Consumer whorism

I purchased some stuff recently and I figured I share some thoughts.

I bought some new pillows. At 15 for 2, they seem to be a great buy. Real fluffy and if they have any kind of lifespan, well worth the cash.

I also bought a new stereo. It has its quirks (it seems far too easy to tip over for instance but a little weight solves that). The sound is very good though and the system can get quite loud. I am running it at level4 or 5. I think it goes up to 20. And it has the thinnest remote you ever seen.

Finally, I got a new toaster. I previously bought the same model in white for my parents. They love it and now that I have one, I do too. It toasts well and has a nice stay warm feature. The cool touch feature is handy in ways you wouldnt realize it. Are their nicer toasters? Sure but this one is cheap and works better than most that I have used.

Coffee Review- Cafe Blend from Porto Rico Importers

The company: Porto Rico Importers based in NYC. Been in business a long time. Offer wide variety of beans cheaply. Also sells a wide selection of tea. Has weekly specials on coffee. Has internet, phone, and fax ordering options. Not a huge operation with an amazon type polish to it. Internet ordering is basically a secured email, not a cart system. Ordering was easy enough, no acknowledgement. Email sent back with final order total within 36 hours.

The coffee: Beans are dark in color and have a good sheen to them. Almost as dark as a French roast. Strong Aroma, balanced flavor. Not as strong as French Mocha but Stronger than Peter's Blend. Definitely would order again.

Price of coffee: They have weekly specials. Cafe Blend runs $3.99/pound on sale. Regular price varies but is often 5.99/lb.

Shipping: $7.28 to ship 3 pounds. $7.58 to ship 5 pounds. Uses UPS ground. Took 5 Business days - ordered during their Spring sale and they warn that it can take up to 2 weeks.

Packaging: Shipped in a box with biodegradable packing peanuts (no chemical fumes which is a plus). Bagged in plastic lined paper bags- not vacuum packed.

See previous review of Peter's Blend here.

See previous review of Northeast Blend here.

See previous review of Columbian Supremo here.

See previous review of French Mocha here.

Coffee Review- French (Roast) Mocha from Porto Rico Importers

The company: Porto Rico Importers based in NYC. Been in business a long time. Offer wide variety of beans cheaply. Also sells a wide selection of tea. Has weekly specials on coffee. Has internet, phone, and fax ordering options. Not a huge operation with an amazon type polish to it. Internet ordering is basically a secured email, not a cart system. Ordering was easy enough, no acknowledgement. Email sent back with final order total within 36 hours.

The coffee: Traditional French roast. Not much else to say. Beans are very oily and have a nice sheen to them. Dark color but not as dark as some french roasts which can look like coal at times. Strong Aroma. Nice strong balanced brew. Would definitely order again.

Price of coffee: They have weekly specials. French Mocha runs $3.99/pound on sale. Regular price varies but is often 5.99/lb.

Shipping: $7.28 to ship 3 pounds. $7.58 to ship 5 pounds. Uses UPS ground. Took 5 Business days - ordered during their Spring sale and they warn that it can take up to 2 weeks.

Packaging: Shipped in a box with biodegradable packing peanuts (no chemical fumes which is a plus). Bagged in plastic lined paper bags- not vacuum packed.

See previous review of Peter's Blend here.

See previous review of Northeast Blend here.

See previous review of Columbian Supremo here.

Coffee Review- Colombian Supremo from Porto Rico Importers

The company: Porto Rico Importers based in NYC. Been in business a long time. Offer wide variety of beans cheaply. Also sells a wide selection of tea. Has weekly specials on coffee. Has internet, phone, and fax ordering options. Not a huge operation with an amazon type polish to it. Internet ordering is basically a secured email, not a cart system. Ordering was easy enough, no acknowledgement. Email sent back with final order total within 36 hours.

The coffee: Beans have a strong fragrance to them. They have a matte caramel colored finish to them. Caramel notes in the taste as well. Not a blend. Reminds me of Peter's Blend which isn't a surprise since Peter's Blend is a third Columbian Supremo. Lacks some of the structure of Peter's blend. Smooth, seems a little more acidity than Peter's Blend but by no means acidic.
I would order this blend again.

