Pacific Bay Coffee Co. Costa Rican

For the month of July I will be reviewing the Pacific Bay Coffee Co. Costa Rican variety. I really enjoyed this coffee and below you’ll read why.

First: a note on packaging. Their packaging is simple–brown coffee bags, a printed logo sticker, and a mailing label with the variety and roast date. It wasn’t mailed in anything fancy either. With some other coffees I have tried recently I actually appreciate this. It feels handmade and I don’t have to wonder if I am getting charged for packaging. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good presentation, but this was also nice.

The coffee beans were dark in color with just a touch of oil visible. They had a comforting toasty smell with no overpowering bitter or fragrant notes. When ground you still got some green bits. This is what they’re aiming for according to their website description of a “medium-to-light roasting technique”.

I brewed this coffee in the Chemex, with a pour-over cone, and in the French Press. French Press was by far my favorite method. Normally I brew less than the recommended 8 tablespoons for my 8-cup press, but this coffee was richer doing the full amount. The bloom is impressive. Within seconds it expands vertically about a quarter inch. I have no idea whether bloom technically matters as it pertains to the quality of coffee, but I use it as a measure of good coffee.

After the final stir you could actually see where the coffee bloom had risen to.

There was a lot of sediment in this coffee, but I think that either has to do with my French Press filter or my burr grinder. I don’t know why it would have anything to do with the coffee itself, but it was an observation nonetheless.

To me this coffee had a slightly bitter taste on the first sip, but after that I didn’t notice it. This coffee smells like the coffee you want to wake up to–traditional coffee with a touch of nuttiness. The perfect breakfast coffee in my opinion. The perfect sit out on the screened in porch before everyone is awake coffee.

I also think a cookie would complement this coffee wonderfully. I should try that. For science.

If you’re a lover of traditional coffees without all the fancy flavors, but are wanting something better than grocery store quality, I think this would be the perfect coffee to try. Let me know what you think if you try it!