Better coffee. One cup at a time.

Tag: coffee buying

Bourbon Barrel Coffee-An Interesting Trend. Is It Worth Checking Out?

Recently, I was corresponding with a coffee company and they mentioned their bourbon infused coffee was one of their top sellers. This surprised me. If you keep tabs on a few favorite coffee roasters or get the occasional promotion coffee email, you might have noticed this trend too. More and more roasters are advertising bourbon barrel coffee programs and featuring bourbon infused coffee. 

I poked around on the internet a bit and was bombarded with companies doing bourbon coffees. You can find coffee infused with Blanton’s and Jack Daniel’s. There are even infused K-cups (these are likely done with artificial flavorings). Good Folk’s roasts a coffee for Pappy and Co. that is aged in Old Pappy barrels. 

It is not just bourbon either. Roasting companies are featuring tequila, rum, red wine, white wine and plain ol’ whiskey infused coffees. 

If you don’t know much about bourbon barrel coffees you may have a few questions: How did this bourbon and spirits infusion trend get started? What exactly is bourbon barrel coffee? Are spirit infused coffees different from flavored coffees? And maybe most importantly, does the finished product contain any alcohol? 

Let me unpack some of these questions. 

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What Coffee Should I Buy at the Grocery Store?

“What coffee should I buy at Jewel?” (or “The Jewels” would be more accurate for my locale, it really doesn’t matter {Insert Local Grocery Store for “Jewel”})

It is hands down the most common question I get whenever someone finds out I know a little bit about the blissful beverage. It’s an entry level coffee buying question but it’s also a loaded question. Nonetheless, it is a question the deserves an answer.

What is the best grocery store option for the curious person who wants to peer into the rabbit hole of a better cup of coffee?

A short explanation- Why is this such a loaded question?

I can already hear the third wave coffee pitchforks being raised. “Good coffee from a grocery store!?”

I get it, the average grocery store holds no treasures for the coffee aficionado. Bear with me.

On the other side of the coin, I’m about meeting people where they are at. An earnest question in the search of a better cup of coffee that is rebuffed with a curt “You’ll never find good coffee at the supermarket” does no good at all.

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