Well, that's good enough for me! OFF! ;^)

tekomino wrote:I would not have on the list Caffè D'arte, Seattle, WA ~ No roast date on the bags, no one way valve on the bags, they just pierced the bags first and last time I ordered

I beg your pardon, but Caffè D'arte bags are definitely marked with the roast date, thought you have to know where to look and not all employees who work in local shops which sell their prepackaged coffee know where to find it.

Here's where to look - the the front of the bag facing you, the roast date stamp is on the left side of the bag, usually about 2/3rds of the way up the side. The month and calendar day are stamped into the bag, not printed on. It can take a minute to find it.

Personally, I have been happy with the Caffè D'arte coffees I have purchased. My favorite is their Capri, but the Firenze is also very good and I like their decaf espresso.

I beg your pardon, but Caffè D'arte bags are definitely marked with the roast date

There was definitely no roast date on coffee I received and bags did not have one way valve rather were pierced to let gas out... And coffee was mediocre...

tekomino wrote:There was definitely no roast date on coffee I received and bags did not have one way valve rather were pierced to let gas out... And coffee was mediocre...

The lack of a one way valve puzzles me. At first I couldn't believe what you had written, because I could have sworn the bags I bought had had the little de-gas valves. But, not having a bag handy, I checked with my son who happened to have a bag of their coffee and he confirmed your statement. I don't know how they keep their bags from swelling up as they de-gas. And that seems crazy that they would just pierce the bag to let the gas out. What's up with that? Weird.

A couple of other comments - 1. about the roast date, as I just want to be clear about my experience. When I bought bulk beans from the store in Seattle they didn't have a roast date, as they came straight out of the bin into a new bag. The bags of prepackaged Caffe D'Arte I bought locally were date-stamped, but I admit it was kind of hard to find and not easy to see. The date is "pressed" into the bag, so it is easy to miss it, especially if the stamping is not particularly deep. Perhaps the stamping pressure was insufficient to make a legible indentation. In any case, IMHO the roast date should be easy to see and easy to find and it isn't easy to do this on the Caffe D'Arte packages I've bought and, in your case, it sounds like it wasn't marked at all.

2. Regarding the flavor. I've had pretty good luck, but I'm a bit of a beginner so A) it is possible that my standards are lower than yours and I haven't had enough alternatives to compare it to. Or, B) maybe you got a bad batch. What blend was it that you tried?

Wandering Goat Chupacabra Espresso

When pulled ~200°F from a largish dose and stopped just before blonding, the coffee exhibits a very nice balance of dark chocolate, berry and floral notes with a hint of citrus.

tekomino wrote:There was definitely no roast date on coffee I received and bags did not have one way valve rather were pierced to let gas out... And coffee was mediocre...

The bags definitely do have a roast date code on the bag. Mediocre is an opinion of yours - one I do not share. I tried the Parioli blend last December and enjoyed the darker roast style over the holidays.

EricBNC wrote:Mediocre is an opinion of yours - one I do not share. I tried the Parioli blend last December and enjoyed the darker roast style over the holidays.

Compared to quality of coffee from other speciality roasters listed here, yep, mediocre.

cafeIKE wrote:Wandering Goat Chupacabra Espresso

When pulled ~200°F from a largish dose and stopped just before blonding, the coffee exhibits a very nice balance of dark chocolate, berry and floral notes with a hint of citrus.

Tried it on recommendation here. Freshly roasted, well packed in bags with one-way valve. Most importantly coffee is tasty. Thanks for recommendation Ian.

tekomino wrote:Compared to quality of coffee from other speciality roasters listed here, yep, mediocre.

Thanks for clearing this up - I thought I was right until you pointed out my opinion is wrong. Without your help I would still be thinking I enjoyed the aroma that was awesome and that I liked tasting the dark bittersweet finish.

My Notes (I will burn them):
"The box smells like priority mail from heaven as the beans loudly announce their arrival to my nose.
The beans are just on the dry side with only the beginning of a shine on their dark cocoa almost black shell. My grinder thanks you, Caffe D'arte.

The first quarter pound goes by quick producing shot after shot of easy to dial in, tasty, espresso - the aroma is dark and thick while the taste is balanced, full bodied, and finishes with a dark bittersweet taste.
The roaster describes their Parioli Espresso Blend as a Central Italian espresso which transports the coffee-lover to Italy's region of Lazio with its medium, rich, winey and aromatic flavors. I agree.

This one is good from a pour over, a press, and from the Aeropress as well. I can't think of a better way to start a cold winter morning than enjoying a shot or two followed by a cup and a travel mug of this versatile and full flavored coffee from Caffe D'arte."

EricBNC wrote:My Notes (I will burn them):

Yep, goes well with that coffee. Both are burned.