Solid and versatile medium roast. Makes a good espresso, and can be used for Moka or a pourover. I did expect something a bit lighter based on what the roaster described but no complaints.

We survived on this during the pandemic. Its consistent, convenient, and easy to drink.

Notes were that this coffee made for pretty good pourover but did not stand out compared to the 2 other Free Space coffees we had, including the almost incomparable Gesha Clouds.

A Gesha that just didnt quite pop in the cup for me. Has that floral, tropical aroma but didnt express in cup.

Cupping Method:Pourover Chemex

Pretty good. Has some depth and is pretty smooth. Not a lot of distinguishing characteristics to take it to the next level but very solid. I like it a little more than Major Dickinson.

Cupping Method:K-cup

Pretty solid K-Cup. Very smooth and balanced for roast level.

Cupping Method:K-cup

Smooth, easy to drink, enough acidity for a dark roast. Was perfect coming back into the hotel from the cold.

I dont have any real complaints given the format and location. Tastes like coffee, its smooth and balanced.

Very easy to drink canned cold brew. A little vanilla/carmel burst. Solid flavor with low acidity/complexity. Clean finish, no linger.

Cupping Method:Can from Berkshire Market at airport

Got a couple boxes of Wandering Bear for the office one time, and liked enough to take camping. It's a pretty good cold brew, organic, and comes in a super easy format for certain situations.

Cupping Method:Boxes delivered

This is a solid medium roast espresso blend. I like Crema e Gusto more but this is solid. Good crema and body.

Stumbled onto an Anchorhead outpost in Nashville. Bought a bag of this coffee and liked it. Really some great flavors characteristic of Costa Rica here, cherry, hint of vanilla. Roast was little flat for me on acidity and body. Still got through the whole bag!

Cupping Method:Pourover, 207F in Chemex, steel and natural filter

Consistent and tasty!

Cupping Method:Change of pace at Starbucks

A smooth balanced coffee with nice milk chocolate and black tea characteristics.

Very nice nose after grind. Definitely some pea and other small shaped beans with irregularity. Most notable note before brewery for me was a bit of caramel. Pour over. Totally different after cooling Dark chocolate turning to Irish Breakfast tea on the back end. Seemed a bit of an irregular lot and maybe a tad overroasted (perhaps due to mixed bean sized). This came out of the Onyx advent calendar so could have been remains of a lot.

A good nitro cold brew. Better than most you can get at chain stores. Wish the roast was a bit lighter on this one but nitro offsets the dark roast. Nobl's done some light roast nitro cold brews in limited edition form and they've been mind-blowing.

Cupping Method:Can

Came recommended from a friend I trust a lot! Nice drinkable coffee that didnt pop but would gladly drink every day.

Cupping Method:Chemex pouriver, 207F

UPDATE: Awesome barista at Coffeelands in Clinton, MA gave me a pull after I said I didn't like it. Maybe the bag I got was a dud or not stored properly (I did get it from a farm store). She got a solid crema and it was a solid, neutral Italian dark roast espresso. Still didn't get a lot of complexity but it was good. Beautiful looking beans. Great company with great values. Beans smell great and don't look burned. Tried 4 different ways to get good coffee out, tried different temps of espresso machine and just doesn't work for me. Tastes bitter in moka pot. A little bit bitter with no crema in espresso machine.

If you're looking for a straightfoward coffee that has a rich and satisfying taste, then Blue Bottle Giant Steps Coffee is definitely worth trying.

Rich chocolate notes, smooth and satisfying mouthfeel. Medium dark with a decent crema to balance medium dark roast. Blue Bottle description says very little fruit or acidity, but I get some.

Cupping Method:A53 Lucca Spaziale, 94 degrees C espresso

Rock solid canned cold brews. Smooth, balanced, nice acidity. Organic. A lot of chocolate/caramel, then I get a blackberry/apple acidity and crisp finish.

Cupping Method:From the can, nice and cold

Interesting. I tried this blind and thought African/Central American blend. Very drinkable, very smooth, very fruity. A lot of apple and white grape. Plesant black tea accent throughout. Nice mouthfeel and clean finish. I dont get tons of complexity, but a nice coffee you'd be happy with any day of the week.

Cupping Method:Pourover from Barismo store in Arlington, MA

Solid multipurpose espresso. Medium crema. A little carbon as straight sipping espresso. Incredible aroma out of the bag. Makes a very nice Americano and a solid latte. Roast was a little past medium so might wife didn't love. Mostly darker roast characteristics.

Cupping Method:A53 Lucca Spaziale, 94 degrees celsius. Sampled as doppio, Americano, and latte.

Has a nice nutty note upfront but slightly rubbery on back end. Acidity is citrus and prune and balances is good. Doesn't quite come together but ok in a pinch.

Cupping Method:Natick Mall EBar

Classic Nespresso cereal note and trademark VertuoLine Crema. Hits the medium-dark spot about right. It's a bang average cup to me. Just a touch of spice with no spice. OK medium mouthfeel, not enough sweetness or fruitiness to standout. Solid free office coffee.

Has a very appealing almond cake type of aroma on extraction.

I don't really get the hibiscus at all or really where it would have made sense. Ends up tasting like someone poured some almond extract into a regular Vertuo capsule. Not a fan and poured it out.

Day 3 of trying the hotel K-Cups. This one lands accurately as a French note and brings a solid balance of the smoke notes you would expect. It also has a good smooth mouthfeel though thinner than what you see in really good French roasts. Solid level of sweetness of caramel sweetness.

Unfortunately, It's quite rubbery in the lead palate, and that never quite goes away. Perhaps from Robusta. It's enough to put it in the mediocre hotel coffee category for me.

In New Hampshire skiing so testing out the K-cup pods in the hotel room. I liked the Kirkland decaf from last night more that this Day to Day breakfast blend. This pod is chocolatety and close to having a nice caramel note but doesn't quite have the natural sweetness. Zero fruitiness at all.

It's slightly rubbery and has just a touch cloying mouthfeel. I'd guess it has some robusta mixed in. On the bright side it is fairly balanced and easy to drink without a lot of bitterness.

Cupping Method:Used Poland Spring water in a 2.0 machine.

Roasters pack advent. Tasted blind.

Small dark beans with mixed size. I get the blueberry and lavender, I think it has an unpleasant smoke/grapefruit zest overtone. The good notes are still there which keeps this from being a total wash for me.

Cupping Method:92C, 17:1 on Hario v60

This Hampton Inn lobby coffee is a South and Central American blend aimed at easy drinking. It sits in that lighter hotel range, closer to a specialty medium roast than anything dark. The cup is clean and straightforward, with a soft chocolate backbone, a little earthiness, and a mild caramel sweetness that helps it go down smoothly even if it never quite turns lush. Acidity stays low and controlled, with only a quiet trace of fruit, more like a hint of navel orange and plum.

The balance is the main strength here. Nothing sticks out, and that is kind of the point for a lobby brew. There is a faint rubbery note at times, likely from holding or batch conditions, but it does not dominate. Overall, it is a solid, neutral, lightly roasted hotel blend that is noticeably more pleasant than many peers, even if it does not offer a single winning note.

Cupping Method:Hampton Inn lobby, Albany, NY

Probably just about the very definition of a lighter hotel coffee. Medium roast or so, very neutral without a winning note. Chocolate, slightly earthy. Vanilla sweetness. Good balance, limited acidity and fruitiness, perhaps a bit of past prime navel orange.

Nice to it is Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Cupping Method:Filter pack in Hampton Inn, Albany, NY