The Drink: Marley Coffee One Love
Type: Ground Medium Roast, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Single Origin
Overall Rating: 3.25 Out 5 Coffee Mugs

My first review of Marley Coffee was their Get Up, Stand Up, one of several we received here at Daily Shot of Coffee. However my introduction to the company came well before that – back in February I received a sample of their One Love coffee through a promotional give-away. As I have learned more about Marley Coffee over the past few months, I have been impressed by the company’s spirit and energy. Some of it might just be good marketing, but from what I have tasted so far there are a lot of good flavors to get excited over.

The promotional coffee was an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe – ground, which made sense in the case of a giveaway: When I started reviewing coffee, I did an informal poll inquiring about acquaintances’ home coffee habits, and was surprised how few people owned a coffee grinder.

In a sealed foil bag, the many smells within a coffee dissipate quickly, but when I poured boiling water over the grounds, many of the original aromas came out. There was a fruity smell with hints of chocolate. After brewing the coffee in a Melita pour-over I sat down and relaxed with the pleasant smells wafting up from my cup. Along with the hint of fruit there was a smooth and mellow brightness. At the end I detected a subtle smoky aftertaste and was left with a faint tingle on my tongue.

This sample– my first taste of Marley Coffee — definitely did its job to peak my interest in the company’s offerings. Packaged ground coffee is always a little flat, but from the flavors I experienced I would expect the whole bean coffee to really pop.

Marley’s One Love, despite being ground, earned a respectable 3.25 out of 5 on the Daily Shot of Coffee scale.

You can order online from Marley Coffee’s website One Love Ground for $9.95 for an 8 oz. bag and One Love Whole Bean for $15.95 for a 12 oz. bag.

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Fine Print

Marley Coffee One Love: Helping your morning go right is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink:

I’ve been really fortunate to try a lot of rare and expensive coffees from around the world. However, I don’t think any is more unique than Kopi Luwak.

Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee is one of the most expensive and rarest coffees in the world. It also has a very unique production process. Did I mention unique.

Kopi Luwak is made from the beans of coffee cherries that have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet, a relative of the mongoose that’s about the size of a cat. The civets eat the cherries for their fleshly pulp, leaving the beans relatively untouched. The beans pass through the civet’s intestines, then are defected and picked by farmers.

Yes, it is what you think it is. After the beans are gathered, they are washed, dried in the sun and roasted. I’ve seen prices for a pound of Kopi Luwak reaching upwards of $600. The unique digestive processing in the animal’s stomach is supposed to reduce the bitterness of the beans and result in a more flavorful cup of coffee.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Kopi Luwak. It was featured in The Bucket List, a 2007 movie featuring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and every couple of week’s there’s a “news” story about the rare beans.

This isn’t my first time trying Kopi Luwak. I first tried it back in 2009 and I liked it. However, looking back now as a slightly more experienced coffee blogger I wonder if I was just caught up in the hype surrounding the expensive and rare beans.

Plus, the more I learned about how the beans were produced, the less I wanted to support them. The beans are completely washed and roasted at high temperatures so it isn’t a cleanliness issue. The issue is that the civets are kept locked away in tiny cages and force fed coffee cherries. Traditionally the civets are wild, but as Kopi Luwak great in popularity the civets were captured, locked away and treated inhumanely. I would’ve passed on Sea Island Coffee‘s Kopi Luwak until I read that the beans were collected in the forest and not on a factory farm.

Background

Extremely rare and coveted, Philippine Alamid Kopi Luwak coffee is produced by civets, a relative of the mongoose, who have a taste for the sweet, red coffee cherries that contain the beans. The beans pass through the civet after fermenting in the stomach and that’s what gives the coffee its unique taste and aroma. Collected from the jungle floor, then thoroughly washed and dried – this is the coffee that everyone’s been talking about.

With earthy Sumatra-like tones, the Philippine Alamid Kopi Luwak has a heavy, caramel body and low acidity, but also a nuance in the taste that is hard to put the finger on. Perhaps that is unsurprising given the unorthodox method of processing.

Origins: Philippines

Review

This Kopi Luwak greeted me with a thick aroma, that would describe as heavy if scents could have have a weight. The aroma was filled with milk chocolate and hints of caramel.

It had a very smooth sip, that reminded me of a thin syrup with a bit of dustiness as it faded away.

As for as taste, it was mix of earthiness and dark chocolate. There was a hint of spices right before it faded away.

