Coffee Beanery's Hazelnut

This week's coffee review talks about a flavor that is known far and wide and found everywhere coffee can be had.

COFFEE BEANERY: HAZELNUT

If Colombian coffee is the "basic" unflavored coffee, is hazelnut the "basic" of flavored coffee? Or is it just omni-present?

Anywhere they have free coffee creamer (and/or free coffee), you'll find hazelnut-flavored creamer. The only creamer that is more omnipresent is French Vanilla. In college and early in my working life, I was a regular at the 7-Eleven coffee bar, with their "House Blend" with Amaretto creamer, or a mix of Chocolate Caramel and French Vanilla creamers being my go-to drink. Although there were always lots of Hazelnut creamers, it was never a flavor I felt inclined to try.

But, among the flavors in the Coffee Beanery Sample Pack was Hazelnut (subtitled 'MVP of Coffee') so after 30+ years of drinking coffee on a regular basis, I would finally getting around to trying this flavor standard!

As with most of the Coffee Beanery offerings in my review queue, the Hazelnut-flavored blend has as its foundation medium-roast Arabica beans. When I opened the pack, a sweet, nutty aroma filled the air. That aroma hovered around the coffee maker during brewing. 

The smell was so delightful that I wondered if I'd been missing out on Flavor Greatness for all these years? Maybe Hazelnut really IS an MVP of Coffee?

I first tried this blend hot and black. The hazelnut flavor blended nicely with a fairly mild coffee flavor. This was a blend that even someone like me who cuts virtually any coffee with some sort of milk or creamer or booze could tolerate if I had to. And all I needed to make it suitable for my delicate palate was to add a dash of Stevia.

When I added Unsweetened Almond Milk or the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the sweet, nutty flavor grew stronger, and the flavors remained stable as the coffee cooled to room temperature. Even better, the delightful smell of hazelnuts rose from the cup as I drank and even after it was empty. Despite this strong aroma, the nutty flavor was never overwhelming. 

Unfortunately, I was so enchanted by Coffee Beanery's Hazelnut blend that I drank so much of it hot or at room temperature that I didn't have enough try the blend iced. Basically, I forgot that Coffee Beanery sample packs are much smaller than the ones I get from the Bones Coffee Company. What I did drink, though, makes me recommend it very highly... and I think that maybe the Beanery people weren't bragging with their tagline: The Hazelnut blend is most certainly an MVP among their offerings.

Is Christy thinking it's nuts to not like Coffee Beanery's Hazelnut?

COFFEE NOSTALGIA POST-SCRIPT

After remembering how often I used to get coffee at 7-Eleven and subsequently realizing that's been at least five years since I last got coffee at one of their stores, I went a little out of my way to get some. At first, nothing seemed to have changed at the long counter with the coffee makers, dispensers, selections of creamers, and cupholders. But then I noticed that they didn't have any of the little Amaretto creamers that I used to get. They didn't even have Amaretto flavoring in the pump bottles. Is there a Amaretto supply chain shortage I hadn't heard about? 

Instead of what I had intended to be a trip down Amaretto memory lane, I instead took the opportunity to try the 7-Eleven version of Hazelnut coffee by way of a Large  House Blend with three little cups of Hazelnut Creamer added. It was delicious. I should have done this years ago! (Once again, I was put in the mindset that coffee snobs may have to get over themselves... the coffee at 7-Eleven and gas stations can be perfectly fine.)

My search for Amaretto at 7-Eleven may have ended in failure, but it's inspired me to go looking for offerings from coffee roasters with that flavor. Hopefully, what I find will match the fond memories of cheap late-night coffee of my younger days rather than the disappointment I experienced when I returned to Starbuck's Pike Place blend after not having it for several years.