Thoughts on Food 2

Hi!

This will be my first product review post.  I recently purchased some coffee at ALDI and thought I would give a review of it.

Before I go on, I have to say that if you have not shopped at ALDI store yet, I highly recommend it!  The prices are reasonable and for the most part, the quality of the food is just as good if not better than what most stores carry.  ALDI used to be a part of Trader Joe’s but is now independent.  Anyway, be sure to check out ALDI stores, you won’t regret it.

Now on to the coffee.  The brand I bought was Beaumont Coffee, here is what it looks like:

I did not use the Faux French Press method (which I previously blogged about here), but instead used a standard drip coffee brew.  I also did not add any cream or sugar to the cup and used a clean mug to drink it.

I was a little disappointed with the lack of robustness of the flavor of Beaumont.  I used enough coffee for it to be a strong brew yet, it still tasted weak and somewhat bitter.  I prefer dark, bold blends of my coffee and this one did not deliver.  If you are okay with mild or medium blends however, this one might be a good match for you.

As for why I thought coffee without cream and sugar would not taste bitter, that is because a developed pallet for coffee will taste black coffee as sweet – provided that the coffee is of high quality.  If you are unaccustomed to black coffee, you will need sugar and cream to add flavor to it.  Fellow aficionados however, will agree that black coffee is sweet just the way it is.

Am I a coffee aficionado or a coffee snob?  I’ll let you decide.

So Beaumont coffee is not particularly strong but I could clearly taste the berry/fruit flavors of the coffee.  Fruit flavored coffee is also common in Kenyan roasts, if you are familiar with East African blends.  I do enjoy berry type flavors in my coffee so for that reason I did enjoy my cup of Beaumont.  Other coffee flavors might taste like nuts or bread but, berry blends are what I prefer.

Is Beaumont worth buying?  Yes, it is.  To compensate for the lack of robustness, I will brew it French Press Style from now on; that will make it good.

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Going back to cream and sugar and how they interact with coffee, to truly taste coffee one must be able to enjoy a cup without those two add-ons.  That is the only way to fully enjoy coffee.  To initiate yourself toward fully enjoying coffee, go ahead and start with cream and sugar.  Move on to cream only without sugar.  Then gradually lower your cream until you do not need/want any of it.  Drink a cup black, never look back.

I also was reminded recently that in order to make coffee, one must remember to add water.  Whoops.

As for why I was shopping at ALDI in the first place well, being a married man and all, I am quite broke.  I’m a new dad now, that makes it even worse.

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Now some questions for you!

1. What is your favorite way to brew coffee?
2. What foods go well with coffee?
3. What foods would you like for me to talk about on this blog?

 

Thoughts on Food 1

Hello!  This will be my first post on Norris Cafe.  I do have some experience in blogging, my last blog can be found here.  Anyway, these posts will be my thoughts and recommendations on food and drink, as well as product recommendations.  More photos will come along with this blog as well.

Also, if you want to get to know me, I have an introduction posted here.  The TLDR version is that I’m in my 30’s and can only get jobs in fast casual restaurants.

I recently blogged on coffee, specifically how to make regular coffee taste like French Press style coffee.  If you came here from that post, welcome!

One unique food idea that I want to share on here has to do with chili.  It might sound strange but, chili and beans are really good with ranch dressing on top.  Yes, it’s true.  You read that right, put ranch on top of your chili.  You can thank me later.

If you are still not convinced, remember that ranch has garlic in it.  Garlic tastes great with chili and the creaminess of ranch only makes it better.

Garlic has other benefits as well!  Aside from being a go-to herb to add flavor, it is also related to onions and shallots-other supreme flavor enhancers.  Garlic also contains Vitamin C, Manganese, as well as fiber.  Go ahead and add ranch and/or garlic itself to your chili!

I could mention the most obvious benefit of garlic on here but, that would be stating the obvious.  I do not want to talk down to anyone here so I will not bother to repeat that the fact that garlic repels vampires.

Garlic also has been known to ruin one’s own breath, which is an effective deterent against unwanted lovers.

As for ranch, I do prefer the traditional type.  Some stores carry spiced ranch but, I never wanted to try that.  Ranch can be made spicy at home by mixing it with your favorite hot sauce anyway.

I also do not recommend taking a bath in ranch dressing.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand, chili is enhance with ranch because it contains garlic and/or onions.  I prefer white and green onions, myself.  Chili is also good as part of a Frito Pie, as long as it’s made with cheddar cheese.  Does Frito Pie taste good with ranch?  I don’t know, never tried it.  Let me know if you have.

That’s enough about ranch and chili.  As for the future of this blog, I have some product reviews coming up and some of my favorite recipes as well.  What are some products that you would like me to review?  Let me know!