5 LB Don Pablo Colombian Decaf

I started drinking decaf (well, mostly decaf. I add a scoop and a half of regular to my half pot in the mornings) a year ago and it's been an endless waste of time to find an good yet economical decaf. I was using Starbucks Decaf Pike Place which is really good but expensive. After reading the reviews I decided to try Cafe Don Pablo Decaf. I have to admit I was a little leery because Colombian coffees usually fall short in delivering a well rounded smooth yet bold cup of decaf coffee. One of the reviews I read had a response from Don Pablo explaining "why" this bean is different i.e. altitude it's grown at, how it's decaffeinated etc...and I can say it is true, it is different. This Colombian is not the same as other Colombian roast and especially for a decaf. Another valuable tidbit of info. I discovered from reading the owner responses to customer comments that the temperature of the water you start out with makes a difference with decaf coffee. I've always heard that it's better to use cold water to get the freshest brew of coffee but I'm finding out that if it's too cold it actually weakens the coffee. I tested that theory and have included my personal findings below. I have a Hamilton Beach Flex Brew. I use the carafe, that I preset the prior evening, to be fully brewed when I wake up. After that I use the mesh filter basket (not a kcup style, rather the small mini basket) for single cups of coffee if I want more. I grind my beans fresh, enough for a few days at a time, storing the ground in an airtight mason jar and the unused beans in an airtight container in their original bag. My grinder is a Hamilton Beach Custom Grind and has 2 percolator; 1 drip and 2 espresso settings. I unintentionally ground the first round of beans at the 2nd espresso setting, the finest of the espresso settings. It was close to, if not, turkish grind, powdery. I made a single cup and the coffee using that extra fine grind and water that was cool but not like ice water. It had that weak and light roast cheap Colombian flavor, blach!. I decided to see if it, the extra fine grind, would taste different if made in the carafe rather than the single cup. It was better 1) because the water, having sat in the well of the coffee maker all night was now at room temp and 2) carafe coffee is always better than single cup. BUT, it still had that "off" taste from the grounds being too fine, but wasn't flavorless and weak due to the water being too cold. Next, I ground another batch using the grind I normally use which is the first of the two espresso grinds; so, not powdery but significantly finer than drip. Measured water to 8 on the carafe, added 1 1/2 scoops of regular (Starbucks Verona) and 4 scoops of Don Pablo Decaf. Set the timer, went to bed, and the morning carafe brew was GREAT! It was flavorful and not flat and had a very nice smooth yet well rounded and robust flavor. Later I tried it in the single cup mesh brew basket, 3 scoops of Don Pablo Decaf, cold water and it tasted a bit flat and weaker than the carafe brew. I made another single cup a few minutes ago using room temp water and 3 scoops of Don Pablo Decaf in the mesh brew basket and it was GREAT! I think that grinding it at drip grind would be too weak for me. I like a stronger cup of coffee so the espresso, not turkish, grind is good for that. I do like that this bean is "medium-dark" roast. If you're worried about it being too strong just use a more course grind. This "medium-dark" roast is not the same as Starbucks medium or dark roast. The beans are very dark and they are oily but not over roasted. I think some people who don't care for strong coffee will shy away when they see "medium-dark". You're missing out if you do. This is a really good coffee. I also love that it's not processed with chemicals. Starbucks is. I'm now paying half of what I was paying for decaf coffee. Just a note about creamer; I've read a lot of reviews for various single cup coffee makers, customers saying that they don't heat the water hot enough. I always warm my half and half for a few seconds to get the chill off so it doesn't cool the coffee off so fast. I've found this is effective whether I'm using the carafe brew or the single cup brew. **UPDATE: After writing this review I noticed that the bag says they recommend one well rounded tablespoon per 6 oz cup and their description of the grind they use matched the espresso grind I use. So, I measured my scoop against their description of a tablespoon and my scoop does make a well rounded tablespoon, not level but a nice rounded mound on top. I used the exact amount they recommended, 8 scoops to 8 6 oz. cups in my carafe (measured to the 8 line on the carafe) and it made a very robust and strong cup of coffee! I like it that way though. I mentioned above that I was using about 5 1/2 scoops and that made it a really good cup of coffee, smooth and full flavored but adding the extra 2 1/2 scoops really boosted the strength. I do use half and half so having a stronger cup of coffee is great for me.

We were at the Disney Food & Wine Festival last year where a local coffee producer in Florida had a seminar on using their coffee in a French press. We tasted it, and were sold on using a French press to make coffee in the morning. So, after we returned home from the Disney trip, we purchased a coffee grinder and a French press on Amazon so we could reproduce the great coffee we had at Disney World. We liked the coffee of this local maker, but can't get it back where we live in Illinois and shipping costs from Florida are expensive and do not make it worthwhile to order this on-line. So, we looked for alternate sources of coffee to go with our grinder and French press. Brands of coffee beans that we could find at our supermarkets here did not measure up to our experience in Florida, so, I looked on Amazon for a source for good roasted coffee beans and ran across this brand which had good reviews. We wanted to try a decaf, so picked this particular Columbian whole bean decaf coffee for a taste test. Sure glad we did. Nice packaging, and when we opened the top, the wonderful coffee aromas just wafted around the room. It smelled so good, we had to get the grinder out and make a carafe to drink. Grinding you own coffee and then using a French press to make your coffee is a lot of trouble but the taste experience is worth the trouble. Plus, you have to boil a pot of water to pour over the ground coffee in the French press. Then you have the cleanup afterwards that takes some time. But all this work is worth the great taste you get in the end. We will definitely be trying some of Don Pablo's other regular coffees down the road.

