#coffeequest, Day 5: MistoBox Coffee & a Giveaway

Disclosure: MistoBox provided me with one April 2013 subscription box for review. All opinions and photos remain my own.

Now that we have your brewing options covered, how about some coffee? What good is a brewer without the brew? If you expect to drink a decent cup of coffee, you need to start with a decent bean. But where to begin in a world full of options? It can all seem so daunting.

That’s where MistoBox comes in. For $15 a month they will send you four 1.7-2-ounce whole bean samples to trywith the option to purchase your favorite in a full size version with free shipping, if purchased during the same month. Four cups of coffee at a boutique shop would cost you about the same as a MistoBox, but you’ll be able to get about twelve 8-ounce cups out of this bounty and embark upon a journey in the process–one of the best adventures you can take from your very own kitchen.

If you don’t have a coffee bean grinder already, this will become your new best friend. Freshly ground coffee tastes better anyway, so why not make the investment? I was able to pick up a name brand model for about $25, or MistoBox gives you the option to buy one with your first subscription box. Right before brewing, grind only as much coffee as you’ll need, for best results.

This month’s box included samples from: Verve Coffee Roasters of Santa Cruz, California; Klatch Coffee of Ontario, California; Augie’s Coffee Roasters of Redlands, California; and Ceremony Coffee Roasters of Annapolis, Maryland. These were a mixture of South American and African beans. To demystify the process, MistoBox included a guide, helping me learn more about what I was about to taste and offering some tasting notes.

I am no coffee tasting expert, but this is what I noted from these brews. All coffees were tasted black, with no sugar or cream added to them:

• Klatch Coffee: citrus, smooth, mellow. No lingering aftertaste.
• Verve Coffee Roasters: bold, take notice. A little sour on the tongue to start, but smooth finish. Kind of a chocolatey aftertaste.
• Augie’s Coffee Roasters: fruity, assertive. As it cools, there’s something akin to a sparkling-wine finish to it (bizarre, but quite pleasing).
• Ceremony Coffee Roasters: a little acid, closer to coffee shop coffee; not one-dimensional, but so balanced that nothing really asserts itself in tasting and demands recognition.

Verdict: I really like surprises in the mail, and MistoBox fulfilled that sense of Christmas morning joy with this random box of coffee goodies. I feel like I learned a little something, paid a little closer attention to what I was drinking, and have grown a bit for it. I would get a MistoBox again.

And now, to thank you for following me on this 5-day quest, I am sponsoring a giveaway. That’s right, I’m reaching into my own pockets here to pay for this one. Because you’ve been pretty wonderful reading along with me and I think you should be rewarded for that. The prize is one NEW item of your choice of the products I’ve reviewed this week: a Primula Products 8-cup coffee press, 3-cup stovetop espresso coffee maker, Flavor-It Beverage System, or one month of MistoBox Coffee delivery, so you can start along your own coffee quest. This is open to residents of the United States only. I will make arrangements for shipment directly to you. Winner will have 24 hours to respond before I pick another winner. Winner will be selected on April 30, 2013.

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Thank you for following me on step one of the coffee quest! There will be much more to try out, plenty more to learn, but I feel like I’m well on my way now. Did you learn anything in the process?