Deer Me! Caribou's Coffee Bars

Many of us on the East Coast don't know much or haven't heard of Caribou Coffee. It's a Minneapolis-based chain that has stores in 18 states, none of them close to New York City. They have a cute logo and name and I've read about them from time to time in the advertising press. I am always intrigued by smaller companies that make good coffee (Green Mountain, New England) being that I am not a big fan of Starbuck's. Too crowded, too burnt coffee-ish and too expensive. I was trolling the local Key Food and lo and behold what is that I see on the shelves nearby the coffee? Yesssss, to borrow from Marv Albert--boxes of Caribou Coffee Chocolate Mocha and Vanilla Latte granola bars. Coffee is an ingredient that seems to be popping up in foods items alot recently, with mixed results. Wrigley's had a coffee gum they were testing (um, we use gum to get the coffee taste OUT of our mouths) and considering I try to give the benefit of the doubt to the thought behind almost every product, that gum was truly awful. The Caribou Coffee bars are quite the opposite: the coffee taste--while noticeable--is not overpowering and mixes well with the chocolate or vanilla flavors. The bars are a tad sweet but they are a perfect pick-me-up for the afternoon doldrums. The company has just made available two more flavors--Caramel Highrise and Mint Condition, both of which I'll be on the lookout for. You might have a tough time finding these but trust me, they're worth tracking down. Happy hunting.


http://www.cariboucoffee.com/coffeebars/index.asp