Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Recession Coffee - Pride of Arabia

Pride of Arabia...hmmm this name sounds neat. Like any well versed coffee lover I was pleased to see that it is in fact 'a blend of 100% Arabica beans' (whole beans) - perfect!

I am on my second or third bag of this stuff and honestly it's a bargain and tastes really good made in the French Press. It retails at Loblaws (or affiliated stores) for $3.79 for a pound or around $5.79 for almost 2 pounds of beans - Super value! I like whole bean coffee because you can grind as much as you need (recession tip). I am a fan of dark roast and to me this is as good or better than Starbucks French Roast and the price is ultra low in comparison so this is a huge selling point during this economic...'crisis'.

But how does it TASTE? Overall it's very good - the taste profile a la Starbucks-style is as follows: I find it to have great mouth feel and for sure it's got lots of robust body. I pick up a strong caramel-sweetness accompanied by hints of spiciness that lingered on my tongue for the finish. Mmmmm! Also, I have ground this coffee for espresso and found it paired extremely well with dark chocolate.

Overall, this is a nice tasting flavourful coffee at a great price. And now the secret is out - Loblaws you owe me for spreading the word!