Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Hair Bender - Whole Bean Coffee - 12 Ounce Bag, Flavor Notes of Citrus and Dark Chocolate

It’s funny, I tried Holler Mountain in my BBE, and had so much trouble with the dial in while its okay, Hairbender is several times better.This may be one of the best bean blends for espresso that I have ever tasted.Upon opening the bag, you are greeted with a dark chocolate smell that is reminiscent of home and comfort. I was able to dial this in on my first try. The quality is exceptional. The blend is very smooth and balanced on the palette with a predominant dark chocolate taste. The description notes citrus but for me its subtle.A lot of “citrus” blends taste like battery acid. Here, it’s reminiscent of a cream soda and feels nostalgic.I have tried a variety of beans from counter culture, intelligentsia, trade coffee, and other local roasters, and somehow this reigns supreme.I would get this again and again.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:I consider myself as a coffee snob as I’m coming up on 60 years old. This is one of my favorite coffees ever. Dark chocolate taste with a light to med roast. My wife and I have been drinking it for years.Coffee quality:Excellent

All the Stumptown brand coffees are tOp notch.

Had I got these within 2 to 4 weeks of roasting, or even 2 months, it would be a 5 star review. At the price point, distribution needs to be assessed to avoid selling January roasts in May. Lost quality control opportunities for such a great product.

The Negative Reviews Were On Point- the beans were not fresh, hardly any notable coffee flavors, it does take more beans to make a cup (I thought it was just me), and it is overpriced considering the end product. I guess I should have read the reviews before buying it. Noticed the beans on the left are more glossy (meaning the oils haven't been stripped) than the ones on the right (Stumptown, which I received a little more than a week ago and only opened a couple of days ago).My experience:- I first tried it with my espresso machine. The grind was dry and powdery. The crema was lacking and it looked a little watery. The taste was acidic, not nutty or roasted. The taste was akin to stale beans or decaf, slight sour taste. The notes were definitely not of vanilla or cocoa powder (as the label advertised).- I admit I'm no barista, so I gave it another go. This time with a pour over, which IMHO I'm better at. As another reviewer noted, it did take a little more beans to make a comparable cup. But the end results were still the same, still the same acidic/sour taste of stale beans, no notes of vanilla or cocoa powder.I threw away the package so I don't know when the roasted and good by dates were.FWIW, I didn't like their bottled cold brews (same acidic/sour taste) and was willing to try them out bc heck we're talking whole roasted organic beans and at a relatively attractive price.. But no. I'll stick with my Lavazza (the beans on the left in pic).

I keep coming back to this coffee. It's perfectly balanced; tasty but without being bitter or "bold." I'm not going to commit to one type of coffee being my favorite; but if i had to, then this would certainly be a strong frontrunner.

Good and bad. It’s a great espresso bean. Unfortunately I have a subscription, and 90% of the time the bags are expired already. Sometimes by months.

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