Blends/Multiple

Blends/Multiple / Coffee reviews / Retail and specialty roasters

Coffee review: Audubon coffee

[For reference only…Audubon Coffee Club is now defunct]

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #13.  Audubon Premium Shade Grown Coffees. A review in our conservation organization coffee series.

The National Audubon Society promotes a small line of “habitat-friendly certified organic premium shade grown” coffees*, which are available at some supermarkets, and via their Audubon Coffee Club web site. All the coffees are Rainforest Alliance certified. They are distributed by Rogers Family Company, whose other brands include San Francisco Bay Gourmet Coffee, The Organic Coffee Co., Fairwinds Coffee, Cunningham’s Coffee, Pleasant Hill Farms Quality Coffee, and East India Coffee and Tea.  Rogers Family Company only buys beans from “farms that have demonstrated an interest in environmental responsibility” and in fact, owns at least two plantations.

Several kinds of Audubon coffee are offered: a Breakfast Blend, Rainforest Blend, French Roast and Decaf, and can be purchased ground or whole bean at the web site. Nowhere on the web site or package can you determine the country of origin of these coffees, much less a region or farm (although they may be sourced at least in part from the Rogers Family Panamanian farms). Nor do you get a choice of roast.  A roast level is not indicated on the package, but on the web site, away from the individual product pages, it notes that beans are “roasted to their fullest flavor point – a little darker than most coffees.” (Update: the web site is now much more thorough, and the coffees are now certified organic and 100% Rainforest Alliance certified.)

In my local grocery store, Audubon coffee was only available ground, at about $9.50 for 12 oz.  I purchased the Breakfast Blend, featuring the John James Audubon portrait of a Red-shouldered Hawk on the label.  An interesting (odd?) choice of bird, as many populations are not migratory, and those that do winter in the northern tropics are found in lowlands and avoid higher elevations, where most coffee would be grown.

The bottom of my package indicated it was distributed by JBR Gourmet Foods, Inc.  JBR changed its name to Rogers Family Company in late 2005.  I hoped this coffee wasn’t that old!

As luck would have it, there were many people hanging around the day we tried this coffee, so we had a lot of opinions. Most of us were unenthusiastic.  The most frequent comment was that it tasted over-roasted, burnt, and bitter.  Even fresh, it kind of tasted like coffee that had been left cooking in the pot too long.  It was quite acidic, but left a “hairy” feeling on the tongue. For the tasting panel regulars, it was not much beyond diner coffee.

Ergo, regular reviewers gave this coffee a very low score, averaging 1.25 motmots.  Two reviewers who frequently drink grocery store coffee liked it more, and their average score was 2.5 motmots. This was an interesting result, and indicates that this coffee might be a “step up” for ordinary coffee drinkers and convince them to switch to sustainable coffee.  However, I expect that many people would need to be farm more impressed to spend the extra money.  It is probably better fresher, or whole bean, but alas, I picked this up the way many people might — off the shelf of a busy grocery store.

I’d like to try this fresher, and whole bean, via the coffee club, or hear from folks who have tried it this way.

*There is some interesting history to this coffee. According to “Sustainable Coffee at the Crossroads” (Rice and McLean, Consumers Choice Council, 1999), Audubon originally sold the very first coffee using Smithsonian’s Bird-Friendly certification criteria, around 1997. It was originally roasted by Boyd’s Coffee and called Cafe Audubon. Audubon dumped it because they were not happy with the sales and marketing revenue.

Blends/Multiple / Coffee reviews

Coffee review: Song Bird Coffee

songbird-coffee-new-logoUpdate: As of late 2016, this line of coffee was re-launched and is now certified Bird-Friendly (and therefore also organic) as well as  Fairtrade certified. It is still roasted by Thanksgiving Coffee Company. There are currently four varieties/roast levels.

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #12. A review in our conservation organization coffee series.

