2LB Cafe Don Pablo Decaf Swiss Water Process Colombian Gourmet Coffee Decaffeinated - Medium-Dark Roast - Whole Bean Coffee (4)

This coffee is darker than what I had hoped. The description states Medium to Dark. I was hoping for closer to medium. Live and learn. That said, the coffee isn't bad. The roast and beans are just not to my liking. I appreciate the fact that this coffee is naturally decaffeinated. Quick delivery. Very good experience as far as the purchase. The fact that I don't like this particular roast is not a reflection on the seller. I would try another Don Pablo coffee.1-5-18 Update: When writing my earlier review, I had made the coffee in my drip coffee maker. Later I used this coffee in my Aero Press and it was fantastic. Full bodied taste with smooth finish. No bitter taste and no hint of it being too dark for my taste. The means of preparation makes a real difference. I would buy this coffee again.

I started drinking decaf (well, mostly decaf. I add a scoop and a half of regular to my half pot in the mornings) a year ago and it's been an endless waste of time to find an good yet economical decaf. I was using Starbucks Decaf Pike Place which is really good but expensive. After reading the reviews I decided to try Cafe Don Pablo Decaf. I have to admit I was a little leery because Colombian coffees usually fall short in delivering a well rounded smooth yet bold cup of decaf coffee. One of the reviews I read had a response from Don Pablo explaining "why" this bean is different i.e. altitude it's grown at, how it's decaffeinated etc...and I can say it is true, it is different. This Colombian is not the same as other Colombian roast and especially for a decaf. Another valuable tidbit of info. I discovered from reading the owner responses to customer comments that the temperature of the water you start out with makes a difference with decaf coffee. I've always heard that it's better to use cold water to get the freshest brew of coffee but I'm finding out that if it's too cold it actually weakens the coffee. I tested that theory and have included my personal findings below.I have a Hamilton Beach Flex Brew. I use the carafe, that I preset the prior evening, to be fully brewed when I wake up. After that I use the mesh filter basket (not a kcup style, rather the small mini basket) for single cups of coffee if I want more. I grind my beans fresh, enough for a few days at a time, storing the ground in an airtight mason jar and the unused beans in an airtight container in their original bag. My grinder is a Hamilton Beach Custom Grind and has 2 percolator; 1 drip and 2 espresso settings. I unintentionally ground the first round of beans at the 2nd espresso setting, the finest of the espresso settings. It was close to, if not, turkish grind, powdery. I made a single cup and the coffee using that extra fine grind and water that was cool but not like ice water. It had that weak and light roast cheap Colombian flavor, blach!. I decided to see if it, the extra fine grind, would taste different if made in the carafe rather than the single cup. It was better 1) because the water, having sat in the well of the coffee maker all night was now at room temp and 2) carafe coffee is always better than single cup. BUT, it still had that "off" taste from the grounds being too fine, but wasn't flavorless and weak due to the water being too cold.Next, I ground another batch using the grind I normally use which is the first of the two espresso grinds; so, not powdery but significantly finer than drip. Measured water to 8 on the carafe, added 1 1/2 scoops of regular (Starbucks Verona) and 4 scoops of Don Pablo Decaf. Set the timer, went to bed, and the morning carafe brew was GREAT! It was flavorful and not flat and had a very nice smooth yet well rounded and robust flavor. Later I tried it in the single cup mesh brew basket, 3 scoops of Don Pablo Decaf, cold water and it tasted a bit flat and weaker than the carafe brew. I made another single cup a few minutes ago using room temp water and 3 scoops of Don Pablo Decaf in the mesh brew basket and it was GREAT!I think that grinding it at drip grind would be too weak for me. I like a stronger cup of coffee so the espresso, not turkish, grind is good for that. I do like that this bean is "medium-dark" roast. If you're worried about it being too strong just use a more course grind. This "medium-dark" roast is not the same as Starbucks medium or dark roast. The beans are very dark and they are oily but not over roasted. I think some people who don't care for strong coffee will shy away when they see "medium-dark". You're missing out if you do. This is a really good coffee. I also love that it's not processed with chemicals. Starbucks is. I'm now paying half of what I was paying for decaf coffee.Just a note about creamer; I've read a lot of reviews for various single cup coffee makers, customers saying that they don't heat the water hot enough. I always warm my half and half for a few seconds to get the chill off so it doesn't cool the coffee off so fast. I've found this is effective whether I'm using the carafe brew or the single cup brew.**UPDATE: After writing this review I noticed that the bag says they recommend one well rounded tablespoon per 6 oz cup and their description of the grind they use matched the espresso grind I use. So, I measured my scoop against their description of a tablespoon and my scoop does make a well rounded tablespoon, not level but a nice rounded mound on top. I used the exact amount they recommended, 8 scoops to 8 6 oz. cups in my carafe (measured to the 8 line on the carafe) and it made a very robust and strong cup of coffee! I like it that way though. I mentioned above that I was using about 5 1/2 scoops and that made it a really good cup of coffee, smooth and full flavored but adding the extra 2 1/2 scoops really boosted the strength. I do use half and half so having a stronger cup of coffee is great for me.

After letting the beans sit for a few months, the burnt taste has gone away. It doesn't taste nearly as dark as when it was fresh, but I like the taste much better now. The beans are dark enough to fight through the milk in a latte.I brew it normally, 20g on the "double shot" holder in the breville dual boiler with the resultant 40g of coffee within about 25-30s. It has a nice crema on top.I may consider their medium roast in the future.[Original one star comment]While the beans seem to be roasted between a medium and dark roast, the resulting espresso tasted burnt. I am making espresso on a Breville dual boiler. I adjusted the grind to be more coarse and cut the brew time short of the 50% water to coffee ratio. A 50% ratio took about 30s to pull so the grind is fairly close. I am using the "single" cup unpressurized filter at 13g of grind, brewing only 22g of coffee (short of the 26g if it were 50%) and it still tastes burnt in a latte with about 5oz of milk. The burnt taste cuts right through the milk.The beans were dry (not oily) but they smelled just a little burnt. I won't be buying anything else from them, even though they have a light roast version of this.

I've had to cut back on caffeine lately as it's started to affect my sleep. I like to brew my coffee really strong, but I don't like dark roasts and can't deal with high acidity, so I'm very picky about my coffee. I researched and read reviews for a few days before deciding to give this one a try.The beans are a little darker than a medium roast, but not as dark as a dark roast. They are a little oilier than some I've seen.I've mixed it half and half with my organic Bali coffee. I'm very happy with the result! I'm able to have a good, strong cup of coffee without blowing out my caffeine for the day. And no acid after effects, either. I'll put this one on subscribe and save, and maybe try one of the regular brews, too.

Please notice that the one-star reviews at the top are for the "Signature Blend" version of Don Pablo, not their decaf. Amazon, please tell us why, why, why you lump together reviews of different products under a single heading? Very confusing for those who overlook the fine grayed-out print for "Flavor".With that out of the way...This is pretty good decaf. It is on par with the Fresh Roasted Coffee brand Colombian decaf that we also have been buying. This Don Pablo brand used to have the advantage of a zip-loc style package closure that was completely airtight. This was VERY convenient and is why we have been using this over the FRC brand, so we can avoid having to repackage the beans to keep them fresh.Unfortunately the last bag we ordered didn't have the zip-loc and instead just has a foldover closure with a wire clip that isn't anywhere near air-tight. So the Don Pablo brand has lost this advantage.Given that we have to repackage both brands now we might start buying the FRC coffee again because the flavor seems slightly better.