Lavazza Classico Ground Coffee Blend, Medium Roast
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2015', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'THE BOTTOM LINE: Gran Crema is an EXCELLENT blend of coffee to make cappuccinos and lattes, producing an incredibly velvety crema. The espresso drinker who prefers a stronger taste and full body will also certainly enjoy this roast blend.\n\nTastes: If everyone had the same tastes and liked the same things, there would only be one coffee in the world. Finding the "perfect" coffee is a personal decision tailored by your own taste and likes, and even then, many times you want to have something different or change, therefore in finding YOUR perfect coffee, it depends on your present tastes and moods at that one particular moment in time...which can change. My best advice is follow your feelings and have a try at different things to find NOT what you like, but what you DEFINITELY do not like. And most certainly do not buy or force yourself to like something, because others do like it or love it. Buy for you, not for them.\n\nCoffee basics: 2 types of beans. Arabica, which have a smoother taste in general but have lighter body and make less crema, and Robusto, which make more crema and have a stronger taste and body but carry more bitterness. Plants are grown in warmer climates all around the globe, and each place yields beans with distinct flavors regardless of the same bean used. The roasting of the coffee, different machines, water quality and grind quality also add to these differences. Tamping (espresso styles) and amount of coffee makes a very minimal difference compared to all the other factors, and everyone gets the hang of it with practice (i.e. no need to focus so much on pressures and exact weight and times). WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT: the WATER!, the quality of the coffee, the right grind for the style you are making (finer for espresso and Turkish, coarser for other styles), and a good machine for that style, which is NOT synonymous with expensive (stove tops are not). You get these 4 things right, and all the other factors won\'t matter much, and you will have an excellent coffee every time. The water here where I live is horrible, and so was my coffee, so I had to spend quite a lot on a filtration system for the water.\n\nItalian coffee: Our preferred styles are espresso, cappuccino, and latte (it really means milk and the original Italian name is caffè e latte, but we have dropped the "e" over time) and all are served hot. In Italy, flavors/things added to these styles are only found in places where tourists are (i.e. no creams, cinnamon, iced, etc) and most Italians do not even consider or have heard of adding anything else, other than sugar. In Italian bars (this is what we call coffee shops in Italy and why they\'re called baristas) ALL coffee is a blend of arabica and robusta, making them versatile. ALL bars in Italy also use whole milk, typically what we call lunga conservazione which stores at room temperature until opened (hence less refrigeration storing space needed). You might find places that use more than just whole milk in tourist areas, but is not a certainty. Whole milk froths better than other milk. Coffee is quite important in Italy, so much that the price of coffee is strictly regulated and has been, long before the owners of Starbucks were even born.\n\nLavazza: Most sold coffee brand in Italy. Lavazza makes 2 lines of coffee geared to the preferred Italian styles, one for home use, and one commercial, but each and every one of them is different from each other and any coffee in the home line is totally different from any one in the commercial line. The home line consists of:\n1. Qualità Oro - 100% Arabica beans from a blend of Central America and African highlands. Medium roast.\n2. Qualità Rossa - 70% Brasilian arabica and 30% African robusta. Medium roast.\n3. Gran Aroma - 60% arabica and 40% robusta. All Brasilian. Medium roast.\n4. Gran Crema - 40% South America arabica and 60% Southeast Asia robusta. Dark roast.\n5. Crema e Aroma - 30% South America arabica and 70% African robusta. Medium roast.\n\nQualità Rossa is the most readily available in Italy and hence the less expensive and most used/sold in Italy also. Qualità Oro is aimed at espresso style, Gran Crema is aimed at cappuccino and latte styles, with Gran Bar and Qualità Rossa being more versatile. Qualità Rossa seems to most to have a balance IN TASTE (smooth vs. strong) between arabica and robusta. The entire Lavazza home line is excellent Italian roast espresso coffee but is best to stick Gran Crema (mixing) and Qualità Oro (straight) for what they\'re geared for, and in the proper use you will find the correct taste, smoothness, and next to no bitterness, if any at all. They are all superb for use in the right manner and none of them are oily.