Month: December 2017

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 17

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Today’s coffee is brought to you by a recently discovered musical track (Thank you BBC 6 Music).  You should check it out. It’s called “Yo Mae Leh” and it’s by a person? Group? Murder of Crows? Pod of Dolphins? Cyborg Horse? called Invisible Minds.

Link to music

And now for something completely different

Coffee.

I gotta admit, jury was out on this one to begin with.  I’m not a massive fan of dark roast coffees, and this one is definitely veering toward the darker side.  That said, it’s not unpleasant at all and the predominant tasting note I got from it was…treacle, I’d say.  Something dark and rich but not chocolatey or sweet, at least not for me.  I think I’d really like to try this one as a latte or a flat white, I think it’d be bloody lovely.

I am suffering from a stinking headcold so my tastebuds might not be working 100% at the moment but you know what it sort of reminded me of? Cinder toffee. It was like having a mouthful of that and then swirling in some coffee. Good stuff, Pact.

TTFN.

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 16

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I know, I know, late again!

My excuse is Star Wars. Star Wars is the best excuse for everything. Have you seen the new movie yet? If not, you should, just for the visual spectacle.  The story is mostly decent, with some slightly questionable decisions in the storytelling in places, but I enjoyed it more than the Force Awakens BECAUSE IT WASN’T A BLOODY REMAKE.

Anyway. Coffee.  This was an interesting one!

The blurb on the back talks about “lemony acidity” and I’d have to agree.  Wow, this one was JUICY.  We went way beyond acid, way behind fruity or floral and solidly into juicy territory.  The last mouthful was so potent it was like finishing your coffee and promptly swigging a glass of really tart fruit juice. This is another that I think wouldn’t be a regular purchase, but damn if I wanted something with a bit of ZING to it, this would be my go-to.

We’ll add this one to the “Like” column as well as my “I hope Pact stocks this regularly!” list.

To sum up where we are with the scores so far –

  • Like – 11
  • Meh – 3
  • Dislike – 2

TTFN.

 

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 15

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Ten days to go, ten days to go, hi ho the derry oh, it’s ten days to go.

Have you done your Christmas shopping, boys and girls?  Made sure to lay in enough coffee to see you over the festive period?  If not, might be time to think about it!  We’re mostly organised here at Casa Del Snob, and our daughter spends every day yelling “SANTA IS COMING!” But that’s beside the point, let’s talk about today’s coffee.

And I was stalling a bit because today’s was….it was alright, I guess. It was nothing massively special, nothing hugely memorable, but nor was it terrible. After the two in a row that I definitely did not care for, it was good to get back on track with a couple of decent ones! This is another that, at least for me, was just coffee flavoured. No massively standout notes, but no nasty overtones or lingering aftertastes either. Just a nice cup.

That’s it, I’m off for now!  Be back tomorrow with another review.

TTFN.

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 14

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Sorry folks! Running a bit behind again, but determined to keep it going.  The end is nearly in sight.  And hey, today’s coffee was bloody lovely and another that goes solidly into the “Like” column.

So the back of the pack talks about cherry and red apple flavours and I have to agree. It was sort of like biting into an apple, then taking a swig of coffee to wash it down!  A little odd, but pleasant all the same. I’m not sure it’s something I’d buy too often, but as with some of the previous ones I think I’d pick it up if I fancied something a little different.  Not sure how it would work in hot milk, but might need to get some again to try it and see!

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 13

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~Opens Advent Calendar. Looks at Day 13~

Finca Filadelfia.  Bugger.

So yes, this is another one that I’m familar with from my previous subscription with Pact and honestly? I didn’t like it then, I don’t like it now.  I did make it up and try it as it had been a while and my tastes in coffee have changed over the years but this is still another that goes straight into the “Dislike” column.  It’s harsh and tastes like it’s been overroasted, so acidic that it’s sour and just generally a coffee that I really don’t get on with.

Huh, maybe I really don’t like Guatemalan coffee after all. We’ll add that to the list with Colombian (though this calendar is definitely showing some exceptions to this rule, some lovely Colombian coffees so far).

Yeah. Moving very swiftly on from this one. Not a fan, not a fan at all. As I recall even having it with hot milk wasn’t enough to mask the sour notes. Ah well.  Here’s hoping tomorrow is an improvement!

 

 

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 12

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Ladies and gents, boys and girls, it’s finally happened. Day 12.  We have our first one that goes straight into the “Dislike” column.  Because dang.  Yeah, didn’t get on with this one at all.  If that’s all you want to know, then I’ve saved you reading the whole review!  You’re welcome for the time back, try not to use it all on the same website (unless you’re spending it reading more of my reviews, in which case fill your boots).

If you’re still here, let’s go into some more detail about why I didn’t get on with day 12’s offering.

