So when our amigo Frekky in Massachusetts offered to setup a coffee exchange, it was sort of like me on Christmas morning. In an adult reality where the post normally brings todo items and bills and such, the notion of a package arriving with coffee is something special. Therefore, take a moment to try and picture the glee of me opening up a box to find therein a pair of samples from Captain’s Coffee Brewers. Specifically, I got to taste their Captain’s Cold Brew Traditional Cold Brewed Coffee and their brand new Smoked Applewood Cold Brew.
I know this might shock some of you–but I prefer cold coffee to hot. Indeed, this might shock you–but let me ask you: which temperature of coffee can you drink faster? Exactly. And I have no problem with snagging a “packaged” bottle of coffee from a gas station in a pinch–you know, a Starbucks or something or other coffee. Nice and cold but–and I don’t understand this–filled with sugar and cream. I no longer drink regular coffee with anything added. Just black like my fashion sense and sense of humor. But nobody sells black coffee pre-packaged. (Note: Yes, I know I could just get some brewed from the pot there at the gas station…but pre-packaged coffee I find to be safer, much in the same way that beer was once safer to drink than water. Ahh, the Good Old Days.)
[ad#longpost]Ahem. This is a roundabout way of getting to this point: how refreshing to pop open the Captain’s Brew and discover…ahhhh. It’s just coffee. And that’s not a diminishing bit of praise. Sometimes you just need some straight-up coffee. And sometimes you want straight-up regular coffee and not the paint-stripper-so-strong-it-could-destroy-a-Shermin-William-store-at-a-hundred-paces coffee I normally brew here at the TechnoCave. And that’s the Captain’s Brew in a nutshell: finely balanced coffee that is very pleasant to drink…and that sizable bottle (22 oz.) is gone before you know it.
A different experience is the Smoked Applewood. And different in that I don’t think I’ve had “smoked” coffee before. From their site, ” This cold brewed iced coffee is brewed using a unique infusion of smoke apple wood chips to refine the flavor.” And if you’ve never had coffee infused with smoke, it’s something that, in my opinion, takes a few sips to get used to. Not to say it’s unpleasant but it’s probably not for everyone. But everyone should try it–because unfortunately for the poor bastard trying to review it, “smoke-infused coffee” pretty much sums up the taste and you can’t really tart up that description much. Although I must say if you’re envisioning your lungs hurting from drinking the stuff, that won’t happen unless you have a drinking problem of another sort.
Of the two, I would grab another bottle of the Traditional in a heartbeat just because I find its simplicity and no-frills taste to be exceptional in a world where everybody wants me to consume more sugar than I already do. And I would recommend the Applewood for anyone who likes the notion of it. Like I said: worth trying at least once.
For more info on the Captain and his selection of coffee goodness, check out their website here. Thanks again to Frekky for the box of goodies.
