Testing...2, 3

This morning’s first task was to try out the second of three offerings from Folgers Coffee. The coffee for the morning tasting is Folgers Gourmet Selections Lively Columbian Medium Roast. And once again I carefully measured the coffee and the water.

First impressions; the coffee bag was sealed and when I opened it, I didn’t get the expected aroma “blast” of fresh ground coffee. Getting closer, I was able to smell it but it was faint. Of course it’s a medium roast and that will reduce the liveliness of the aroma. The first cup was quite smooth and it had a pleasant aftertaste, but there was nothing special about it. The second cup was more to my liking. It was probably 20 minutes old and in that time it had developed some body and a richer flavor. Now that is nice! And the third cup…my limit, was even better. This cup is probably an hour old, but there is no hint of burned coffee taste or smell. The flavor is even more fully developed and is quite pleasant with no bite to it. This is coffee you can savor.

These first two coffees from Folgers are ground coffees and there is always a question of freshness when buying ground coffees. I know that the packaging is high tech and when opened it should be the same as freshly ground. But there is always the nagging suspicion that it just might be a little bit older than you want it to be. Of course the same can be said about the age of the beans when you buy coffee to grind for yourself, although the bean is still a better package for holding flavor. There is only one coffee left to taste and that’s the one that will require my grinding the beans. I will wait till Monday morning to try that one.