Fifty grams or about 1/10th of a pound is £15.49 (they do ship anywhere in the world). Roughly translated that’s about $25 for a small bag or $250 per pound. It’s not an every day kind of coffee that’s for sure.

Final Score

Overall, I liked Sea Island Coffee’s Philippine Alamid – Kopi Luwak and can say for certain that I wasn’t caught up in the hype this time. It was good, had a unique taste and a very smooth body. I don’t know if it’s better than some of the other expensive and rare coffees that I’ve tried, but I would have it again.

Should you try this coffee? It’s probably not for everyone, but if you like a little bit of adventure mixed in with your coffee, it’s not going to kill you. Give it a shot.

Have you tried Kopi Luwak? What did you think?

Stay tuned later this week, I’m reviewing two other rare coffees from Sea Island Coffee including Jamaica Blue Mountain.

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Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

Fine Print.

Rare, Expensive And Very Unique: Kopi Luwak From Sea Island Coffee Review is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink:

I first heard about Carolina Coffee Co from Damon, the son of the owners. He told me that his mom and dad ran a small coffee company and wanted to know if I would be interested in trying some of their coffee.

I’ll pretty much accept any offer to try a coffee, unless it’s healthy coffee but I wasn’t super excited about this one. It was a small coffee company that I had never heard of before, not a lot of background information about the beans and it was kind of like when some random guy on the street that has a car that he wants to sell you for cheap.

I was expecting a car something generic, and while it wasn’t a Ferrari, it ended up being a really solid coffee.

Background

The darker roast reveals a big smooth body with hints of sweet grapefruit and notes of moist earth. Deep but refined!

Origin: Sumatra, Indonesia

Review

My test drive started with an aroma filled with chocolate and a candy sweetness. There were hints a melon and tangerine flavored candies that mixed in. There was light aroma of a smoky dark roast, but I knew quickly that this wasn’t just a generic Sumatra.

Based on past Sumatras, I was expecting something super dark and super heavy, but based on the aromas I wasn’t sure what I was going to taste.

There was a darkness that hit me first. It was a thick, heavy coffee with a smoky taste. It was the kind of coffee that my dad who survived Army coffee could appreciate. But underneath that was a smoothness filled with sweet flavors. There were hints of melons, hints of rock candy flavors that gave me (someone who usually enjoys lighter coffees) something to enjoy. The after taste had hints of an ashy flavor and left a dusty feeling on my tongue, but this wasn’t what I was expecting from a small coffee company that I had never heard of before. It wasn’t over roasted and it had lots of flavors that weren’t hidden underneath flavors of ashes and burnt bark.

A one pound bag of Indonesia-Sumatra (Blue Batak) from Carolina Coffee Co is $16.95.

Overall Carolina Coffee Co’s Indonesia-Sumatra earned an above average 3.5 on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. I wouldn’t mind trying some more from this company in the future and whether you’re a light roast fan or a dark roast drinker, if you get a chance, you should check them out too.

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Fine Print

Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

A Dark Roast To Enjoy: Indonesia-Sumatra (Blue Batak) by Carolina Coffee Co is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

I recently started getting my coffee from the Go Coffee Go website, and my first order for the month of May was DOMA’s Colombia Organic, which is a medium light roast. I tend to think that the lighter roasts bring out the true flavor in coffee, but that is just my opinion. This is the second coffee I have tried from DOMA, and I was excited to try this one. Before I get too far into the review, I want to give you a little history and information on DOMA as a company. DOMA is a roaster is Post Falls Idaho, founded by a husband and wife team in 2000. DOMA is part of Cooperative Coffees, which means that they buy all of their coffee directly from the farmer. DOMA has coffee available from all over the world, some single origin, some blends, and even some Decaf. Needless to say, DOMA is an ethically sound business, focusing on good coffee, fair trade, and sustainability.

My coffee arrived on May 4^th and I was greeted with an aroma that was asking me to brew a cup in the press! I put some in the grinder and the aroma was floral, mixed with earthiness; I was really looking forward to tasting it. Once I got it in the French Press, the aroma moved to a strong cocoa, with floral and maple syrup coming up as well. I let it cool down just a little bit before I tasted it and once I did, it had a full body, like syrup, with flavors of fruit followed by that strong cocoa, which was initially in the aroma, and a very smooth aftertaste. It was a fantastic cup of coffee, one that I did not want to end! I would give it a 4 on the Daily Shot of Coffee meter, and I would strongly recommend this coffee to anyone who is interested in good coffee. I will be purchasing some of their other coffee in the future, and from my experience with them as a company, I think I will be impressed.

