Monday, November 23, 2009

Community Coffee Gift Give Away!








Growing up, we had a percolator pot, and each morning Mother would plug it in and the coffee would begin its dance up the glass at the top. Once we moved to South Louisiana, my parents began to drink Community Coffee and the entire house would fill with that good strong coffee aroma—it wasn’t like any coffee we’d experienced before. It was high school before I was allowed to pour myself a cup of that brew I’d been smelling every morning. I drank it with lots of cream and sugar back then, although I drink my morning coffee black now. That coffee was dark and strong and I was hooked on my big ole mug of Community, dark roast, in the red bag.


This was before coffee shops dotted street corners, and before coffee became something Cool and Hip. Coffee was the brew to get you started in the mornings, to drink with pie, or with a neighbor, or to solve problems over, and you either drank it black or you put some cream and sugar in it (or if you were Katie Ivene or Frederick, you added bourbon), and that was that. We gulped it down on school or work mornings, but we savored it on weekend mornings. When I married GMR, he made coffee even stronger than my mother’s coffee. The coffee oils swim atop, my tongue coats with rich ground coffee bean.


I drank Community Coffee for all my coffee drinking years spent in South Louisiana, until I moved to the mountains of western North Carolina five years ago. When our Community Coffee ran out, we switched to a local brand here in WNC. Oh, but friends feel sorry for us. When Louisiana friends visit, they look at us sadly, as if we are lacking in the very fundamentals of life—what? You don’t have Community Coffee in your little log house? Oh Dear. Oh My. Shaking of head, sighing of sighs, and next visit, Louisiana friends come with their own personal bags of Community Coffee. Or, they'll peruse the grocers around here to find Their Brand, CC's being the Only Brand in their opinion. . . *laughing*


I one day wrote about South Louisiana rituals, Community Coffee being one of them, and how CC shows up in my Virginia Kate novels—because it must! One can’t write about So Louisiana without Community being a part of it. You all know I always brag about my Deep Creek Blend—oh, I have defected! Oh Dear, my Louisiana friends say, Oh My. One day Community Coffee contacted me—would I like a gift set of Community Coffee and a travel mug? Yes folks, even Community Coffee wants to re-convert me back to my early coffee years when Community Coffee was The Coffee, the one and only brew to get me going every morning, *Big Grin*


What arrived was much more than I expected. There were four big bags of Louisiana Holiday Blends and a cute travel mug—the coffee included: 12-oz coffees of Holiday Jazz®, Bread Pudding, Breakfast Blend, and Cinnamon Roll. I’ve tasted all but the Bread Pudding, which I’m saving for our Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday.

The Holiday Jazz was milder than I expected, so even with the Holiday Jazz name, this is a mild coffee that would pair well with breakfast, or as a starter coffee for those just trying out CC. The Breakfast Blend is also perfect for breakfast or the first cup of the morning brew—it and the Dark Roast in the Red Bag is what I personally think about as “traditional Louisiana coffee,” and what GMR and I drank most often when we lived in Louisiana. The Breakfast Blend is milder than the “traditional red bag-dark roast," so I think it would suit more palates—Community Coffee can be quite bold and if you aren’t used to strong dark coffee, this gift set is a good place to start. The Cinnamon Roll was great for Sunday morning, and when I added cream and sugar, it was like a Bed and Breakfast coffee! The cinnamon wasn’t overwhelming and the bit of sweet I added to blend with the cinnamon gave it a festive holiday feel. I’d drink the Cinnamon Roll as a “with dessert” coffee with dinner guests. I’m betting the bread pudding will fit perfectly with our Thanksgiving dessert and I can’t wait to try it and see what my friends think (I’ll be sure to let y’all know).


Because Community Coffee is cool, they have been kind enough to offer someone their choice of one of these gifts: holiday tumbler, taste of the holidays sampler gift set, hot chocolate for two, or red French press—you can peruse the site to see which one you like if you are the winner.


So! If you want to win a gift: All you need to do is go to the Community Coffee website. Once there, click around and you’ll find where they have a coffee frequently asked questions page. The first person to tell me what CC’s exact answer is to the question: How is flavor added to the flavored coffees? and one of those gifts is yours, courtesy of Community Coffee—just leave your answer in the comments section. Good Luck!




12 comments:

Janna Leadbetter said...

I don't know the answer, and I won't even try to guess. But I love that your post is about coffee! Such great mental pictures you built there at the beginning.

Hope all is well, Kat.

Waterfall said...

Now, now ... when I moved to Haywood County, you couldn't get Community Coffee locally. I guess enough Louisiana natives (including me) complained about it, so the Waynesville Ingles started carrying it. Whenever we'd shop there, though, we'd have to buy several bags because their tiny supply was often gone. The only time I've ever seen my husband yell at a store manager was when he was demanding that they carry a bigger selection of Community!

One of my favorite memories from childhood: riding the schoolbus from Plaquemine to Baton Rouge in the mornings, we went past the Community Coffee plant just west of the Mississippi River and could smell the coffee roasting. It was heavenly ... particularly since we'd had to pass stinky sugar cane mills just minutes before!

I really enjoyed this post of yours!

Unknown said...

Flavored oil is sprayed on the coffee beans immediately after roasting. The process has no nutritional impact but adds the essence of the particular flavor to the coffee.

Jay Ducote said...

Is there a prize for second place??

Flavored oil is sprayed on the coffee beans immediately after roasting. The process has no nutritional impact but adds the essence of the particular flavor to the coffee.

Karen said...

I see someone has already answered. Congrats! But CC is good, whenever we go to LA we bring back some...

Marguerite said...

Looks like Ashley beat us to it! Cajuns love their Community and I am no exception. I haven't tried the Bread Pudding flavor, so I'll have to soon. I have my Mom's percolator and use it! There's nothing like it, anywhere! So nice of them to send you the set. Enjoy, sha! I give Community, as gifts, to all of my friends and family who live out-of-state and there are never any returns. And it's so easy to order online and have them ship it!

Sandra Leigh said...

Cajuns may love their Community Coffee, but so do Canajuns! I got to taste it earlier this year, and I loved it. Lucky you, Kat, getting to enjoy the sampler!

Deb Shucka said...

Reading this took me back to my own childhood coffee memories. In my home coffee was percolated on the stove - Hills Bros. in the big three pound can which became our chamber pot when empty - because that's what my mom had in her home growing up. It's not a flavor or a method I've brought into my adult world. :-)

Wonderful writing - I can taste the coffee and feel your longing.

Kathryn Magendie said...

Oh! we have a winner - Ashley - send me your mailing address!

Jay - I tell you what, you were so close in time to answering - send me your mailing address!

colbymarshall said...

Damn! Too late! But yum for coffee...I had a Starbucks today and it completely made my afternoon ;-)

Jeannette StG said...

Your writing has very humoristic slant!
Guess in every region there is THE coffee. In Holland it's Douwe Egberts, and my sister-in-law used to work there, so she always brought some.
Now I can't drink that stuff anymore, without having a stomach ache afterward! That stuff is strong!

Deb said...

Congrats to Ashley and Jay! Mmm, coffeee.