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...

An important announcement from our sponsor

We at Shades of Gray want to extend a big Thank You to the Slaughter Valley Cultural Development Office for inviting us to relocate our offices to this most scenic part of the world. We have been very happy here. We hope that you come visit us soon.

In the meantime, we have an important announcement from our sponsor, the Slaughter Valley's Slaughterfield Experimental Geometry Services; click on the video below to see it, especially if you're one of our neighbors here in Slaughter Valley. They are doing exciting work, and hopefully everyone everywhere will soon get to experience the fruits of their labor!

Jussie got the justice he deserves.

Happy birthday, Emmanuelle Chriqui!

Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui had her first professional acting jobs as a teenager on horror-themed television series such as "Who's Afraid of the Dark?", "Forever Knight", and "Psi-Force: Tales of the Paranormal".

As the 2000s dawned, Chriqui began appearing in the big screen, with roles in comedies, dramas, and more horror films such as "100 Women" (2000), "Wrong Turn" (2002), and "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" (2008).

With the arrival of the 2010s, Chriqui's career shifted back to television, with leading roles in "Cleaners" (2013-2014) and "The Passage" (2019); and supporting or recurring roles in several other series, such as "The Mentalist" (during the 2012 and 2013 seasons) and Shut Eye (during the first season). Her most recent television role was as Lana Lang on "Superman and Lois", the first 16-episode season aired during 2021. In 2022, she will be seen in a starring role in "Cosmic Dawn", a sci-fi thriller about cults and alien abductions.

Chriqui turns 46 years old today. Here are some photos in celebration!

The Avengers: Honey for the Prince

Honey for the Prince (1966)
Starring: Diana Rigg, Patrick Macnee, Ron Moody, Zia Mohyeddin, George Pastall, Bruno Barnabe, Roland Curry, and Peter Diamond

Director: James Hill

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

The Avengers (Macnee and Rigg) are called into action to find out who murdered two British and agents and to stop the assassination of the crown prince of an oil rich nation who is visiting England with his 320 wives.

This episode deals with the intersection of modernity, Western culture, and conservative Middle Eastern culture, as well as class struggle and the right and wrong ways to work toward social change. These are all topics that I suspect would be near and dear to many potential viewers of this episode... if they could get past the obvious sexist bits, very-much-intentional racist bits ("intentional" because they are there to shed negative light on those holding the attitudes, despite the comedic presentation), and the cartoonish portrayal of the Saudi Arabian prince. And for those who don't care about social commentary, the episode has Emma Peel dancing around dressed as a harem girl, lots of funny lines, some of the best action/fight scenes of any episode so far in the series, and a great performance by Ron Moody. In fact, I think Ron Moody's presence and character puts this among the best episodes of "The Avengers", and the action scenes pushes it into Very Best territory.

The aspect of this episode I found the most enjoyable was the eccentric owner of a very strange business--and how the episode's villains made use of it. Ron Moody portrays Hopkirk, a writer and organizer of live-action roleplaying game scenarios that lets people live out action and adventure in the safety of his "danger rooms." Since roleplaying games and writing has been a vocation and avocation of mine for the majority of my life, I loved this angle to the show. Given how popular RPGs have become in recent years, I think it's an aspect that might appeal to a whole host of viewers.

"Honey for the Prince" was the final episode of "The Avengers" that was made in black-and-white, so this is where we part ways with the very entertaining team of Mr. John Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel. They remained partnered for one more patch of episodes... and maybe we'll have to revive the Watching the Detectives blog for a second Year of the Avengers in 2022. Time will tell. (Stick around here for the time being... there are a couple more posts to come for the 2021 Year of the Avengers here at Shades of Gray!)

Picture Perfect Wednesday with Ralphie

 Yep. They will put your eye out...

The Electric Boogaloo of the Gods

Jupiter's Thunderballs (1903)
Starring: Anonymous Actors and Dancers

Director: Georges Méliès

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Zeus's thunderbolts begin to fizzle, so he summons Hephaestus to repair them. While the upgraded bolts intially are able to call all nine Muses into Zeus' presence, it soon becomes clear that they work a too well!

Although not a very good example of how fantastic Georges Méliès' special effects could be--what we have here is rather clumsy and badly executed when compared to the perfection in some of his other films--this is one of my all-time favorite modern usages of the Greek gods. I don't think I will ever not feel like this is among the most fun three-and-a-half minutes of film that was ever made. Likewise, I don't think I'll ever have to supress the urge to make a Beavis and Buttlike like snicker and say, "He said balls" whenever I see its title. (I also think I'll never understand why both the French and English title reference Jupiter when the sets and costumes all reference the Greek names and versions of the featured gods rather than the Roman ones. Maybe it's a fourth-wall joke that's going over my head?)

Click below and watch "Jupiter's Thunderballs". If you end up not considering it among the best moments you had today, you may take me to task in the comments!)

Musical Monday with Atarashii Gakko!

Atarashii Gakko! is a Japanese rock girl band whose schtick is being weird and/or dancing in school uniforms. The topics of their song are school-related, pop-culture related, or horror/B-movie level sci-fi related; it some ways, it's what a girl band would be like if they originated in an anime/manga universe and their reality is now overlapping with ours. Their musical styles range from jazzy (as you'll see in the video below) to hip-hop to hard-rock edged pop.

Atrashii Gakko! formed in 2015 when its members were in their mid-teens. They are now all in their early 20s, so they'll either be breaking up for solo careers or re-inventing themselves any day now.

Meanwhile, here's a sample of what they offer via a video from 2019...

A fan posted the English translation of the song's lyrics to YouTube. Here they are for ease of reference:

--
Crossing Gate of Love 

The feeling of love that I can't tell anyone about 

Our eyes naturally meet 

The Desire Behind the Student Handbook 

You are the only one who I can consult. 

I said it many times to you... 

(Mizyu) "I can't help it, he confessed to me..." 

I like him so much. 

Why are you going out with him? 

I can't see anything. 

I don't need anything. 

I can meet him tomorrow again so I'm happy 

I almost forgot the light of love 

You are the only one who I can consult. 

I said it many times to you... 

(Mizyu) "I can't help it, he confessed to me..." 

I like him so much. 

Oh no! you're going out with him? 

I like him so much. 

I opened my heart and I told you my secret 

I like him so much. 

Why are you going out with him? 

I said many times to you... 

(Mizyu) "I can't help it, he confessed to me..." 

I like him so much. 

You are my Crossing Gate of Love.

--

If you're not afraid of color (and lots of strangeness), then you should click here and then here for a look at the music videos that first put these four young ladies on our radar.

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

It's a Sala Saturday

Here's another strange one-pager, from 1983 and early in writer/artist Richard Sala's career. Click on the image for a larger, more readable version.