\n\nAbout me: I definitely do not like bitter or oily coffee (all coffee is oily per se, but I do not like coffee that has a distinct film of oil on top, which you can see at an angle and which is typically bitter coffee). I prefer cappuccinos and "lattes", but regardless I like a strong taste and therefore use Gran Crema, but I do enjoy espresso also so I do use Gran Aroma, which still has enough strong taste for my cappuccinos and lattes. My family in Italy in general prefer espressos and use Qualità Oro, but also use Qualità Rossa (much much less). You will only see me at Starbucks in case of dire emergency, which translates to 3 times in 20 years (once after an 18 hour travel marathon in planes). I\'m not even mentioning any other coffee places. I use a Gaggia at home and drink tea while I travel. My entire family owns Gaggias. Not because we\'re married to the brand, but because we have tried plenty others, but Gaggias last us much better than the rest. My mother\'s must be at least 30 years old. However, one glance at her stove top will convince you it was around before Metusela.\n\nAnecdote: I was quite entertained when I learned about the craziness to obsess over tamping pressures, weighing, and stopwatches. Out of curiosity on a British espresso machine that uses no electricity or stove (but you have to have boiling water so you need it anyway), I found a video of this American guy showing the ROK coffee maker which was totally obsessed with this and I learned that it was quite common. I told my mother, who laughed, and shared it at the local bar in her neighborhood the next morning. The barista (our friend) had to call me at 4 a.m. my time (it\'s ok, mamma has been doing it all these years). He almost didn\'t believe me. I had to send him youtube links, including the ROK guy. He asked "Are they crazy? People believe we use scales and stopwatches at the bars?" About tamping he said it\'s common sense. It has to be compact enough so that you get the flavor out of the coffee, but not too compact that breaks the pump on the machine.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Lava- zza means Rock of the Volcano in Italian. I'm disappointed, I found no rocks in mine. I searched and search yet somehow I didn't find my hidden prize that many have talked about. I saw the pictures and hope to get one like those I saw but it just didn't happen. My bag was nothing but mostly full nicely roasted beans. When this bag is done I'll order another an try it again. I really want an imported Italian stone."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I just wanted to leave a quick review to help a potential buyer. I usually buy Espresso Vivace, Doma, or Klatch, but I ran out, and ordered this to try it. I read the negative reviews about Amazon customers finding rocks in their Lavazza beans, so I was a little worried about it. But I thought it was probably pretty rare. Unfortunately, I found Rocks in my coffee too. Part way through the bag I heard the noise and I knew it was a rock. I\'ve had my Mazzer Mini grinder for over a decade, and it\'s never made that noise before. I turned it off immediately and looked through the ground coffee for the rock. I found a rock about 7mm x 2mm (after it went through the grinder). See photo. There were probably more fragments in the coffee I tossed - before I thought of looking for them. So that made me curious about the rest of the beans. I placed part of the beans in a pot of water, so that the rocks would sink to the bottom. I found one rock and it was about 7mm x 7mm (about 1/4"). If I found two rocks I am sure there were more. I only looked through a portion of the beans.\n\nMy grinder burrs are probably damaged - not being designed to grind rocks. I plan to replace them now. The grinder burrs are $50 to $60. I\'m researching it now to see if I can install those myself. This turned out to be the most expensive coffee that I ever purchased.\n\nI don\'t get it. I have been buying different Italian roast beans for 15 years and never once had rocks. Lavazza must know about it. They apparantly read the reviews. I don\'t understand why their quality department allows it, and why they don\'t fire the suppliers that provide them with these beans. Coffee beans with rocks are presumably less expensive, but there is a cost to losing customers. I will never purchase Lavazza again.\n\nSorry. I meant to keep it short. I still can\'t believe it. Rocks. In my coffee. How did the coffee taste? Who cares?\n\nJuly 2018 Update: I posted photos of the rocks and the bag with Mfg codes. I sent the photos and MFG codes to Lavazza, as they had requested that when they made their comment.\n\nAug 2018 Update: I was not allowed to reply to the comment from Lavazza, so I just wanted to add this... The MFD is 25/01/2018. The B.B. is 30/12-2019. The B.No is CA25AD. Lavazza never responded to my email that they requested. From reading their comment that we should buy beans directly from Lavazza, I can\'t tell if they are saying they sell a lower grade of beans to resellers, or that resellers may have counterfeit Lavazza beans.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-4 review-rating', 'review_body': "I'm picky and this coffee passed. I use this in a moka pot and it's great. I use french press also, even better. I would give a 5 star for a mass produced product, if not for the problem.\nA big problem is, and I have never seen this before, rocks mix in with beans. I'm about an eighth way through my bag and have found d two.\nThe first rock was noticed after my $140 grinder froze with it stuck in the burrs.\nI had to completely disassemble the machine to pry the rock out. I now have to derock the beans on an old album cover. I learned that trick doing something else back in college.\nA pain in the rearend, but good coffee with great, thick crema."