World Market Chocolate Turtle Coffee

Before world foods markets sprang up on every street corner, Americans seeking peculiar foods they'd first met overseas had few alternatives for feeding their cravings. Fortunately for those don't make monthly pilgrimages to the south of Italy, the World Market has long been a source of various and sundries from many nations. I'm particularly thankful for a source of Aero bars.

One of the other reasons to be grateful to World Market is that they often offer some amazing coffees at prices not much higher than what your pay for the ground bark and twigs available at your local supermarket. World Market offers both whole bean and ground coffee. It's among the latter that you'll find Chocolate Turtle.

Unlike some of World Market's other brands, this isn't a single-bean coffee. There's no pretense that it was grown on one plantation in Hawaii with pickers wearing only white gloves under the supervision of benevolent managers. It's just coffee.

But it's good coffee and that alone sets it well ahead of almost any other flavored coffee that you're likely to encounter. All too often, flavoring is added to bad coffee, often very bad coffee, to mask bitter swill. World Market started with decent coffee, then added just enough chocolate flavoring to take the edge off. Smooth out the sharp spots. Make some of the creamiest, smoothest stuff you ever put in your mouth.

Do your self a favor, brew a pot and don't get tempted to dose it with cream or sugar. Take it straight.

Many people have tried to add coffee to chocolate. So far, this is the best shot at going the other way.

World Market Chocolate Turtle Coffee scores Five Beanies (*****)