It's a Mohammed Monday!

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO

 

It's a Mohammed Monday!

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO

World Market's Chocolate Peppermint

It's the time of year when our minds turn to Christmas coffee... and then, we post about the coffee we drink, so we can help YOU have a Merry Caffeinated Christmas Season!

WORLD MARKET: CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT

This is the second year in a row where we've featured reviews of Christmas-themed flavored coffees here at Shades of Gray. Last year, the Holiday Season was dominated by Bones Coffee flavors (with Eggnog and Jingle Bones being the faves, which you should also check out if you have a chance), but this year we're sampling offerings from a few different roasters, leading off with another of World Market's house-blends.

Coffee with peppermint flavor is not a favorite here at Shades of Gray, but, since it's a Christmas standard we'd be failing all you fine folks out there if we didn't give it a try during the Season of Joy. Did we find joy in our cups, though?

Yes... with World Market's Chocolate Peppermint, we did. But we think this coffee will bring you even more comfort and joy that it did us if you're a lover of peppermint.

First off, when the sample pack from which our test-pot was brewed was opened, the aroma of coffee mixed with chocolate and peppermint rose into the air. The smells were evenly mixed, and we hoped they carried a promise of a similarly balanced flavor profile.

As we put the blend through our usual taste-tests, we found that, as is often the case, the flavors shifted depending on what we mixed with the coffee.

When the coffee was consumed hot and black, the dominate flavor was that of a mellow, medium-roast coffee--probably one based in Colombian beans. The peppermint flavor was there as an undertone, but it grew stronger in our mouths the more we drank. In fact, the peppermint flavor stayed in our mouths long after we'd finished our cups of coffee. The same held true when this blend was consumed with Unsweetened Almond Milk added--the peppermint flavor grows the more of this you drink, and it stays in your mouth even after the coffee is all gone. If you want peppermint, this brings the peppermint!

But what about the chocolate, you may be wondering. Well, there was no detectable chocolate flavor when this blend was consumed black, nor when the unsweetened almond milk was added. This was disappointing, because the blend is called Chocolate Peppermint. That said--the small print (which says that this is "a festive holiday mix of peppermint and chocolate flavors") does put peppermint first, so that is kinda-sorta setting the record straight. In the spirit of being charitable, what with this being the Christmas Season and all...

The chocolate flavor showed up when we mixed this coffee with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. It added a nice dimension to drink, with the tartness of the peppermint blending nicely with both the chocolate tones and the sweetened cream flavor. However, as the cups were drained, the peppermint once again came to dominate and continued to remain in our mouths until we got rid of it by drinking some water.

As the blend cooled to room temperature, the peppermint flavor grew more dominant, regardless of what we'd mixed the coffee with. So, if you're a fan of peppermint, drinking this coffee at a leisurely pace is definitely the way to go!

Finally, when this blend is consumed iced, initially the only flavor that's evident is that of coffee with a slight saltiness. This is true whether the coffee is consumed black, with Unsweetened Almond Milk, or with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. As our cups were drained, a mild peppermint flavor emerged and lingered in our mouths for a bit. It was nowhere near as strong as it had been with previous cups, but it was still enough to bring truth to the name of the blend. Well, except for the chocolate. 

If this seasonal blend sounds interesting to you, you find it on the shelves of WorldMarket stores and at Amazon.com. 

Christmas is here!

 Christmas is here, and Santa and his helpers are criss-crossing the globe, leaving toys for all the good boys and girls out here! (If they don't show up at your place... well, then you know you're on the same list as we are!)

It's the Night Before Christmas...

 ... and Martha Sleeper is taking it easy, reading a holiday classic while lounging in front of the fire.

We here at Shades of Gray hope your Christmas Eve is as relaxed and enjoyable, whether you are spending it with family or alone. And we hope Santa Claus (or one of his diligent assistants) fills your stockings with just want you wanted!

Christmas Lunch with the Cat

Here's a merry little Christmas cartoon that all cat-owners can relate to. (And if you're a new cat-owner, you can view this as an instructional video.)

Under the Mistletoe with the Avengers

 It's almost Christmas, and we wish all of the visitors to Shades of Gray could join us and the Avengers for a hug and a kiss, because we love you all!