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Mike Brown is a US Army Veteran, currently working with veterans entangled in the criminal justice system and link them to services in hopes of diverting them from jail. He lives in the “burbs” of Philadelphia and works in the city. He is happily and recently (4/16/11) married. He is very passionate about coffee, especially good coffee!

Fine Print.

DOMA Colombia Organic is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink: Marley Coffee Get Up, Stand Up
Type: Whole Bean Light Roast, Central and South American Coffees (Blend)
Overall Rating: 4 Out 5 Coffee Mugs

Bob Marley’s son Rohan remembers hearing his father say he was going to stop playing music one day and just farm. Though the elder Marley never fulfilled that wish, Rohan Marley did so for him when he bought a 52 acre farm in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains in 1999. In 2007, he used the land to launch Marley Coffee.

According to the Marley Coffee website, Marley Coffees are USDA Organic and/or Fair Trade Certified, but what guides the company is a commitment to uplift people in rural areas. In One Cup of Coffee, a 20 minute film on Marley Coffee, Rohan Marley says sustainable farming and not using pesticides are good for the farms and their families, today and in the future. Marley Coffee also works with farms throughout the world in order to offer a variety of coffees.

My opening the bag of Get Up, Stand Up let out a range of pleasant aromas and contained beautifully shaped, even-toned brown beans. I first noticed a very sweet smell, like chocolate covered cherries. After emptying the bag into a storage container I smelled a strong nuttiness with molasses in the background. The nutty aroma came out stronger in the ground coffee. When the water hit the coffee in my french press, roasted hazelnuts came to mind — sweet, even and mellow.

There was a rich range of flavors present and a nice even brightness that contributed a lemony zing. I tasted sweetness like dried fruit. I also experienced the taste of red wine.

Overall I really enjoyed this coffee and was impressed by the interestingly complex array of aromas and tastes I experienced.

A representative from Marley Coffee I spoke with told me Rohan Marley didn’t want to do it if he couldn’t do it right. From what I tasted there is a lot being done right in this coffee.

Get Up, Stand Up earned an above average 4 out of 5 on the Daily Shot of Coffee scale.

You can order Get Up, Stand Up online from Marley Coffee’s website for $9.95 for a 12 oz. bag.

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Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

Fine Print

Marley Coffee Get Up, Stand Up: A little heaven on earth is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

One love, One heart
Let’s get together and feel all right

Coffee and music flow together. Walk into a coffee shop and listen to the music playing in the background. Stop by later and the coffee shop is transformed into mini-performance halls for up and coming musicians. Caffeine flows though the body, perking up the emotions as it vibrates with your soul.

Marley Coffee is of course heavily influenced by music. The founder of the company is Rohan Marley, the son of the late reggae singer Bob Marley. Their bags of coffee are decorated with words and images inherited from singer’s music. It’s hard not to break into a song when brewing a cup of One Love.

Background Info:

One Love, one heart, 100% Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. From the birthplace of coffee, exotic floral and berry notes tantalize your palate. Brew an extra cup, and “Let’s get together and feel all right.”

Origin: Africa

One Love Review:

One Love hit me with a smooth, light blueberry aroma with hints of lemon, a perfect example of a coffee from the Yirgacheffe region. There were light hints of chocolate and a sweet lemon aroma that took over as the cup cooled.

Some Yirgacheffe’s overwhelm with loads of blueberry or wine flavors. One Love was more mature and balanced than that. It had a touch of blueberry flavor that mixed with a smooth nuttiness. As it cools, the song becomes sweeter and the fruity flavors turn darker. There was a milk chocolate taste that mixed with hints of lemon. Before the music stopped, there was an earthiness that mixed in with tart and spicy hints as the sip faded away.

Eight ounces of of One Love is $9.95, about the average price of an album on iTunes.

Final Score:

Did the music hit me? I think it’s safe to say that it did. One Love earned an excellent rating, 4 on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. It’s loaded with flavors, but they don’t overwhelm. I think it’s the kind of coffee that a variety of music lovers could enjoy.

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Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

Fine Print.

Music Meets Coffee: One Love From Marley Coffee is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink:

This morning I woke up caffeine flowed though my body thanks to Mystic Morning from Marley Coffee.

This isn’t my first tango with Marley Coffee. The first time I tried Mystic Morning it was back in 2009 when I was just a stumbling around coffee reviewer (not much has changed) and Marley Coffee was an emerging specialty roaster with a mission to sell more than just coffee. Their mission hasn’t changed, but they have more than just a foothold into the coffee world now.

