A More Relaxed, Partied Out, Panda, Style Of Coffee!

Partied Out Panda Coffee!

I present to you all the 3rd instalment of coffee from 'The House Of Coffee - Get In The Mood' range, 'Partied Out Panda' Coffee! As this list of coffee continues to grow the name of these coffees continues to get funnier. As these weeks/months roll on and the backlog of coffee I have to review is actually becoming a burden (yes I actually have a long list to get through), I am going to release a few more posts during the next following weeks and months to try and combat this ever growing list (just to let everyone know who cares). But enough complaining, moving on to the coffee!

The 'The House Of Coffee - Get In The Mood' range of coffee tries to define each coffee in such a way, using its clever naming and art style, that the coffee is visually appealing to your needs (slight subliminal messaging to your brain). To break it down the 'Partied Out Panda' coffees art style is a comfy looking panda in panamas just waking up from a nap. Now that combined with the name 'Partied Out Panda' portrays to me that this coffee is going to be light and not over powering on the taste buds, not very bitter and has a light but familiar aroma (all combined together to get you up easy in the morning (some people need this, I need Death Wish Coffee!)), all in line with it gently waking you up for the day. Now this is all from the first glance at the bag, this is what your brain tells you before you even touch the coffee, so let's dive in and see how accurate the visual stimulation is compared to the physical.

The lacking Bitterness of this coffee is already giving the visual stimulation (from now going to be referred to as VS and physical as PS (don't sue me Sony)) an easy lead. As you continue to drink, the bitterness does start to build and by the end you will have this dry and bitter lingering taste on your tongue, this all being said, it is definitely not as bitter as other coffees and still wakes you up gently and over time. So I'm going to award VS 1 point, for being on point (Ha-ha (Yes I did chuckle when I wrote this bit (I'm so sad))).

The Richness is surprising to say the least. As much as I was hoping to not get overpowered by taste so I would be in line with the VS, I am instead impressed with how flavoursome and layered the coffee truly is. The initial sip is lacking in full bodied flavour but after a few you are able to really taste the layers of coffee, from a bland earthy taste to a more fruity sweet taste. This combined with the initial strength/intensity on my taste buds makes it not ideal for a gentle wake up. So with that being said I am going to award PS 1 point!

The Aroma, the tie breaker, the finisher! From the bag you get a lovely fruity aroma, you can really smell that layer from the bag but once you start brewing, that fruity aroma is replaced with a more earthy and intense smell. The aroma that pours into the room as you sit with a freshly brewed cup is a perfect representation of the old cartoons (the aroma cloud comes from the coffee, manifests as a hand and pulls you out of bed by the nostrils)! With that great mental image from my childhood days firmly lodged in your brains, I'm going to award VS 1 point!

I have to give 'The House of Coffee's design and marketing team some props, they managed to hit the nail on the head with the visual representation of this coffee. With a 2-1 win for VS we can safely assume the design and marketing team (if they ever see this) will be pleased.

Now for the most important results!

Bitterness - 2 out of 5 Beans

Richness - 3 out of 5 Beans

Aroma - 2 out of 5 Beans

**A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.**

Strong But Brilliant Raccoon Coffee!

Brilliant Raccoon Coffee!

The second instalment of the 'Get in the Mood' coffee brand is the Brilliant Raccoon Coffee! Getting past the radical name this coffee has, it paints a picture of energy on the front of the bag (A raccoon snowboarding (Not very realistic)), making it look like it will 'prepare you for action' as it says so clearly on the front. Slight subliminal messaging if you ask me (I've got a tin foil hat and a bubble rap suit!)!

Moving on from my far out theories, this coffee actually packs a punch. It says that it is a medium to strong coffee, but from the smell and the first few sips this coffee comes out swinging (like a child doing the whirling arm blades attack). But let's dive into more detail!

The Bitterness of this coffee is there but not as strong as I would of expected for a coffee that's attacking me in the buds (taste buds). It is quite bitter and does leave the tongue with this dry taste afterwards, but the overwhelming fulfilling taste of this coffee would be enough for me to overlook the bitterness.

The Richness of the coffee is something I have been wanting for awhile now. It is so fulfilling and full bodied, and has multiple layers of flavour which just attack the taste buds. You can have a mouthful and taste this overwhelming strong earthy taste, then on your next one you will get a more chocolaty taste or a creamy smooth taste! This coffee has multiple layers and is so full of flavour that I would overlook the bitterness that accompanies it and just dive into the pure flavour of the coffee.

The Aroma this coffee brings to the table is fantastic! This coffee just seems like it wants to impress you on the first date, so it brings the fancy car, the fancy clothes and the fancy smelly stuff (yes coffee is ungendered hence the 'it and smelly stuff')! But moving on, the aroma you get once you open the bag is so fulfilling, it just wakes up your senses with this pure unadulterated aroma! The smell continues long into the brewing and drinking process as well, meaning it gains a few brownie points for lasting.

Well as I went to his movie and thought it was absolutely fantastic, I gave my good friend Mr Pool a call asking if he would judge this coffee... you could imagine his answer.

But he said he would send over his long distant cousin, twice removed on his mother's side and missing 1 testicle .... BEANPOOL!!!

Bitterness - 3 out of 5 Beans

Richness - 4 out of 5 Beans

Aroma 4 out of 5 Beans

**A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.**

Buzzin Hectic Hamster Coffee!

Hectic Hamster Coffee! 