American Birding Association Song Bird Coffee

The American Birding Association is a nearly 40-year-old group that caters specifically to recreational birders. In recent years, the ABA has focused more on bird conservation. One aspect of that initiative was the promotion of Song Bird Coffee, roasted and sold by Thanksgiving Coffee Company. Fifteen cents of each package sold goes to ABA education and conservation projects, and another fifteen cents is returned to the growers [as of 2016, this has been changed to a percentage of each sale].

Song Bird Coffee is sold in 7 varieties, including decaf and flavored; each package depicts a different North American breeding bird species that winters in Latin American coffee-growing regions. Most coffees are certified organic, many are Fair Trade. They are all advertised as shade-grown, although none of them are certified by Rainforest Alliance or Smithsonian even though the descriptions list “shade grown” under “Certifications.”  The web site says,

Thanksgiving Coffee uses verified shade grown coffee. This means that its CEO, Paul Katzeff, or the importer has personally inspected the farm to insure that the plants are properly grown in the shade.

Well, you all know what I think about that. Song Bird Coffees are only labeled to country of origin, but the web site provides further information. All the Song Bird Coffees I investigated do appear to be sourced from areas that typically do grow under shade. However, they are not labeled as Smithsonian Bird-Friendly, which is the only true shade certification. This is a little unsettling, especially since they are targeted at consumers who may just be entering the sustainable coffee market.

We tried the Panama Blend, in large part because it was sourced from Finca Hartmann, a farm whose coffee we have already reviewed.  This was billed as a medium roast, and the beans were on the dark side of medium brown, with a sheen of oil.  Our impression from other Thanksgiving Coffee varieties is that they tend to roast a little on the dark side, which probably helps make these so acceptable to American consumers.

We found this coffee to be substantially similar to the other Finca Hartmanns: a classic cup, soft and smooth, with no remarkable qualities.  It did not cool very gracefully, becoming a little bitter, but less so when brewed in a drip machine, which is likely how most people will drink it.  In fact, when brewed in a drip through a paper filter, it was at its smoothest and most muted.  Although none of us were blown away by it, we think people would find this a nice step up from grocery store coffee, and it could certainly win some converts. It earned 2.25 motmots.

A couple of other Song Bird Coffees have been reviewed at Coffee Review, and received higher kudos, they are noted in this list of the other varieties of Song Bird Coffee, with source information. Many birders know them by their bird labels, which are given in parentheses, along with a link to information about the bird.

*If I had to pick one of these as the most biodiversity-friendly, it would be the Guatemalan. If I wanted to avoid one, it would be the Costa Rican. Real shade coffee is uncommon in Costa Rica; about 30% of Costa Rican production is sun coffee, and about 50% more is in shade monoculture…they allow very minimal shade to be labeled “shade coffee.”  I was unable to determine a precise source for this coffee, although the importer notes the varieties are bourbon, typica (both those require some shade), cataui, and caturra (both of those used in CR for sun coffee). I’ll be writing more about Costa Rica in the future.

Blends/Multiple / Coffee reviews / Latin America / Retail and specialty roasters

Counter Culture Sanctuary Coffees

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #6.

Counter Culture’s Sanctuary Shade Grown Coffees.

Fred Houk, an avid birder and a former member of SCAA’s Environment (Sustainability) Committee, was one of the co-founders of Counter Culture Coffee.  Through his efforts, Counter Culture began marketing their Sanctuary coffees in 1997, making them one of the first shade-grown coffee lines.  Sanctuary coffees are not sold on the Counter Culture web site, but are available at many Whole Foods Markets in the eastern U.S., and in regional southeastern U.S. natural food chains such as Earth Fare, Green Life Grocery, and Weaver Street Market, as well as some independent co-ops and organic shops.  Counter Culture has plans for a future stand-alone Sanctuary web site.

Packages feature a Wood Thrush, currently still common in eastern North America but of high conservation concern because of steady, long-term population declines — down 43% since 1966 — throughout most of its range. Wood Thrushes winter in tropical forests throughout Central America, including shade coffee plantations.