We here at Shades of Gray hope all our visitors are having a happy holiday season... and we thank everyone who's been stopping by during 2021 to share The Year of the Avengers with us.

Christmas is coming...

... and June Lang has stopped by to let us know how long we still have to wait!

Musical Monday with Bryan Adams

With Christmas just around the corner, here's Bryan Adams with a straight-forward video and a pretty Christmas song... even if things seem to take a somewhat disturbing turn at the end. (Or so it seems to us. It's also a little funny, but still... What do you think?)

Bones's White Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I thought I'd drink some coffee that reflected the time of year. And while I was at it, I might as well make it another of the many Bones Coffee blends that are sitting in my cupboard!

Even Santa gets to take coffee breaks.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT BARK

When I used to go to Seattle's Best (and then Starbucks) two-three-four times a week, one of my usual orders was a White Chocolate Mocha made with Non-Fat Milk, so I approached this blend with a certain standard and a preconceived notion of what it would taste like. I was not disappointed.

As this blend brewed, there was no particularly aroma that I could detect, other than the faint, wonderful smell of coffee, from the first sip of the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark, the white chocolate flavor was present and exactly what I had expected. It wasn't as strong as the mochas I used to order, but it was distinct. And it was delightful. This is a great coffee to drink when the weather outside is frightful!

Like most of Bones' flavored coffees, the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark blend starts with medium-roast Arabica beans, so that's already a plus for those who like their coffee on the less-bitter side. The flavor of white chocolate present as you start drinking this is strong enough that those who normally take their coffee with a touch of milk or sugar could probably drink this straight, while those who tend to take their coffee with a ratio of 1/4th milk or creamer to 3/4ths coffee (or so), will be satisfied with just a little bit of either. In fact, although I was happy enough with the white chocolate flavor while drinking this blend straight, once I added some unsweetened almond milk to my cup, that flavor became stronger and the experience more enjoyable. This has happened with several other Bones blends, but, since I love the mix of coffee and white chocolate, I appreciated the magic of chemistry even more with the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark blend than those others.

As I typically do when drinking coffee for review purposes, I tried this blend hot, as it cooled to room temperature, and chilled and over ice. I also tried it both with unsweetened almond milk and with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. I think it was tastiest when hot and with unsweetened almond milk added. It was almost a little too sweet with the Italian Sweet Cream creamer--it wasn't terrible, just not as good. I think this might be a great coffee to drink with dessert, or even to put in a thermos and take with you if you're going to be running around in the cold. 

If you've gotten this far, you might be asking yourself "What about the peppermint? He hasn't mentioned the peppermint... why not?" Well, honestly, I didn't really pick up on much of the peppermint flavor while drinking this. I think there might have been a hint of peppermint creeping in after several sips before I added the almond milk, but I'm not sure it wasn't just my imagination; I was expecting peppermint, so I tasted peppermint?

Since it's not unheard of for Bones Coffee's flavors to grow more intense as you drink the coffee, and I expected the peppermint to show up more powerfully as I drained the mugs. However, it remained soft or completely undetectable. That said, it's not something that I am upset about. I don't know if coffee that was strongly peppermint flavored would be something I could bring myself to drink, but Bones has thrilled my taste buds and changed my mind with blends I feared would be horrible-tasting, like Wunderbones and Maple Bacon. Maybe someday I'll drink peppermint-flavored coffee, but today is not that day.

The Christmas Coffee Elf brings coffee to all the good boys and girls!

A Very Film Noir Christmas

Film Noel (2013)
Starring: Oskar Brown, Wenonah Wildblood, Jerry Kwarteng, and Philippe Linus Petit
Director: Sebastian Matthias Weissbach
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Winter's twin sister Snow (both Wildblood) has gone missing, and she hires hardboiled detective Claus (Brown) to bring her home before Christmas.

Part film-noir spoof, part Christmas movie, and all goofy, "Film Noel" is a lighthearted and pun-laden film that will have you alternatively chuckling and groaning at the jokes and gags that flow steadily across the screen. If you enjoy films like "Young Frankenstein", "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", or anything from the second stage of Leslie Nielsen's career, I think you'll appreciate this fun little film... which is embedded below so you can check watch it right now!

