Before we get down to the actual review, there’s a few things I’d like to say.  First; Happy New Year to everyone.  Second; Welcome new Keurig owners, and K-Cup lovers who are discovering Qwowi Coffee for the first time.  Thanks for the e-mails you’ve sent me, and I’m certainly glad you’re enjoying the site.  Finally, huge apologies to my friends over at Shoffee for the extreme delay between receiving product samples and actually writing a review.  Not to make too may in the way of lame excuses, but I’ve been busy, and Qwowi, normally second job, has become more like a third…or maybe 4th job.  What can I say, I suck worse than the New York Giants.

Apart from the general tediousness that comes with the holidays, I’ve just wrapped up a year long project at my day job.  I’ve also been spending quite a bit of time helping to get the doors open at Tark’s Indoor Golf in Saratoga Springs, NY.  The good news is the holidays are over, my project goes live just about the time this post publishes, and Tark’s is open and business is good.  I guess it’s about time I sat back and enjoyed a cup of coffee.

Initial Thoughts (based on the name alone, and before my first sip):

Tree Hugger?  Seriously?  What the heck is Coffee People thinking?  Nothing screams good coffee like images of filthy dancing hippies with their beards, dreaklocks, and rotten body odor.  Nevermind snarly, dirt-crusted, yellow toenails protruding out of a pair of raggedy old Birkenstocks.  Does this come with a free tie-die shirt?  Yeah…pour me a cup of that.  I can’t wait.

The Description:

Wrap your taste buds around this chocolaty medium roast coffee with sweet berry notes. Certified Fair Trade and Organic.

The Aroma

This certainly doesn’t smell like body odor.  Simply divine coffee aromas with more than a hint of sweet berries.  I think I’m about to cry.

Drinking it Black

I’m not tasting any toe nail here.  I’m not seeing any remnants of mangy beard-hair either.  Instead what I’m tasting is an outstanding medium body coffee that absolutely coats the mouth.  It’s chocolaty with perhaps just a hint of berry (just like I said).  It’s certainly not overly sweet though.  Quite frankly, I’m taken aback.  I’m pleasantly surprised.  There’s not much else to say, except that Coffee People’s Tree Hugger is absolutely brilliant.

When I think of "Tree Hugger", I think of this guy...and that's not cool.

With Cream and Sugar

I seriously have no idea what to write here.  How does one describe perfection.  Silky smooth, outstanding medium roast flavor; sweet nectar of the gods, it doesn’t get better than this.  All I can offer is a cautionary note…don’t over sweeten.  Oh, and my brother found out Christmas day, check the date on your half and half, or cream, or whatever it is you pour into your coffee.  Curdled cream will ruin any cup of coffee, even one as good as this.

Final Thoughts

When I found out Coffee People discounted Berry Blast, I was really, really close to send them a DM on the Twitter to let them know that we weren’t going to be friends anymore, but then the released Tree Hugger, and now I think I’d follow them into a forest fire.  Lest I mislead you, I should be clear that Tree Hugger is not a replacement for Berry Blast.  The latter was a berry flavored coffee, the former offers only a delicious hint. Tree Hugger simply pacifies the rage I felt over losing one of my flavored favorites.

Of course, what you should take away from all of this is this; Tree Hugger is nothing short of the best new K-Cup blend of 2009.  I’d actually go so far as to say it’s one of my 2 or 3 favorites of all, and might even supplant Tully’s Kona blend as the single greatest K-Cup experience of my life.  Of course, it’s been so damn long since I’ve actually had Tully’s Kona, I’d be hard pressed to declare a definitive winner.  The point is, Tree Hugger is the single best blend Coffee People offers (yes, better than Donut Shop).  Moreover, it’s one of the 2 or 3 best blends (in this guy’s opinion anyway) available for your Keurig today.  Don’t buy a box, buy a case.

Shameless Plug

It seems like a lot has happened over at Shoffee since I last wrote a review.  Their small Facebook following has grown to a massive 1700 loyal customers strong.  Any why not?  It seems like just about every day, Joe is giving something else away.  Quite frankly, I think watching his Jets win has made Shoffee Joe a little light headed, so why not take advantage before the Jets lose and he comes back to his senses.

It goes without saying that Shoffee offers the most complete selection of K-Cups (like Coffee People Tree Hugger), brewers, and accessories anywhere on the web.  Shoffee’s prices are among the best you’ll find anywhere, and that statement doesn’t even take into account Shoffee’s Cup of The Week website, where every week a different box of K-Cups is available for not much more than a venti latte at Starbucks.

Not all that long ago, Shoffee spun up their Perk Points Plus program, which basically pays you back in Shoffee points each time you order from Shoffee.  It’s just one more reason why Shoffee is The Web’s Favorite Coffee Shop.

While you’re here on Qwowi Coffee, check out all of the K-Cup Reviews in my personal K-Cup Challenge.

Stuff the FTC Wants Me to Say

Neither myself or anyone else at Qwowi.com received any compensation for this review and any recommendations made within.  Shoffee does not yet have an affiliate program (why Joe, why?), so I don’t make anything even if you make a purchase through Shoffee.com. I am not employed by Shoffee (or Coffee People for that matter).  I did get some free coffee (for sampling purposes) out of the deal, which is nice, but that’s is 100% the extent of it.