Price of coffee: They have weekly specials. Columbian Supremo runs $3.99/pound on sale. Regular price varies but is often 5.99/lb.

Shipping: $7.28 to ship 3 pounds. $7.58 to ship 5 pounds. Uses UPS ground. Took 5 Business days - ordered during their Spring sale and they warn that it can take up to 2 weeks.

Packaging: Shipped in a box with biodegradable packing peanuts (no chemical fumes which is a plus). Bagged in plastic lined paper bags- not vacuum packed.

See previous review of Peter's Blend here.

See previous review of Northeast Blend here.

Coffee Review- Northeast Blend from Porto Rico Importers

The company: Porto Rico Importers based in NYC. Been in business a long time. Offer wide variety of beans cheaply. Also sells a wide selection of tea. Has weekly specials on coffee. Has internet, phone, and fax ordering options. Not a huge operation with an amazon type polish to it. Internet ordering is basically a secured email, not a cart system. Ordering was easy enough, no acknowledgement. Email sent back with final order total within 36 hours.

The coffee: Beans are obviously fresh and had a nice fragrance to them. They were not oily but not quite bone dry as can be expected for the roast, which is fairly light. Obviously a blend as there were different shades of beans. Northeast Blend is fairly mild, more along the lines of the typical decent breakfast blend. Smooth, Low acid. Straight forward with a slight fragrance. Goes well Black with a small amount of sugar though I suspect it probably would go better with some milk or a flavoring. It would make a decent base coffee for some syrup. I might order this blend again if it is on sale. Definitely prefer Peter's Blend. Note: the brew time with this blend is key. Cutting it short produces nothing more than colored water. A 4-5 minutes (french press) brew time produces a nice drinkable product.

Price of coffee: They have weekly specials. Northeast blend runs $3.99/pound on sale. Regular price varies but is often 5.99/lb.

Shipping: Charges their cost, $7.56 to ship 5 pounds (compared to $7.28 to ship 3 pounds previously). Uses UPS ground. Took 3 Business days.

Packaging: Shipped in a box with biodegradable packing peanuts (no chemical fumes which is a plus). Bagged in plastic lined paper bags- not vacuum packed.

See previous review of Peter's Blend here.

New Things

Yay! New cell came today. Need to get use to it now.

The new sneakers are damn comfortable. I only wish they didnt take so long to get here.

I tried something new at lunch today: Tom Kha Kai, Thai chicken coconut soup. It was interesting. Had some heat and some tang. Not for the weak. Chicken broth it was definitely not. If you don't like coconut milk, avoid like the plague.

Coffee Review- Peter's Blend from Porto Rico Importers

The company: Porto Rico Importers based in NYC. Been in business a long time. Offer wide variety of beans cheaply. Also sells a wide selection of tea. Has weekly specials on coffee. Has internet, phone, and fax ordering options. Not a huge operation with an amazon type polish to it. Internet ordering is basically a secured email, not a cart system. Ordering was easy enough, no acknowledgement. Email sent back with final order total within 36 hours.

The coffee: Beans are obviously fresh and had a strong fragrance to them. They were slightly oily as well, especially so for a non-french roast. Obviously a blend as there were different shades of beans. Peter's Blend is fairly similar to breakfast blends but with a bit more heft(I find breakfast blends to be light or weak in general). Smooth, Low acid. Fairly straight forward with some decent accent notes. Goes well Black with a small amount of sugar. I would order this blend again.

Price of coffee: They have weekly specials. Peter's blend runs $3.99/pound on sale. Regular price varies but is often 5.99/lb.

Shipping: $7.28 to ship 3 pounds. Uses UPS ground. Took 3 Business days.

Packaging: Shipped in a box with biodegrabale packing peanuts (no chemical fumes which is a plus). Bagged in plastic lined paper bags- not vacuum packed.

Testing and attention whoring

Let me test the blogger image thingamabob



My new knives that came today.