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No more bad times, only good times in the good life. Today, I reviewed two offerings from BonLife Coffee that made me feel like I was living the good life. No seriously. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the company has direct relations with coffee farmers and are working to spread the good life there.
Tangent
In the early 90′s, scratch that. Google tells me that in the late 80′s there was a dance/techno song called “good life.” Thanks to BonLife Coffee this song has been in my head since two bags of coffee showed up from this Cleveland, Tennessee coffee roaster. If you’re looking for a song to get stuck in your head, I highly recommend searching Google for it. I will warn you that it is catch.
Also thanks to BonLife Coffee, I had two coffees to try – the Justice Espresso and their Costa Rica.
Interesting fact to note about BonLife. They use fair trade, direct from farmer beans in the coffees. Including beans from Thrive Farmers, one of my favorite coffee growing and importing operations out there.
The Drink: Justice Espresso from BonLife Coffee
Type: Whole Bean Blend
Background
Our house espresso with a secret blend of our direct trade farmer sourced beans taken a little darker for that nice smoky espresso.
My Review
Direct trade gets two thumbs up. But after being burnt by a few previous smoky espressos I was a little bit worried about this one. Far too often smoky espresso means over roasted to the point that the only flavors are burnt and charcoal. Not to mention that secret blends that don’t actually mention the origins of the beans worry me too. However, from the first hint of the aroma I had the feeling that I could let my guard down…at least a little. At least enough to give it a shot in my French Press.
The Justice Espresso‘s aroma was filled with a nutty aroma that mixes with a sweetness scents and hints of cinnamon, a lot like an awesome cinnamon roll. A hint or two of smokiness came out as it cooled.
It was a dark, strong coffee. Dark, but not over roasted. Definitely not burnt. Maybe the tiniest hint of charcoal flavor at the end, but it mixed well with the other flavor. I picked up on a delicious chocolate flavor that balanced out the rest of the sip.
From the french press, it was a sip that started smooth. It finished dusty with a bit of bitterness. It had a thick, heavy body.
Thirteen ounces of Justice Espresso Blend is $10.90 on their website. With a price like that, it could be an every day kind of coffee. If you’re looking for something strong that has the possibility of knocking your socks off in the morning.
Final Score
BonLife’s Justice Espresso earned an above average 3.5 out of five on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. It was the kind of strong, knock your socks in the morning kind of coffee. However, it also had a tasty chocolate flavor and a mostly smooth sip that I found very drinkable.
In case you were curious about why I used a french press instead of an espresso machine. I don’t have a quality espresso machine that’s safe to use for coffee reviews. The french press is also my standard for coffee reviews.
The Drink: Costa Rica from BonLifeCoffee
Type: Single Origin Whole Bean
Background
Nothing currently listed on website.
My Review
I couldn’t find anything about the Costa Rica on the BonLife website. Another thing that could’ve made me nervous. However, after tasting the Justice Espresso, I had a feeling that I was in for something good. It didn’t disappoint me.
I still would’ve loved to know more about the origins of the beans, but right away I knew that this was going to be my kind of coffee. The aroma was nutty like the Justice Espresso, but that was about the only similarity. The nutty aroma mixed with fruity scents. The fruit was a mix of apples, blueberries and maybe pineapples. I also picked up on vegetable scent that reminded me of something like a fresh salad. At the end, my nose picked up on a cinnamon, sweet mix. Okay, maybe that was similar to the aroma of the Justice Espresso too.
The sip was a scrumptious mix of wine, spices and nuttiness. In other words, yum. There was dark red wine, hints of chocolate and black pepper. As the sip faded away, my tongue was left coasted in a delicious blueberry like syrup.
Costa Rica from BonLife was super smooth with tingle of bitterness as the sip faded away. For those curious, it had a medium body and I’m guessing it was a medium roast.
No information on the price.
Final Score.
If you find this coffee whether it’s in the BonLife shop or if it pops up online, buy it. It earned a superb 4 out of 5 coffee mugs on the Daily Shot Of Coffee rating scale. In other words, I really liked it. It was loaded with aromas, flavors, unique characteristics, but it wasn’t over the top. It was just a great coffee to drink.
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Fine Print.
my tongue was left coasted in a delicious blueberry like syrup.
yum indeed Mike
not too many coffees can lay claim
to a blueberry finish.
most of them just finish and
that’s the end.
this one did sound better than good.
also – i appreciate your desire to know
more about secret beans and all that stuff.
I think it’s only fair to the coffee drinker to know what they’re drinking. I understand keeping the percentages in blends private, but everything else I think should be shared. It can be a positive selling point.