Text 1123, 99 rader
Skriven 2013-06-01 20:28:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: tastes 644
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I was staying with a family that could without much
exaggeration be called a bunch of Trader Joe junkies
- though not completely faithful to the brand, they
tend to go there for a lot of their groceries, a
couple times a week at least. So there were plenty of
things to taste, both TJ's and otherwise.

==

My friend Tom says that Sweet Maria is the best coffee
roaster in the country, so my friend John, who idolizes
Tom and lives close to the place, goes there. I tasted
raw and French roasted Kenya AB Nyeri Gatomboya beans,
whose description offers the claim of peach and citrus
among other things. In the green beans, these tastes are
pronounced, along with the expected greeny beany taste
(every time I taste unroasted coffee beans I wonder if
a beverage can be made out of any old random bean if
roasted dark enough). The peachiness persists even after
a long smelly roasting, but much of the nuance is gone,
replaced by a taste that reminded me of dish detergent.
I did not taste brew made from these beans but imagine
that the nasty extractions common to all dark roasts
would have come out in full force.

Schwartz spicy heirloom organic Italian sausage - I
really liked these, though there was a bit too much
fennel. Good spiciness, distinct flavors of paprika and
basil as well as fennel. A nice coarse grind that left
biggish chunks of fat and gristle, I know not preferred
by most, but I like that, as it enhances the porkiness,
plus as you know I love fat. A little on the salty side,
but I ate them straight, not in a sandwich. A-, maybe A

==

Trader Joe's products:

organic popcorn with olive oil - not cheap for 4 oz of
starch, but the popcorn was well popped, with almost no
old maids. Initial flavor was pleasantly corny but with
a hit of peppery and pretty good EVOO bringing up the
rear. Not salty. Quite good if you like popcorn. B+/A-

cinnamon coffee cake - two iterations - the first was
a standard cake with a sour creamy taste and hardly any
cinnamon at all, B-; the next had a ton of stroozle* so
had good cinnamoniness as well as a moreish brown sugary
quality in every bite, B+. I worry about the inconsistency,
but on the whole pretty good as well. *not really streusel

100% fruit cranberry spread - this was meant to be jam,
but to me it tasted like cranberry jelly only not as good. C

fig butter - dried brown figs cooked down to a gooey essence,
not bad at all. B

smoked paprika - not pronounced smokiness, not as sweet as
it should be, but still decent. B-

cayenne - hotter than the stuff at the regular supermarket
but also less sweet than it should be. A bit of capsicum
flavor, more than your standard cheapie stuff. B+

balsamic glaze - owing to the modified food starch, this was
a bit goopy and peculiar in texture, but I loved the flavor,
which duplicated a good aged balsamic through judicious use of
sugar I think. As one can't get real old balsamic for love or
money these days, I was thankful to know about this product. A-

==

Kozlowski Farms old fashioned peach jam - this, a native Sonoma
product, tastes like just about anyone's peach jam, perhaps
even a little less intense in flavor than the more mainstream
products. I suppose the advantage is that it's made with sugar
and not HFCS. As I've said before, in some settings I rather
like HFCS; this may be one of them. B-

Organic Flavrz ginger ale syrup - you add this to fizzy water
to make your own ginger ale; what advantage this conveys I
don't know. It's mostly sweeteners, including agave and stevia
but also sugar, with some ginger and a surprising and obtrusive
hit of lemon concentrate. I didn't care for it particularly for
that reason and find it a bit costly at 50c a serving. C

==

Kirkland cashew clusters with almonds and pumpkin seeds - this
is a calorie-packed candy but has a strangely and intriguingly
light texture. Flavors of cashew and pepita, hardly any almond
taste. Not too sweet, with a balancing saltiness. I really
liked these quite a lot. B+

Kirkland grade A medium amber maple syrup - this stuff is
thicker than normal with a pleasant mild flavor; the texture
made me think adulteration, though. B or perhaps D.
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