Marley Coffee was started by Rohan Marley, the son of the music legend Bob Marley. Rohan’s family has a long history of involvement in coffee and farming. Bob Marley always wanted to return back to his farming roots, but was never able to before he passed away. Rohan’s grandmother dried wild coffee berries in the sun, hulled them and roasted them for her own cup every morning.

Now Marley Coffee is involved in coffee from all over the world, including Central America, Ethiopia and of course Jamaica where they have a 52 acre private estate in the Blue Mountains. Marley Coffee supports growing communities and the environment through ethical, organic and sustainable practices. Mystic Morning is Fair Trade and USDA Organic certified.

Background Info:

Mystic Morning gives you the perfect jumpstart to your day, blending Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with the finest Grade 1 beans from Central America. This vibrant, medium-bodied coffee proudly displays cocoa, cinnamon & spice flavors, along with a sparkling acidity that will help “straighten out your today.”

Origin : Central America and Africa

Review:

Marley Coffee has a story, but how is the coffee?

I’m glad you asked! Mystic Morning woke me up with an aroma that had an earthiness to it, along with a combination of hints of spices, chocolate and slight scent of peppermint.

It had a medium-light body that was mostly smooth and a tiny amount of bitterness in the after taste.

The flavors were just as mouth watering as the aroma. The first wave of flavor had a milk chocolate with a black pepper spiciness that reminded me of a coffee from Central America. There was sweet chocolate in the middle that was followed by a spicy hotness like buffalo wings (Don’t worry, it doesn’t actually taste like wings, just had a hint of similar spices.). As it faded away, I picked up lemon hints with citrus tartness that reminded me of some Ethiopian coffees. Their descriptions says it’s a medium roast, but to me the taste was more medium-dark.

Twelve ounces of Mystic Morning runs at $15.95.

Final Score:

Overall, I enjoyed Mystic Morning and it earned a solid 3.5 on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. I would’ve liked a little bit more of the Yirgacheffe flavors and a slightly lighter roast, but I know a lot of dark roast drinkers that would enjoy this one.

Stay tuned for more Marley Coffee reviews.

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Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

Fine Print.

Waking Up With Mystic Morning From Marley Coffee is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

How The Group Coffee Tasting Works

Every month, one coffee is selected by readers for the group review. About two weeks later (hopefully, long enough for it to get from the roaster to your house), we do the actual review. As you can see below, the format is the same except for the invitation to give you thoughts on the coffee. What you smell, what you taste and whether you like it or not. When we start doing these group tastings on a regular basis, I think it would entertaining, fun and informative to see what multiple people think of the coffee and not just me. Of course, you’re always welcome to join in on any of the coffee reviews, but with this system you’ll have advanced notice of the coffee up for review.

This Month’s Coffee: Higher Ground’s Papua New Guinea – Dark
Type: Whole Bean – Dark Roast

I’m pretty excited that this month you guys/gals picked a Papua New Guinea – dark from Higher Ground. I’ve been a big fan of this coffee roaster since I first tried a coffee from them a couple of years ago. They’re known for their high quality coffee roasting – they won Roast Magazine’s Micro-Roaster Of The Year in 2008 and for their mission. Every one of their coffees is Fair Trade, Organic and Shade Grown. There’s a lot to like about them.

Background Info:

Papua New Guinea is an exotic cup with a bright hint of apple and a subtle wine taste. A very distinct Indonesian coffee, the Papua New Guinea is full flavored with a smooth finish.

Roast: Dark
Body: Full, smooth
Acidity: Bright
Notes: Apple, white wine
Elevation: 1200-1600 meters
Varietal: Borboun
Process: Wet-Process

Review:

When tasting a coffee for the first time, I recommend not looking at the notes from the roaster on what they think it smell and tastes like. I find that their notes can influence what I detect.

This coffee had a nose tickling delicious aroma. I detected the aromas of a freshly rolled cigar, spices and herbal scents. When I describe the aromas, it’s just hints underneath the more generic coffee aroma. It’s these hints that make each coffee unique.

Next, I looked at how it feels on my tongue. It had a smooth feel at the start, that was followed by a mild bitterness halfway through. It was a medium body, kind of like 2% milk. A heavy body is more like whole milk. A light body is like fat free milk.

I tasted the coffee twice. Once when it was just below pipping hot and wouldn’t burn my tongue. Then I sipped it again after it cooled down some (about five minutes later). I’ve noticed that at different temperatures, different flavors comes out.

