Ethiopian Bold Light Roast Coffee, Gourmet Single-Origin Coffee Beans from Ethiopia, Whole Bean, 12oz Bag

Update #1:It is now close to two weeks of drinking this medium-dark roast Kenya AA coffee. In my original review found below the dotted line following this updated, I wrote the following:“I am one who prefers full-bodied coffees with great texture that in turn will have, generally, little claritywith indiscernible notes. And this coffee gives me the opposite-one of great clarity but very little if anybody and texture…I have two pounds of the beans and by the time I drink this gift of the Gods, I mightjust find that I like the medium-dark Kenya AA as much as I love the Kenya AA medium roast.”If you read between the lines for what meant by what I wrote, you learned that I personally did not fall in love with this medium-dark roasted Kenya AA coffee because of the darker roasting that the roast master ‘performed’ on these coffee beans. It was not my favorite because I prefer Kenya AA when roasted to a medium roast; however, I also added that maybe upon maybes I might learn to appreciate it since I had two pounds of it (and since the caffeine in coffee if drunk at least 30 ounces per day keeps an adult male or female’s healthy heart healthy as the aging process marches onward) and I certainly was NOT going to throw that much coffee beans in the garbage.And boy am I glad I didn’t eighty-six them. After these beans have rested in my UV tinted, vacuum-sealable container and it’s being opened three times per day in order to grind 15 or 16 grams of coffee beans per 10-oz. cup, these beans have mellowed but more importantly they have done a complete 180. The beans developed a well-marked body and texture and lost most of its clarity. I can still discern a bit of the citrus notes as I had done before but nowhere close to the degree I found when I first ground received the beans and wrote the original review found below.Had I received these coffee beans following a one-week resting I would have written a review much different that I did and I doubt I would have been able to find the coffee had much clarity, if any. Although I gave this coffee a five-star rating because it was a great coffee and it was only my personal taste that kept me from loving the beans’ medium-dark roasting. I still find this Kenya AA coffee to be a five-star coffee but for a completely reason. Because the beans degassed out after it some days after roasting—according to coffee experts otherwise known as ‘coffee connoisseurs’ and ‘coffee sommeliers’—this Kenya AA became one that has a wonderful body and texture and an undistinguished and muddled clarity. In fact, I could not easily find the erstwhile citrus notes. I thought the citrus undertones were there yet hard to discern but realized that I was being persuaded by what I strongly knew to be the case before the degassing took place.Will I purchase this Kenya AA again? I definitely will and also from my other seller. They are almost two different coffees and I would be cheating myself if I did not do so from both vendors.______________________________________________After making six cups of this Kenya AA coffee which I purchased in whole beans, I was not overwhelmed by it—nor was I underwhelmed either. I think that the beans themselves are perfectly good based on the fact that I have up to now purchased Kenya AA from another coffee purveyor during all months throughout the year. Or maybe I should say that I drink it throughout the year and purchase enough of it so that I need only buy it six times a year. The one thing about coffee beans is that they remain fresh for up to six to ten months if frozen at a temperature no lower than negative 10° - 30°F. (Don’t do this to coffee once it’s ground; it degrades very quickly and freezing it only hastens the lifespan of the coffee which in ground form only lasts for no longer than a few days at best.)The problem I have with this particular coffee is that the beans are roasted until they are medium-dark in color. However, don’t misunderstand the meaning of what I just wrote. This is MY problem with this particular coffee. I have been purchasing Kenya AA for over 20 years and always at a medium roast. This is my preference. The reviews here are mixed in that some buyers found it wonderful and delicious and others held it to be just okay. Like anything that is eaten or drunk, it comes down to personal preference.Now, to the coffee itself—his Kenya AA has very little body and texture but remarkable clarity. Again, this is something that some will love and others will hate or at least will not love as much as others. The clarity, in fact, is quite high. It has, to me, clearly discernible notes of citrus. This is almost always the case with coffee has little or no body and texture. When tasting the coffee for the first time, I found it to be very hollow. This is very hard to describe but it’s like drinking something through a straw but when the liquid enters the mouth you feel that it has come up the straw only along the inside edge of the straw and left a large hollow space down the middle of the straw which, of course, is devoid of any of the liquid.But as I said and allow me to repeat, I am one who prefers full-bodied coffees with great texture that in turn will have, generally, little clarity with indiscernible notes. And this coffee gives me the opposite-one of great clarity but very little if any body and texture.For someone who has never drunk a Kenya AA before, the Kenya AA along with the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe and a few other coffees from Africa, the Kenya AA is considered to be the best of the best that one can experience from African coffees. A Kenya AA is almost always an easy choice and is a coffee that many find to be their favorite day-to-day coffee. This single-origin coffee is easy to love. For me it’s just the medium-dark roast that I may never get over.However, I have two pounds of the beans and by the time I drink this gift of the Gods, I might just find that I like the medium-dark Kenya AA as much as I love the Kenya AA medium roast.One final note that I cannot fail to mention. Through the Amazon.com’s easy way to ask the seller a question about any product that is being sold, I was fortunate to have a couple of questions I needed answering not before but after I had purchased the coffee beans. The seller was very generous with his answers and time. He spent at least 45 minutes ‘chatting’ with me. We had several ‘chats’ back and forth until I got all my questions answered as well as a little bit more about the company, where they are located (New England) and much more than most sellers will provide. Just because his Kenya AA was not my favorite one I now have found another vendor that sells single origin coffees that I can buy from along with the other company I have done business with for many, many years.If you love coffee, I know you will appreciate the pride this Company takes in the product they sell. It’s not often that you find a Company that has a great product and fantastic customer service all rolled up into one package.

