Saturday, August 20, 2016

Meet me for coffee - HEB Cafe Ole' Houston Blend

This is one of HEB's Cafe Ole' Taste of Texas series of K-Cups - How could I resist trying the Houston Blend?!

Love the logo design for the flavor, which is described as "This rich coffee is marvelously blended with a combination of praline, pecan and coconut flavors for a finish that is smooth and delightfully sweet"  Medium roast, 100% Arabica coffee.  I have no idea what that means, as you all know I am first and foremost a tea drinker.  But I'm trying to hang with the cool kids and they all drink coffee, too.

For $6.99 you get a box of 12, which are now Keurig 2.0 compatible.    Good news if you don't live near an HEB, you can order online, unless oddly you live in California.
Cute stereotyping
This flavor is also available in whole beans, which you can grind in the store.  Which I tried to do in order to try a little bit in the my K-cup at home first before buying the box.  At least I could smell the beans first before I tried to ground them with whatever the heck was left over in the grinder...and it did not smell the same at all.  Some stores have dedicated grinders for flavored coffees, perhaps HEB should consider that, just saying.  I dumped that bag in the trash and took a chance going back for the K-cups instead.  If you have a grinder at home, you can also buy the bags with whole beans or already grounded.  Don't mess with the grinder at the store, seriously.  Drop a few beans in your hands and see if you like the fragrance and take alternative routes.

The flavor and scent - definitely coconut, but not overbearing.  The praline and pecans add a nutty sweetness.  You may want to rethink your creamer if you use it.  The Italian cream made it really sweet.  I think I would cut it with some fat free half & half.  You definitely don't need sweetener.

I also thought it tasted similar to Starbucks new Iced Coconut Milk Mocha Macchiato, so if you are looking to save calories and carbs, give it a try.  And also the Starbucks drink if you get that in a Tall size.  Seriously, that is a yummy drink and a smaller size will still keep you within and under range of your added sugar gram limit and you behave yourself for the rest of the day.

But I digress...this Houston girl would give and show hometown loyalty to the Houston Blend with five stars.

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