Christmas is coming...

 ... and it will be here before you know it! So be like Bessie Love and get your gift-shopping and decorating finished early!

Bones Coffee's Eggnog

The Christmas Season is upon us! There are just a handful of things that are more Christmas-y than eggnog, and I love eggnog, so sampling and reviewing an eggnog-flavored coffee for this Sunday's post was an easy decision! (I was also extra curious about the Eggnog blend, because I have my own homemade holiday standard that consists of mixing eggnog and coffee.)


BONES COFFEE COMPANY: EGGNOG

This is one of those Bones flavored coffees that amused me even before I opened the package; it's got a cartoon of the company mascot doing an iconic scene and character from the movie "Christmas Vacation."

The joy continued as I opened the package and I could smell eggnog, and it got greater as the coffee brewed. A strong aroma wafted from the kitchen and into my office and made me eager for the coffeemaker to finish it's work so I could start drinking.

I was not disappointed. The eggnog flavor is unmistakable, but not so strong that it overwhelms the coffee flavor as with some of Bones' offerings (like the Peaches and Screams blend, for example). It wasn't quite as strong as the mixtures I usually make myself, but it was close enough that I almost didn't feel the need to immediately add the usual unsweetened almond milk. The eggnog flavor blended perfectly with the smoothness of the Bones' medium-roast that is the typically foundation for their flavored coffees, and I count this among my favorites from the company so far. I don't know if the Bones Eggnog blend will replace my own coffee-with-eggnog mixture, but it might. I will have to order another set of sample packs so I can compare the two, side by side. I'll be sure to provide an update. (Oh, the sacrifices I make for you, my loyal readers...)

All in all, the Eggnog blend was flavorful enough that I could have consumed it without adding any of the unsweetened almond milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, but I found that I liked it even more once the almond milk had been added; the eggnog flavoring seemed like it became stronger. I didn't think the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer did much for this blend--it seems to wash out the eggnog flavor rather than enhance it.

The same is true when this blend was consumed cold, over ice. It tasted just as good as when it was consumed hot, and adding the almond milk also seemed to once again bring out the eggnog flavor. That said, it the eggnogginess of this blend seemed to grow weaker as the coffee grew colder, and it was very subtle when the coffee was iced. It was almost as if I was drinking straight, high-quality coffee with a touch of cream and sugar added.

I highly recommend Bones' Eggnog as a coffee that will bring some cheery Christmas warmth to your gatherings ... or even if you're just enjoying a quiet evening alone. It should be enjoyed hot, though. 

All Diane wants for Christmas is a pair of pants, because hot coffee is only so effective.
(Still, we think if she was drinking Bones' Eggnog-flavored coffee, she'd be happier!)

POSTSCRIPT (wait... isn't everything here a postscript? Eh, never mind...)

As for my above-mentioned homemade eggnog/coffee eggnog blend, I recently purchased a bag of Seatttle's Best medium-roast House Blend, one of the three or four varieties I have used to make it over the years, so I was able to compare it to the Bones variety sooner than anticipated. (I'll be posting about that House Blend in the not-too-distant-future. But I digress.)

I think it's a tie between my home-made version and the Bones' version, taste-wise. Bones' Eggnog blend scores some bonus points for having fewer calories and being convenient--I am more likely to run out of eggnog than I am almond milk. My own blend, however, gets points for me being able to adjust the eggnogginess at will.

Sadly, neither is available year-round...

Picture Perfect Wednesday with Ralphie

 Yep. They will put your eye out...

Bones Coffee's Oh Fuuudge!

The Christmas Season is underway, and I'm going to be drinking and reviewing blends from Bones Coffee with appropriately festive themes over the next few Sundays. (I've previously covered Jingle Bones, as far as straight-up Christmas coffees go. Some consider Salted Caramel to be Christmas-y, and I've covered that one as well. You can read my reviews at those links, and maybe get a jump on your own Christmas coffee drinking.)

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: OH FUUUDGE!

