Tuesdays with TT: Cafés do Brasil Week

This week is the start of “Cafés do Brasil week” here in NYC to celebrate Brazilian coffee. CT and I were invited to a special brunch at Bistro Cassis to learn about the variety of coffees produced in Brazil. There were representatives on hand from from Brazilian Specialty Foods, Inc. and ApexBrasil(Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) to teach the small group of us more about Brazilian Coffee. There are actually twelve different coffee regions and we got to sample three of them. We were given a small bag with a map and a “Cafés do Brasil” lapel pin. All [...]

Starbucks Reserve: Guatemala de Flor

Starbucks is back with another entry into its ultra-premium beans product line. You may remember about a year ago, the Feisty Foodie herself received a package of the first Starbucks Reserve coffee , from the Galapagos. That was surprisingly good, and for a reasonably dark roast, not burnt or acrid, to my immense relief. This year’s entry? Guatemala de Flor, gladly accepted from Edelman, Starbucks’ PR firm. Note the same eight-ounce size as before. However, this bag of beans runs $15 on the package, up 20% from the Galapagos of 2010, though “suggested retail” starts at $12.50 once again. The [...]

Peet’s Coffee

When The Feisty Foodie was selected to be part of its Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with Peet’s Coffee, naturally the job of reviewing the coffees fell to me as resident beverage blogger. I’ve written up coffee in the past, and now, it was time to take on Peet’s’ new line of medium-roast coffees. Peet’s has always tended toward the dark roast method, which in the past hasn’t exactly thrilled me; too often that seems to mean “burn the heck out of the beans. But now Peet’s is in grocery stores, pre-ground (sigh) in 12-ounce packages, and they were kind enough to [...]

Almond – Dolce Gusto Foodie Feed Up!

I was recently invited to attend the Dolce Gusto Food Feed Up, to showcase a restaurant that I previously hadn’t heard of, and to introduce us to the Dolce Gusto.  The event was held at Almond in the Flatiron.  I tapped Beer Boor to join me, as he’s the resident beverage/coffee expert, but due to a miscommunication, he was unable to stay for dinner.  However, he will be weighing in at the end, as he was the happy recipient of yet another coffee machine.    No matter, as I wound up sitting with Andrea and Esther, and we benefited from [...]

Nespresso Boutique SoHo

After my wonderful meal at Jean Georges, I took a leisurely stroll from Central Park West to SoHo, and found myself at the wifi-less Nespresso Cafe.  I’d enjoyed the space during the press event a few weeks prior, but wanted to go back to see what the space was like normally.  I was surprised to discover that it was a sit down cafe, with some light bites and table service… they really want you to focus on the experience of their espresso without distraction.  I found out later that they don’t even allow you to take their drinks to go! [...]

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