Customer Reviews

Java Trading Company Espresso Jet City Whole Bean, 5-Pound Bag

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got the jet city whole bean which translated means the beans have been roasted to Seattle City's standard medium roast, but there is nothing standard about the beans. The roast color is even on all the beans I have had the pleasure to grind so far. The beans look shiny and dark. I have brewed about 2 1/2lbs so far with fantastic results. Each cup had a fruity coffee taste with that dark undertow that you so expect from a darker roast and not once did I denote a hint of bitterness that you sometimes get from badly roasted dark coffee. As long as they keep selling it, I'll be back for more! Yum yum!

Java Trading Company Espresso Jet City Whole Bean, 5-Pound BagI found this product to be an excellent whole bean coffee. Because of the low price I really didn't think that it would be all that great, but when I tried it, it put the local coffee that I have been purchasing to shame. In fact I will be ordering 2 more bags shortly. Thank you for some great coffee at a down to earth price.

My husband loves these beans for espresso in his lattes!

We have a super-automatic espresso machine that grinds and brews the espresso shots, and my husband uses the machine to make lattes.... he'll drink anywhere from 1 to 4 of them a day. He used to get his coffee beans from a local roaster, but we moved, and it was going to be over $15/lb with shipping to continue buying from our old roaster. He hadn't found anything comparable in the grocery store, and he doesn't like Starbucks' beans. He likes his whole beans dark and oily, but no over-roasted burnt taste is allowed!

For a little over $5.50/lb for the Java Trading Co's Jet City beans, I took a chance and purchased these hoping he'd like them, and he was upset I'd bought a 5 pound bag of something he didn't know if he liked. When they arrived, I was relieved to see the Jet City beans were indeed dark and oily, and my husband loved the smell of them. The next morning, he made a couple lattes with them, and he told me these beans were awesome. Yes! I am so happy he loves them.

We store them in airtight containers (OXO Good Grips POP containers) in the freezer to keep them fresh.

*Update*: We're now on our 2nd bag of these beans, and boy, when I opened the bag to separate the beans into the OXO containers, the fresh roasted smell transported me back in time by a decade, when I used to work as a barista in a Portland, OR coffee shop. I looked at the label on this 2nd bag, and it came from their Renton, WA roasting facility which is in my state. (Amazon shipped it from their shipping facility in Federal Way, WA, and it arrived at my house within 2 days.) This 2nd bag is just as good as the first, so I'm quite pleased with the quality control from Java Trading Co.

Depending on where you are from, Espresso and French Roast take on different meanings regarding which is the darker of the two (v. the totally useless descriptor "dark roast"). Most, in the US, seem to agree that French Roast is the name applied to the darkest of the roasts; in Europe, Espresso is the darkest. Regardless of which name one assigns, both Espresso and French Roast are, in part, identified by the oiliness of the surface beans - created as a consequence of the long roasting process.

The Java Trading Co. Espresso Jet City beans that I received were actually an "American Roast" (variously known as full city, regular, breakfast, brown, or medium roast) a bean roasted to a brown color (not black) and lacking the oily surface characteristic of Espresso and French Roast coffees. I thought the taste was better than the average of that found in most commercial canned coffees but the degree of roasting was the same. One other critique I have is that the beans I received were unevenly roasted: most beans a full brown color punctuated by a significant percentage of lighter beans.

In my opinion, this coffee is not worth $7 a pound, (1) because it is neither French nor Espresso roast and, (2) you can get coffee as good or better for $3 a pound.

If you are daring, I suggest you try Wal-Mart brand French Roast coffee (green can, 34.5oz, $6.00) which is very highly rated by consumer review sites - at less than one-half the coast.

To be fair, I suppose I should get another bag of Java Trading but I won't. Perhaps I did get an off batch but, if quality controls are in place, that should not have happened.

I thought these beans were just ok. Not particularly good and not particularly bad. Still prefer 8 o'clock french roast beans that are a little cheaper.

I have to say I was apprehensive about purchasing a 5 lb bag of coffee for my DELONGHI MAGNIFICA. I am a starbucks person, but with the increase in coffee prices, I was looking to try something new and a little less expensive. Without a doubt, I was pleasantly surprised. This is not starbucks, but the flavor is very good. I am a straight espresso/Americana coffee drinker so I go for the flavor and this has not let me down.

If you are a coffee person you maybe asking what do I do with the extra to keep it from going stale... Vacuum sealer. :) I created a bunch of 1 lb bags, and store my beans that way. At approx $5/lb, this is a STEAL!

Great coffee for a great price. I would definately recommend it to anyone who loves good coffee. I will be buying more.

After reading so many favorable reviews I was convinced that I would at least be pleased, the only question being degree. Not so. Maybe I should have been suspicious when the listing said "Only one bag left" as I was ordering. But hey, that can mean they only roast 2 bags at a time, right? In this case, I think maybe not. As soon as I opened the bag, I feared the worst- no burst of that heavenly aroma, in fact more like opening a bag of ground coffee from the grocery store. That's pretty much the way the results worked out. I was using it French press, not espresso. Totally lifeless unless you power up to to where the bitterness becomes a factor, then it does finally get some flavor- though certainly nothing special, and still no aroma.

All in all, most any grocery store house brand is its equal in flavor. Possibly its price gives the edge if that is all you are after. I suppose you get what you pay for but I would take some of the warehouse brands (one in particular) over this any day, on both counts. The package has no consumer decipherable date or freshness information- perhaps wisely so. Judging by so many other glowing reviews and only a few like mine, perhaps this was just the last bag from the last sack in their Lexington, KY warehouse.

I couldn't agree more with the other reviewers. This coffee is rich and dark without the bite I dislike so much (I am not a Starbucks lover). I use these beans to brew regular, not espresso, coffee. And what a reasonable price! Goodbye to the brands I've been buying locally.

The 5 pound bag arrived. It was larger looking than expected! The first cup is the most important cup in our home-based taste test. I'm a chef, cookbook author, recipe tester, and self proclaimed coffee aficionado. I grind my beans. Although I did not notice an incredibly strong aroma, I did notice a subtle yet satisfying scent. The beans themselves appear to be even in color, which is a medium-dark. They have a welcomed slightly oily sheen. On first sip, I noticed the absence of any bitterness. Some folks like the bite; not me. It also has a good finish. I gave it 5 stars as an everyday type coffee. It is not what I would call gourmet, but then neither is the price. At 5 pounds you better be (and will enjoy) drinking it often! Without further adieu: this java jams.