Pablo's Pride Gourmet Coffee Genuine Guatemala Antigua Medium-dark Roast Whole Bean. 2 Lb Bag by Burke Brands LLC

I usually get my beans from snobby small cafes, but that can be very expensive when that's all that one drinks, and sometimes, I was finding I just wanted a decent cup of coffee that I didn't really need to 'focus' on appreciating. Saw this stuff rated highly by users, and I found Don Pablo's marketing schtick to be fairly campy and amusing (his video for Bourbon-infused coffee is pure cheese).I didn't have high expectations for this stuff; when a coffee markets itself as 'low acidity', you're often not getting premium beans, since acidity in coffee is not a negative thing, but rather part of the flavour profile. That said, this stuff tastes exactly like what it says on the label - 'smooth' (as in no acidity or pleasant tartness), cocoa-ish, and slightly nutty. There are no 'off' flavours, the finish is brief, and the body is moderate. This is a 'good' cup of coffee - it's neither special nor is it bad. What I found this coffee to be was better than the vast majority of what you can easily find in a grocery store - and certainly fresher.I'd recommend this for people who like good quality but fairly 'unexciting' coffee, or who (like me) are looking for an affordable way to round out their (coffee) drinking habits. It gets five stars because at the current price (20$ for two pounds) I've not had a better-tasting coffee for less money; it's a superb bargain.

I love the Don Pablo Signature Blend (especially at the great price for the 5 lb bag), so that is the baseline for my comments here on the Guatemala beans. The unknown issue in most reviews is simply the quality of the coffee maker used. Based on testing and detailed reports made by Consumer Reports, the vast majority of drip coffee makers do NOT produce high enough water temperatures for an excellent cup of coffee. My machine is getting old, but it was one of the few they ratted at the very top back when I bought it, and I have always been happy with the coffee it can produce when I start with a good bean.I decided to spend the extra bucks to try one of Don Pablo's premium beans, and I am not disappointed (except for one potentially minor issue). The aroma of these beans is intoxicating when the bag is first opened. The beans have a very deep rich color and a uniform oily sheen to them. Made the first pot this morning, and the coffee is as good as the beans smell - Very rich flavor with absolutely no bitterness or burnt off-tones. The flavor is smooth enough it might actually make a pretty good Espresso too; I'll try that at some point and report back.UPDATE: These beans do make a decent Espresso - not the best, but good enough for me to not keep another bag of Espresso roast beans around if I have these. My Espresso machine was at the very top of Consumer Reports ratings back when I bought it, so I believe it is capable of making an excellent cup. I ground the beans at the finest setting on my old burr grinder. The crema was good, and the flavor just a tad too robust for normal Espresso, but it was not bitter, nor did it get muddy as the temp cooled.I saw in another review that one person says this is a good replacement for Starbucks coffee, and I just cannot understand that. I personally cannot stand the terrible burnt-dirt garbage that they sell, and I will not drink it at all, even for free. While everyone deserves to have and be able to share their own opinions, to me this coffee is so totally different than Starbucks, that I would not want any reader to mistakenly think they share any similarities.So what is my one disappointment? NO DATE on the bag! I strongly disagree with this company's decision to never actually tell you when the beans were harvested or roasted, but at least they usually include a "Best Used by" date (a weak cop-out, in my opinion, but still way better than nothing); however, this bag only has a paper label on it that says "NewItem"! The look, aroma and flavor of these beans does seem to indicate they are fresh, but how am I supposed to know???? Perhaps I just got lucky with this bag? This flaw in packaging made if VERY hard for me to give this rating a full 5 stars. UPDATE: I need to revise this comment. I just now did find a date of "09/2018" printed on the top lip of the bag above the line where you are supposed to cut it off. I assume that is the use by date, but why is this one type of bean marked differently than other coffee sold by the same company?So what is the bottom line for me? I think this is an excellent coffee, but considering the large volume of coffee I drink, I'll probably stick with the Signature Blend. I'd like to keep the Guatemala beans around for an occasional change, but since they won't tell us how old the beans are, I don't think I'll chance that.

I chose this coffee because I wanted to try "low acid" coffee. It was the best price on Amazon for low acid coffees. It really does seem to be lower acid, it doesn't bother my digestive system. And, although I'm not a connoisseur, I enjoyed the taste of this coffee. I definitely enjoy it much more than Starbuck's coffee, and I suspect it's a better price. I would recommend it. :)

After more than 20 years of loyalty to Green Mountain Coffee, we finally had to find a new roaster. Keurig took over GMC and began pushing the absurd "K-cups" pods, jacking up the prices on their puny 12-ounce bags of beans and allowing their once-excellent service to suffer. Even so, their whole beans were some of the best around. So we tried a number of labels that were good to excellent - - some of them from small local roasters, others from larger and more mainstream operations. I was intrigued by the big 2-lb. bags and the pricing of Don Pablo's coffees, and based on the favorable comments here, decided to try the medium-roast Guatemalan and the dark-roasted decaf. We blend our beans to get a 1/2-caff mixture most mornings, though we occasionally do treat ourselves to a blast of straight caff. We grind our beans every day and use plenty of grounds to make a stiff cup.We typically use a drip/filter brewer, but like our espresso makers, too.So, to cut to the chase, we're very happy with Don Pablo's and think we will enjoy trying all their varieties. Opening the bag, seeing the consistently-sized beans, and whiffing the heady aroma told me instantly that the quality I wanted was there. Grinding the beans to a fine consistency as suggested by DP helps in achieving good brewing extraction. The decaf is especially impressive in its depth of flavor - - our bag was perfectly roasted, not carbonized, but nearly black, and well covered with oils. THIS is how decaf should be done. The Guatemalan is light and sweet, and while we will buy it again, I'm interested in trying some of DP's bolder beans. All in all, this is really good stuff at a price that is hard to beat in today's coffee market - - maybe even impossible. I hope DP can continue to deliver this kind of quality at such a pleasing price.

Great coffee. Very smooth and a nice roast, not too dark.It also seems to be fairly freshly roasted. I generally judge this by the "foaminess" ofthe coffee when I brew it.This is almost effervescent when I pour hot water over it, so I know it was recently roasted.I use a Mr. Clever pourover so I can steep the coffee a few moments before letting it draininto the cup.Some people may not like it that way, but if you let it sit in the bag, the beans typically degas in thebag after a few weeks. It rarely sits that long, though, unless I have several bags of other coffee to try.There is just a certain coffee taste I really like and this comes closest to that.I used to get something similar in freshly roasted Colombian coffee, but now it seemsthat almost ALL the coffee I get has a bit of bitter aftertaste.This did not taste bitter, so it is my daily brew from now on.Until either the coffee (or my tastebuds) change...