I love to try new coffees all the time, so the other day I picked up a couple by famous TV chef Emeril Lagasse. This one is appropriately called Kick it Up! Breakfast Blend. I purchased it at Shaws, my local grocery store. This and several other flavors were available including a Restaurant Blend (also very good), Hazelnut and French Vanilla.

On Epinions, you can order this in several packaging styles, but I purchased the single 12 ounce bag of ground coffee. I didn't notice it available in a whole bean option.

Who is Emeril?

You can't miss these coffees, Emeril's smiling face graces each bag. Although not as attractive as Dunkin' Donut's spokeswoman uber hyper Rachel Ray, Emeril's face is quite recognizable from his popular television cooking shows. He is the cajun / creole chef who likes to spice up his food. He is well known for his catch phrases like Bam! and Kick it up a notch!. Although he is well known as being from New Orleans, he is actually from Massachusetts, and attended Johnson and Wales cooking school in Rhode Island.

Supermarket Price

A 12 ounce bag costs 8.99 at Shaws Supermarket, which places it at pretty much the same price as all the gourmet coffees and much more than a can of Maxwell House.

Convection Roasting

What makes Emeril's coffee so different? Every premium coffee claims they do something special to the beans, and this brand is no different in that regard. From the package Unlike traditional drum-roasted coffees, Emeril's Original Blend is roasted on a bed of hot air to ensure that each bean is roasted evenly throughout without any undesirable aftertaste. Each and every cup is smooth yet bold with a clean finish. Are the claims true? Read on.

Taste / Aroma

I can't say much for the smell of the coffee, I didn't get that great caffeine smell when I opened the bag, or even when the coffee was brewing! This particular type is a light roast coffee. Each bag has a scale on the front showing where it falls on the roasting scale. The Breakfast Blend is a 3 out of 8. I took my first sip. It is a good coffee, but I didn't get any BAM reaction to it. It does have a bit more zest to it than Emeril's own Restaurant Blend, even though that is a darker roast. It is a smooth tasting coffee with no acidic taste. I found the flavor to be medium bodied, it is not as full flavored as my favorite Peets coffee beans. However, I did find it to be more flavorful than a cup of Dunkin' Donuts regular blend coffee.


Summary

Overall, though, Emeril's Kick It Up Breakfast Blend is a good morning coffee. I did not find it to be the best I've ever tasted, but I enjoyed it, and I would buy it again. I did find it a tad expensive, and I miss the aroma of the coffee brewing, for me the smell of coffee brewing is part of the wake up process. However, it is very good and gets four stars.



Recommended: Yes