Coffee Bean Direct Italian Roast Espresso, Whole Bean Coffee, 5 Pound

Customer Reviews

I would rate this blend too mild. I have ...I would rate this blend too mild. I have been buying Starbucks espresso beans at the grocery store for the convenience and they have a much stronger profile. I prefer espresso to let you know you're drinking a strong coffee, and unfortunately I didn't find that with these. In fact, this is the mildest espresso I've had in awhile.3Undrinkable Coffee.I have been a customer of coffeebeandirect for a year and had no complaints, but I ordered 15 lbs of the 6 bean espresso blend directly from their website, and I ordered 10 lbs of their 3 bean espresso blend, my customers complained so.much I had to take the beans off the meniu, the coffee was acrid, bitter dark taste and undrinkable. I asked a local Roaster his opinion and he inspected the beans and said they were burnt and if he roasted them he would have made compost out of them. I called coffeebeandirect but got no call back. To run a coffee shop you need consistency in flavor, I am not impressed with their customer service and will not be ordering again.I have attached photos, look closely and you can see the holes in the beans where they were burned.1like many who have posted reviewsI, like many who have posted reviews, take my espresso seriously. I use a well known Italian brand super automatic espresso machine. I typically pay six - seven dollars more per pound at the local national chain location and even from my local coffee company. Based on reading many reviews, I placed an order for the Italian Roast Espresso and I am happy to report that as I type, I am sipping on a piping hot, delicious cappuccino with two shots of the Italian Roast Espresso. It has a bit more of a mellow, creamy taste and consistency than that huge national chain but I love it. In fact, I now prefer it. And the fact that it arrived right at my doorstep makes it even better. I will be ordering again.5Very good expresso, but what should i use for dose size?I didn't see any information on dosing in reading the reviews. I know it is a subjective topic. First off, my equipment...Gaggia Classic with Auber PID and Mazzer Mini Grinder. Set Value of pid is 217 as well as static pressure set at 10 bars. I used a thermocouple to measure temp at portafilter and i am getting reads from 202 to 190 during my shot pull, which is expected on a Gaggia classic. I am no pro, but have a pretty good idea on what i am doing. I have tried many many different doses, grinds etc for this Italian Roast Expresso. I will say that for my liking, i use 17 grams of expresso to produce about 32 grams of expresso in 30 seconds. 16 grams seems to work almost as well and get between 32 and 27 grams. Below or above that amount(16 to 17) and it is to bitter or sour. 18grams was horrible for straight expresso(not latte). Of course if I use 16 grams i need set my grinder 1 notch finer. I use the "slapshot method using a yogurt cup, seems to be the most consistant. I am now at 4.5 weeks since my purchase and I really haven't noticed much degregation of flavor. It probably will not keep much longer unless i used a vacuum sealer to begin with. I keep the bag sealed with a clip in the closet, not refrigerator or freezer. My wife uses this roast in the keurig and seems to like it ok...she is not very picky, like me and she uses a Capresso Infinity (conical) grider. I did buy some locally roasted expresso and honestly didn't like it as much as this and that was $14.00 for 1lb. For the price you can't beat this deal, approx $6 a pound. Even Starbucks is $9 for 12 oz and this coffee blows that way, not that it would be a surprise to anyone. Starbucks coffee is over roasted and to oily. This expresso does make good crema and tastes great in lattes. I don't drink express straight(any brand), just 2 strong for me. Hope this helps.4Tough to find a better value but this does not taste like "value" coffee at all.This is very tasty coffee. Reminiscent of Lavazza Grand Crema. Full bodied, but not too bold. These are a bit on the oily side which does add to the flavor of the coffee. I was initially concerned about how oily they are because I planned to use this in a Super-Automatic espresso machine. Super Automatics do not like oily beans, but my Gaggia Brera did not seem to mind the beans at all. These work just fine and I have now run 1 and a half bags of this coffee through the machine without issue. This is a lot of coffee for this price: it would be tough to find a better value but this does not taste like "value" coffee at all. I personally vacuum seal a few pouches of it and freeze it until I need some more. Works like a charm and always smells and tastes fresh.5Perfect if you like Full Flavor, IItalian-style Espressso with Rich Crema....are you sure that's what you want?This was my 3rd attempt on Amazon to find a bean that lived up to its rave reviews - success. I use a Rancillio Rocky grinder and a Silvia espresso machine and Brita-filtered NY water. I grew up in Europe which means I like short, strong, flavor-full coffee with rich crema.My last 2 attempts were with the #1 and #2 brands (highest number of 5-star reviews and lowest number of 1-3 star reviews). Summary prior to this purchase as follows: Ok price, wonderful customer service, excellent packaging.....disappointing end-product.Even with very short shots of espresso, the output was uninspiring. Sure, it was coffee, a lot better than you get at a diner but not what you would expect from a specialist supplier. The espresso was light in color, modest in flavor with minimal crema. Not bad in any particular way but overall disappointing. A