Peru Dark Roast Coffee – Fair Trade Organic, Low Acid

Bold roast, gentle soul. A Fair Trade and Organic certified single origin from the Peruvian highlands, roasted dark by Bendix in Michiana and somehow still sweet, mild, and smooth.

A dark roast that isn't harsh

Most dark roasts announce themselves with bitterness. This one doesn't, and the reason is the bean underneath. Peruvian coffee is naturally low in acidity and naturally sweet, so taking it dark deepens the body and brings out caramelized sugar without the ashy bite you get when a sharper bean is pushed that far.

If you like dark roast but have given up on finding one that isn't aggressive, this is the one to try.

Brewing it without bitterness

Dark roasted beans are more brittle and give up their solubles faster, which is why they over-extract easily. Grind a touch coarser than you would for a medium roast and don't let the water linger. For French press, coarse and four minutes. It's excellent as an espresso base too, and the sweetness carries right through milk.

Organic and fair trade

Two separate certifications. Organic covers how it's grown, no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Fair trade sets a floor price paid to the growing cooperative so farmers aren't exposed to commodity market crashes. This carries both.

Which bag

• 12oz is about two weeks for a daily drinker, roughly how long coffee holds its peak
• 1lb for a household going through it steadily
• 5lb for an office, split into airtight containers and opened one at a time

Whole bean if you own a grinder. Coarse only for French press or cold brew.

Details

• Origin: Peru, single origin, highland grown
• Roast: dark
• Notes: sweet, mild, clean, with low acidity and a medium body
• Certifications: Fair Trade Certified, Organic Certified
• Roaster: Bendix Coffee Roasters, a locally owned Michiana roaster