When St. Nick is looking for a happy XXXmas...

 

(Art by Peter van Straaten, Text by Steve Miller)

He's making a list...

 

(Art by Peter van Straaten, Text by Steve Miller)

If Santa didn't make it to your house this Christmas Eve...

 ... blame Yvonne Craig.

While it's true that Santa did not bring her the gifts she wanted, there's no excuse for her decapitating him.

May You Have a Mysteriously Merry Christmas!

 

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!

Picture Perfect Wednesday:I van to brihng you prehzants

Yes... that's Bela Lugosi dressed as Santa Claus.