Equal ExchangeOrganic Whole Bean Coffee, French Roast, 2 PoundUSDA Organic

Coffee bag seal open in packaging.

My favorite coffee from any roaster. I love that it is fair trade and organic, but best of all it is delicious. Very rich and fudgy, but super smooth.

This coffee has done an exquisite job of marketing. Fair trade, organic, ethical in every sense of the word. And whole bean at that so you’re bound to expect the best flavor- right? This particular flavor ‘Mind, Body, and Soul’ is one that my fiance and I enjoy but don’t necessarily swoon over. It’s a medium blend that isn’t necessarily extremely robust. Both of us prefer a darker stout flavor, but love trying new coffees (especially organic fair trade options), so picked this one up on a whim during an Amazon Pantry order.The coffee comes well-packaged in a traditional foil-lined bag that seals in freshness. It’s easy to peel open and can nicely be folded shut and secured with clamps that are a part of the package. Great for convenience and storage. The whole beans are nicely roasted and ready to be ground. This particular 12 ounce bag lasted the two of us about 9 days- but we are avid (almost alarmingly so) coffee drinkers. For a typical household I’d assume this bag would easily last 2 to 3 weeks. We tried this coffee with a drip coffee maker, French press, and electric coffee maker. It wasn’t quite dark enough to work with the drip coffee maker and the flavor was very mild and watery when paired with that method. The French press got the best flavor from this coffee and really allowed you to taste the mild nutty flavor. It almost has an almondy undertone. It’s not a sweet coffee and it certainly lacks a ‘punch’ that I appreciate. But it wasn’t bad and I’d highly recommend it for people who want something gentle but flavorful to wake up with.I think I would try other coffees from this brand and would probably really like their darker flavors. For people who really want a lot of kick to their coffee I wouldn’t suggest this particular one though. Great things about this particular brand include the fact they are fair trade and organic. They source their coffee beans from small locally owned farmers who practice natural farming. Although my coffee connoisseur attitude does inspire me to occasionally indulge in a new Starbucks option, I always feel much better when I’m conscious about what I buy and opt for brands that seem more aware of their farmers practices and wellbeing. Fair Trade is a great option for the ‘ethically aware’ coffee shoppers out there.I really have no major complaints about this coffee, just the particular flavor didn’t suit my fancy. Because it was advertised as having a chocolate undertone I figured it may be a more robust flavor for a medium blend- but that wasn’t really the case. The nutty malt flavor is much more noticeable. But, if that suits your fancy, this option is certainly the right one for you.

I believe in the whole "Equal Exchange" concept. So I thought I would try it. However this roast was not in my flavor spectrum.

Wish it was bolder in taste.

Perfect middle of the road coffee for a non coffee drinker, mild but flavorful

I was really looking forward to this coffee. I had weighed every review on multiple coffee brands, then narrowed it down to this particular flavor of this particular brand as 'the one' for me. I ordered it and waited patiently.The Pros:1. The item shipped and arrived on time. Kudos for the timely shipping!2. I could smell the delicious aroma from >OUTSIDE< the mailbox! By the time I got my package to a table and got the scissors to open the package, the smell had spread throughout the entire house! It was a wonderful smell...at first.3. My mailbox smells absolutely delicious.This ends the 'PROS', unfortunately.The CONS:1. The reason the smell was so noticeable even outside the mailbox, is because the package it came in was NEVER SEALED!!!!! ALL the coffee beans were in the UPS container >NEXT< to the empty coffee bag. Not a single coffee bean was actually inside the mostly flat bag that came along with the coffee inside the UPS container.2. My mailbox smells absolutely delicious. This is bad because I live in a very rural area, jam-packed with raccoons, deer, and even the rare but very curious black bear. All of whom are guaranteed to be wide awake, refreshed, and alert as they explore my now addictive mailbox.That's it for the 'CONS' I guess.I wish I could go into detail about the coffee itself, but I am not sure I want to try coffee that was rolling around in a -not- perfectly sealed UPS pouch for a few days, and stuck in my mailbox for much of a very rainy day.I want to note that the first picture shows the top of the coffee bag, which was painstakingly sealed with a plastic 'tamper free' tape on it. That would make me feel very safe and comfortable with the product normally.The second picture is the bottom of the package, which if I had to guess, either they didn't bother to seal it at all because there is no adhesive or anything that would somehow keep it closed, that I could detect. There is however the debris of a smooshed coffee bean in the middle. I wonder if they close the bottom of the package by just sealing that small dime-sized spot somehow, and it failed maybe? If so, then I no longer feel safe knowing that one dime-sized spot somehow magically seals the whole bag. If not, then I don't know what the deal is.The third picture is the inside of my coffee remnant covered ups pouch.I really wanted to try this coffee. I'm going to keep an eye out around my mailbox to see if there are any ants running around at mach 12, because they basically got to drink an entire bag of coffee over a few hour period.If you are the UPS/mailman who delivered the package and are reading this: Save my part of your delivery route for when you are feeling tired, my mailbox WILL wake you right up!

My husband loves the Equal Exchange Breakfast blend, and I enjoy it as well. It is always very fresh, flavorful and reasonably priced. We also appreciate that this coffee is responsibly sourced, and creates an opportunity for fair, sustainable opportunities for all individuals involved in growing, harvesting and transportation. Win Win!