Happy birthday, Anne Hathaway!

Actress Anne Hathaway (of "The Dark Knight Rises", "Get Smart", "Alice in Wonderland" and dozens of other films) turns 40 years old today, November 12, 2022. We celebrate this milestone with photos of her through the years, starting with one where she was just a teenager!

Halloween is coming...

... and Anne Hathaway is here to help you get in the mood!

Bones' Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition

In this week's coffee review, we return to the flavor-filled world of Bones Coffee!

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: 

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE CHOCOLATE EDITION

I think I am closing in on having tried and reviewed 50 different offerings from the Bones Coffee Company. I've loved most of them, and I can only remember finding one of them completely vile: the Strawberry Cheesecake blend. (If you haven't read that review, maybe you should. I refer to it quite a bit in this one.)

But a few weeks ago, I noticed that Bones was taking a second run at the blend, reformulating it and adding a "Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition" blend to their line-up. While I am not going to subject myself to the basic Strawberry Cheesecake blend again, I love chocolate enough that I am willing to give them a chance with this variant. Plus, more often than not, Bones has delivered coffees that delighted me.

Sophia Loren feels dubious about this coffee-tasting adventure.

When I opened the bag of Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition, I immediately became nervous, because the smell of strawberries that wafted up from it was every bit as powerful as it had been with the original Strawberry Cheesecake blend. When it brewed, though, the aroma wasn't quite as pervasive and overwhelming as what had permeated through my entire home when I made a pot of the original blend. What hadn't changed was that the smell was something akin to candied strawberries. This was looking more and more like a bad idea.

It turned out not to be. The Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition does not rank among my favorite blends, but it wasn't as horrifyingly terrible as the original. 

First, while it's a fruity, sweet taste is what defines this blend, it did not overwhelm the taste of coffee. When I drank it black, this was a mixed blessing, because the coffee taste was a bit more on the bitter side than I'm used to from a Bones Coffee medium roast. It wasn't terrible, but, for someone who likes their coffee mild, it was a bit much for me. On the plus side, while the sweetness wasn't quite a strawberry flavor, but it was closer than the original.

There was still a bit of a tendency for the flavor to grow stronger as you drain the cup or mug, but not to the degree that the original blend did. Although I couldn't detect much in the way of cheesecake flavor when I drank the blend hot (as it had been with the original variety), an undercurrent of chocolate was very much detectable in this reformulated variety, and a flavor of strawberries grew stronger in my mouth the more I drank. Perhaps the chocolate is what kept the horrible, cloying sweetness that made the original blend so vile in check?

When mixed with the Unsweetened Almond Milk, the bitter coffee edge of this blend seemed to become more strongly accented while the Strawberry sweetness and the chocolate faded. Maybe what I perceived as a coffee flavor was something else? Regardless, this blend didn't fare well with the almond milk, whether it was hot or room temperature.

When I tried it with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the effect was pretty much reversed. The bitterness faded and the sweet strawberry flavor returned strongly, mixing with the chocolate and the creamer. It was almost like I was drinking a chocolate covered strawberry. I still did not pick up on any cheesecake, but it was very enjoyable. As this mix cooled to room temperature, I think I some cheesecake flavor finally crept in. Hot or lukewarm, this was good.

Unfortunately, the Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition blend has something of the same problem that the original version did: A strong salty flavor emerges when it is chilled and iced. It doesn't become undrinkable the way the original one did, but it tastes more like coffee with salt and sugar added than any flavors described on the bag. Adding Unsweetened Almond Milk does not alleviate the problem, but the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer brings out the chocolate a bit, and the resulting flavor is a bit like a salted caramel coffee with a fruity accent. It's an interesting flavor, but not what it should be, based on the bag. On a positive note, the chocolatey flavor does get stronger as you drain your cup while the saltiness remains constant.

But what I liked best of all about Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition? This blend didn't contaminate my coffee maker the way the original Strawberry Cheesecake blend did. Despite the aroma from the ground coffee being just as strong as the original blend, it did not leave a residue that had to be cleaned off by brewing some non-flavored coffee though it (as I discussed in the article linked at the top).

Anne Hathaway can't lap up Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition fast enough!

Given how awful the original Strawberry Cheesecake blend was, the Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Edition is surprisingly good. Bones Coffee has stated that it's only available for a limited time, which is  shame. This should be the standard blend, and the original should be relegated to the graveyard of failed coffee flavors. It's not perfect, but it is a vast improvement.