I decided to get things started with the Oh Fuuudge! blend. I don't know if fudge is necessarily a Christmas-only thing--although I do have a friend who makes fudge only around the holidays as she's also making Christmas cookies--but the cartoon on the package will evoke strong Christmas vibes among Americans of a certain age since it consists of iconic images from "A Christmas Story" (1983). Of course, the name of this blend may do that all by itself for some. But I digress in a major way.

The Oh Fuuudge! blend is based on single-origin, Brazilian Arabica beans, and my review is based on a 4-oz. pre-ground "sample package". Other than informing consumers that it's a medium-roast, there is no specific mention of what should expected form the brews that result--although the name of the blend is something of a giveaway.

And there were early indications that Oh Fuuudge! would live up its name. There was a faint smell of chocolate from the package as I opened it. Strong and wonderful smell of chocolate and coffee filled my kitchen and office as the coffee brewed. As I poured my first cup of my latest Bones Coffee selection, I felt certain that I was about to drink something  that would taste akin to a melted block of fudge.

Interestingly, despite the aroma filling the air, the coffee itself tasted like... well, coffee with a little bit of chocolate added. This Bones blends tasted almost EXACTLY like a mix I sometimes make myself here at home where I take Starbucks Pike Place Roast (or some other medium roast I happen to have on hand) with roughly 4/5ths pre-ground coffee to 1/5th unsweetened, 100 percent cocoa powder. The dominant flavor is still coffee, but there's an solid taste of chocolate, too. My homemade mix works especially well with unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk, both of which seem to bring out the chocolate more strongly. 

The Bones Oh Fuuudge! coffee behaved exactly like my homemade mixture when I drank cups first with the unsweetened almond milk and then with the unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Both softened the edge of the coffee while bringing out the chocolate flavor more strongly. The unsweetened vanilla almond milk mixed particularly well with the enhanced chocolatey flavor. I also tried it with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream, and the drink almost became too sweet for my taste.

One aspect of Oh Fuuudge! that is superior to some of the other Bones Coffee offerings is that the flavors remain stable whether you drink it hot, room temperature, or over ice. When drinking it iced, the chocolate comes a little more strongly, but only slightly more than when it's hot.

Although my initial reaction to Oh Fuuudge! was mild disappointment, because the strong aroma the blend gives off when brewing didn't match the subtle chocolate flavor of the final result. Ultimately, though, this is a tasty coffee that will go great with Christmas cookies or desserts. And, of course, by itself if you're just looking for a caffeinated pick-me-up.

An over-caffeinated Christmas Elf

Bones Coffee's Gingerbread Man

With the Christmas Season approaching fast, here's a review of a holiday-themed flavored coffee!

This elf stays jolly by staying caffeinated.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: GINGERBREAD MAN

Up front, I should state that ginger is not my favorite flavor; I don't hate it, but I also don't seek it out. Typically, I've encountered it only around the holidays because a friend of mine used to bake all sorts of cookies, including gingerbread men. Her cookies were great, even the ginger ones, although I ate fewer of those than the others.

I generally don't seek out and review things I don't think I'm going to enjoy to the fullest, so I would probably have skipped the Gingerbread Man blend if it hadn't been included as one of the five flavors in the Christmas sampler pack. As such, this review, like most of my Bones Coffee reviews, is based on a 4-oz. pre-ground sample pack and brewed using my trusty drip coffeemaker. Also, like most of Bones Coffee's flavored blends, it is based on their medium-roast made with Arabica beans from Brazil.

When I first opened this package, and as the coffee brewed, there was no particular aroma that I could detect, other than perhaps that of coffee--this was not one of those times where the blend previewed itself by filling the air with wonderful scents. Although the aroma wasn't quite strong enough to make it down the hall to my office, the kitchen and hall was filled with a very pleasant gingerbread cookie smell.

The smell wasn't really present when the coffee was poured, nor was it present when I took my first sips of it. It turned out, though, that this is another Bones blend where the flavor grows stronger as you drink it. Initially, no flavors are present except a basic, but wonderfully smooth coffee taste with just a touch of something else--something spicy with a slight hint of sweet. This was tasty enough that I could probably have finished the whole cup without adding any unsweetened almond milk. I added some, though, about halfway through the cup, after I'd determined that the Gingerbread Man blend was another of those Bones blends where the flavor grows stronger in your mouth as you drink more of it. The drawback here was that the flavor was not one that I was particularly fond of.

