Blind Assessment

Very rich, deep, balanced aroma with hints of cedar, orangy fruit and semi-sweet chocolate. Rather fat-bodied in the cup, with continuing hints of flowers, dark chocolate, and a pungent citrus that I read as grapefruit. A distractingly sharp, astringent mouthfeel rounds and softens as the cup cools, but continues to dominate in the finish.

Notes

Purchased pre-ground in a sealed 12-ounce foil-laminated bag with one-way valve at a Safeway supermarket in northern California; 96 cents per dry ounce. By manipulating temperature and airflow (what Peet's roast master John Weaver calls "the Peet's 'special sauce'"), Peet's achieves its trade-marked "deep roast," a pungent, cling-to-the-palate roast character that remains virtually unique despite many imitators. Major Dickason's is a blend created by retired Peet's founder Alfred Peet that continues one of the company's most popular offerings. Visit www.peets.com or call 800-999-2132 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

Not the perfect example of the powerful Peet?s profile, but this pre-ground version should come as a pungent, robust revelation to supermarket shoppers whose only experience of dark-roasted coffees may have been various supermarket "French roasts" that typically range from the feeble to the burned.

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