Catholic Coffee's Our Lady of Guadalupe Mexican Mocha

Today, I bring you a review of coffee from a roaster who's new to me!

CATHOLIC COFFEE: OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE MEXICAN MOCHA
Inspired (or perhaps even moved) by a Facebook ad, I decided to try one of the offerings from Catholic Coffee. And I can't tell if these people are earnest or not.

Catholic Coffee is a roastery that's been in operation for about a year (in fact, as I type these words, they are running a one-year anniversary sale on their products). It's a brand of North Carolina-based Trinity Road, LLC, which, I presume is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Almighty & Sons. Their marketing hook is that each of their blends are associated with/inspired by a Saint (about which you can read a little bit on the side of bags). The marketing text invokes some degree of spirituality with each plug or catchphrase, implying that drinking coffee can literally be a religious experience. 

I found the tidbits about the Saints interesting (the blurbs from all the coffee bags, mini-bios of each coffee saint and the days upon which each is celebrated, and opportunities to purchase additional saint-specific merchandise can be found on Catholic Coffee's website), but the mindset it all put me in was feeling that it was either there to have fun with faith... or tacky. But, since I am not a Catholic and just a non-believing coffee lover, I am not really the target market, and there are probably some cultural things that have gone over my head. (But I am thinking if I should go to one of those firms that offer their coffee for third-party packaging and start selling Love Coffee...)

Bessie Love, the Shades of Gray Patron Saint

But, all that aside, what matters is if the coffee is any good. And I'm finally getting around to talk about what you all came here for.

When choosing what to order from Catholic Coffee, I went with a flavor that I'd tried from other roasters that I thought I would like: Our Lady of Guadalupe Mexican Mocha. (The packaging and saintly marketing tie-in of this blend is a bit off, I think. Strictly speaking, Our Lady of Guadalupe is not a saint. She is the manifestation of the Virgin Mary that showed herself to the humble peasant Juan Diego in 1531, caused a miracle that brought about mass-conversions, and ultimately led him to be elevated to Saint Juan Diego. Also, the Virgin Mary did not appear to him looking like the cloak-draped figure we're used to from nativity scenes but rather like an Aztec princess. This causes me to wonder why Our Lady of Guadalupe portrait on the package looks like Nativity Scene Mary? But I am getting off the topic of the coffee again...)

The Our Lady of Guadalupe blend is a medium roast that should have a slightly peppery, chocolate flavor, since it purports to taste like a Mexican mocha. The beans are sourced exclusively from Mexico, which is fitting with everything else that's going on with this blend. Although it's not specified anywhere, I think it's a safe assumption that the coffee here is made from Arabica beans, since that's what is almost exclusively grown in Mexico.

When I opened the bag, the strong aroma of chocolate that rose from the pre-ground beans made me hopeful that the promise of the name would be kept. That hope grew stronger as the coffee brewed and the smell of chocolate drifted through the kitchen, as well as rose from the mug as I poured it.

The promise that had wafted through the air was kept in spades. Consumed hot and black, this blend has a full-bodied flavor with a strong presence of chocolate and peppery spices. I think anyone who likes chocolate and takes their coffee black will enjoy this.

When I added Unsweetened Almond Milk to my mug, this flavored coffee leapt halfway to tasting like a full-fledged Mexican mocha... and when I tried a mug of this blend with some sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer the chocolate popped, the spiciness intensified, and the coffee flavor blended with the creaminess into a near-perfect imitation of mocha-ness! Again, I recommend this highly.

At room temperature, the blend comes across as very spicy when black, but if mixed either with Unsweetened Almond Milk or the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer the chocolate flavor came back strong. Chilled and iced, the blend was okay black, but it was absolutely spectacular when mixed either with the almond milk or the creamer. In fact, I am having a hard time imagining it being better than it was iced and with the creamer... and I think anyone who likes iced Mexican mochas will really enjoy this.

My first experience with Catholic Coffee was an absolute delight. I will have to try a few more of their blends... so look for reviews of their St. Nicholas Christmas blend (in December), their St. Valentine's blend (in January or February of next year), and their St. Patrick Irish Cream blend (in early March of next year).