Marley Coffee, Organic Whole Bean Coffee, One Love, 2 Pound

I have been searching far and wide for truly good decaf coffee. Not "good for decaf" coffee, but good coffee that happens to be decaf. With Marley's Simmer Down dark roast decaf, I have found "good coffee that happens to be decaf" for the second time. It joins  Weaver's Coffee and Tea, Decaf Organic Blend Whole Bean Coffee, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 2)  on the list of decaf coffee that is so good I drink it by choice because it's actually really good coffee and not merely because it's decaf.The beans in the bag are of a consistent dark roast, to Full City+ or maybe even a light French roast level, but not at all burned or burned tasting. There is also evidently some care taken along the entire roasting and packaging process as there are very few broken or fractured beans in the bag. Grading is good with beans of uniform size and shape. The roast appears to be fairly fresh, showing no signs of the excess oil that accumulates on the surface of darkly roasted beans as they get old.Per my usual habit, when this coffee arrived I ground a sample to pull a shot of espresso. No issues dialing this coffee in at all. First attempt gave 25-27 second pulls on double shots. Crema was very good. But what really counts is taste, so how does this coffee do on that front? In a word, excellent.The results in the cup are, for lack of a better description, almost chocolatey, like a really fine high cocoa content dark chocolate. Not sweet mind you, but that same sort of richness. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy. As a base for milk-based coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, again, just excellent.After playing with espresso, I always come back and do a pour-over drip. Same result. Rich, dark, almost creamy coffee with the same "dark chocolate" flavor undertones and richness.Like the aforementioned Weavers Decaf Organic Blend, this is also a SWP decaf coffee. It may be that the SWP method of decaffeination makes all the difference when it come to holding onto the good coffee flavor I have been looking for. At least that is one thing that both the Marley's and the Weaver's have in common.I have nothing bad to say about this coffee at all. It is, also like the Weaver's, not comfortably within my price range at the regular selling price. But I will check daily for deals on this coffee, and as with the Weaver's, if there is a deal to be had, I will gladly snatch it up. Five stars...because that's all Amazon will allow me to give.

Simply outstanding! I love a well bodied coffee with low acidic levels and Marley's Ethopeain Organic whole bean meets and surpasses my standards. The beans are evenly roasted to an even mahogany color, producing both a fantastic aroma and an amazing flavor. If you've ever traveled abroad and on a cold, damp winter day wondered into a small coffee shop in the Austrian Alps; or into an Alsace-Lorrane café; or into a Brittaney village Pâtisserie and treated yourself to a wonderful, full-bodied cup of coffee that wormed your body while pleasing your soul, then you can relate to my reaction when I tried my first cup of Marley Organic coffee. I had just returned home from my pre-dawn long walk through the frost covered hills in California wine country, ground the beans and brewed the coffee. My reaction was the same as the two others who tried it with me: Wow! I will be buying more and it's now on my Christmas list for friends and family. Hope Amazon keeps selling it!