As I mentioned, ginger is not a favorite flavor of mine, so that was already a strike against this blend. However, whatever flavor the Gingerbread Man blend is, it's a spicy, almost herbal one that I can't place. Further, this flavor moved from slightly sweet to bitter and sour the more I drank. Whatever this flavor is, it's not like any gingerbread cookie I've ever had. (Including some gingersnaps that I went out and bought, just to make sure I remembered what ginger cookies taste like. Yes--I go through such great sacrifices to ensure accuracy in my reviews! My coworkers were grateful for this review as well, if only for the cookies they got to eat.)

At room temperature, I did not like this blend at all. The herbal/spicy flavor retreated a bit when this coffee was consumed cold, but it tasted even more sour than when it was hot. The flavors seemed to build quicker, and I couldn't even finish the first cup of this blend over ice; adding unsweetened almond milk didn't help much. When I tried am iced cup with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream, the flavors mixed to put me in mind of sour milk. This was not a blend that works iced.

I think this is the first Bones Coffee blend I've tried that I've been nothing but disappointed with. Perhaps it's meant to be consumed in tiny espresso cups, and then only one cup at a time, because I can't recommend drinking it by the tumbler- or mugful as I do.

Sari Maritza demonstrates how to drink Bones' Gingerbread Man

(Speaking of people outside of the blog-o-sphere, as I did above when I brought up co-workers amd cookie-baking friends, I mentioned when I reviewed the Sinn-O-Bun blend that I was going to give a pack of it to a friend who really, really likes cinnamon to see what her opinion of it was. She brewed it, and drank it, and she LOVED it. She also had her Significant Other, who isn't one for flavored coffees and who usually drinks his so black and strong he almost has to chew it instead of drink it, try a cup... and he enjoyed it so much that they've ordered a bag of it.)

Christmas in July with Jingle Bones

I thought I'd get onboard with the whole Christmas in July thing  with a review of Christmas-themed Coffee! So here goes!

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: JINGLE BONES

The Jingle Bones blend is a medium roast, and, as the name implies, it's Christmas-themed. Jingle Bones is one of about half-a-dozen Christmas-oriented blends that Bones Coffee Company offers (other examples are Oh Fuuuudge and Eggnog).

This review is based on coffee brewed from a 4-oz. pre-ground pack, in a drip coffeemaker. Like previous Bones blends I've reviewed, the coffee smelled great while brewing, filling my kitchen with an air of caramel that wafted into my office. This was off to a promising start.

The Jingle Bones blend tasted as good as it smelled, with the advertised coconut, caramel, and vanilla being present both in the aroma and in each sip. The flavor was sweet and smooth enough that even someone like me who almost always cuts his coffee with almond milk or creamer (or a mix of the two) could drink it straight from the mug without cutting it. 

Hot, this blend leads with a caramel flavor but the vanilla and especially the coconut shine through as well. When it's consumed iced, the coconut flavor comes through even stronger, but however the blend is consumed, its flavors remain nicely balanced.

I can't quite see how Christmas-y this blend is honestly--unless it's supposed to bring to mind a plateful of cookies?--but it's very tasty and one I recommend highly if you like coffee.

Kylie Approves of Coffee

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Santa Claus (1898)

Starring: Laura Bayley, the Smith Children, and Santa Claus

Director: George.Albert Smith

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Santa Claus (Himself) delivers toys to a good little girl and a good little boy.

If you ever doubted that Santa existed, this film--the earliest known film appearance of the Jolly Old Elf himself--will make you a believer! This piece of history shows that whether it's in the 19th century or in the 21st, Santa makes his rounds on Christmas Eve the same way.

All Christmas joking aside, this is a fun little film that, if it isn't already present, will spark a little Christmas joy in you. Check it out, right now!

