Whole Bean (Signature Roast (Medium/Dark) (12 Oz)

My husband and I love coffee. Coffee is life. There is no life without coffee. Coffee is happiness in a delicious liquid form.But not just *any* coffee, and not just "good" or "pretty good" coffee. It must be great coffee. It must be AWESOME coffee. Very rarely, we come across amazing AWESOME coffee.We usually bought a bag of a big-brand coffee at the grocery store. Until that one fateful day it was substituted for. . . something different.Fara Coffee."What is this?" husband asked. "I've never heard of it."I had no idea. At first, we were confused. Discombobulated, even. We sniffed at it. We gently poked the bag, not wanting to upset it, if it was friendly. We asked this bag of coffee if it was from Earth. The words on the bag lovingly told us it was roasted in Austin, Texas. Being new to Austin, this new coffee was new to us."Let's try it," I suggested, carefully. The husband nodded, determined, and we began.When we first opened this bag of coffee. . . I don't know how to describe it. It was like music to our olfactory senses. It was rich, and fresh. And I still swear to you this day, that this coffee sang to me and smiled, if only for a brief moment.We decided to make a full pot of this Fara Coffee. As it brewed, the aroma filled the kitchen, then the dining area, then the living room. It was not overwhelming, it was comforting. It was fresh.Then, it was time.I poured a cup for myself and one for my husband. The steam, the colour, the aroma, it was all there, almost hypnotic. We slowly sipped our coffee, and then suddenly realized our cups were empty and we were both grinning.Oh, glorious day! This Fara Coffee was amazingly AWESOME! The flavour was full, and I still could not get over the freshness. It had a lovely aftertaste. I decided to add a bit of sugar and cream. It was perfection in a coffee cup, sitting on my counter.We will not go back to the other coffees as long as we have access to Fara Coffee.The moral of the story is: Don't be afraid to try new things, and don't discredit small companies because they are not a massive corporation. Step out of your box o' the norms. You may just discover something amazingly AWESOME. Just like we discovered Fara Coffee.Thank you, Fara Coffee! It's nice to know y'all aren't FARAway from us.Keep it weird, my friends.

Great flavor

I enjoyed this product. It makes an espresso with some crema that is rustic without the aftertaste. I have blended it with 25% Kona Coffee to have a step up from typical Kona blends, which are 10%. I like this brand and will buy again.

I like everything about Fara coffees! This one is good, but my personal favorite is Fara's Special Blend.

I tried this coffee as a lady from work told me it was her favorite, and I’m always looking for that perfect cup of coffee. Mind you it wasn’t bad but I myself found it pleasing smooth but just not enough flavor for me so I’m sill on the hunt for the perfect coffee.

Very smooth not bitter.

I have no idea what "sheerness" and coffee might be. Have loved coffee in all guises. After 2 weeks in Nicaragua years ago I knew this was coffee from artisinal growers. Roasted in Austin, overnight delivery, ethically grown.

SUMMARYFlavor is personal, but I think that Fara Signature Roast coffee is comparable to most medium roast coffee, and it is at a similar price when purchased in the large 2.2 lb bag. It is “Rainforest Alliance” certified. Although it doesn’t particularly stand out, I would be happy to drink it every day.My PreferencesI prefer medium roasted beans with caramel, roast and nutty flavors. I grind my beans immediately before brewing in an espresso maker. Like most Americans, I drink my coffee with milk (4%) and sugar, and a purist would say (correctly) that this hides nuances of flavor.ComparisonSam’s Club Columbian Supremo beans (medium-dark roast) are claimed to have notes of chocolate and hazelnut and I agree, but there are also dark “burnt” notes. 8 O’clock Original (medium roast) claims to be sweet and fruity which is a less informative description, but I would say caramel, roasted, and maybe fruity. Hills Bros. Premium Gourmet (medium roast) says “subtle notes of chocolate”, but I would say it is roughly similar to 8 O’Clock. Fara only says it is “richly aromatic with earthy notes and spices”, but I would say nothing particularly stands out except some nutty flavors. 2nd opinion (my wife who is sensitive to earthy flavors): she says it is definitely earthy and she did not like it.Fair TradeFara coffee is from an “American Non-profit that works to improve the livelihood of coffee workers,” and it is “Rainforest Alliance Certified” from “mountainous rainforest of Matagalpa, Nicaragua.” Sam’s Club Columbian Supremo coffee beans are “Fair Trade Certified,” and they are “ethically sourced from small coffee farmers in the mountains of Columbia.” In contrast, neither Hills Bros. nor 8 O’Clock claims anything, and their beans can come from anywhere in the world. I don’t know much about this, but I suppose any certification is better than none.FreshnessThe Fara package was stamped with an expiration date of 3/30/21, and it also had an additional date of 3/30/20 which I assume is the roasting date. I commend Fara for putting BOTH dates on the package! The others had “Best If Used By” dates of: Sam’s Columbian = 11/21/21; Hills Bros. = 9/21/21; 8 O’Clock = 4/23/21. Fara was the least fresh, and this might have affected how I judged the flavor. The open bags of whole beans had aromas roughly in proportion to their expiration dates (Fara just had a mild coffee bean aroma).PriceFara coffee is most economical when purchased in the large 2.2 lb bag, and then the cost is (currently) similar to the everyday price of Hills Bros. and 8 O'Clock coffee at my local supermarket, but it is substantially more expensive than Sam’s Club Club Member’s Mark Colombian Supremo coffee beans.