After 6 years of blogging, Mr H has finally jumped onto the bandwagon and has written his very first review for the blog. As I don’t drink coffee and he drinks gallons of the stuff, it was a no-brainer for him to put his taste buds to the test. Have a read on to see what he thought of Lola’s Coffee Bags.

I’ve not always been a big coffee drinker; it’s only been around 10 years or so has coffee taken over as my preferred hot drink. Maybe it correlates with having our first child and the need for more caffeine, who knows!

My thirst for coffee was then driven further by a timely gift from my wife when one birthday, I was given a coffee pod machine. The simplicity of a machine that made coffee quickly at a press of a button was a revelation. But the taste wasn’t quite as good as filtered. However, as the only coffee drinker in the family convenience prevailed.

The more coffee I began to drink, my tastebuds craved a better taste, so there was only one place to go without blowing a huge amount on a coffee machine… and that’s filtered.

As any coffee lover knows, filter gives you a good coffee and you can choose from a wide variety of brands to find the perfect blend, but there are a few drawbacks. It takes time, it’s a bit messy and coffee granules down the drain is not good, often contributing to blocked drains and sinks.

Lola’s Coffee Bag review

The first time I heard about coffee bags was in an advert and I thought “what a great idea” To date, I’ve not had the opportunity to try any so these Lola’s coffee bags from The Specialty Coffee Company are a first and here’s what I found.

The aroma on opening the packet

When you open the individually sealed bags you do get the coffee granules aroma and not the nasty instant coffee smell. One box ticked.

Making

This is just like brewing a cup of tea, leave for 3 minutes and give it a stir and a squeeze. However, the bags are quite delicate so be careful not to break them and don’t leave them in for much longer. Timing is of the essence.

Aroma when made

The aroma is ok, it won’t fill the room with that lovely fresh coffee smell, but when you bring the cup to your mouth to drink, there’s no knee-jerk reaction created by instant coffee that makes you hold your breath as you take a sip and wince as you swallow. The aroma is pleasant enough.

Taste

The all-important part. How does it match up? The flavour is not as strong as filtered coffee, but strong for one is not always the same for another’s, so this is very subjective. For me, it has a mild smoky, palatable flavour that I’d liken it to a weaker filtered coffee. I feel this is a positive, because as a quick fix when you don’t have the time or can’t be bothered to make filtered this is a suitable stopgap. It’s not going to convert you to bags solely but it does do the job for a quick cuppa. If I were offered a coffee and they mentioned they only had bags, I wouldn’t be offended.

If you want me to compare this with instant, I’m sorry but I don’t touch the stuff! Comparing bags to instant is like chalk and cheese. Literally, I’d rather eat chalk than drink instant and that’s as far as I go on the matter. Just thinking of instant is making me feel nauseous – but it’s ok I have a coffee made from a bag next to me to help me get over that thought.

Coffee in a bag? It’s good for a quick convenient alternative and surpassed my expectations. I’d certainly keep some on hand for when time is of the essence.

The Specialty Coffee Company

The Speciality Coffee Company offer speciality-grade coffee from all over the world. It’s expertly roasted and shipped directly to you. If you want to find out their range or more about Lola’s Coffee Bags and their pricing structure, head over to their website.