it drinks nice and smooth similar to a breakfast blend with some green apple notes. These aren't bad beans or a bad roast, I just think the bag I got is a little out of balance for espresso.

I did really like the drip I had on the way back from New York City from this roaster, so I would be happy to give them another shot.

Cupping Method:Bought a bag at the Pulley Coffee Bar in NYC Chelsea Market.

A solid bittersweet espresso with decent balance and pleasant to drink. A bit low on the body/crema side but satisfying for a US airport.

Cupping Method:At a Priority Pass lounge in Boston Logan International Airport

This Rwandan from JBC had some good characteristics, including very bright acidity and a some nice black tea character. It veers into too acidic and there's a grapefruit rind type bitterness that works in some light roast pourover coffee but doesn't really for me in this one. This one fell into the fine but probably wouldn't order again category.

Cupping Method:Chemex pourover, part of JBC Fall Sampler

Admittedly, I sometimes taste coffee with low expectations just to grade it. This was definitely the case here. But I do also enjoy a cup of decaf just to unwind. For a hotel decaf coffee, this fits the bill. It is nice and light, easy sipping with low acidity and non-controversial flavor. A touch of nuttiness and very light lemony flavor. Not bad!

Cupping Method:At check-in at Townplace Suites in Albany New York

This coffee has some fantastic attributes but for me, there's soy sauce on the nose, soy sauce on the grind, and a fairly strong soy sauce note in the coffee. It has a really nice green apple acidity, along with complimentary mix berries type.

I'll try it one more time and see if I can get different result...

Cupping Method:Got it as part of 8 coffees in a JBC sampler

I agree with the character described by the roaster - very nutty and chocolate finish. Nuttiness is walnut. Just a little bit of acidity that in the ruby red grapefruit range. Both the acidity and bitterness are light. Id say the walnut is the dominant character. Enjoyable on a nice fall day but probably not my first choice.

Cupping Method:It's the house drip coffee at Bolton Bean at 626 Main St. in Bolton, MA. I had it outside on a pleasant fall day.

Bolton Bean is a multi-roaster cafe so not sure if this will always be the drip.

Oddball Indonesia that drinks light but funky. Red grape? Maybe? A little grapefruity and woody perhaps. Interesting more than good for me.

Cupping Method:v60 from a friend's sample

I thought this was ok. Some dark chocolate and nuttiness. Has a bitter/woody note three quarters of the way through. Lacks a winning characteristic to overcome that.

Earthy, but also light bodied Burundian coffee with a little bit of raisin acidity. Nice natural sweetness. Needs more acidity overall though to come together.

Cupping Method:Pourover

Flavorful espresso that veered a bit too much on the acidity front. Lots of like and hibiscus which I liked but wasnt balanced.

Cupping Method:Pulled by Onyx barista on Tempesta machine

I see where this going but it didnt really work as cold brew for my tastes. Has a pleasant chocolate character and is smooth. Mouthfeel is a bit odd and has an earthy note that I dont find that pleasant. Overall its not bad and I dont want to make it out that way, a touch of acidity would go a long way for me.

Cupping Method:Vertical tasting of cold brews

Interesting but not something Id want all time. Very nutty but want more acidity.

Cupping Method:Cold brew vertical tasting

I tried 5 Parlor Coffees and this was the only one that wasnt a hit for me. A too little acidic. Good complexity and nice lime finish thats pretty clean. Some very dark chocolate character. The acidity was just out of bounds and since they pulled it I cant really give it a pass. Could have been an under extraction. I watched the barista and she was a pro though.

Cupping Method:Espresso pulled by Parlor Barista

Earthy, light. Good acidity. Touch of herbaceous, lemongrass.

Cupping Method:French Press sample

I dont mind this trend of hotels going for very neutral Arabica specialty grade coffee thats easy to drink after years of lousy robusta. This one extracts with some black tea and the slightest hint of peach.

230 West Rainforest Select is an easy to drink coffee similar to breakfast blend thats light and smooth with low bitterness and acidity. The filter style is handy and could probably be steeped.

Cupping Method:At Courtyard Marriott Midtown West. Coffee comes in filter pack.

