Bones Coffee Double Feature!

Today, I'm reviewing two different flavored blends from Florida-based Bones Coffee Company. Each was made from Arabica beans, and each is a medium-roast. The coffee consumed for these reviews was brewed from pre-ground, 4-oz. sample packs.

Danny Kaye and Grace Kelly. One for two, just like this post.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: COOKIES AND DREAMS
The coffee in the open package smelled of something sweet, maybe cookies? Some sort of baked good came to mind. While the coffee brewed, the smell was not as intense as it's been with some other blends, but the aroma of something sweet it eventually make its way down to my office after having filled the kitchen.

Since this blend was inspired by the ice cream flavor Cookies and Cream, I was expecting it to be very sweet with a bit of chocolate in the mix. It did not meet my expectations.

The initial sips of blend with without any almond milk added has the taste of coffee front and center, with a leading bitterness with a little of the edge taken off by the medium-roast. There is, however, a hint of chocolate and vanilla that might be enough to satisfy those who drink their coffee black with perhaps just dash of sugar or creamer added. For me, who's known to have half a cup of coffee to half a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, it needed to be cut with a little something else.

When I drank a cup with unsweetened almond milk added, all flavors seemed to retreat. The coffee taste remained dominant while only a hint of chocolate remained and there was not even a hint of vanilla. When I had a cup mixed with vanilla-flavored unsweetened almond milk, the result was the same, except that the vanilla flavor was a little stronger than expected.

Drinking this blend cold and over ice, whether with or without the two varieties of almond milk used above, yielded similar results. The taste of coffee remains strong and the other flavors added  a bit of sweetness but it was never in doubt that you are drinking coffee and not some soft drink with this blend.

Whether you like your coffee hot or over ice, if you want the coffee flavor strong but smooth with just a touch of sweetness, I think you'll like Bones' Cookies and Dreams.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: PEACHES AND SCREAM

Where the Cookies and Dreams blend kept the coffee flavor front and center, the Peaches and Scream blend is the opposite. In fact, it captured the flavor of the dessert it was inspired by--peaches and cream--more effectively than any other Bones Coffee blend I've tried. In fact, it may have captured the flavor it's inspired by better than ANY coffee blend I've tried.

In fact--and I never thought I'd say this-- the flavor of caramelized peaches may actually be TOO strong. The peach flavor is so sweet and overwhelming that this almost didn't taste like coffee. In fact, you can't taste the coffee at all for the first few sips while drinking it hot and fresh from the pot. Interestingly, the coffee flavor seemed to creep back in as I kept drinking and/or the coffee in my mug cooled, but the peach flavor never wavered.

The flavor of peaches was barely diminished when I added unsweetened almond milk, but the flavor of cream and coffee seemed to emerge a bit more clearly. I didn't try it with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer or the unsweetened vanilla almond milk, because I really don't think adding more flavors would do anything but harm the experience of drinking this.

So how does this blend fare when you drink it iced? This is where it really excels. Hot, the dominant peach flavor is almost too sweet and too overwhelming, but iced it seems just right. In fact, cold, the flavors of peach and cream flavors both seem evident and it tastes even more like the dessert the blend draws its inspiration. For the same of consistency, I did try it with unsweetened almond milk, and I thought that the addition detracted more than it added.

Bottom line: The Peaches Cream blend needs to be enjoyed over ice, and if you like your flavored coffees sweet and barely tasting of coffee, enjoy it you will.