BEWARE!!! COSTCOS NEWLY PACKAGED KIRKLAND COFFEE!

Just went to Costco yesterday to buy the "kirkland decaf house blend starbucks roast" and found the packaging has changed. I thought, wow, maybe this is even better than the older packaging decaf. I read everything on the package to see what was different.

Here's the difference.

IT DOESN"T SAY 100% ARABICA beans. Nowhere. I questioned the manager. She's investigating. I bought 5 bags of the "old bags" because it is the best decaf I have found out of all the offerings of decaf coffees around.

I bought the new one and did a taste, look and smell test. The new one is different. Not the same great experience. The new beans are not dark and oily and there is no intensity of flavor and not a good taste either.

What is Costco economizing on? I would pay more to continue to have the same bean. Why did they just do away with it? There must be a good answer. Maybe Costco is being cheated. What gives?

Does anyone know anything about this.:-)

PS: Costco Hawaii doesn't sell all of the different types of coffee that I have read about in your threads. How sad.
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First time I picked up costco coffee. I picked up the Kirkland House Blend - 100% arabica coffee beans.
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Spam
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Don't buy the Starbucks French Roast. It's burnt and tastes awful. It's not the same as the French Roast they sell in cafes, it's almost black with a single flavor of charchol nastiness. I'd hardly call it drinkable.

I've had a lot of coffee, good and bad. I can drink extremely bold and dark coffees with pleasure, so it's not a matter of personal preference. This coffee is just plain awful. I'm returning the 2 lbs I have left. Gag.
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Starbucks is plain awful in most aspects from my experience.
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I gotta agree with you there my brother!
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I've tried a bunch of them but have settled on the Sumatra French Roast in the red bag, though sometimes the beans are so oily, they clog up my grinder a little too often.
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Been loving the Kirkland Guatamalan!
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the Costco in KC has a handful of "The Roasterie" blends in there, but i haven't taken the time to grab any yet. next time i swing by, i'll try to remember and jot down blends/beans/prices.
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For the past few months, my wife and I have been wondering about the change in quality of the Kirkland Decaf coffee at Costco. The new repackaged decaf is bland and flavorless, much like the Pike Place roast that seems to have become the house brew at every Starbucks. I wonder if there is a connection - lower grade of coffee bean available at a cheaper price to Starbucks and to Costco.
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I use any of the dark roast, rawandan or french roast for espresso. Are are terrific beans.

Sometimes I find that espresso roast from boutique shops around me like Intelligentsia produce a bitter shot only...harsh on flavor....kinda like smoking a San Cristobal NC.

Give it a try....a french up to a dark roast is god for espresso.
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I've been enjoying the Guatemalan. Very oily n rich. But when I find the Rwandan again I'm getting four bags! Does anyone have a bag or two of Rwandan they'd like to trade for some cigars???
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I guess you haven't had In-n-Out. :-)
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Just adore their Guatamalan; great in press or in espresso machine. Will look for the Rwandan!
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Cold brewed up a batch of Kirkland's signature by Starbucks. Thought it was pretty good for the price.
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Been buying their Jamaican Blue mountain (10% blend) from Magnum Coffee Roaster for a couple years.

For brewing a pot... find it tasty.
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Looks like Costco has the following whole beans in stock -

Papanicholas Cafe del Sol, 2lb $13.99
Starbucks Veranda Blend 2.5lb $18.99
Kirkland Signature Guatamalan 2lb, $10.99 (good price picked up a bag)
Kirkland Signature 100% Colombian 2lb, $11.99 (another great price)
Kirkland/Starbucks fair trade decaf, 2lb, $12.69 (not for me)
Kirkland Starbucks Certified fair trade house blend, 2lb, $12.69
Organic Magnum Rainforest Blend, 2lb, $12.99 (never tried it looks interesting)
Starbucks French Roast 2.5lb, $21.99
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Agreed on this one, there are two problems with the Starbucks French Roast - its roasted too dark for my tastes, and the oils oxidize very quickly since they have been heated so much. Unless you are going to finish the whole bag in a week, I dont recommend it. The beans will have significant changes in flavor after a week of having the bag open.
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Great stuff. Brews well and makes a fine espresso. I go to bean along with their Ethiopian.
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I love the Costco coffees.. I'm on a Jose's vanilla bean kick lately... Which is also found at costco, but the Kirkland brand, roasted by starbucks is good stuff too!
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