For this very special occasion of my first “official beans review”, I want to thank Kohana Coffee for their generous Christmas gift and use it as my transition out of the Holiday Drink Specials and into what I plan on being my regular coffee reviews.

The Coffee: Kohana Coffee’s Holiday Blend, dark roast

The Shop: MyCoffeePro’s Café, aka Chase Mann’s home kitchen

The Beans: Kohana Coffee was nice enough to send me a pound of their Holiday Blend for Christmas. The bag itself is super cute already, but they added a festive little snow-flaked, light-blue ribbon and a silver dosing spoon and a hand-written note of their appreciation for my mentions of them via Social Media. Upon opening the bag, I immediately notice an aroma of fruit, reminiscent of an orange, yet mild and ever so slightly spicy.

The Grind: I prefer to grind my beans more fine, slightly finer than typical for a cone filter (which itself is already more fine than is typical for automatic drip). As I grind the beans, I start to notice that the orange turns more into a sweet cranberry, yet with a more pronounced spiciness and less fruity quality. The mellowness of the aroma hints to the final cup and since I prefer mellow coffees, I’m salivating from thoughts to the potential of this blend.

Continue reading …