Another month past and another fine brewed coffee to taste and review. The next few months I have an interesting set of coffees from 'Get in the Mood, The House of Coffee', a well renowned coffee company. They have a combination of outrageous coffees to try with some weird and radical (yes I did use the word radical) names, hence this coffee being called Hectic Hamster! The names of these coffees don't relate in any way to the actual coffee (in case you thought hamsters where used in the making...(don't be silly)), they are just a way for the company to show off its far out attitude dude...(ok ill stop, but you will notice the names in the upcoming posts). Well moving on to the Hectic coffee!

Hectic Hamster is probably the lightest from the set of 'Get in the Mood' Coffees, the actual strength and intensity is on the light side (of the force). Generally with coffee this light it has a mix of lacking in bitterness but also in substance (less bitterness but lacking in flavour), although I am torn with this coffee, there is little to no bitterness but when I take a sip my mouth is still filled with the full bodied flavour. I find it is an easy coffee to drink, it doesn't leave your mouth with any strong lingering overpowering tastes or leave you with a dry and rough mouth, it is just easy and an everyday drinking coffee. Lets dive in a little deeper!

The Bitterness or should I say lack of is possibly the best feature of this coffee! You are able to drink away at the coffee and not get this hit of bitterness every time you swallow. After around 2-3 cups you are able to feel the build up on your tongue leaving you with a slightly dry and rough feeling (although that was 2 cups in a row and heading to my 3rd). The light-medium roasted beans have been done to almost perfection minimising the bitterness but maintaining the flavour within the bean.

The Richness of the coffee is a bit more than I would expect for a light-medium roasted coffee, it seems to still hold its flavour and taste while reducing the overall bitterness. Although with that being said the coffee is still light, it has no intense flavour and doesn't lean any direction, it is a well balanced coffee.

The Aroma is unfortunately the downfall in my eyes of this coffee. While in the bag the coffee smells divine and is definitely worth a few marks, but once brewing and while sitting brewed it has no burning aroma, it just has a light smell of coffee which doesn't turn me on... and it should (coffee is after all a natural aphrodisiac)!

As I've just been to see Star Wars recently, I think it only fitting to give a mention to this great and wonderful character, judging today give it up for MR BEAN SOLO!

Bitterness - 4 out of 5 Beans

Richness - 3 out of 5 Beans

Aroma - 2 out of 5 Beans

**A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.** 

It Needs No Other Title, Death Wish Coffee!

Death Wish Coffee!

Speaking of Christmas... now it's over, the coffee we will be looking at today was a present from my lovely girlfriend. She thought it would be funny to see me have a heart attack, from the coffee that boasts the world's highest caffeine content, Death Wish Coffee! Although all being said, no heart attack and I'm currently on my 6th cup of the stuff (not all in 1 day by the way).

Death Wish Coffee boasts being the world's strongest coffee, offering the highest caffeine content of any other coffee out there. So it's only natural for me to put it to the test. I initially had 1 cup around 6 o'clock, thinking to myself that by drinking it at this time I shouldn't be unable to sleep at around 12 o'clock (after all it is the strongest coffee). That was unfortunately not the case, I hit the hay at around 11:30 and was asleep before 12:00 (I know, I'm such the party animal). So being disappointed I left it a day then attempted it again the following day, this time with some result (spoilers)! I thought right 1 cup might not do it for me (I consider myself to have a high tolerance to coffee), so I poured myself a cup around 3 o'clock and then another at around 6-7 o'clock, which did it! Firstly I was a little hyper throughout the day, which was fun, then come bed, needless to say it was a struggle to sleep. I hit the hay around 01:00 in the morning (my girlfriend was tired and needed sleep) and while my lovely (if not slightly evil) girlfriend slept beside me, I lay and stared at the ceiling till around 03:00 in the morning, not being able to sleep what so ever (this is all from the guy who drinks other coffee before he goes to bed, to help him relax and sleep)! So all in all I am very impressed with the strength of the coffee, if I had to do a rating for strength it would surely get top marks! 

Strength - 5 out of 5 Beans 

The Bitterness of this coffee is one that surprised me. Boasting the world's strongest coffee you would expect it to be very bitter, but surprisingly it is not. If I had to compare it to a previous coffee I would say that the Costa coffee I reviewed is far more bitter than this. The coffee is fairly smooth and doesn't hit the taste buds hard, its surprisingly deceptive in nature. The only downfall is after your finished it leaves your tongue and the inside of your mouth slightly dry and rough, but nothing a glass of water or juice wouldn't fix.

The Richness is slightly lacklustre, it is smooth to drink even though it is so strong. But the actual taste of the coffee once you take a sip is just lacking in more variety. You take a sip and expect your mouth to be filled with explosive flavour, but instead you get a single woody taste that doesn't contain much flavour (It's the monotone version for taste). I am assuming that in its quest for great strength it really lost a lot of its taste and variety, the quality's of a coffee that really make it great, it can definitely knock your socks off but it will do it with no pizzazz or flare.... ITS THE ONE PUNCH MAN OF COFFEE!

The Aroma is strong as well, it has the ability to fill the room with the smell of coffee, from the moment of pouring to the finish, the smell really lingers in the air. Although it is by no means a sweet or alluring smell but more of an asserting smell, a smell that makes you understand how strong it  truly is. It's a smell I love and is very nice and fulfilling to the senses but similar to the Richness it's just lacking in more.

Well as you can see from the reference above I have been watching and reading One Punch Man, so I think it's only fitting to use him as a reference for the World's Strongest Coffee. Let me introduce our judge today.... ONE BEAN MAN!

Bitterness - 3 out of 5 Beans

Richness - 2 out of 5 Beans

Aroma - 3 out of 5 Beans

**A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.**