Coffee, Anyone?

You may already know I am a giant coffee freak. No, I am not referring to the size of my body, but to the size of my love for this beverage. My adoration for my morning brew knows no bounds. (Yes, that is me in the above ad for a local coffee roaster!)

Yesterday, my hubby and I were doing our usual shopping run at Trader Joe's. Of course, coffee was on the list. We split up, and while we were shopping separately, we both found coffee. I picked up the newest addition to their line-up: Lys Kaffe. This light city roast contains a blend of Arabica beans from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Lighter roasting brings out the fruity flavors often obscured by darker roasting. I am a BIG fan of light roasts, so I took a sample cup. YUM. A 12 oz. container is $7.99. One went straight into the cart.

My hubby selected our usual Cup of Joe blend, which is Trader Joe's basic model. It is the least expensive coffee they sell, at around $5 for 12 oz. And it is always good. Little did I know, he decided to stock up and added 2 containers to the cart.

Then we headed across the parking lot to Costco where we discovered a tasting station offering samples of Mayorga Coffee, roasted and packaged locally, in Rockville, Maryland. Our Costco (Columbia location) usually carries the Cubano style, which is a dark roast, but occasionally offers their full line of coffees. I sampled the Uganda Mt. Elgon, a medium roast with smooth chocolate and berry flavors. Oh, yes. This one went into the cart, too. Mayorga's coffees are all certified organic. The 2-lb. bag costs $14.99.

I'd say we are now thoroughly stocked.

But no post about local coffee selections would be complete without a mention of our coffee guy, Jeff Givens. He owns and runs Southern Skies Coffee, where he imports beans from small growers around the world and then roasts them himself, to perfection. You can sign up online to receive his coffee of the month. It is always impeccably fresh and delicious. There is no comparison. Check it out at www.southernskiescoffee.com.

I'd love to chat some more, but I'm going to drink my coffee now!

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