Mmmm, what’s not to love about the smell of a fresh pot of coffee in the morning? Ok, maybe not everyone is a fan of coffee, but growing up in an Italian family, coffee was at everyone’s place setting. Even mine when I was a young girl, albeit I was served decaf.

I only drink coffee in a limited fashion – caffeine doesn’t 100% agree with me – but it is still one of my favorite beverages. So, this week I decided to write a product review on some of my personal favorite coffee, which is from the bulk section at Sprouts Farmers Market.

Sprouts Farmers Markets are located throughout the United States. We have one here in Naples, in the shopping plaza at the intersection of Immokalee and Logan. One great thing about Sprouts is that they have an expansive bulk section, and their coffee choices are plentiful.

To make myself a brew that is both delicious and has a more reasonable caffeine content, I purchase whole beans from two varieties, one regular and one decaf, and then I grind them at home in a 50/50 blend. For the regular coffee, I like to get the dark chocolate mocha, and for the decaf, the french vanilla. I love the flavor combination of vanilla, coffee and chocolate – it has a “fancy coffee shop” taste, without the specialty drink price tag. The coffee isn’t the least bit bitter – a must for me! – and therefore I can drink it with no sweetener added. This is good, because coffee can quickly become a source of excess calories in one’s diet, especially from added sugar. All I do is add some whole milk, since I do not like my coffee black. My grinder and my coffee maker are both from Capresso. I find that this brand makes a quality cup of coffee. To save time, I brew about 6 cups at once, using 6 tbsp of the freshly ground blend. I keep the extra brewed coffee in my refrigerator and enjoy one cup per day.

Of course, it is also nice to know that there are health benefits to coffee. Here are some articles on the subject. The first one is from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. These are the folks who accredit Registered Dietitians (like me). The second one is from Today’s Dietitian, a professional magazine for Dietitians. The third one is from Psychology Today. While personally I’m not much into psychology, PT’s website often has interesting articles on health and wellness. I like to pass them along.

The rest of my day, I drink water and/or decaffeinated herbal tea. But talking about my favorite herbal tea would be a product review post for another week. 🙂 Cheers!