CC’s Mark Overbay sent three Sanctuary coffees to try; all are certified organic.  Links are to CC’s offerings from the same origins.

  • Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca Nueva Armenia — The Huehuetenango coffee region in western Guatemala is rugged and high elevation. Finca Nueva Armenia has at least 50 species of native shade trees, and I understand they are going to apply for SMBC certification soon.This was my favorite, and the first “Huehue” that I’ve tried…I understand why it’s a favorite of experts. We found it had more character than other Central Americans, including a little citrusy zing, at least in the french press, that reminded us of an Ethiopian.  We also detected a fruity flavor, perhaps apricot, as the cup cooled.
  • Mexico Pluma La Trinidad — From the region around Pluma Hidalgo in Oaxaca.  La Trinidad is the coop with over 350 members, and it is Rainforest Alliance certified.A slightly deeper roast than the other two, with some hints of oil on the beans.  This was the most rich and chocolately of the bunch, and held up best as a drip.  Using the Aeropress or Eva Cafe Solo, it also made an excellent Americano. AND, it was great iced!
  • Nicaragua Matagalpa Cafe San Ramon — In my post about Nicaragua and its coffees, I mentioned Counter Culture has a strong relationship with growers in this region through the Sister Communities of San Ramon. The farm, Finca Esperanza Verde, has an ecolodge and a butterfly farm, and like the rest of the area, is a great birdwatching destination.  The Counter Culture involvement is a perfect model of relationship coffee.  This is what we’re looking for in sustainable coffees and righteous roasters, people!A clean and classic cup.  Using press or other immersion method brings out more character in this subtle coffee, especially hints of cocoa.

Any of these coffees would make excellent daily breakfast brews. We give these Sanctuary coffees overall 3.5 motmots.

Counter Culture was Roast Magazine’s 2004 Roaster of the Year, when CCC was wholesale-only.  We’re happy CCC went retail, especially with sustainable coffees such as the Sanctuary line.

Blends/Multiple / Caribou Coffee / Coffee reviews / Retail and specialty roasters

Coffee review: Caribou Rainforest Blend

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #3.

Today, a more pedestrian coffee, the organic and Fair Trade Rainforest Blend from Caribou Coffee, a Starbucks rival in many northern states.  Caribou not only has better coffee, in my opinion, but clearly has a stronger commitment to sustainability.  As I wrote about before, Caribou is on its way to having half of its beans Rainforest Alliance certified.  It also supports Coffee Kids, Grounds for Health (women’s health in coffee producing counties), the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and helped build a medical clinic in Guatemala.


The coffee: This blend is certified Fair Trade and organic, and is labeled as shade grown.  The web site states the beans are from Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, Mexico, and Brazil.

The beans: It is given a roast darkness of “6” on a 10-point scale.

Brewed: The first sip brought us all a surprising “zing” that Coal Tit accurately described as “juicy.”  Contrary to logic, this effect was hard to detect when a gold filter was used, but seemed to show up better with an unbleached paper filter after several trials. I find complex coffees really intriguing, but for the most part, on a daily basis I do not want to be mindful of my coffee.  I want it to taste good, but I don’t want to pay attention to it every time I sip it.  The Rainforest blend fit the bill.  Star[bucks]ling found it to be sweet, bright, and crisp.  Really, you can’t say a lot more than that.  But after our previous more flavorful coffee tastings, he went on to try to come up with more subtle tastes. “You don’t get any kind of wood?” he asked.  Uh, no.  But good for you!

Bottom line: We expected this to be a pretty ho-hum, good but without any distinguishing characteristics.  We were wrong and pleasantly surprised.  Pleasant is a good word, not complex or fascinating, but just distinct enough to be interesting, very balanced, clean and mild, a nice everyday coffee.

When to drink this coffee (field oriented): All day long, doing spring migration counts or breeding bird census work, even on warm days.

We’re rating this 3.5 motmots. This average came about from lower scores from people who like more forthright flavors, and high scores from those who reward friendly coffees they can drink all day.