Friday, May 14, 2004


goat rock panorama

like my 107-odd million compatriots in the u.s.a, and 80% of europeans, i began my morning with coffee: a cup of mark inman of taylormaid's organic goat rock blend.

i know it sounds silly, but i really did feel excited popping the top and peeling back the puffed foil lining on his sweet little yellow can.

the artwork on these cans reminds me so much of kandinsky in his jugendstil/symbolist woodcut period, tho' others find the sharp, jaggy sunrise a little soviet. but enough aesthetics. how was the coffee?

no doubt this is darkest coffee i've had in a long time: truly full oil, what i'd call dark french roast. i think mark means it as a breakfast coffee in the west-coast style.

despite this, the roast didn't dominate the sweetly spicy fragrance of the dry grounds as much as i feared. the fragrance was interesting, a soft hint of fresh bay leaves, and something that reminded me of ajowain seed (sometimes this member of the angelica family's called "love parsley").

the dark roast gave this blend a spicy, pungent, clove-y, and smoky character. it had a dry, bittersweet finish that for some inexplicable reason reminded me of an organic nicaraguan coffee i had some time ago.

i wonder if this blend has some nicaraguan in it? roasting coffee this dark mutes the brightness, so i'm calling the goat rock a mellow cup.

very darkly roasted coffees can thin out in the body, but this blend isn't in that category. it's a smooth sip of java.

coffee lovers who seek out this style of cup will be pleased to wake up with inman's blend.

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