This Weeks Coffee Review of 

Café Don Pedro’ (American Roast)

Written by: Brett O. Smith
Courtesy of: www.sweetwatertxnews.blogspot.com

Courtesy of : www.coffeehousenme.blogspot.com 

Kind: American Roast-Low Acid

Brand: Don Pedro

What, only two dollars for a can of coffee, not a cup of coffee?

Who says you can’t get a good can of coffee for two dollars.

Yes… That is right. I was low on funds one day, and when I turned to my backup plan of finding my backup coffee in the freezer. I realized it was empty.

So of course being one who loves coffee, I went out to the nearest grocery store. Went browsing through the coffees as always, to find something new and not too expensive. With me this could take more than just a few minutes, as my eyes and senses circled around and around throughout the entire coffee isle a few times.

I finally came across a can of coffee called “Cafe’ Don Pedro” American Roast stating it had low acid, and was rich and smooth.

Of course all the writing on the can all caught my eye. Unfortunately I was not able to smell it being in a can… Then the big surprise was seeing the price marked underneath the coffee. What? Two dollars?

OK, just a coffee being marked two dollars already had my curiosity. So I went for it. Even if it was going to be a bad coffee, I still wanted to give it a try and see what a two-dollar coffee would taste like. Haha!

Well, believe it or not. I will purchase this coffee again.

Let me break it down in a little more detail. This coffee is from Houston, Texas. Other than that I do not know much more. I did check out their website, and seems to be a coffee company who has things going right so far. How do they make a coffee so cheap in price is beyond me. But it is worth the two dollars.

Once I got the coffee home, I made sure I tested it in every way.

So opening it up for aroma of course was my first test.

It had a great aroma for the price, actually a great aroma even if it were a five- dollar coffee.

As for the grind, it had an average dark grind for being only two dollars. So it won my senses on the freshness out of the can.

The brewing did not have much of a scent, but it was not bad either.

It didn’t give me that wake me up and smell the coffee feeling, like you’d see in a TV commercial.

The one thing that surprised me for not having much of a scent it did have a pretty flavor full taste.

Take in mind for two-dollars, it was not robust as you might say. But it wasn’t bitter either like many other name brand low priced coffees I have tried.

So, for a coffee to get you by for a few days, it was well worth the two dollars.

This will probably be my back up coffee for future times.

My over all rating of this coffee as far as price and flavor. Both a thumbs up! For two dollars you’re getting a pretty good coffee. Fragrance on the grind, thumbs up. I’d give it thumbs down on brewing scent. So over all on scent, I went a head and gave it thumbs up.

The jolt of the caffeine in this coffee is very sufficient. For two bucks, heck yes!

I would recommend this coffee as an all season coffee. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Good for the office when you are on a tight budget.

Over all Rating On This Coffee: 

Join me on my bi-weekly coffee review. If you have a coffee you’d like me to review for you. Send it to Brett Smith, PO Box 703, Sweetwater, TX 79556.

Goin’ for BBQ!

Restaurant: Joe Allen’s
Location: 301 S. 11^th St., Abilene, TX

Written by: Brett O. Smith
Courtesy of: www.sweetwatertxnews.blogspot.com

Well, being from Sweetwater Texas we all know you can find great barbeque pretty much anywhere in Sweetwater.

But… What about those times when you’re not in town, or those times when you just need to try something different?

I found just the place! Give Joe Allen’s in Abilene a try.

I must admit I’m picky when it comes to BBQ, but who isn’t?

It all depends on taste buds with the right seasoning and good meat right?

Joe Allen’s definitely hit all of my picky BBQ choices.

Word of warning, Joe Allen’s gets very busy especially at dinnertime on the weekend. 

If you go on the weekend, make sure it is in the afternoon around 4:00 p.m. or so.

When you enter into the restaurant you may think. “Well, it’s clean and something smells goooood…”

Of course it has that laidback barn atmosphere with the unique western woodwork, with some wonderful country scenery paintings, and a couple of steer heads here and there on the wall.

You will be greeted with a smile and great service throughout your entire meal.

I have been to this restaurant more than once and I must say, so far I have not come across a meal I didn’t like.

I could go into detail on each meal, but that would take a while.

I’ll break it down by the categories I know best.

First of all, for a BBQ place they have the best batter fried shrimp I’ve ever had. I have had a lot of shrimp in my days, from east coast to west.

I must say, the shrimp are not tiny and they literally melt in your mouth as well as the batter does too! If you are looking for aquatic food at a BBQ restaurant, I’d highly recommend you trying Joe Allen’s.