This is not my favorite coffee. But I say that as a coffee snob. I use this to make espresso, cappuccinos, drip coffee, aero press and nitro cold brew. It does a decent job with all of them. I cannot find a single decaf coffee bean that holds a candle to Lavazza's Super Crema when it comes to making a nice espresso, and no, Lavazza's Dek does not come close. But I'm comparing this to the the other decaf coffees that I buy, and it's definitely above average while being one of the cheapest per pound decaf coffees I can buy as I write this. If the price were the same, I'd personally take the 5LB Subtle Earth Organic Decaf over the 5LB Don Pablo Colombian Decaf, which is the same company. I also really like Organic Coffee Co.'s Gorilla Decaf and Hurricane Espresso if I'm looking for a medium-dark roast coffee bean. That said, this is an enjoyable variation in my coffee bean rotation. I like to start the day with a Super Crema Americano that there is no decaf equivalent for. My cold brew process involves sifting beans, so I use the sifted fines to make cappuccinos and Americanos. For cold brew, darker roasts tend to have a big advantage over medium-dark roasts, and that's true in this case. I still use these beans primarily in the espresso machine and Hario cold brew pots. They make fine drip coffee, but if I have the time, I'd prefer not to have drip coffee. They also make a good cup with an Aeropress. I actually haven't bothered to make a French Press batch with this coffee, so for all I know, I've yet to try them where they really shine. That said, I think "above-average Swiss Water process Columbian decaf" is a fair summary of these beans, and at the price they sell for, that's worth a five-star review from me.

Ever since I visited the country seven years ago I became hooked on Columbian coffee, and have drank it, actually too much of it, for many years. I have used it in De Longhi coffee machines, but now have a Melitta T-Smart which I'd thoroughly reecommend. I take my coffee white with frothed milk, no sugar, but I like it strong. We all have different tastes so lets not criticise other reviews or coffees. I say this because I've tried many coffees with excellent reviews, which have - lets say - not been to my taste. So as a benchmark, I prefer Costa to Starbucks, and usually have an extra shot of coffee in a large cappacino or even a white Americano. My favourite full caff was Costco (not Costa) Columbian, and Absolute star at only £9 per 2lb bag. This year I was told by my doctor to switch to decaff. But for me all the Colombian decaffs I try lack intensity and many taste weak or even a bit strange. Best so far are Coffee Direct, (weak) Coffee Masters (better), I also tried Costco San Francisco Decaff (which at half the price), I found to be best of all. But no sooner had I used it, than they deleted it from their catalogue! My wife bought me an expensive Peruvian decaff which was excellent from a local roaster. But he has supply problems! So its back to Amazon and continue my search for the Holy Grail , (or even just a decent coffee to put in it.). Don Pablo. A little bit more expensive than the others (double the price of Costco) but wow. By that I mean WOW. This is excellent stuff. Its the first coffee ive tasted that has that lovely deep intense Columbian richness. Smooth, sweet, (without sugar), not bitter at all. A beutifil lingering aftertaste that just cries out - make another cofffee! I love it. I can't believe it is decaff. Gracias Don Pablo Update - it seems if you say nice thngs about Don Pablo the reward is a 40% price hike. Its gone from £15.99 to £21.99 for a bag. Sorry Mr pablo, your coffee is good but not that good looking at alternatives again

délicieux mais malheureusement plus en vente pourquoi ?????????

No tengo claro que sea de Colombia (si lo es, de los de peor calidad de allí) y tampoco si está descafeinado con el método Swiss Water. Desde luego lo que me parece es torrefacto, tanto por el sabor (amargo, amargo) como por el brillo (ya al abrir el paquete me mosqueó ese brillo). Añado una foto: el de la izquierda es este café y el de la derecha otro descafeinado que suelo usar. Aunque la foto no es muy buena, creo que se puede ver la diferencia en el brillo (este brillante y el otro mate) e incluso en el tamaño del grano (este es bastante más pequeño).

Thought it’s powder later realised it’s coffee beans :)

This is an amazing coffee, probably the best I've ever drunk, let alone the best I've tried at home. Over the 8 years or so that I've been using a coffee machine, I"ve tried various regular and decaf beans - a selection of Lavazza, Taylors, Costa, Rave and supermarkets' own brands but none have been as good as these Don Pablo. The added bonus is that they're decaf, too so I csn drink them in the evening too. I like my coffee with a strong taste but do not enjoy bitterness. This coffee can be made strong without the usual bitterness. I'm sure it's equally delicious if made weaker. There is only one downside and that is the price but I guess its the same old story...you get what you pay for. I can see this replacing my Costa. regular beans AND Lavazza decaf.