Dark Sumatra Mandheling

This is my favorite Guatemalan coffee bean. Favorite for two reason: taste and price. The aroma is delightful, the brew is medium in intensity with that distinct Guatemalan flavor. Kind of fruity chocolate. Fresh, smooth and the beans are not oily. Have this on subscription and only grind these up periodically…like a treat.

McNulty's in the Village introduced me to this bean this summer. I was surprised how good it was. When I visited Bali many years ago, no coffee was grown there at that time to inform me. And frankly, I was suspicious of the bit too cute marketing in the name. Was it done to compensate for a mediocre product? My suspicions were entirely unfounded. We love this coffee! It is one of those beans that is satisfying just to smell as an open bag of beans. But unlike other beans we enjoy this way, we let this one linger longer, often a lot longer. It can be embarrassing to find oneself doing this to excess. You have been warned. Do not be impressed when any company labels this bean as special because it is "Organic". By Indonesian law, all Bali Blue Moon is organic. It is quite distinct in flavor from neighboring islands' Java and Sumatra coffee, although they too rank highly to me. Thankfully, this was also delivered very fresh and full of flavor. Unlike my disappointment with another coffee retailed by this same company, the Bali Blue Moon roast was done exactly as disclosed, a medium roast. I like a wide variety of coffees but really do insist that I receive the roast that is advertised. Roasting is not an arbitrary process. Each bean will have a roast that is best in order to deliver the things you love about that particular coffee. As customers, it is a matter of trust that we get what we expect and that is based upon what is described. In theory, any coffee's roast should be easily disclosed by looking at the prominently displayed roast meter. It provides dual indicators: color patches from light to dark and an obvious meter indicator's selection. In case you missed these, the coffee beans are also photographed. Three indicators in total, graphic illustration, the moving hand of a meter, and photograph make it easy to understand what the roast looks like before you buy. At least that is how it is supposed to work. Read my review of their Panama Boquete to see what can happen when the company fails to follow its own roast color ratings. Thankfully, this was not the case with its Bali Blue Moon beans. It matters. For example, there is a faint, underlying, almost spicy flavor to Balinese coffee that would be lost if it was under or over roasted. Should another company decide to significantly under or over roast these beans, that is fine too because you could easily avoid buying it as long as those three indicators accurately informed you what was inside the bag. If you are going to sell coffee online you better not fool your customers by mislabeling the roast. There are no such surprises when you walk into physical stores and can see the actual beans. I do not have any criticisms of this Bali Blue Moon coffee. You will know already if you tend to only drink the darkest roasts. If that is true, I would not recommend that you buy 5 pounds of a medium roast -- even of this exceptional quality -- coffee. Find a place to sample it first just to try it out before buying such a large amount. If you enjoy what my wife and I love about this coffee, note that the price here for this large bag is very attractive at $40. It is offered here at half the price we have spent elsewhere for this bean. Highly recommended.

The coffee is excellent. My wife who will drink coffee but finds most too bitter or acid tasting, loves this brand. It is smooth, no bitter taste and no acid. Couldn't be better.

This coffee is a great alternative to my NESPRESSO addiction. It’s got a smooth mocha chocolate flavor and is low in acidity. It’s not super aromatic, though, so that might not be a big deal for you. It’s also saved me a lot of money. The coffee was roasted in October and arrived in December, so it’s not as fresh as I’d hoped, but it still brews a decent cup of drip coffee.

Great, light roasted coffee. Works great to use with Brewville coffe machine.

I didn't have high expectations with buying packaged coffee on Amazon, but this surprised me. I've tried the Ethiopian Sidamo Guji (light roast), the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (medium roast) and the dark roast Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. The medium Yirgacheffe is great, extremely good coffee. The Ethiopian Sidamo Guji is not the best I've had from that region, but it is absolutely the best I've had in this price range, I've paid more than 50% more for roasts better than this. I didn't like the dark roast, but I don't really like any dark roast coffee I've tried, was just curious since I've never had a dark roast Ethiopian, didn't know that was a thing. I will say despite not liking the dark, it was roasted well, dark, but the beans weren't burnt or anything. This coffee has a great consistency. The beans have been fresh across multiple orders, great bloom (these beans are REALLY thirsty, they soak up a ton of water on bloom). I do french press with coarse grind, and the light and medium roasts do have the subtleties and complexities I'd expect from Ethiopian, hints of citrus, blueberry and chocolate with the Sidamo and the Yirgacheffe is a mellow everyday brew I enjoy. Some of the flavors in the Sidamo Guji are a bit muted, but that will vary from roast to roast and with brewing temperature and time. I'm more inclined to think I'm still working on the brew than that it's an issue with the beans, because a few times I've gotten them just right and it's been blissful. These were a pleasant surprise and I'm happy to recommend them and buy again. ============== Edit - September 2024 Okay, here goes amazon merging these products and reviews again. This portion of the review is for the Organic Rwanda, I bought a 2lbs bag. It's really tasty! Reminds me a bit of the Ethiopian Sidamo Guji beans, but the flavor of the Rwanda is less complex, with fewer flavor notes. and heavier on the citrus side. Tastes a slightly acidic, but it's smooth. It's a light cup, almost has a tea-like flavor and mouth feel though with more of a thicker malt mouth feel than something like ceylon or assam tea. I've been drinking a few mugs of it daily the last few days, and it's a very enjoyable brew.

It's a good coffee, but overpriced for what it offers. The medium roast is actually lighter than medium so I had to grind it with the dark roastrd variant to actually get a medium roast taste. It's quality is higher than many on the market. I've tried other Ethiopian coffees that were better than this honestly.

This coffee is absolutely delicious! Be aware, this is whole coffee beans - it's not ground coffee. The two pound bag is much larger than I expected it to be, but I'm glad I have so much now since I love it so much!

Muy buen sabor, tostado muy cuidado, fresco...100% recomendable

J’adore l’odeur et le goût de ce café

Muy recomendable ya llevamos varios meses comprándolo.

Been buying for a year just perfect