Wink Blonde Roast Whole Bean Coffee, Large 2.2 Pound Bag, 100% Arabica Coffee Beans, Single Origin Colombian, Smooth, Light, and Complex

This is a completely subjective review because my tastes are different from other people’s tastes, so you should probably take what I say with a grain of salt.

Frankly, I’m not too keen on the taste of this coffee (nor is my wife and one of my neighbors, who tried it). It’s drinkable but has a rather odd taste that we all find a bit off-putting. I’ve brewed it in both my Krups Super-Automatic Espresso maker and Black & Decker whole bean drip coffee maker with the same taste results. It is smooth which also means it lacks the slight but apparent caramelized bitterness of medium roast coffees. Some (or many) people may prefer that less (almost bitterless) taste of the Blonde Roast, which is probably why so many people gave five star reviews.

I think the darker roasts tend to have more complexity in their flavor and aroma profiles, no doubt from the Maillard reaction as the beans are roasted. I suppose the closest analogy is a steak that has a nice char on the outside with all that additional flavor versus a steak that is undercooked on the outside (or even boiled!). Both are palatable, but the one with the char on the outside definitely tastes better to me, with all that additional flavor. But that simply reflects my tastes. Yours may very well be different (from the reviews, my wife and I are definitely in the overwhelming minority!). That being said, I do like Starbucks Blonde Roast better. I don’t know what the difference is when they roast it, but Starbucks does not seem to have that odd taste I find in Wink’s Blonde (The message here is don’t think that trying Starbucks Blonde is a good indicator of what Winks Blonde will taste like. They are noticeably different to me).

Should you try it? I think it’s worth a shot. I do wish there was a one pound bag available for new blonde roast drinkers to try out rather than becoming deeply committed to having two pounds to brew if they’re not crazy about it. I suggested to my wife we blend the beans with a darker roast and see what happens to the flavors and if the darker roasts mask some of that funky taste we detect in the brewed beans while smoothing our the darker roast’s rough edges. I will update with my results.

Finally, a medium roast that is actually medium! No oil or burned beans. In my experience, the Wink medium is similar to Lavazza Espresso Italiano (the brown bag). Those are cheaper, but these are better. If you like those beans, I think you’ll like these. These are $5 more per kilo, but I think it’s worth it.

I also tried the Blonde Espresso, which are quite fruity and acidic (but not in a biting or unpleasant way). These are roasted a little longer, so the fruit/acid is still there but toned down. In its place is a little nuttiness. There’s no charred or burned flavor like an overcooked dark roast. If you prefer a dark roast, this is not for you. I have tried these as espresso/cappuccino and as an AeroPress. I enjoyed both. I also made an iced latte, which was good. The fruity/nutty flavors are good on their own and also stand up to milk.

I wish I could get these fresh roasted. The bag I got was probably a couple of months old, but that’s just the nature of ordering through Amazon. They were still good and had a lot of flavor, but I wonder what they could be like if I could get them about 1-2 weeks after roasting. No matter what, these are an excellent value. I can’t think of anything else this good in this price range.