The other day I noticed that Starbucks rolled out another coffee, so of course I gave it a try. El Salvador Pacamara (as the name suggests) comes from Central America, where its grown “on the slopes of a volcano”, on the Montecarlos coffee estate. I tend to expect full-bodied and dark roasted, aromatic coffees from the Americas, and Pacamara was no letdown.

Today i went to grab my dose of coffee for the coming ~10 days at the local Starbucks, and the whole place’s already in full Christmas mood. I got a sample of their Christmas blend and some “cranberry bliss bar” cookie, with encouraging introduction from the barista girl saying they match really well because of their cinnamon spiciness.

I was a bit confused at first about the “spicy” part when i actually put the samples to the test, since the coffee had a really nice, sweet berry-like aroma, supplemented by a warm and smooth (and indeed with a tint of cinnamon) taste. However, the real wonder came when i munched down the cookie bit too: the two together turned into the all-so-familiar (and all-so-missed) taste of mince pie.

I even considered actually buying a bigger dose of the duo then and there, but alas, i’m not well-off enough to pay 300 yen for a single slice of cookie (and i was buying the beans anyway, though of the espresso Christmas roast).