OK, on to the chicken sandwich and regular beef burgers. I’ll just say “Yumeeee!” know matter which kind of burger you order. They are all delicious and tender to your request. The one thing that was a little to strong on the chicken sandwich, was the spiced salt. It was a little to heavy for my liking. Other than that, it was great.

Now I’m going to get to my favorite of all meals when visiting Joe Allen’s; the huge, tasty, and finger licking BBQ Ribs.

Yes, you can get good BBQ ribs at many places in Abilene. But, there is something about these BBQ Ribs at Joe Allen’s that just send me off to BBQ heaven. First off, they are huge. Most restaurants anymore seem to give you the smaller ribs.

These ones served at Joe Allen’s are the real deal, with lots of meat on the rib and great seasoning. Another nice thing they do, is they let you decide if you want a sauce on them.

They are not already flooded with a BBQ sauce that you are not sure of before even getting a chance to taste the juicy meat.

This is definitely a huge plus in my book when tasting any meat. “Lets taste the meat, before adding the treat!” as I say.

When ordering many of the meals at Joe Allen’s you may think they are overly priced.

I feel you will change your mind once you start eating any of their meals, delightfully surprised with flavor, not to mention many of the meals will leave you with a doggie bag to go.

Of course I have only hit some of the meals I’m familiar with.

I have been around when others have had the brisket, the beans, and a few other items on the menu.

In the end of it all, I can pretty much say you cannot go wrong with any meal or any of the tasty deserts.

So, if you have any room left after the full course. Go for a desert too, or do what I do. Get it to go!

As they say “They are a three generations restaurant, and they do focus on serving you the best darn barbecue and steaks!”

Check them out the next time you are in Abilene, you will see they definitely stand by their word.

My ratings: 1-5 (5-Awesome / 4-Great / 3-Good / 2-Ok / 1-Must Be Hungry)

Service: 4

Food: 5

Environment: 4

Price: 4

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Does Green Coffee Bean Extract Help in Loosing Weight?

Written by: Brett O. Smith

Courtesy of www.coffeehousenme.blogspot.com

Courtesy of: www.sweetwatertxnews.blogspot.com

In a recent study done in San Diego, California. They had 16 overweight young adults take the green coffee bean extract in small doses, with a high dose of supplement along with a placebo.

Even though the study was small the results were striking. The subjects lost an average of 17.5 pounds in 22 weeks and found that it reduced their overall body weight by 10.5%. 

More than 35% of subjects lost more than 5% of their body weight, and weight loss appeared to be greater while subjects were taking the pills than when they were on the placebo.

As a dietary supplement, green coffee extract does not require the FDA’s approval. Not to mention it is already available as a naturopathic medicine and antioxidant.

The process on creating this new diet bean is using the unroasted coffee bean, as green as the day it is picked. That is it, simply broken down and extracted like many other herb vitamins, and supplements.

There is a downside to the extract though. It is very bitter tasting, and hard to take without some water to wash it down.

At this time, it runs for the price of four lattes. In dollar terms this is around $20.00 a month. This still beats the average weight loss supplements out there that run a lot higher, as well as health related side effects along with them.

When it comes to health related matters with the green coffee extract. It’s looking nothing but good in many ways for the body.

First of all, weight loss of course.

Second, green coffee beans provide a high natural anti-oxidant. Basically like what you will find in green tea extract.

Take in mind, that some boiled coffee drinks contain cafestol, which has been associated with the negative effects of using caffeine as a stimulant. This is NOT in the green coffee bean extract.

When looking for or purchasing green bean extract. Make sure that is from the Arabica plant or the Robusta. These have the higher quality and higher chlorogenic and caffeic acids. These are the two most important parts responsible for anti-oxidant activity and weight loss effect.

Some other wonders that they have found from the green bean extract are. Benefits in controlling high blood pressure, related to hypertension, improvement in blood vessel actions and circulation, in turn improving the human vasoreactivity.

Take in mind. There are many benefits in even your standard cup of coffee drinking. Unfortunately, like everything else moderation is the key. Many people over exceed the amount of the coffee drinking per day. This in turn can become more harmful than beneficial.

Coffee has, and still is used as an anti-oxidant.

It has been known to increase the effects of certain pain medications, as well as work as a migraine pain substitute.

Recent studies have also found that coffee may be used as an anti-cancer medication.

In such areas as liver cancer, lower rates in colon cancer, and breast cancer.

I will have a returning blog in the very near future related to the cancer end of coffee. 

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