Man, the smell of this one jumps out the bag the moment you open it, that was my first indication that I perhaps wasn’t going to entirely get on with this one. When I was younger, during my University days, I used to live on stuff like the infamous “Hot Lava Java” that Taylors makes. I was less concerned about  the taste than I was about how strong it was and how much caffeine it seemed to contain.

These days I favour a much milder roast so with this one I had reservations from the get go. As you can see above, a dark shot with quite a dark crema compared to the others. The smell of the shot was even more overpowering than the grounds, strong and a little harsh, the raisin tasting notes overwhelming almost everything else.

And yet, when I took a sip, it was surprisingly far less harsh than I was expecting it to be, at least at first. The raisin flavour was definitely front and center, but the aftertaste was, at least for me, kind of unpleasant. It was, weirdly, a kind of sweet and sour coffee.  Sweet at the beginning, but then harsh and rough and the combination of flavours just wasn’t doing it for me.  Didn’t like it at all, didn’t finish the cup.

Still, the “Likes” still far outweigh all the others and we’ll put this one behind us and move right on to Day 13.  Roll on tomorrow.

TTFN.

 

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 11

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I’m late, I know!  In my defense I had to go out for Chinese food and be sociable last night.  And it was really good fun, but by the time I got back I was more interested in going to bed than writing a coffee review.

Also, the udon noodles with mixed meat at Rainbow in Hatfield? Best Chinese meal EVER.  But this isn’t a chinese food blog!  It’s a coffee blog (Wait, I could have been ordering out for chinese every night and claiming it was for research? Dammit! Oh well, too late now).

Day 11.

Well dunk me in coffee and call me a jammie dodger.  It’s another Colombian coffee and it’s another one in the “Like column”!  We started off well with the name.  As a huge Doctor Who fan, all I could hear in my head when I saw this one was “SILENCIO MUST FALL!”.  I’ll pause for the rueful shaking of heads and eyerolling.  All done?  Good.

This one was genuinely really nice. It was another that was almost floral in flavour, really light and quite unique. I’m not sure if it’s something I’d want to have everyday, but it was something quite different and something I think I’d get in occasionally when I wanted something out of the ordinary.  Not sure if it would work in a syphon, I suspect the floral notes would become unpleasantly strong but for an espresso based drink it was really pleasant. I’d probably steer clear of using it for hot milk based drinks as this is another where I suspect the light flavour would be overwhelmed by the milk.

Right, moving swiftly on to Day 12!

TTFN.

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 10

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So here we are at day ten and I’m still mostly managing to keep to schedule. It’s such a hardship, a new coffee every day. I dunno how I’ll survive the next two weeks (plus one day) but someone has to do it and I’ll be damned if it’s someone else!

Because it’s my calendar, dammit, and I ain’t sharing. Get your own.  Let’s look at what day 10 had for us.

This one was quite a contrast to yesterday. While the Planalto is rich and chocolatey, this is far more floral. A very strong scent of, again, something akin to dried apricots on opening the bag, so I went in expecting something bright and potentially acidic.  Turns out I needn’t have worried as it was far more well rounded than that, the floral taste not too sharp or overwhelming.

All in all a very lovely coffee, though again I’ll be curious to see what my friend makes of it as she’s not to big on the more floral flavours.

TTFN.

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 9

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Hah! Bet you thought I’d forg….oh. Wow. When did it become 1am?  Damn. Guess I am actually late as technically it’s now day 10.  Oh well, I’m posting it anyway before I go to bed.

Hello Planalto my old friend.

This was one of my semi-regular orders when I was a Pact subscriber because it’s rather a nice coffee whether you make it with hot water or hot milk.  It’s smooth, chocolatey and all in all just really nice to drink.  If you like your coffee more on the chocolate/malty side rather than fruity, you can’t go wrong with this one and I think Pact pretty much always have it in stock!

Not much more to say, a really lovely coffee this one, nice to have it again!

The Pact Advent Calendar – Day 8

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Send help.

I genuinely might need an intervention at this point to stop listening to the Moana soundtrack.  Oh god, why did nobody tell me this thing was like crack for your ears? Seriously, best Disney soundtrack in years.

Ahem. Right. Coffee!  Let’s see what Day 8 has for us.  Again, I forgot to take a picture of the shot this time round. I’m sorry, but it was 10am when I did this one and I just really wanted my first coffee of the day!

So after yesterday’s disappointment, we’re right back on track. Seriously, Pact, I’m loving this calendar so far. This one was nice, slightly fruity, apricot notes came through VERY strongly when you have a sniff of the grounds, though somewhat more muted when made into a drink it was still really lovely from first sip to last and one I’d happily buy again.

Also the shot had what has to be the crema-iest crema I think I’ve seen in a while, it was seriously like silk.  Lovely stuff all round, a big thumbs up from me and another tick in the Like column (Also, I love the name. Not a thing I’d change with this one).

Current stats!

  • Like – 6
  • Meh – 2
  • Dislike – 0

TTFN.