A Morning Coffee Renaissance

Is that…is that you? Gosh, I’m so sorry, but I think it’s been over a year now! My only excuses are moving down the river a couple hundred miles and planning a whole wedding happened, and that took about all the energy I had stored away.

My coffee journey hasn’t ceased, and in my absence, I have visited several places that I would love to share with you. Last year I took a couple of trips to Baton Rouge to coffee shop hop, and I visited again this year for my bachelorette trip. I’m excited to show you which coffee shops I visited there! My husband (fiancé at the time) and I had to evacuate to Tallahassee, Florida last year for Hurricane We-Shall-Not-Speak-Her-Name (Ida), and we also enjoyed two more coffee shops and an excellent brewery over my birthday weekend. Hurrication, as we call it…not a birthday vacation.

Alas, there is much to catch you up on, but today we will discuss a new online coffee subscription service that is taking the interwebs by storm: Cometeer Coffee.

First Impressions

One morning I woke up to find my cousin had sent me a link to this new coffee subscription. I questioned whether or not to open it right away, but decided to give it a shot. Subscription services have blown up over the past few years, and to be honest, I am getting tired of not being able to just buy a single box of something when I just want a sample.

All she said was, “Have you heard of this?” And when I said no, she responded, “Me neither but someone at my work posted about it! They’re frozen and you just melt them.”

Hm. Frozen coffee that you just melt? Does that even taste good? So, of course, I visited the link. The experts over at Cometeer developed a coffee 10-times the concentration of regularly brewed coffee and then they flash freeze it as soon as it’s brewed, at peak tastiness. And these coffee pods can travel by plane with you! Nuts, right?

Long story short, I was thoroughly intrigued and trusted Cometeer Coffee with my bundle of cash to send me, at the least, some decent-tasting coffee. I hoped I wouldn’t fall into one of those bandwagon things that disappointed.

Then My Package Arrived

My husband unloaded the well-insulated box before I got home one afternoon, as the coffee arrives frozen. I was a little nervous that the incredible heat would just melt the box and everything inside. It’s been one of the hottest summers that I can remember. My little pods arrived, only partially melted. Huzzah!

My husband played with the dry ice (safely), and that was pretty entertaining. It sat on our counter in a bowl of water breathing spookily down into the sink in silent, wispy waterfalls of mist.

Fast-forward a few days later, I was eager to pop open a pod and try the little devils. My adventure begins below, and it quickly builds in momentum. Buckle up!

My biggest question here: does it really taste as fresh as freshly brewed coffee?

Experiments

Each roast has its own recommended ways to brew. I used the roasts that I thought might taste best in each scenario, but I also can’t wait to mix it up and try each new flavor in a different way.

Basic, Hot Coffee

As I dipped my toes into the frigid mysterium that was Cometeer Coffee, I chose the light roast, Nano Genji. (Overwatch character, anyone?) Why not start simple? As instructed on their website, I heated my water kettle, lifted the foil on the capsule, dropped the frozen coffee puck at the base of a mug, and poured the hot water on top to melt.

It was tasty! I’m not sure if simply the concentration of the coffee is responsible, but I could taste the fruity papaya notes and a whisper of what could have been ginger. This coffee definitely resembled a light roast, as it didn’t have my favorite robust flavor of a sultry dark roast. To me, it tasted pretty close to a coffee shop pour-over.

Simple enough, yeah? Kettle to 195 degrees Fahrenheit and pour it right on top. Out of the 4 total methods I tried, this one is the quickest. It is the only one I attempted that used the coffee in its frozen state. If you’re in a rush in the morning, all you have to do is wait for the water to heat up!

Level 2: Iced Latte

Stepping it up a bit in efforts here. I left our next contestant, the dark roast called Big Trouble, out on the counter while we went to church. Luckily it hadn’t gotten up to any nefarious activities while it was alone. When I returned, it was ready to ascend to its divine form: the latte. Iced, though, because…summer.

I filled the adorable bunny glass with ice and coconut milk before sprinkling the melted coffee round and round the glass. I loved watching as it swirled into clouds of dark coffee marbling that undulated beneath the iridescent glass. When I broke my gaze and took a sip, I was pleasantly surprised. Dark roast is always my favorite because of the rich flavors and aromatics it always showcases. It was so tasty! The flavors were nutty and heavy, so the milk was a great addition for making the subtle flavors come through without it being overpowering.

The worst part is defrosting the pod, but honestly, how bad is it really? The next two times I defrost the pod, I just set it in a glass of room temperature water until it melted. It doesn’t take very long.

Alright, Cometeer Coffee, two for two! Let’s see how the next two interesting recipes work.

Tipsy Time: Espresso Martini

Full disclosure: I’ve never had an espresso martini. I also have never made a cocktail.

Phew. Alright, this is where I became a hot mess, but I ran with it! Without a shaker, I felt a little silly. Instead, I used a fancy shmancy blender bottle. Yes, the kind you use for protein shakes. I also ran to work on my day off to get a small bottle of spirits because I don’t keep vodka on hand. I might need to now, though, because this martini slapped! (Do the kids still say that?)

