Tully’s Evergreen Blend is the last variety from my most recent round of samples from our good friend’s at Shoffee.com (hey Joe, I’m all out again).  It was actually the first K-Cup from the lot that I ran through my brewer, but here I am over a month later, and I’m still not completely sure what the hell to make of it.  Obviously,  it’s taken me quite along time to reach any sort of conclusion about it.  So before I get to the review itself, let me just say that Tully’s Evergreen is by far the most unusual varieties I’ve tested to date; at least among the non-flavored bunch.

The Description

One of Tully’s 100% Certified Fair Trade, Organic and Shade Grown offerings, this coffee is balanced with vibrant, sweet aromas of cocoa finished off with wine-like tones.

What Joe (from Shoffee.com) Says

If you are looking for a coffee from a bean that has been pampered its whole life – this is it. Other young coffee beans are usually green with envy (Get it? Young coffee beans are green with envy. Now that was funny).

The Aroma

Nothing unusual here.  It smells like coffee.  Granted, that’s not news, but with a name like Evergreen Blend, I was half expecting it would smell like Pine-Sol.  So yeah…nothing of note to report, but considering the alternative, that’s a good thing.

Drinking it Black

Let me first say, the description is pretty much dead on.  There are strong mocha flavors here, which makes it near ideal for guys (and gals) like my friend Kevin who like their coffee to feel a bit like hot chocolate.  I don’t notice the winy thing…at least not when drinking it black (more on that in a bit).

Here’s the thing…apart from the standard flavor aspect that comes with a nice cup of Joe, there’s something really unusual going on with this blend.  I’ve bounced several adjectives around in my head, and had nearly settled on “mellow” as the best description, and that’s not bad, but if I had to chose one and only one word to describe Tully’s Evergreen blend it would quite simply be “soft” (more on that in a bit as well).

With Cream and Sugar

Soft is soft.  Add cream and sugar, and it’s still soft.  Mind you, soft is not the same as weak, because there’s plenty of flavor here.  The softness is more of an other-worldly, ethereal kind of thing that I just can’t put my finger on.  Anyway… yada, yada, yada, cream and sugar, mocha, etc, and yeah, definitely a bit of a winy sensation.

Final Thoughts

I seriously wish I could do a better job describing Tully’s Evergreen to you.  I don’t know.  If regular coffee is a WWE Royal Rumble, or a cage match with one of those crazy MMA dudes, shade-grown Tully’s Evergreen is a pillow fight at the playboy mansion (yes, that’s double entendre, but how cool would that be?)  Again, I don’t mean to suggest the flavor is weak, or even fluffy.  It’s not, it’s soft, and that means something completely different, even if I’m completely unable to explain it.

Shameless Plug

As per usual this is the part where I tell you to visit my sponsor (Shoffee.com) for all of your Keurig/K-Cup needs.  On this particular day, more than any other, I really want to emphasize how much you need to go to Shoffee.com, so you can buy a box of Tully’s Evergreen Blend and try it for yourself, because this review is woefully inadequate, which means, more so than with any other blend I’ve tried, I could really use some help finding an array of adequately appropriate adjectives to describe the flavors and textures of Evergreen Blend.  All I know for sure is pine-coney doesn’t apply.

Excessive alliteration aside, in addition to hooking you up with a box of Evergreen Blend, the team at Shoffee.com also offers up a great deals every week on CupofTheWeek.com.  You should also check out Shoffee’s latest site,  ShoffeeTv.com.

And as long as I’m plugging away shamelessly, check out the entire list of reviews filed away under The K-Cup Challenge.