Guest Author - Gayle E. Santana
I opened my latest Consumer Reports Magazine (CR) the other day, a magazine I rely upon when I am buying appliances mostly, to find they were reviewing coffee. This thrills me no end because if there is something Consumer Reports does well, it is to study a product thoroughly and the results were surprising to say the least.
CR used 100% Colombian coffee in their study (decafs were a blend). CR’s criteria for a great cup of Colombian were, “Lots of aroma and flavor, some floral notes and fruitiness, a touch of bitterness and enough body to provide a feeling of fullness in the mouth. Woody, papery, or burnt tastes are off notes.”
What CR’s results confirm is a fact that most of us already know. That spending high dollars does not guarantee great coffee. Number one on the list was Eight O’Clock Coffee’s 100% Colombian. Costing just $6.28 per pound and 15 cents per cup, I might be able to skip my warehouse coffee after all.
These top three rated a very good.
-Eight O'Clock 100% Arabica
-Caribou Coffee Colombia Timana
-Kickapoo Coffee Organic Colombia
Eight O'Clock's price was indeed very good but Caribou and Kickapoo were a bit pricier.
Another surprising result from the CR study were differences in the level of caffeine in the regular coffee. According to CR, there could be a disparity between coffees of four times the caffeine.
After reading this report, I went to my local supermarket to try a bag of Eight O’Clock Coffee. Unfortunately, they did not have the 100% Colombian. Maybe other CR subscribers beat me to the punch. I decided to go with the Hazelnut 100% Arabica and it was great, but who could go wrong with Hazelnut. I will continue hunting for that 100% Colombian.
At any rate, Eight O’Clock Coffee, one I previously ignored when shopping, will become a part of my cadre of coffees from now on, thanks to Consumer Reports.
You can subscribe to consumer reports online as well as the magazine at the websites below:
Online Version: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm
Magazine: https://ec.consumerreports.org/ec/cro/order.htm
