Equal ExchangeOrganic Whole Bean Coffee, Ethiopian, 12-Ounce Bag (Pack of 3)

It's absolutely true that there are many fantastic options for light/medium roasted Ethiopian coffee beans. And at the more niche end of the roasting industry, the flavors can offer incredible - almost esoteric - complexity. But this remains a touchstone, always-excellent roast for me. It is sweet and fruity, with a delightfully peppy aroma as it brews. Relatively affordable, too! A dependable choice that I make sure to always have available.

It took awhile for it to be delivered, about 2 weeks, but was worth it. Not sure if the delay is normal, maybe they only keep limited stock and turn it over quickly so you get fresh tasting coffee and not one that has been sat on the shelf for an age.I use the coffee with a Cafetière (French press), course ground, so my comments are for this.The coffee is rich, dark and chocolately, at times I had the after taste of a good dark chocolate left on my palette, hmmmm...nice, and not bitter at all.I'm no coffee connoisseur, but got fed up with the drip machines not delivering the taste I like, so I went back to using the Cafetière, which I had been using for many years in the UK (I'm now living in the US). I will try the coffee in the drip machine just for comparison, but the coffee taste so good from the Cafetière I'm in no hurry to check!

I love this coffee and have bought it about three times now. It comes in 3 12oz packages. It's full bodied without the acidic aftermath. It tastes better than the Starbucks I usually buy. I like that it's fair trade because when third world coffee growers are paid a fair price, they are less likely to have to put children to work. I like that's it's organic because if I wanted to ingest chemicals and polutants, I would move to L.A. and inhale (I've already done that). I'd highly recommend this coffee to all serious coffee drinkers and even those who aren't.

I bought this coffee thinking it might be a *very* slightly more affordable version of the Trader Joes Fair Trade Organic Ethiopian blend. That was a mistake. These beans are quite stale, and really left a lot to be desired. The beans are not packed in nitrogen, and you could taste how they'd been exposed to air. I'm planning on reverting to my previous coffee choice.

This coffee has a strong flavor which took some getting used to, but now it’s my new fave! It has a more earthy flavor than most coffees I’ve tried

I had high expectations for this coffee, a fan that I am of African blends. It is very drinkable, but it has a mildly "musty" and bland flavor. Good for a change, but not an all around keeper.

This is really high-quality whole bean coffee. Buying fair trade coffee is important to me, and Equal Exchange is one of the best in terms of fair relationships with farmers (not all fair trade is created equal!)The Ethiopian has a really rich, bold taste. My husband says this is the best coffee he has ever had!

I ordered the Equal Exchange Organic Ethiopian Coffee after receiving a notice (prior to my subscription shipment) that the price had gone up on the  Coffee Masters Gourmet Coffee, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Whole Bean, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4)  , a coffee I discovered after a long search and many pounds of not very good coffee. The price on the equal exchange was about 15-20% lower; what i had been paying for the other when I subscribed, and had a lot of good reviews so I thought I would give it a try.It is a nice smooth mild and non-acidic coffee *BUT* it does not have the distinctive taste of Ethiopian, or any African coffee I have tried. I love African coffee. In fact, the only reason I am ordering coffee is that noone brings African coffees into Hawaii :( :( For many years I had  Single Origin Coffees Tanzanian Gombe Reserve - Whole Bean 10 oz  on subscription, but then they raised shipping to $30 making it impractical. I first tried  Coffee Bean Direct Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Whole Bean Coffee, 16-Ounce Bags (Pack of 3)  which was either burned, or poor quality beans; tasted burned and left a bitter aftertaste. I had a similar experience with their Kenya reserve, and so with 10 pounds of bad coffee in my freezer tentatively tried a sampler  Coffee Masters Around The World In Twelve Coffees Variety Pack, 1.5-Ounce Packets (Pack of 12)  and was very impressed with the quality and roast, and so ordered several of their single origin whole bean. All of them were very nice and it has been my roaster of choice here (I have several of their ocffees on subscription) until the price hike.However, I would say that this coffee in no way compares. I read the bag, revisited the site to see if it is a blend. It is not described as such, but I doubt that in a blind taste test anyone familiar with these coffees would identify it as Ethiopian, or even African. I does not have the choclatey undertones or floral scent In many ways it reminds me more of Kona (i live in Hawaii, and have ready access but do not like Kona coffee; mild, smooth but non-descript, in my opinion. It is, however, everywhere here and part of the reason we do not get nice varietals from other lands). For me, this coffee is a big disappointment.If you are just looking for a smooth, non-acidic coffee you will probably like this. If you are anything of an aficionada, like African coffee, or Ethiopian in particular, are looking for those distinctive notes, the chocolate flavor for which Ethiopian coffees are known.... you will not find it here. I am glad, that at this juncture I am not in the same place I was when I got the poor roast from coffee bean direct. i do have a good option, know where to find a nice Ethiopian. I just have to accept paying more, or maybe get it less often :( But in my opinion the  Coffee Masters Gourmet Coffee, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Whole Bean, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4)  is vastly better.I gave this coffee 4 stars because it is still a nice coffee, well roasted: a light roast, not burnt or acidic... but also not distinguishable as Ethiopian coffee.