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'My review isn\'t so much about how good this espresso bean is because it\'s just fantastic. However, I\'ve found very little about the difference between this and the "Super Crema" version of the same Lavazza espresso bean.\n\nI started about a year ago buying Super Crema and love it. It is a fantastic bean. However, being the price had seemed to come down a bit on the Gold Selection I figured I\'d give it a try after a year of Super Crema.\n\nThe Gold Selection is absolutely fantastic. I love both, but now prefer the Gold a bit more.\n\nCrema: Not sure what makes "Super Crema" any different than Gold Selection. Both have a great deal of crema and it holds very well. I noticed really no difference and if anything, Gold Selection may have a bit more crema.\n\nRoast: The Super Crema is a lighter bean. It\'s much smoother, with less aromatics. The Gold Selection is a darker roast and the aroma hits you upon grinding.\n\nBoth are absolutely FANTASTIC. Here\'s how I\'d suggest using. If you like to drink your espresso straight with no milk, maybe try the Super Crema as it\'s a bit smoother and more mellow. If you like to make lattes, go with the Gold Selection. I think the milk drowns out the mild flavor of the Super Crema a bit more than Gold Selection. I like to still taste the coffee. Sure you can use less milk to get the same result but this gives you a better overall drink JUST IN MY OPINION.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': "3/3/20 - yet another rock in my coffee. WTF, Lavazza!!!!!!!!!?\n\nThis rock was in the most recent bag of this coffee, which I've been buying for over a year on autoship I may now need to look for a different brand, as the rock (pictured) nearly ruined a very expensive burr grinder. Lavazza: get your quality control together!!!"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I purchased Lavazza Super Crema Whole Bean Coffee Blend, Medium Espresso Roast, 2.2-Pound Bag\nby Lavazza. The bean is ok, but the rock, which is never expected, brake the grinder of my Breville bes870xl espresso machine. That is a big cost for the bean. Not only the rock, I even find a piece of broken bone of bird. The rock was larger before being broken by the grinder.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2015', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'We\'ve tried a lot of different coffees in our espresso machine and liked a few of them pretty well; typically we were paying $12 up to $18 per kilo bag at Sam\'s Club. While browsing different espresso/coffee sites the name Lavazza had repeatedly come up, so out of curiosity I splurged on a bag. This isn\'t a coffee that wows at first sip, but it was notably better than anything we had tried to date, including from the local coffee roaster. The color of the beans is lighter than the typical espresso or french roast, and the smell of the beans is light and pleasant. It doesn\'t promise an "intenso" kind of cup, and it doesn\'t deliver that; what it does deliver is nice and smoooooth, nice aroma and good coffee flavor but no bitterness. With every cup I come to appreciate it more, it is just yummy. If this coffee were the same price as what we can get locally, it would be our only coffee . . . but this is 50% more expensive at nearly $30 per bag. I had this coffee yesterday, and switched back to our previous coffee today (I\'m sipping a cappuccino right now), gotta say the Lavazza is just better tasting, and not by a small factor. Take this as a warning: if you don\'t want to spend this much money on your daily coffee, don\'t try this coffee because you can\'t un-taste it! There\'s no hope for us, we\'re hooked- there might be other coffee out there that is as good, but you won\'t find it at a grocery or warehouse club; this is a coffee I can end the search on. Is it worth close to $30 a bag? I don\'t know, all I know is I want it, I need it . . . okay, yes it\'s worth it.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': "We love Lavazza at our house. Especially the Super Crema. However, in our most recent bag there was a rock. We found this out during the grinding process in a rather expensive espresso machine. We were able to remove it, but only time will tell if damage was done. I'd recommend inspecting the beans closely before running them through your machine."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'After 3 difficult and STRESSFUL days of trying to figure out the perfect dial-in setting using these Lavazza Super Crema beans on my Breville Barista Express - I FINALLY GOT IT!! So to the person reading this review....I hope this helps!!\n\n1. Make sure the machine is warmed up. Clean out the hopper completely and double check that the burr number is set to 6.\n2. Add the coffee beans (I just dumped the bag in honestly because I was so over trying to measure 18 grams for a double shot every single time).\n3. I used the regular double shot basket (not the dual wall one). Insert your portafilter and press the Single filter size button (press the portafilter in all the way so it automatically dispenses the single size grind). Take the portafilter out, lightly tamp it, then repeat by adding a second single shot size in and tamping it for a second time. (This is totally not necessary, but I did it this way “single shot x 2” because I don’t like the mess the grinds make when you press it the double button shot LOL).\n4. Grind amount 4.\n5. Grind size 3.\n6. Cry tears of joy because you finally made a freakin’ delicious espresso!!'}]