Customer Reviews

Lavazza Gold Selection Whole Bean Coffee, 2.2-Pound Bag

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been buying and brewing Lavazza coffee for about twenty years--beginning with the time that you could only get Lavazza by a) having someone shlep it from Italy for you, or b) driving down Canal street (if you ever had the displeasure of being stuck in NYC). For years I used the Pienaroma, which is a fantastic coffee, and typically billed by the coffee companies as being the same as the "gold" you get over in Italy. The Pienaroma is fantastic for cappuccino and lattes, but I think this gold is better for straight espresso.

The Pienaroma is 100% Arabica. Not sure exactly what's in the Gold, but the crema is amazing. I suspect Lavazza must drop in a little Robusto to give the Gold the great crema and a slight bite that I feel is missing in the Pienaroma. Some people mistake this taste, often referred to as "earthy" taste, for a burnt taste. I suggest brewing some espresso from the Gold and the Pienaroma side-by-side and tasting them at the same time. You'll appreciate this taste is missing in the Pienaroma, I suspect, and after that the Pienaroma will taste "flat" for straight espresso. Summary: if you don't drink espresso, stick with the Pienaroma as it is more economical and is a fantastic coffee. If you like espresso, give the Gold a shot and see what you think.

Disclaimer: I'm not a professional food taster, so all of the above is just one person's opinion. Surely you know what they say about opinions...

My guess is that the other reviewer used an inexpensive machine, just not the right amount or maybe a bad bag. It happens - we have all been there.

Anyway, we were very happy with the taste - especially considering the cost. Once we got the settings right on the Gaggia, every espresso and latte has been great. Blows Starbucks away.

I have been using this espresso for over a year in my commercial espresso machine, and have enjoyed the flavor. The Italians do not over roast there beans so you don't get the bitter Starbucks type flavor. The reason Starbucks over roasts their beans is, to hide a poor quality bean, they are about marketing not coffee. I really have to laugh when somebody compares Starbucks to Lavazza.

We love, love, love this espresso! We've tried almost all the lavazza coffees and this one is our favorite! We have a jura espresso machine and with this espresso we have the perfect latte every time. Highly recommend it!

I prefer the Lavazza Supercrema. This is a good coffee though. I recently found a local coffee made at the Wholefoods in my area and I find the in-store roasted espresso there unbelievable. So I stopped ordering these big bags at Amazon and buy locally instead. The Lavazza Rossa whole bean from Italy is the best Lavazza in my opinion but I can only find it in Italy. They have the ground Lavazza Rossa here but its not the same. The Rossa from Italy has great comlex flavors and I find it as good as the Illy in a red can. The Illy is terribly overpriced so I'll stick with the local stuff now.

I'm not surprised that this coffee is great.

When you use it with the right grinder and the right espresso machine to achieve a 30-seconds double shot you get incredible amount of crema and superb taste!

Amazon shipping was super fast too!!

Lavazza Gold has been a mainstay in my office for the past 5 or 6 years. Occasionally, I get the urge to try a different bean in my Jura Capresso super automatic, but I immediately return to the "Gold". Recently, I have been enjoying the "Crema y Aroma" from Lavazza as well. Highly recommend both! One of the advantages with Lavazza whole beans if you use a super automatic machine is that the beans are not oily so they don't gum up the hopper and grinder.

Lavazza has some of the smoothest expresso beans that I know. Not as harsh as Star Bucks expresso and makes a great Cappocino

I have a Rancilio Silvia v3 and I'm primarily writing this as an espresso review.

Excellent rich and yet balanced flavor. Great liquorice and dark chocolate flavors and aftertaste. Decent crema, although the production gets rapidly weaker if the beans are open for more than one week(but that's expected).

The price is also relatively affordable and per pound and is slightly cheaper than many of the nicer American brands out there(ie Peets or your local roast). I think I've found my daily brew.

Who this coffee isn't for...

-Dark Coffee drinkers. This isn't an ultra dark,oily, burnt(Starbucks drinkers I'm talking to you) roast. It was never intended to be one. If you make drip or French press coffee and you're used to dark roasts, this will underwhelm.

-Espresso snobs. This isn't Intelligencia. If you want Intelligencia, go buy Intelligencia. Most of Lavazza's roasts are meant to consumed in every day situations and every day affordable coffee. This also isn't Illy coffee and as much as I like their taste better, I do enjoy my fatter wallet.

I'm not too big on milk based espresso drinks, so can't really give any review there.

In conclusion, this is a solid everyday Italian espresso for those looking for something reliable to drink every day. It's forgiving enough that you don't have to make it to exacting standards with a mega dollar professional machine like some of the fancier roasts and it's not like having to slog through a can of Folgers.

If you want Starbucks or Intelligencia, go buy Starbucks or Intelligencia.

This coffee has a nice taste and I like it very much. It is a little bit overpriced but the quality worth to pay it.