Civilized Coffee Kenyan Whole Bean Light Blonde Roast Coffee, Gourmet Coffee 12oz bag (Kenya Blonde)

We are so-called coffee snobs and recently tried the Civilized Coffee Tanzanian Peaberry and also the Columbian varities. Civilized is based in Jacksonville, FL and we endeavor to support small artisan businesses. The luxury price of $14 per 12 ounces is on par with high end roasters. The first time we ordered, there was no date stamped in the designated spot on the bag. Now, there is a date but it is “Use by date” nearly a year away. From that, it’s easy to ascertain the roast date was likely one year before the use by date. However a use by date is virtually useless and no different than Folgers in the grocery that sells for half the price. Who would desire “fresh roasted” coffee a year old under any circumstance?Don’t get me wrong, this is very tasty coffee. It’s no Folgers. But please don’t bother with a useless date. We’d like to know the roasting date, of course. If you feel you are unable to do that—not sure of how quickly the Amazon warehouse can turn it around—then please don’t date at all.The Peaberry is our fave and the Columbian is also far better than most competitors in the small batch coffee realm. Yet, here are suggestions to the Civilized folks to make these offerings more appealing to coffee folks like us:Folks who spend artisan money on top notch coffees want to know more. Much more. For example, "medium roast" is not better described than supermarket coffee. The most recent batch I received of the Peaberry was a bit oily and most aptly described as Viennese Roast. The Columbian would be more accurately described as Full City Roast. Both are just simply described as "medium" and the Peaberry was far darker than that. Nicely roasted, though!The details on sub regions within Tanzania and Columbia for each coffee, and detailed flavor profile notes, could also be added. Although the packaging is well designed and beautiful, there is almost no real info about the source of the beans. Instead, all we get are a bare few words about roast, and profile. Please don't dumb down the details if you expect coffee afficianados fully appreciate your coffee, okay?Despite these frustrations, will we order again? Yes. So, let’s be fair—and clear. We rate 5 on flavor, 1 on marketing, despite the well designed packaging. Thus a 3, but don’t let this objective review dissuade you from ordering.

The pickiest coffee drinker in the world lives in my house. We've been trying different brands of Tanzanian peaberry coffees and the picky coffee drinker decided that this brand is the best out of all of them. The beans seem to have a darker roast than the other peaberries, and are not as dry. It must be fresher because you can see the oil. The only drawback is the packaging. When you open a new bag there's not enough slack to give it a tight re-seal, until you use it a couple times, then you can seal it securely. But the coffee itself is a huge thumbs up.

Look no further. If you have been searching for a great tasting coffee this is it. I wasn't prepared for the quality of coffee for that price. I admit it, I am a coffee snob. I only buy coffee from other countries as I find their beans are not bitter and do not leave a nasty aftertaste. Kenyan coffee is one of my personal favorites but it tends to be pricey. This purchase turned out to be the best decision ever. Try it, you will not be disappointed.

Excellent whole bean Tanzanian Peaberry coffee roasted a little on the dark side, which is to my taste. I took off one star because there was no roast date or "best by" date anywhere on the bag making it impossible to know before opening that the coffee was not stale. There is a "best by" area near the bottom of the bag but it was left blank. That made be concerned but the coffee swelled in hot water when using a French press so it was probably roasted fairly recently.It's now nearly standard practice to indicate the date the coffee beans were roasted and in many cases the person who actually did the roasting somewhere on the coffee bag, but not this one. Perhaps it was an accidental omission in this case.

Three reasons 1. It does not taste like AA Kenyan but cost as much. 2. The darker roast burns out the flavor of any bean - this is promoted as a Light Roast, it is not (see photo to contrast with 8 O'clock light roast) 3. For the $ you can get a good Colombian light roasted whole bean from Eight O'clock for under $5 at grocery stores. If You are paying around $16 a lb. (which you are) you should get a high quality Kenyan AA bean. Not Recommended

This is great french press coffee. I set the grinder on the second from coarse setting for eight cups. The smell was wonderful and the beans had a perfect about of oil. In the french press, the coffee was very flavorful without a lot of bitterness. I could do with a wee bit longer in the roaster, but it's a good medium. I had an issue on Amazon's end and Civilized Coffee immediately sent a replacement. They were very responsive so A+ on the customer service side.

I was searching for a easier way to get Kenyan coffee delivered to my house. On the positive side, if you’re looking for a normal tasting coffee, this is fine for you.However if you’re looking for that unique, amazing flavor that you can only get from Kenyan beans that roasted at your local coffee house, this coffee does not measure up to that specific citrus aroma nor the flavor that I was looking for. It’s a good coffee; it’s just not that amazing fragrant Kenyan coffee & flavor that was looking for.

I often purchase Ethiopian Yrgacheffe as it's consistently smooth and flavorful. Then I read the Sidamo is said to be even better so I gave it a try. Amazing! Full-bodied and smoooooth.If you're particular about the coffee you drink, you'll be impressed.(I use Breville grinder set to "fine", just short of espresso grind. Brewed with a techivorn mocha master drip coffee maker)