For reasons I’ll have to explain at a later date, I had to use Monk Fruit Sweetener to make simple syrup, and it worked really well! So for my sugar-free peeps, you can do this without worry over that. Simple syrup is made by heating 1 part water with 1 part sugar until the sugar is fully melted. With my melted medium roast, Coltrane, in hand, I combined the 2 oz of vodka, 1 oz simple syrup, and one coffee pod over ice in my *blender bottle*. Shakey shakey!

More disclosure: I was super giddy to have the little bit of crema-looking foam on top of the martini once it was poured. In my bougie cheetah glass. I know you’re jealous. And of course, I had to top it with coffee beans for cuteness!

WHAT! It was so tasty! A bit sweet for my personal taste, but really yummy all the same. And how easy is this? It was a little more involved than the other two so far, but I made a cocktail. And it actually tasted great! I think the recipe from Cometeer Coffee is perfect. I only tasted the alcohol a bit, and I think that was due to the simple syrup cutting the burn. The coffee itself tasted really nice. The dark chocolate and cane sugar flavors revealed themselves for sure.

I Scream, You Scream: Banana Split Affogato

A banana split reminds me of late summer evenings years ago, after getting out of the pool and having dinner with the family, hair still wet from the shower. We’d pile up in the car and drive down to Sonic for their 99-cent mini banana splits. Those old summer memories make me feel so warm inside!

Yep, you know I had to go big on the last one. I couldn’t just do a plain affogato! With the last light roast, Pulcal, still unopened, I decided to try it over delicious, dairy-free ice cream.

I happened upon this idea from the We Are Not Martha food blog, so I didn’t come up with it on my own. I also didn’t follow her recipe precisely, but it’s basically the same. Summertime is going to end soon, and I wanted to appreciate it more than I usually do. (I’m an autumn girl.)

This recipe was my favorite! A professional would tell you that they planned this flavor pairing, but I will reiterate that I am a hot mess and this just happened to work in my flavor. Hehe.

The easiest part is melting that adorable little coffee pod and pouring it on top of the mound of frozen cream. This roast of coffee promises notes of milk chocolate, citrus, and cherry. The ice cream I picked was Cherry Garcia, which has fresh cherries and chunks of chocolate mashed through. And I topped it all with bananas, sprinkles, cherries, and chocolate drizzle. It was all melding together so beautifully on my tongue that I just sat back and enjoyed every scrumptious bite! Trust me, the bananas are a delicious addition. Not weird at all!

Lasting Impressions

Freshness of Pods

What really surprised me about these Cometeer Coffee pods is how long they are guaranteed fresh.

• 24 months frozen
• 72 hours refrigerated
• 24 hours at room temperature

Because their fresh flavor can last up to 24 hours at room temp and their small size, they can be taken on the plane! Pour over an iced cup of milk or water from your friendly neighborhood flight attendant, and you have a café-quality cup of joe!

These pods can even be refrozen, though they are said to lose a bit of flavor each time defrosted. Cometeer recommends using these refrozen coffee pods for milk-based beverages.

Quality of Coffee Roasts

Cometeer Coffee really has the right to brag about the quality of their roasted beans, because they come from the best of the best roasters around the country. From single origin to unique blends, they have a roast to suit anyone’s taste. They just partnered with James Hoffmann’s own Square Mile Coffee, too.

Personally, I hope they partner with Stumptown soon! I’ll take some flash-frozen Hairbender any day.

Versatility of Re-Brewing Methods

The first tab I visited on Cometeer’s website was “How To Melt,” and there I found the “recipes” needed to brew this coffee.

One method I haven’t shared is actually placing the still-frozen pod into your Keurig, but…you can do that on your own time.

I loved that they make having a quick cup of delicious coffee so fast. All of these recipes were quick to make because the time it takes to brew a fine cup of coffee, especially with the collection of roasts, is eliminated! You already have brewed coffee. You’re just diluting it so it’s drinkable!

It can’t beat freshly ground beans in my Chemex, but it still has great flavor if you don’t dilute it too much.

Company & Website

Ordering from Cometeer Coffee comes in the form of a personal preference quiz. It’s fun to choose your favorite ways to take your coffee. They recommend a certain mix of roasts depending on whether you take your coffee black or with cream and sugar, etc. You can browse other boxes as well, and their stock changes regularly so the roasts you’ll receive will be a surprise until it’s shipped!

The history behind the name Cometeer is precious and I love it:

Comets are frozen, forward-moving, and impactful. Just like us.

https://cometeer.com/

I appreciate that their pods are also entirely made of recyclable aluminum (please don’t microwave!) unlike other Keurig cups. It gives our environment a small chance. Very small, but it is at least a concern to them as a company.

Final Thoughts

Though this coffee subscription is fascinating, revolutionary perhaps, I’m not sure that it’s something I’ll add to my regular morning routine. I think it’s so fun to experiment with, though, because a serving of coffee is right at my fingertips! I can make single-serving tiramisu, steaming pumpkin spice lattes, or espresso martinis for a girls’ night in a pinch.

So does this flash-frozen stroke of genius taste like freshly brewed coffee when melted? I’m not a pro cupper or anything, but it’s pretty convincing to me if you are making a milk-based drink or having it over ice. The black coffee hasn’t quite convinced me completely yet. Even so, I think the individual notes of each roast are evident and have complex flavors!

It’s brilliant! Especially for people who have lots going on in the morning and need their coffee to be moving as fast as they are. I can’t wait to see what other coffee brands they partner with and how far Cometeer Coffee can fly.