thousand or more other reviewers were experiencing something very different. It was a mystery to me.I conclude from this unscientific research that coffee bean reviews are highly subjective and cannot be relied on!Moving on to Coffee Bean Direct Italian Roast Espresso: If you like full flavor, dark, Italian style espresso with a rich layer or crema then this is the brand for you. The beans are slightly oily which I typically don't like but the packaging is high quality and seals in freshness and flavor. The first shot fillled the kitchen with the pungent aroma of coffee. The finished beverage is as good as I have tasted anywhere.What more could you want? Now I just hope they stay in business!5Great AROMA!I'm not a coffee snob, other than I like to grind my beans fresh and use a French press. I'm generally on a budget, but I haven't been completely happy with what's available at the supermarket - either quality or price. I decided to give this a shot because of the price and reviews, and I'm glad I did.First, this coffee smells incredible - it's almost reminiscent of popcorn, in a way. But I can't really describe the earthy, toasty smell other than it's the best smelling coffee I've ever encountered. I'm not too familiar with low acidity coffee, but this brews up with great, complex flavor, but it's also incredibly smooth and has good strength. After brewing this several times I'm finding that I like it more and more with time. It's just a wonderful, satisfying cup of coffee to have at home. To me it's much, much better than anything I can find at the supermarket, and you can't beat the price.I couldn't be happier with this purchase.5Great Price and Delicious Taste! Love Organic Fair Trade Factor!Ordered Coffee Bean Direct two years ago for a wedding favor and decided to try it for my espresso. Love getting such a big quantity because we go through it fast. Tried the first cup today and it was delicious! I actually was excited to see the organic fair trade and will only be buying this. Would like to see more of their products with this!5Good coffee, but not at the new price....To be fair, the coffee is good. Over the past 18 months I have purchased around 100+ pounds of this brand and roast. At first, I was getting old roast dates sometimes 2-3 months old. That cleared up and my last 6 orders were within a few weeks to a month from roast date. The problem I am having is their pricing. I rechecked all of my orders over the last 18 months and up until last month prices were anywhere from 32.00 to 37.00 per 5# bag. Prices have shot up to $45 now and that is more than I am willing to pay for this product. As I say, the coffee is good but not $45 good. I have since switched to https://www.amazon.com/Italian-Espresso-Coffee-Fresh-Roasted/dp/B00U7P9L9O/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8 and the quality is very comparable so from now on I will save $10 a bag and use the other brand. If coffee bean direct returns to their former pricing, I'll switch back but if not then that's ok I'll stick with the new brand.3Initial Review: Very Good, Full Flavor, Slightly "Softer" Than Starbucks EspressoTLDR: Very good! 5lb Italian Roast whole beans. Comparing to my go to Starbucks Espresso whole beans. On par but different. Same initial fullness but smoother finish. "Lighter" after taste than SB. Required courser setting on Brevel Barista Express (5 worked for me). Caffeine content very good! Very happy with purchase and first few pulls. Would recommend and will buy again._________I had been using Starbucks Espresso roast whole beans for the last 6+ months. I love the deep, dark flavors in SB Espresso but I was ready to try something new. In flavor but also in value. After some searching I landed here on the Italian Roast from Coffee Bean Direct.In all transparency it took probably 5-7 pulls to get this right. The setting for the SB beans I locked in on my Brevel Barista Express Espresso machine was far too fine and maxed the pressure gauge instantly. I believe it was on 3.For this bean I have personally found 5 works well on the grinder. I am sure that can vary but for me and with the pressure I apply when tamping, my pressure gauge settles about 2/3 into the desired grey area during pull. I use the auto 2 shot setting in the 2 shot single wall filter basket using the tamper that came with the machine. I also use the "razor" tool to level off the grounds before tamping a final time. I have the machine set to brew at max temp.The caffeine: The caffeine content is always very important to me so I will start there. It's good. On par with Starbucks Espresso whole beans. At least the 5lb bag I got this first time. My tolerance is pretty high, I consume typically 6-8 shots a day. This still gives me a nice smooth and noticeable caffeine boost. I am very happy.The flavor: Smooth & full. I like this just as much as I love SB Espresso beans. It's on par but it also has it's own personality. SB to me has a smooth initial flavor then a dark and caramelized, sometimes almost burned, after taste. This Italian Roast has, to me, a very pleasant initial flavor. It's strong on it's own. It's lighter than SB, not weaker, but lighter. Still full and strong but I think it has a much lighter aftertaste. One sip flows into the next.I will leave it here. This is my initial impression. This Italian Roast meets all my needs as a daily coffee drinker.5

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Coffee Bean Direct

Coffee Bean Direct Italian Roast Espresso, Whole Bean Coffee, 5 Pound Bag

Coffee Bean Direct Italian Roast Espresso, Whole Bean Coffee, 5 Pound Bag

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