I love coffee, and from  time  to time even I enter into free coffee competitions on twitter, hey if someone is giving good stuff away I’d love to throw my hat in the ring. There was one such contest being run by the fine folks over at ROASTe, which I won! I was given my choice between three different Cafe Trobetta 2 lb bags. I chose the Red, because I like the color, no great and mysterious coffee skills where involved.

As per usual all coffee’s submitted are run through the same process a nice coarse grind and a 4 minute steep in the trust french press, this time however my first  experience  is via drip brew in my office. The French Press came later, and only served to reinforce my  experiences. Sometimes  necessity  demands that i bring large samples into work to share with other coffee lovers and this was one such time.

The Journey

• Smell: The Start of your journey
• Taste: Obvious and penultimate
• Mouthfeel: Besides the taste how does it feel while drinking

Smell: The first thing i noticed upon opening up the package was how bright and bold the smell was. It literally smelled good enough to eat, and filled my office and most of the hallway with its wonderful Aroma. Full sweet chocolate and berry notes when dry, the berry notes intensified as it was ground.

The beans were a wonderful medium brown, dry with no oil visible. When brewed the chocolate smell took over although the sweetness was still there the berry tones were muted.

Taste: I made the first pot in my office and the entire floor came to find the smell. The Dark  Chocolate  and sweetness were retained as the coffee brewed and transfered into a wonderfully smooth cup of coffee. The berry and sweetness were muted while a slight bite appeared in the cup.

After sharing most of the first pot we all agreed, a wonderful bold sweet dark chocolate taste with a clean finish. It was also good in a french press as well.

Mouthfeel: This coffee as i mentioned before has a smooth mouthfeel with very little acid, however it does have a bite to it. Not  unpleasant  at all it has a full feel to it as you sip and a bitter dark chocolate tail to the sip. As the coffee cools iut

Notes: This is a huge package of coffee and I was struck with how light and nuanced the roast was coming from a  traditional  Italian  Coffee Company. Very Beautiful beans.

Cost: From ROASTe the cost would be $29.95 for 1000G, or a 2lb bag, well worth the price.

Conclusion:

4 out of 5 beans in the Large Roaster

*Full Disclosure:  I was sent a lovely care package at no cost by the fine Folks at ROASTe, as the winner of a free coffee contest on twitter (@caffination). I agreed to review the sample after having already won the contest.

Check out the Slide-show or  Flickr for  the  rest of the photos of this tasting