Cafepod | Brunch Blend
- stephenpjones
- Jul 3, 2022
- 2 min read
The honour of being the first pod chosen for a write up on the blog is (drumroll, please...) none other than Cafepod's Brunch Blend.
What do they say?
"Gather your troops and start smashing, poaching and toasting. This smooth balanced blend is the perfect brunch companion"
The no-nonsense version, please?
I can't argue with the "smooth" or "balanced" part of Cafepod's spiel. So much so, in fact, that I pretty much guzzled the cup without swirling it around my mouth or doing all those other 'tasting' things that the pros do. It's a lungo setting on the machine for this one, so you get plenty of opportunity to actually taste it. When you do, you'll notice it lacks anything to set it apart from a high-street style espresso drink; think Costa espresso with a drop of hot water. Whether that is a good thing or not is probably down to your individual preference.
Returning to the on-the-box description, you'll find that this pod is "Exquisitely caramelised" and the roast profile is one of "Decadent chocolate caramel brownies". Now, I'm no dietician, but I don't think chocolate caramel brownies are the best accompaniment to a hipster brunch of spelt bread and hand-foraged chaffinch eggs topped with strawberry and aloe reduction, so I'm going to question why they would label this a brunch blend. Nevertheless, I kinda see what they are getting at. There is a sweetness to the coffee that can be enjoyed without adding sugar or sweeteners. No bad thing, really.
As much as I'd like to talk about an aftertaste, there isn't really one. Again, there are times when I don't mind that. If I'm sitting down to enjoy a decadent brunch as instructed to by the Cafepod people, I probably want something to discuss with my bearded, lumberjack shirt-wearing companions rather than what is, truth be told, a bit of a 'ghostie' of the coffee world. Perhaps this makes it better suited for a quick caffeine top-up before a face-to-face meeting when you don't have a few tic-tacs handy to mask your hideous breath.
In short, then, Cafepod's Brunch Blend is far from being a bad addition to your cupboard full of Nespresso pods. A touch of sugar in the cup turns it into a very sweet and enjoyable lungo cup indeed.
I couldn't tell you what it tastes like with milk added, as, for the most part, adding milk to coffee is not to be encouraged and a good sign that the drinker is some kind of deviant.
Should I buy it?
Absolutely!
Yeah, why not?
Worth a punt, but don't put yourself out.
Only if the alternative is dishwater. In fact, try the dishwater first, anyway.
What did Bruno McSwan-Neck, Editor-at-Large of The Coffee Courier say about it?
A mouthfeel containing distinctive cardboard notes, possibly corrugated and most definitely recycled, with this nondescript pod, supported by an ensemble of session musicians masquerading as flavours, who present a nightly offering of easy-listening Steely Dan album track covers while doing little to encourage you to drink this in anything other than pyjamas. As a pacifist, I also oppose the military-inspired text on the packaging: I do not have troops and nor do I wish to gather them. To be served at brunches in Hades and Hitler's bunker, only, I'm afraid.
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