It doesn’t surprise me that a snowboard company would start making coffee…snowboarding and coffee are the two loves that work together to get you to the mountain.
Signal Snowboards venture into the coffee business gives you the ability to enjoy your snowboards and coffee by the same company. Signal currently makes a variety of 9 roasts to choose from and you can have them delivered to your front door.
According to Signal, “we know what goes into making the world’s finest snowboards, and we appreciate what goes into the worlds finest coffee. Whether it’s a day on the hill or a day at the office, you can’t get started without the right cup. Signal: The only company brave enough to grind rails AND beans.”
I had received a bag of Signal Choice Coffee to enjoy, big thanks to Mike at Signal. I sealed the bag of coffee to keep the coffee lasting longer and hid it in a cold, dark location until the time came that my friends and I could try the coffee. It was really hard to not drink the coffee, I had the aroma smell in my bedroom reminding me each day to drink it.
Signal’s Choice coffee is a blend of Ethiopian, Sumatran and Latin American beans that is dark, rich, complex and smooth to the taste.
Today was a perfect day for testing coffee…very rarely does it rain in Steamboat Springs and it was raining outside. With the help of my more educated coffee lovers that happen to work in a coffee shop…we set forth to doing the taste testing. I had 5 of the staff (all very familiar with coffee) and 5 friends who were working nearby to enjoy some free coffee.
My friend Stacia helped with preparing the coffee. She brewed a french press with the Signal Coffee which she said “brings out the flavors.”
A photo of the pouring from my camera phone
I’m good when it comes to testing snowboards…but with coffee I’m a little clueless so I’m glad to have used some experience coffee makers that happen to wear green aprons (yes those people). Stacia let me know you have four tests with coffee tasting: Smell, Slurp, Locate/Identify and Describe. When tasting a coffee, you want to smell it first as a sense of taste is created through the nose, not the mouth. Slurping enables the subtle flavors and aromatics to reach your nose. By identifying, you think about where you are experiencing the flavors on your tongue and describing lets you compare it to foods, flavors you taste and the smells.
Everyone agreed that the aftertaste was the best part of the Signal coffee, when the flavor set very well on the tongue. Some coffee you drink and get a bad aftertaste where you need to chew some gum or eat something to get rid of that taste…the Signal coffee was enjoyable even in the aftertaste.
Here are some phrases that were said during the tasting:
“Tastes like there was already milk in it, and super easy to drink”
“I didn’t get the flavor until the aftertaste”
“This is ambria-delicious” (my reply to the comment)…”how do you spell that, haha”
“The coffee is more flowery, than earthy”
Everyone experienced in coffee agreed it was sweet smooth coffee, one you could drink and eat with chocolate or a pastry that mixes well with it. I drank my coffee with a blueberry muffin and definitely the combo together suited the coffee testing.
Overall…no one hated the coffee and out of 10 people, that’s good. It was fun to do this and everyone was surprised this was a snowboard company making coffee.
Signal offers a
coffee of the month club, where you can select 3, 6 or 12 months of coffee delivered to you. If you join the club for 6 months, you get your own Signal coffee mug.
I had received a bag of Signal Choice Coffee to enjoy, big thanks to Mike at Signal. I sealed the bag of coffee to keep the coffee lasting longer and hid it in a cold, dark location until the time came that my friends and I could try the coffee. It was really hard to not drink the coffee, I had the aroma smell in my bedroom reminding me each day to drink it. 
Today was a perfect day for testing coffee…very rarely does it rain in Steamboat Springs and it was raining outside. With the help of my more educated coffee lovers that happen to work in a coffee shop…we set forth to doing the taste testing. I had 5 of the staff (all very familiar with coffee) and 5 friends who were working nearby to enjoy some free coffee.
I’m good when it comes to testing snowboards…but with coffee I’m a little clueless so I’m glad to have used some experience coffee makers that happen to wear green aprons (yes those people). Stacia let me know you have four tests with coffee tasting: Smell, Slurp, Locate/Identify and Describe. When tasting a coffee, you want to smell it first as a sense of taste is created through the nose, not the mouth. Slurping enables the subtle flavors and aromatics to reach your nose. By identifying, you think about where you are experiencing the flavors on your tongue and describing lets you compare it to foods, flavors you taste and the smells.
ashley_virginia91
August 9, 2008 at 5:36 pmalways been curious as to whether their coffee was good or not. might have to buy some for some people as gifts, seeing as I don’t drink straight up coffee. but this made it sound like Signal just recently ventured into coffee. they’ve been doing it for a little while at least, that I know of
Shayboarder
August 9, 2008 at 5:40 pmYeah I was definitely curious to, glad to get my hands on some to taste test with friends. I didn’t hear about the coffee until SIA this year but yeah they have been making it a while…just growing more popular now.
Huckleberry Hart
August 12, 2008 at 11:44 amBe warned, I am pretty sure the coffee is crack. Seriously…I have a problem. it fuels agoodreed.com. Thanks a lot Mike…now I have no friends and my family won’t talk to me. And now after a sad accident, i don’t have my pet squirrel anymore. Squeebles and I were playing with the toaster, and he got stuck in it, and my hand was jittery I couldn’t pull himout. so the next time i made a waffle, he got fried to my waffle. wickd bummed.
Shayboarder
August 12, 2008 at 11:48 amCoffee is crack 🙂 Yum Crack. I love it when coffee gives me the jitters…rarely does that happen anymore. Sorry about the squirrel…when I’m at Hood I’m gonna try to kidnap a chipmunk that does tricks for treats…damn smart animals.