Premium Dark Roast Whole Bean Coffee - Coffee Bean Direct 0 Dark 30, 5-Pound Bag | Rich Flavor for Morning Brew, Office Coffee & Gift Giving

Since this feedback concerns at least four different Coffee Bean Direct coffees, the overall rating tells you nothing about any specific coffee. Below are recalculated ratings for the four coffees I was interested in:Six Bean Espresso, $35.21, 4.0 starsItalian Roast Espresso, $38.21, 4.33 starsDark Brazilian Santos, 40.75, 4.61 starsDark House Blend, $40.75, 4.67 starsThe ratings were primarily for whole bean coffees and the price was the Coffee Bean Direct current price for the 5 pound bag as of the date of my order.Note that there are reviews here for quite a number of other coffees. The reviews I reported above formed only a small percentage of the entire set of coffees reviewed in this feedback.To extract the reviews for any individual coffee, you need to search the feedback using keywords that will select out only the coffee you are interested in. I used keywords such as "Italian", "six", "Brazilian", and "Dark House". As Amazon doesn't recalculate the ratings for such selections, you will need to calculate it yourself; a very tedious task.Note that I did disregard a couple of reviews:a 1 star rating complaining that the bag was punctured when delivered anda five star rating complaining that they were unable to receive a shipment to their military address.As neither re view concerned the qualities of the coffee, I felt they were meaningless.My experience with these coffees agrees with their relative ratings.I found the six bean blend to be quite uninteresting and fairly weak.The Italian roast contains only the deeper, more earthly flavors of the coffee; there was little of the more delicate, aromatic flavors. Several reviewers stated that this coffee has become less robust over time. I agree. Italian roast tends to deliver a bit more coffee dust than do the others. A few bags of this coffee were quite acidic, but the majority of the bitterness was left in the grounds after vrewing. I preferred to mix the Dark Italian roast with a more aromatic coffee to give me a fully flavored coffee. Works quite well with the Dark Columbian Roast.The Dark Brazilian Santos gives a good tasting coffee somewhere between the earthiness of the Italian and the fuller flavor of the Dark House Blend. This will be my fall back coffee if my preferred Dark House Blend is either unavailable or too pricy.The Dark House Blend is the coffee I was searching for. It has a good deep flavor with plenty of the more complex flavors of the less robust blends. It is a coffee that's worth rolling around in your mouth to savor the complexities of its' flavor. The Dark House Blend is listed as a bit more acidic than the others, but it did not produce a bitter taste. When I tasted the grounds after brewing, I did not discern any bitterness; there was little flavor left over after vrewing. This is going to be my preferred choice until the price exceeds what I'm willing to pay.A couple of other notes:I prefer my coffee quite strong. I use about a coffee measure (2 Tbsp) per 5 ounce cup. That means that I find most restaurant coffees quite insipid - same thing for coffee brewed by friends and aquaintances.It is well worth comparing the delivered price of the coffee both directly from CoffeeBeanDirect and from Amazon. Coffee Bean Direct has two shipping prices: $5 for shipments of less than 25 pounds and free for 25 pounds or more. If you have the freezer room, consider buying several bags at a time and storing them in the freezer until needed.While some Amazon sellers may sell these coffees for significantly less than Coffee Bean Direct, some people have reported that such sellers are selling off old stock that has deteriorated over time. Coffee Bean Direct sells only freshly roasted coffee. A reasonable approach may be to order popular coffees through Amazon, counting on the high demand to ensure that the received coffee is reasonably fresh. Note that some reviewers have reported that coffee received directly from Amazon were as much as six months old.Amazon provides good buyer protection in case of non receitp or receipt of damaged goods. Coffee Bean Direct does not. According to their terms, the buyer bares the risk of loss or damage during shipment. However, their terms also state: "If you are dissatisfied with your order, you can return it for a refund of the product value." This should be consider as not overriding the shipping terms. I.e., you must have recieved an undamaged order before you can take advantage of the return terms. And, then there are the issues of loss or damage during the return shipment which I assume is your responsibility. Having said all that, I have had no problems ordering directly from Coffee Bean Direct; all shipments have arrived very quickly with no damage.Coffee Bean Direct accepts Amazon payments as well as Paypal and credit card payments. However when purchasing direct from Coffee Bean direct, their shipping terms apply, not those of Amazon or Paypal. attempting a chargeback on a lost or damaged order may well not prevail, no matter which payment form you select.less expensive but just as goodI made my first cup of this coffee this morning and I have to say, this brews wonderfully in a regular ol' drip machine. The flavor is excellent; bold without being bitter or acidic, the color is a lovely rich brown (not that thick black color you get from an espresso roast, but certainly not the sort of watery brown that you get from, say, Folgers...) and the brewed aroma is good. I was a little concerned when I opened the bag itself because the ground coffee didn't have as vibrant of an aroma as I usually like, and I was afraid that the brewed coffee would be likewise lacking in flavor, but all my concerns vanished as soon as I tasted that first cup. I love it. Excellent cup of coffee, excellent price, and holy gods, there is nothing in the world quite so reassuring as having a big five-pound bag of coffee sitting on your shelf!Two notes: This is indeed a five-pound bag, if you didn't feel like converting ounces to pounds. I'm not certain why Amazon lists this by the ounces instead of the pounds, but whatever...The other thing to note is that this is a really *big* bag (damn near as big as my coffeemaker) and it does *not* have a reusable tape strip or even one of those bendy strips that most coffee bags have for re-sealing... so if you want to keep this coffee fresh, you'll need to plan on either keeping the bag in the freezer (which could be a problem given the size of the bag) or transferring the coffee into a different container.Regardless: Overall, this is an outstanding product, especially given the price... I will absolutely be purchasing this coffee again and I recommend that you do too!I inadvertently ordered this ground coffee (I wanted whole bean), but my initial disappointment when I discovered my mistake vanished as I sipped my first cup! I have for many years ordered whole bean origin coffees from a boutique roaster in California, and while the value was good, it was pretty pricey. So, I decided to see what Amazon's Subscribe and Save Store had for us economically-stressed coffee freaks. Many of the Coffee Bean Direct products had positive reviews, and the prices for the 5-lb bags are unbeatable. So I pulled the trigger, and I'm so glad I did! I would characterize this coffee as a medium-dark roast- it lacks the over-roasted, burnt notes that I associate with a certain American coffee mega-retailer's dark roasts. Instead, the brewed cup from my Cuisinart DCC-1200 drip coffee maker (with paper filter) was dark, with surprisingly delicate tobacco and chocolate aromas. And not a trace of burnt beans! The brew has substantial mouthfeel, and the taste is brightly bitter with tight sour notes at the finish. Altogether, it's a great, balanced cup of coffee! Just FYI, I brew my coffee just over the line toward strong, which I think serves this blend and grind well. Finally, as with any product like this, my review reflects my particular preferences, so your results may vary! That said, if you like robust coffee flavor that is equally at home in the morning and after a fine meal, you should give CBD Dark House Blend a try!