Ain't Found A Good Title Blog

July 14, 2017

Musical beans?  That’s what they are.  Whether scooping these out from the bag, or dropping them into the measuring glass, or even in the grinder, these beans had a clear almost bell-like ring to them.  That’s very interesting and something either not noticed or not experienced in the past with any coffee beans.  And in the cup, that smooth mellow music continues.

Judging by the amount of carbon dioxide released when hot water was added to the ground beans, these beans were also very freshly roasted.  In theory that’s one advantage to a small lot coffee, the beans are less likely to get hung up in the supply chain and make it to the shelves faster.

The beans are labeled as a light-medium roast.  For me, these are more towards the medium side of a roast.  The color of the beans was a  medium brown.  The oil in the beans was just starting to sweat out.

Surprisingly there was just a touch of chocolate in the cup once brewed.  The brewed coffee also has an earthy slightly sour taste in the cup giving it a full-bodied feel in the mouth.  Although a lighter roast, it does not make a watery cup of coffee. The coffee is crisp without being burningly acidic.  It’s nicely smooth and light.

At $8.99 per 12 ounce bag, there’s a small premium over my everyday drinker (TJ Tarrazu).  For that premium, this coffee is a step up from my daily drinker.  That’s unusual, as the TJ Tarrazu is about as good as any coffee at Trader Joe’s regardless of price.  That’s why it’s my daily drinker.  But back to this coffee, even with the small premium in price, a 13 ounce cup of Vilcabamba will cost you about 82 cents.  Compare that with buying a prepared cup of coffee at a local retailer which will set you back somewhere between $1 and $1.75+ per cup and may be almost undrinkable without adding tons of creamer and sugar.

Whether it’s the beans themselves or that the bag I picked up made it from field to pot in record time, keeping the beans as fresh as possible, this is a nice and nicely different coffee.  For as long as it’s around at Trader Joe’s, this one is worth a try.  Price $8.99 (12 ounce bag)

For another review of this coffee, try Become Betty here.

Tags: coffee, ecuador, food, price, review, tj, tj's, trader joe's, vilcabamba

This entry was posted on 07/14/2017 at 11:58 and is filed under coffee, food, Recipes, food, cooking and related items, Trader Joe's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.