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I recently brought some coffee back from Sumatra and got hooked. These beans are very, very close to those. My old coffee just doesn't do it any more.
Coffee Bean Direct is one of THE very best roasters in the US. Their Dark Sumatra is the very best, bar none. IT REPRESENTS A BEST VALUE in comparison to all of the others. Service from Coffee Bean Direct is excellent, the coffee arrives right to your door in just two days post order, is always as fresh as you can get anywhere and the the quality is "to die for." Do yourself and your taste buds a favor and get your next batch of dark-roast Sumatra from Coffee Bean Direct.
Wasn't in country for a week before I was on-line shopping for a vendor that would ship whole roasted beans to an APO address. The grind was dense, typical for a dark roast, with little dusting when transferring the ground beans to the filter. I don't believe that just because someone gets deployed to warm and sandy places they can't retain some semblance of civility. Having been to both areas and sampling each as brewed by the locals, I can say I'm fairly pleased. I went through the entire 5 pound bag in less than two weeks, despite trying to ration the beans. After several of my usual vendors came up empty, I lucked onto coffeebeandirect.com through Amazon. There was little if any evidence of debris in the vacuum bag.
From looking at the bean, I can't tell if they're Mandheling or Ankola, but if I had to guess I'd say an Ankola blend, simply because the brew lacks the smoothness I remember from pure Mandheling. That's especially so for coffee, in a part of the world where the locals take their coffee very seriously. Depending on concentration, the brew itself can either be lightly biting with good body, or cutting, impacting the palette like a hammer (but in that good, first cup of wake you up in the morning way). Bought one 5-pound bag each of Kenya AA and Dark Sumatran. The Sumatran was uniformly graded, colored and oiled, attesting to a consistent roasting and handling process. Nevertheless, the coffee proved very popular with my crew, and indeed the entire headquarters. Around here, when you need coffee, you NEED coffee.
The Coffee Bean Website has a helpful graphs that show the roast (French), heavy body and low acidity. We have just finished 5 pounds of the Dark Sumatra Gayoland Organic Fair Trade. Helpful when comparing which coffee to purchase. I just amazoned a better coffee grinder to better appreciate (finer grind) the coffee. Not as intensely flavored as the absolute best Sumatra I have ever enjoyed had in my life but at the right price. I will purchase this (or the organic fair trade equivalent) again. I may also try the Dark Celebes Kalossi next time (another low acid heavy dark coffee).
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