I love Sumatra, this roast is perfect, what i was looking for, a little wet and oily, not over roasted.Great find, very tasty and fresh. Love it!

Yes, I am a self-proclaimed coffee snob. That means that what I say about coffee is fact, and I'm only partially kidding.Seriously, though, I am very particular in how I like my coffee. I also like to try new roasters. My usual brand is Illy because I can get it in the supermarket and it's normally very consistent.How I rate coffee is pretty simple. A 5 means the coffee is perfect, out of this world, and there are quite a few that I would give this rating to. A 4 means that the coffee is quite good. A 3 means it's drinkable. A 2 means it's best as a cold brew, and a 1 means I couldn't drink it.I give this coffee a solid 4, and I'll explain why it didn't get a 5.First off, my favorite "single origin" coffee is an Ethiopian Yrgacheffe. Typically, your Ethiopian coffees are either Yrgacheffe or Sidamo. Without a label, I expected this would be a mixture of the two, and I think I was right. It certainly tastes like a mixture of the two.Additionally, I am a fan of light roast coffee. With a light roast, the individual accents that typically come from different regions are highlighted, and a Yrgacheffe is typically enjoyed best as a light roast. The way I see it, most coffees are enjoyed best as a light roast, and the only reason to brew it dark is to cover up something that's not right.Same thing goes for cold brew. You can make an old and stale coffee taste pretty decent by roasting it dark and cold brewing it, but you ruin premium coffees by doing that. Well, you don't ruin them. You just make them taste the same as the crappy beans.Because of these two issues, which are pretty minor to most coffee drinkers, I can't give this coffee a 5. But let me just say for the record that it is really good. I can't stop thinking about how, if it was roasted more lightly, it could be better, though.They advertise it as being "bright and clean". I wouldn't agree with that, as it isn't light enough to be "bright and clean". At first, it tends to be bright and clean, but the finish tends to be a bit dark, heavy, and lingering; and that's the primary reason why I tend to avoid dark coffees.For folks who are interested in undertones, what we do have is a dominant earthy flavor that is mostly punctuated by the floral nectar listed on the label. This is where most of the best flavor comes from. I can also see the raw honey, as that is typically also very reminiscent of floral nectar.I really don't see the lemon tart, though, or any hints of citrus or fruit in this coffee.All in all, I would highly recommend this to folks who like medium to dark roasted coffee. I would not recommend it to someone who prefers a light roast.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:This is among the very best I have ever tasted. I usually buy dark roast and pickle this by mistake. One of my best results from a mistake. The coffee flavor is pronounced, not bitter, and clean tasting. More of an after smell than taste. Very aromatic. I will only drink only drink this coffee as long as I can find it. Quality:Excellent. Everyone that likes coffee will like this. Size:2lbBitterness:Not bitter at all. Mellow and still coffee favorable.

I purchased a two pound bag of this coffee about a year ago, and I loved it. Best coffee I ever had. It tasted nice, bright, and acidic. I didn't even need to add cream. My first experience with Natural Dry Processed coffee.I ordered the 12oz bag last month, and unfortunately, it tasted like a totally different coffee. This now tastes like your standard wet processed coffee instead of dry. The coffee just tastes burned and bitter. I even made my coffee grinds less fine and turned down the brew time to see if I was just burning it, but nope. That didn't help. Not sure what happened with their coffee but unless something changes, I won't be buying it again.

Very good dark roast. Lots of fruit, some chocolate, earthy.