San Francisco Bay Coffee Whole Bean, French Roast, 32 Ounce (Pack of 2)

I have been looking for a quality, dark roast, whole bean coffee. Having tried "Eight O'clock", Cameron's, and Millstone french roasts and Starbucks Verona, none were worth bragging about and left me wanting. I typically like Starbucks coffee but the Verona beans were not oily at all the two times I ordered them through Amazon. I decided to take a chance on the San Francisco Bay French Roast. When the package arrived I was very optimistic when I noticed how oily the beans were and the great aroma of the beans. That next morning I had a terrific cup of coffee, not chalky at all. I have had to increase the amount of beans in the past because the other coffee beans lacked the richness and the ability to compete with my half/half creamer but I took a chance with the San Francisco Bay beans and reduced the amount of beans slightly when I saw how oily the beans were. What a treat, the creamer didn't overpower the coffee and that is so critical for me and a great indicator of the quality of the beans. I am no expert but the oiliness of the beans seem to be extremely critical and the San Francisco Bay beans certainly were oily and all the beans were very evenly dark. Great coffee!This paragraph is an update to my initial review. I have since received five more orders of this bean and it has maintained great consistency each time. I now store the beans in the Friis 16-Ounce Coffee Vault and it has made a difference in that the beans maintain there freshness and don't dry out. I am now looking for a new coffee maker as I noticed the flavor recently drop off until I tried the beans in another coffee pot and the flavor was much better. It was then that I learned that the brewing temperature is extremely important. The brewing temperature is supposed to be between 195 - 205 degrees. My coffee maker is quite old and it doesn't seem to steam as much nor does the smell permeate through the house as it once did so it is time to upgrade the brewer.

My boss bought a package of this coffee for the office, and we love it, but we live 6 hours away from a costco so we were all quite bummed when we ran out. It's so nice to be able to go to Amazon and order it when we are running low. This is such a great coffee. Everyone is a fan of it from the people here at work who like very strong coffee and drink it black, to the people who use lots of cream, and like a mild taste. This is just the perfect coffee!EDIT!!!We used to buy this coffee religiously but seriously Amazon you jumped the price up $25 and removed it from Prime and you still expect people to buy it. You can buy this for $14 a bag at Costco who would be dumb enough to buy it now at nearly $30 a bag. Fix the price and I will go back to rating this as a 5 star deal.

Terrific coffee at a great price. I've been drinking this coffee every morning for years. It's got a nice rich roasted taste, like any good French Roast... very aromatic. It has a nice bite to the taste... not wimpy, like most lighter brown coffees, and not too acidic, like Peets and Starbucks tend to be. This brand doesn't upset my stomach, although the other two I mentioned usually do.Sometimes I grind it every day, and sometimes I grind up a batch in advance. It seems to hold its flavor.The bag is bit sloppy if you leave the beans in it. When you're getting down to the bottom, the little tabs that hold it closed at the top are not functional. I roll up the excess empty bag and put a big rubber band around the whole shebang so the beans don't spill out. Or you could just put the beans in a canister.

Let me start by saying that we have bought this coffee before (a couple of years ago). This most recent batch purchased last month seems to be a bit old and not as good as we remember. It is okay and still a decent value, but not up to our likes. It is a bit bitter.

A few years ago I became of fan of this coffee while shopping at Costco. I prefer a dark, bold roast and S.F. Bay makes a fine one indeed. What was particularly appealing (and what prompted my purchase from Amazon Smile) was the availability of it at Amazon. As a Prime member I was able to get the exact same deal that Costco offers, without having to navigate the parking and lot and more importantly, the often hectic facility it's self. If yo have shopped at Costco I think you know what I mean. Not to mention all I needed was this coffee. IIt's often hard to justify a trip to Costco when your shopping list is that short. And with Prime's two day delivery I save not only my sanity and the cost of fuel and whatever other impulse items i may have picked up at Costco (i really don't need a 13 gallon container of ranch dressing) I have that wonderful convenience of doorstep delivery. Oh, did I mention the coffee is really good?

I like dark coffee, so after reading the reviews I decided to try this San Fran coffee. I like the fact that it is fair trade coffee too. The bags must be sealed up tight as soon as they are roasted, because the aroma was wonderful when I opened the bag. My boyfriend doesn't drink coffee, but he commented on how it must taste really good, because when he made me a cup in the Keurig it smelled really good in the container. The taste is dark and smooth, not bitter at all like some dark roasts. I had to experiment with the grind a bit, but it seems to be perfect when I use a course ground. When I grind it too fine the coffee tastes weak. The beans are so high quality you can eat them. They would be perfect for coating with chocolate. I hope the price stays the same on these!