A dark roast flavor greeted my tongue. It wasn’t over roasted (burnt), just a subtle ashy flavor. Underneath that were hints of cigar (imagine the flavors you taste as you smoke a cigar), black pepper led a mix of spices and a stronger ashy flavor that coated my tongue as the sip faded away. Like the aroma, these hints were underneath the traditional coffee flavors and they’re just characteristics uniqueness to each coffee. For the most part, when I write that a coffee has something like hints of strawberries, it’s not strong flavors like a flavored coffee. It’s just a subtle hint of flavor that is barely there.

Final Score:

Overall, Higher Ground’s Papua New Guinea – Dark, earned an above average 3.5 on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. If it were me, I’d want it slightly less roasted so that I could pick up on more of the flavors – maybe the apple and white wine. However, I still think it’s a good coffee that a lot of dark roast coffee drinkers would enjoy because it still has lots of flavors beyond the dark roast taste.

What did you think of this coffee? What did you smell? What did you taste? Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Everyone has their own palate.

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Fine Print.

Higher Ground – Papua New Guinea – Dark: Group Tasting #1 is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink: My Coffee Guru Guru’s Gourmet Blend
Type: Whole Bean Mild Roast, Central American and African Coffees (Blend)
Overall Rating: 3.70 Out 5 Coffee Mugs

This is the last of five coffees that I received from My Coffee Guru, a specialty roaster owned and managed by Sherry Dunbar. Sherry spent eleven years working for one the largest coffee companies in the world as a roasting technician and then quality specialist, and has been extremely generous in sharing her knowledge with me. What I have come to appreciate most in the coffees from My Coffee Guru are the blends. Guru’s Gourmet Blend was no exception.

I was formally trained in photography; I have stared at and critiqued thousands of photographs over the years. Photographs that I tend to spend the most time with exhibit a balance between the simple and the complex. The simplicity lies in being instantly drawn in because the image is so clearly inviting. The complexity then comes in when spending time with the photograph and noticing wonderful, subtle details that add depth to the image. There was a lot going on in Guru’s Gourmet blend, like in a great photograph.

When I opened the bag there appeared to be three different varieties in the blend. The beans gave off what I would describe as a mellow aroma. No overpowering elements, just a rich combination of different smells, sweet and nutty.
After steeping the coffee in my french press I sat down but the window in my favorite coffee evaluation chair. In that first sip I smelled a garden vegetable aroma, a spicy pepper smell and a smoky sensation in the back of the throat. I could taste chocolate as the coffee touched my tongue, and a real nice even depth with a medium body. There was a subtle brightness at the end. Guru’s Gourmet blend was extremely smooth.

Guru’s Gourmet Blend provided me with a relaxing, rich coffee experience. It earned an above-average 3.70 out of 5 on the Daily Shot of Coffee Scale.

You can order Guru’s Gourmet Blend online from My Coffee Guru. The price is $8.25 for a 12 oz. bag and $10.25 for a 16 oz. bag.

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Fine Print

My Coffee Guru Guru’s Gourmet Blend: A sip is worth a thousand words is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink: My Coffee Guru Remington Blend
Type: Whole Bean Dark Roast (Blend)
Overall Rating: 3.35 Out 5 Coffee Mugs

The coffees from My Coffee Guru are a value, typically a few dollars less than most specialty roasters. Despite this, the company manages to contribute a percentage of the profits from some of its coffees to charity. The Remington blend is one of these. It is named in honor a dog named Remmy, a canine cancer survivor, and the money goes to the National Canine Cancer Foundation. Sherry Dunbar, My Coffee Guru manager says, “Donating to help find a cure is a way for me to fight back.”

Upon opening the Remington Blend package, I experienced a pleasantly dark aroma along with a fruity sweetness. I ground the coffee for my french press and had the feeling of sitting next to a campfire when the water hit the grinds. In my first sip the smoky aroma hit my nasal passages and I tasted a slight bitterness on the tongue. Further into the cup it mellowed out and was replaced by a very pleasant smoothness that dominated and a subtle brown sugar taste. The Remington Blend has a full body that lingers on the tongue and ends with an acidity finish. The Remington Blend is a strong morning coffee with a boldness that made me think of taking a deep breath on a cold morning. The smoothness would make it a perfect coffee for those mornings with a long to do list. The Remington Blend earned 3.35 on the Daily Shot of Coffee Scale.

The Remington Blend is available online from My Coffee Guru. A 12 ounce bag is $7.25 and a 16 ounce bag and $9.25.

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Fine Print

My Coffee Guru Remington Blend: Going to the dogs is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee