August 20, 2016
The beans are large and dark with a satin sheen provided by a moderate amount of oil. The beans have a ‘roast’, but not burnt, aroma. Lacking is a real coffee aroma. First sip of the brewed coffee is bitter. The coffee remains bitter throughout the cup with the usual lessening due to the coffee cooling and the mouth adjusting to the bitterness. The bitterness overwhelms any other characteristics of the coffee. This is not a cup of coffee I look forward to having tomorrow. Comparing to my review of another Trader Joe’s Sumatra coffee from 2015, this appears to be a very similar coffee. A very coarse (chunky) grind and strictly controlling the brew time helps eliminate some of the bitterness producing a better, but still bitter, cup of coffee. Nice can design.
