#DeliciousPairings - Starbucks Dark French Roast Coffee & The Bakery at Walmart's Turtle Iced Brownies

Ever since we brought the twins home from the hospital I have been obsessed with anything that comes in two. Pairs, couples, duos, combos - they all have my attention now. So, needless to say, when I spotted Delicious Pairings at Walmart, I was intrigued...

Not only did the word "Pairings" catch my eye - but the fact it was associated with coffee caught my entire, undivided attention. Coffee has become one of my favorite indulgences since the twins were born; it is delightfully delicious and it gives me a jump-start when I am feeling a bit tired from nights up with the babies. We seem to always have coffee on hand these days and I must credit it with getting us through some tough mornings.

At Walmart, there were three roast profiles to choose from - blonde, medium and dark. Each roast pairs well with different flavors and there were signs that listed what those were. For example, flavors that pair well with a darker roasted coffee are toasted nuts, caramelized sugar and roasted vegetables. (Vegetables? I had never thought about serving coffee with a meal - but now that I know it's acceptable, I am totally doing it!!)

I was sold on trying a dark roasted coffee. Not only did the flavors on display, Dark French Roast and Dark Cafe Verona, sound delicious but I also wanted to try The Bakery at Walmart's Turtle Iced Brownies- and a dark roast seemed like a definite Delicious Pairing! I decided on the Dark French Roast since I am already a fan of French Roast and trying a darker roasted version sounded perfect! There were only whole beans of coffee at the Delicious Pairings display so we headed over to the coffee aisle to see if the flavor I wanted was available in ground.

There was a couple more selections of Starbuck's dark roasted coffees in the coffee aisle. The selections were Dark French Roast, Dark Espresso Roast, Dark Cafe Verona and Dark Italian Roast. I found the Dark French Roast ground coffee and headed back to the bakery for those Turtle Iced Brownies I had been hearing about.

There were also Fudge Iced Brownies and Cream Cheese Iced Brownies in addition to the Turtle Iced Brownies. I won't lie - they almost all ended up in my cart, but we stuck the ones we came for. The Turtle Iced Brownies have a fudge icing, caramel drizzle and walnut topping - how good does that sound?? I have been dying to try them!

Our Delicious Pairing:

Starbuck's Dark French Roast & The Bakery at Walmart's Turtle Iced Brownies

The pot of coffee was brewing in no time after getting home while I mustered up all my self-restraint to not try the brownie until it was done. 

Our coffee pot beeps when it is done brewing a pot of coffee - this time that beep also meant it was time for a brownie! I was excited. After staying up all night with the babies I needed something sweet in my life.

The waiting was worth it. The brownie was better than I thought it would be - soft with creamy icing, the caramel drizzle and walnuts adding the perfect touch. The coffee was awesome - intense and smoky, just as the package promised. The true test was trying these two wonderful products together. I took a bite of brownie along with a swig of coffee and the marriage of flavors was like fireworks in my mouth! I will admit to eating my brownie and drinking my coffee faster than any one person should ever do - but I recommend it to everyone. ;)

As I was drinking my coffee and devouring my brownie, it crossed my mind that it is National Poetry Month and I hadn't written a poem since I was in high school. It sounded like a fun little challenge to write one down right then. I am a little rusty - so hang in there with me... 

Inspired by my newborn twin babies and Starbuck's & The Bakery at Walmart's Delicious Pairings, I present my poem to you -

Babies bring joy and babies bring glee

Babies bring need for a lot of coffee

They wake up at midnight for a quick bite to eat

Or sometimes they need a little drive up the street

Whatever it takes to get them asleep

We feel the tiredness starting to creep

They fuss and they fight, not giving in

The start of a new day is soon to begin

As they go to sleep, the sun is coming up

I pour more Starbuck’s into my cup

Enjoying my coffee, I gather my bearings

Starting my day with a #DeliciousPairings

What do you think? Don't be too harsh. ;)

One last thing I want to share is an added bonus to buying Starbuck's coffee to brew at home. Besides the fact that it is much less expensive to brew your own coffee at home - you can get a free tall brewed coffee from Starbuck's by exchanging an empty bag of Starbuck's coffee at one of their stores. How great is that? I can't believe I never knew that before, but now that I do it sure is an incentive to buying their ground coffee at the grocery store!

See @hungryharps get inspired for Poetry Month with #DeliciousPairings from @starbucks & @walmart! goo.gl/oAPdE #cbias
— Jess Harp (@HungryHarps) April 15, 2013

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #cbias #SocialFabric