I bought the Marley Lively up Espresso, and it was sold and shipped though amazon directly, not an individual seller. This was the first time I have bought the espresso online; I usually buy it in stores as a k-cup pack. I wanted to buy whole bean because I have so many different machines and really wanted versatility with the product so I could enjoy brewing this coffee different methods. You can't really do that with k-cups or pre-ground coffee. I really enjoyed the k-cups because of the great flavor of the coffee, and since I have been looking for a better quality and organic coffee, I decided that this would be a great try. When this product first arrived, I opened the bag, and noticed something a bit off. The beans were irregular in shape and color, and this made me feel disappointed at first because I knew that the beans were not supposed to be this way for espresso. So I tried brewing it. The flavor was high quality, but it didn't taste like the espresso I had tasted in the k-cups. So, I called amazon customer service. The man I spoke with was so gracious, and we determined that the bag sent to me was a manufacturer mistake with bean loading into bags from the marley coffee facility. Amazon sent me a replacement bag free of charge, and I was also able to keep my first bag (its not exactly what I ordered, but its still good). When the second bag arrived, I opened it and examined the beans inside. The were uniform in color (medium/dark, as is the type of espresso), but the size was still not very uniform. I was content with them being within the same size range, at least. Of course, I brewed a few different methods to ensure that it was in fact marley coffee espresso that I received. I am pleased to say that is it exactly what I ordered.So, as for the coffee itself:I brewed the coffee in my drip brewer, espresso machine, moka express stovetop brewer, and my french press. All cups were awesome, but my absolute favorite brewing method for the coffee is french press (2 tablepoons coarse ground marley espresso for every 6 ounces of water, same for drip brewing). The reason I like the french press method for this coffee, even over moka express, is that all the richness of the coffee itself is really brought out to shine. The Marley espresso is as it says. It is a medium/dark (not quite dark/burnt) bodied roast. I find it exceptionally smooth, especially over other espressos, and my guess is that this comes from the roast of the coffee compared to others. The coffee is very rich with a subtle sweetness that coffee lovers/snobs like me will love. I do love making this coffee into espresso shots for lattes ( my fave at home latte being the marley espresso shots with heated cream and about two tablespoons of dark brown sugar as a sweetener; it is sheer heaven), but having a nice rich cup of black coffee or adding my fave mocha creamer is just simple heaven. I do not really drink coffee for caffeine; I am overly used to caffeine, so it doesn't have much effect on me. So, I drink it for the flavor and enjoyment. Yes, I am a huge coffee snob. My background: I am a certified starbucks barista who left my job at starbucks because I disliked the quality of what we were handing out to people. I had been a huge starbucks fan most of my life, and only brewed verona and starbucks espresso for myself. Working there, I realized that most things were super half-a**ed. And that I wanted better coffee. Well, with this marley coffee, I think I have found the One. It is a perfect rich coffee. Starbucks espresso has the burnt over roast signature that they pride themselves in, but it doesn't hold up brewed by itself ( it is too bitter and without real richness because they only want the espresso taste, not quality). What I think I love most about the marley espresso is the methodology of the brand. The ethics behind it are amazing, and I think Rohan Marley does right by his father, Bob Marley, with this coffee. The coffee is organic, so you don't have to wonder about what your are drinking, as I have done before with other coffees. I am not totally bashing starbucks, because I still enjoy hanging out with my sister at starbucks from time to time. BUT, now, I actually have a coffee I can pride myself in drinking and talking about the coffee to my close friends. I wish I could open a marley coffee cafe or work for the company. I am very pleased with my purchase, even though the first bag sent to me was lacking. I have given 4 out of 5 stars because of the consistency from the first bag received. Otherwise, I would give 5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely order again, and if the next bag is of consistent quality without the bean mix up, I will update my review to 5 out of 5 stars. Also, I highly recommend for people to invest in a grinder, so they can order whole bean. When ordering whole bean, you can grind fresh before brewing each day so you don't have to worry about the pre-ground coffee going stale after your first cup. Pre-ground coffee, once opened, is fresh for only 24 hours, then loses the fresh oils and flavor. With a grinder, you can grind your coffee to match your brewing method, even if you enjoy many methods, like me. Through amazon, I bought the Hamilton Beach $20 electric grinder that has multiple grind settings. It has lasted over a year (and is still working), grinds perfectly, and is an awesome price. The reason I wrote this review is because I wanted people to know the quality of this coffee. I want people to know that it can be brewed in many awesome ways. I have found a coffee I can love for a long time without questioning what is inside it or feeling like I'm missing something.I wanted to share my knowledge, and I hope my review will help people make a good choice that they won't regret.

I am a total coffee snob...and I totally love this coffee!!! I have a Saeco Odea Giro Plus Automatic Espresso machine which will grind the beans and brew up to 10 shots before needing to clean up and start over. What a joy it is to find a whole bean organic coffee at a reasonable price that is roasted to perfection. The roast is medium/dark just beginning to release and bring the oils to the surface making for a very flavorful, winey, sweet cup with a firm, aromatic crema on top of my ristretto. I highly recommend this coffee.