Signature Select's Double Dutch Chocolate

It's Sunday... so it's time for a post about coffee I've been drinking!

SIGNATURE SELECT DOUBLE DUTCH CHOCOLATE

Lately, I've been checking out other reviews of coffees you can buy and brew at home that people have been posting. A common theme is that the coffee you get at grocery stores sucks, but the coffee you order from independent roasters rock.

How does this work when you can both order a kind of coffee straight from the roaster or buy it in the grocery store--like Death Wish Coffee, for example? Well, then it's bad to buy it at the grocery store because it's stale and it sucks. You should brew coffee within a week or two of it being ground, or within a month of it being roasted for maximum flavor.

Those who hold such opinions do have something of a point. There's no question that the Bones Coffee varieties that I've tried have a stronger taste when I drink them quickly after receiving them instead of opening the package and letting it sit for a while. 

I tried this with the White Russian blend, one of my favorites. and there was no question that the flavor got weaker when I let an open pack sit for a few weeks between brewing some cups. What I didn't detect was the alleged staleness that I've seen reported as being a mainstay of grocery store coffee. In fact, when I tried the Signature Select Double Dutch Chocolate blend from Safeway, the resulting brews from the 12-oz. bag I purchased were as tasty from the first cup to the last. Maybe it was the way I stored the coffees--the ground White Russian got resealed in its package while I poured the ground Double Dutch Chocolate into a different container and sealed it there. Or maybe it's the way the flavors were obtained. I have no idea... but what I never did encounter was the staleness others claim to, either in the coffee from Bones, nor the coffee from Safeway. Maybe I just am not thinking the way they think in regards to taste--although I DO think I know what stale coffee tastes like, because I can be a slob and let coffee sit in an open pot over night--but I can't bring myself to issue blanket statements about what you can pick up at the grocery store.

So what can I say about coffee that was picked up at the grocery store--specifically the Signature Select Double Dutch Chocolate blend, one of the many offerings from this store brand?

Kate Moss is standing in for the Little Dutch Boy today.
(He's not old enough to smoke, nor drink coffee.)

Well, I can say that I enjoyed it--a lot. Chocolate-flavored coffee is one of those things I tend to make myself by mixing ground coffee and unsweetened dark cocoa powder (usually around a one-to-one ratio). My efforts in this direction have been a bit hit-and-miss, and I've never achieved the level of flavor that is present when the chocolate is added during production. And I doubt I will ever achieve the level of chocolatey goodness that's present in Signature Select's Double Dutch Chocolate blend (possibly because I'm using real cocoa so I only have the first half of "natural and artificial flavors" that are present in the various flavored coffees. Including the Double Dutch Chocolate blend that's the topic of today's rambling post.

The Double Dutch Chocolate blend is a light roast made from Arabica beans, and as soon as you open the package, you get a preview of the strong chocolate taste that you'll be experiencing in your cup. Even empty, the bag smells strongly of chocolate. It is therefore not surprising that the smell of chocolate fills the air around the coffee maker as brews. Similarly, as the coffee is poured, you can smell the chocolate.

My preference in coffee leans toward the smooth and sweet, so it's not surprising that even straight light roasts would appeal to me. I also love chocolate, and I am very fond of Dutch-style chocolate. And in the Signature Select Double Dutch Chocolate blend, the two flavors mingle with great effect. I virtually never drink coffee straight, but this was smooth and tasty and chocolatey enough that I could have. I drank about half a mugful before moving onto the next step in my usual taste-testing protocol.

Whether I added Unsweetened Almond Milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer to this blend, the chocolate and coffee flavor profiles came through, mixing with the add-ons rather than being overwhelmed by them. This drink was even better when I broke with my usual habit and tried it with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.; the vanilla flavor enhanced this coffee drink even more. The flavors remain stable as the coffee cools to room temperature (which is great if you're like me and it can take a while to drink your coffee due to distractions... or the need to use both hands to type.)

The Double Dutch Chocolate blend also works well when iced. The chocolate flavor remained strong, and there was none of the saltiness that sometimes creeps into flavored blends when you ice them (as I've noted several times in my review of the offerings from Bones Coffee Company). And if you're of an age and a mindset where an adult beverage seems appealing, I recommend trying this coffee iced, with rum or vodka added, along with some kind of milk or creamer. It's very good.

So... if you're at the grocery store, maybe you should swing by the coffee aisle. There ARE good things to be had there! (The Signature Select brand is at Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons stores... and probably other Albertson-owned outlets.)