 

  (It actually is also a bit of film history, in all seriousness. George Albert Smith was playing around with special effects in Great Britain at the same time that Georges Melies was doing it in France, and he was only one step removed from the cutting edge. This particular film was also so impressive that nearly ten years after its initial release, a review described audiences gasping in wonder at Santa's sudden disappearance from the screen. It's unclear if the reviewer was talking about kids or adults, though.)

Santa's Helpers are getting ready!

It's almost that time of year when Santa is roaming the globe, dropping off presents for all the good children. If he should fall behind, he has numerous helpers standing by to lend a hand. Ava Gardner, for example, is already suiting up in case she is called upon!

Meanwhile, Yvonne Craig is prepping the back-up sleigh.

The Avengers: Too Many Christmas Trees

Beginning in January 2021, we'll be featuring bi-weekly reviews of the final batch of episodes of "The Avengers" that were made in black-and white. As a sneak-peek--and because it's Christmas--we present this review!

Too Many Christmas Trees (1965)

Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Mervyn Johns, Edwin Richfield, Alex Scott, Jeanette Sterke, Robert James, and Barry Warren
Director: Roy Ward Baker

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Top-troubleshooter for the secret services of Great Britain John Steed (Macnee) has been having strange Christmas-related nightmares. As he attends a holiday costume party with his partner Mrs. Emma Peel (Rigg), elements of his nightmares seem to be manifesting themselves in the real world.

"The Avengers" was a television series that generally focused on British secret agents working cases where other operatives had failed and been and been captured or worse. It began as a straight spy drama, but by the fifth batch of episodes debuted, with Patrick Macnee as the eccentric life-long soldier and spy for Britain John Steed; and Diana Rigg as the glamorous, multi-talented and independently wealthy Mrs. Emma Peel in the lead roles, the series had followed down the path of the James Bond films by adding more comedy and other fantastic elements into the mix. It was during 1965 - 1967 that the show was at its most popular, and it was also during this time where never quite knew what you would get. Sure--there'd be the witty banter between Steed ad Peel, but beyond that viewers might get a straight-up spy/Cold War story, a murder mystery, a sci-fi adventure, a screwball comedy, a horror-tinged thriller--or a combination of any or all of the above. 

"Too Many Christmas Trees" is part mystery and part supernatural thriller, as Steed and Peel must find the truth about why Steed's dreams seem to be prophetic... and to stop the death and mayhem they seem to predict (with their guillotines and killer Father Christmases). Eventually, the show ends up incorporating what at the time could have been viewed as science fiction: It's ultimately revealed that Steed is under mental attack by psychics working for an enemy power that are trying to weaken his defenses and literally pick his brain for the secrets he knows.

The comment about psychics being at the root of the problem in this episode could possibly be viewed as a spoiler, but it's a minor one at best. Although the enemy psychics are key to the storyline, they are revealed early on... and Steed and Peel (and the viewers) have many more mysteries to solve and threats to confront during this episode and it's virtually impossible to predict where it's going to end up. 

Highlights of "Too Many Christmas Trees" are the sequences showing Steed's nightmares; Peel's discovery of a murder victim under very spooky circumstances and the fight scene that follows shortly afterward; and just the over all flow of the plot that keeps viewers guessing until the end. (The chilling atmosphere in many scenes is not surprising when one considers this episode was directed by Roy Ward Baker, a gentleman who helmed a good number of chillers and thrillers from British production companies such as Hammer Films and Amicus. He directed a total of seven episodes of "The Avengers" with the Macnee and Riggs in the lead roles, and they are among the best of the batch.)

One very funny fourth wall inside joke happens when Steed is going through his Christmas cards and happily remarks on one from his former partner, Kathy Gale, that was sent from Fort Knox, U.S.A.. The character had been played by Honor Blackman, who, at the time this show originally aired had just co-starred in the smash-hit James Bond film "Goldfinger" which featured an attempt to rob the gold depository at Fort Knox.

This is just one of the many very funny moments that exist along side the very dramatic, very high-stakes action of this episode... but this easy co-existence of the goofy and self-referential  or satirical material alongside deadly serious plot elements is among the things that makes "The Avengers" episodes with Macnee and Rigg so much fun.