A pleasant and convenient hotel room decaf nightcap that drinks light and smooth. A lot better than some recent hotel room coffee I've had. Wouldn't say there's a distinguishing characteristic beyond light and smooth. Maybe a very light peanut and milk chocolate. There's some very simple natural sweetness. I had never heard of 230 West before. Nice to see the coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Cupping Method:At Marriott Courtyard Midtown West, comes as a filter pack for a Cuisinart hospitality brew basket.

Updating some Canadian coffee remind me I had a Tim Horton's cold brew a couple months ago in Chicago. Thought it was easy enough to drink and it was satisfying.

Cupping Method:Tim Horton's in Chicago near Millenium Park

Not bad though not sure theres much alchemy here. Drinks pretty clean with both coconut water and cold brew flabor smooth and light. Id rather drink cold brew and Id rather drink coconut water. A bit of an slightly unpleasant aftertaste. But overall I wouldnt complain if this was the best choice in a convenience store.

Cupping Method:I bought a can at Whole Foods in Cambridge MA and drank it in my car

Teeny tiny beans! When hot has a strong steak of woody bitterness that makes it hard to drink. Muted a bit but is still present. Overwhelms the good Kenya red berry and bright citrus fruit character and black tea hints on the finish. Its actually almost amazing but then leaves a tree bark aftertaste. VSC and I both sampled this and agreed. We are only leaving one review.

Cupping Method:This was an AngelsCup blind tasting and we wonder if it could have been a freshness issue. Made with Hario v60

For drip this is solid once it cools down a bit. Drinks fairly smooth and chocolate with some acidity on the plum spectrum. Definitely much better than expected for convenience purposes though also not coffee you would ever really seek out. Although it's possibly telling that I'll go with the Mt. Hagen instant I'm carrying in my bag tomorrow than this.

Cupping Method:Hotel room coffee machine at Westin Gaslamp San Diego

Smooth, straightforward donut shop blend style coffee with a good balance of acidity, a bit of (I think) natural sweetness. Doesn't have a distinguishing characteristic and there's a bit of woodiness.

The pouch format annoys me, but apparently they are recyclable?

Cupping Method:At a doctor's office in Acton, MA on a Flavia Creation machine

This is an okay single-origin espresso I couldnt find a real winning characteristic in over many formats. Light medium crema, nice chocolate notes. Heavy hazelnut mid-palate without much fruitiness, complexity or acidity. Smooth, just a little bitter and not too hard to drink, so works well with milk.

Cupping Method:Espresso and espresso drinks oh my home machine (Spaziale A53)

Not a lot of details on what the roast is here but this chain is national. Smooth, a touch woody, chocolate. Could use some more acidity but solid and comparable to most donut shop blends.

Cupping Method:Black coffee with my bagel at Vegas airport location

I felt like something different today so I got an iced shaken espresso at the airport from the Starbucks in the airport.

This Starbucks drink is prepared using strong espresso, which is then shaken and cooled. It contains some sweetness and a small amount of milk. The drink is designed for convenience and can be consumed while on the move. Starbucks states that it has 100 calories and I actually did it unsweetened, so maybe less.

Taste verdict: I think it's OK. Actually, I've always thought Starbucks espresso drinks well straight if you're expecting a smoky, well-balanced dark roast.

I think in the iced shaken espresso you can really only taste the burned characteristic. That said, it's still a solid, refreshing espresso drink. The burned flavor is mostly offset by the milk. I don't think I'll order it again, but I wasn't mad I got it.

Cupping Method:Grande iced shaken espresso, unsweetened, at Logan C terminal

These are ok. Satisfying enough. A little nutty but mostly chocolate and an slightly astringent acidity common to freeze drieds (but not totally unpleasant). A few months ago this might have been a 4 for me but Ive had a number of good instants on my travels the last few weeks.

Had the generic Richard decaf a few times. Big crema, smoky, fairly smooth, a little complexity. But also a bit woody and bitter.

Cupping Method:At cafes in Paris where it is everywhere

I actually hate to ding this one since I think it drank well as a single shot, but it doesn't work as a lungo and that's what most people will try to get out of it. Not really sure what the cause is, the packaging looks quality for a non-Nespresso pod. Doesn't seem like there's enough coffee.

It runs clear and watery by the end. It tastes thin. As a ristretto it is toasty with a nice crema and a touch nutty with a good level of bitterness (though still light).

Cupping Method:I bought these capsules at Monoprix in Paris