Brown Gold Single Origin Coffee Capsules, 100% Costa Rican, 48 Count

I really didn't want to believe it to be true, but I have objectively determined that it is. These K-Cups are clogging my Keurig (Platinum B70).I have only tried the Costa Rican variety, and unlike some reviewers, the flavor of this K-Cup is exactly what I wanted. That makes it only that much harder to abandon them. Naturally, I've only made matters worse by ordering a second box of 48 of these a mere 10 days after placing the first order for same, because I enjoyed drinking the coffee so much.I'd been searching for a Costa Rican K-cup that might contain coffee from a specific estate, La Minita, and upon my first sip of the brew made from Brown Gold Costa Rican K-cup, I knew I'd finally hit pay dirt.Years ago, when I lived in a city known for its coffee (and for letting the good times roll), I discovered the difference in flavor imparted by the use of La Minita beans quite by accident. I'd been buying whole beans at a well known coffee house and knew that I preferred this specific bean. One day, I found them to be out of stock and asked after their disposition.The, "manager," (whom I later suspected to be the franchise owner or at least much more than just that store's manager) came out from the back and asked me why I enjoyed La Minita coffee so much, especially since the state is known for its own high quality locally grown beans. He appeared dumbfounded when I answered, "it just tastes cleaner to me."Turns out, as he relayed, that he'd been to the estate in Costa Rica when negotiating a deal with this then small business and witnessed the processing method, as he had at numerous other bean producers' plants. The process utilized was actually unique (at that time, which must have been mid 1990s) in that this was the only grower he'd seen wash the beans. He was quite shocked that I seemed able to taste the difference having no dirt in my coffee could make. Needless to say, instead of just ordering some of those beans that he'd planned to discontinue offering just for me, he decided right then and there to begin restocking them for the store.I'm guessing that in this day and age of coffee connoisseurism and also the recent focus on organic growing and elimination of additives (such as fertilizer by products and whatnot), that my favorite estate owner is no longer the only one washing his beans prior to processing them, but additionally, that estate does produce a superior bean to my taste buds. I'm also fairly convinced that the Brown Gold Costa Rican K-cup utilizes my favorite beans as the once small estate owner now seems to be the main coffee grower for the region according to my internet research.And that, my fellow shopper, is why this K-cup gets two stars instead of one. I like the flavor, and this coffee is low in acidity with a nice smooth finish that some drinkers equate with weakness of the brew (I do not). To me, a coffee doesn't have to be bitter to deliver a potent caffeine pick-me-up. Of course, I cannot speak to the other varieties of Brown Gold as I've only tried the Costa Rican one.Every single time I use these, my Keurig gets clogged, and I am forced to stick a wire through the holder assembly to restore water flow. Sometimes it takes more than one brew using this brand, and other times it happens after only one cup.I bought 96 of these in late August. When my brewer was clogged early in September, I entertained the notion that it was these that had been the offender, but didn't really want to believe that. I did put them aside, though, and move on to other brands, including  Van Houtte Costa Rica Coffee Keurig K-Cups, 18 Count  and  Copper Moon Aroma-Cup, Costa Rican, 12 Count , neither of which seem to cause an immediate clog, and countless non-Costa Rican varieties. Recently, these were unearthed, and after some more objective testing, I have determined that my clogging problem only arises after using this brand of K-cup.Bottom line : great tasting cup of coffee, but necessitates far too much brewer maintenance and causes concern over potential to damage the machine.

Not one of us who tried this coffee have ever been to Ethiopia nor have we been to a "genuine Ethiopian coffee shop." Therefore we have no way of comparing this coffee to "real Ethiopian coffee" but only to what we normally drink, which, in our Keurig, is normally either Green Mountain Colombian or Newman's Extra Bold.My review:Rating: three starsFor my first cup of Black Gold Ethiopian coffee I used 2 K cups at 6 ounces each. The resulting cup didn't have any of the real aroma that you often get from a freshly brewed cup of coffee. I drink my coffee with cream and sugar so I added 1 teaspoon of sugar and my usual dollop of half-and-half. At this point the coffee didn't look "light enough" so I added a bit more cream. The flavor wasn't that bad, but there really was nothing to distinguish this from other "run-of-the-mill" coffees. I thought it had a slightly "harsher" flavor similar to that of Medaglia D'oro. I also thought it tasted a bit "thin."One eight-ounce cup tasted a bit weak to me.Mrs. Boilermate's review:Rating: three starsTried 6 oz. cup black. OK taste, nothing outstanding. Taste did not seem to be that bold or intense. No noticeable "coffee aroma."Tried 10 oz. cup (since marked as "bold") black. This was a little weak, and probably would not work with cream and sugar. Over all, an acceptable cup of coffee. I would be more likely to drink it at work. On a weekend morning or when relaxing over a cup of coffee, I would most likely drink something else.Friend number one's review:Rating: four stars8 ounce cup with sugar. He said he liked the flavor, and it compared favorably to the "fancy coffees you find at the Hess Mart."Friend number two's review:Rating: four stars6 ounce cup black. Friend number two said he liked the coffee but offered no further comment.Bottom line:Average rating: 3.5 stars. Our friends seemed to like it better than we did.For us, our Keurig is a bit of a "guilty pleasure" and we enjoy the variety afforded us because of it. It is nice to be able to try different blends such as this one provided by Vine. But there really wasn't enough to like in this blend to purchase it, despite its lower price compared to Green Mountain coffee. As they say, "You get what you pay for."We will use up the supply simply because we don't want to waste it, but there are too many other better tasting K cups out there.

These are good coffee pods and work fine in my cuisinart brewer. I see other people have problems with the pods not puncturing properly and water/grinds coming back out of the top of the brewer, but I can't see that problem happening with my model brewer, so I think the problem may lay with out of spec brewers rather than the cups.These aren't real k-cups, but a "true cup". Not sure what the difference is, but one thing I note is that most k-cups have puffy lids and I know real k-cups are filled with nitrogen gas to slow down the process of going stale. These aren't pressurized the same way, at least not most of them. They also have short expiration dates (~3 months out instead of 6+ for k-cups) so I'm guessing they're not nitrogen flushed, which explains some reviews complaining about weak coffee.Lastly, since I let my Prime subscription expire, Amazon seems to feel its okay to hang onto my order for 4-5+ days before shipping it. I can't think of ANYONE else who takes more than a business day or two, so I've canceled several late shipping orders recently and I think I'll buy from someone who can get an order out the door in under a business week. Maybe this is to compel me to sign back up for Prime, but its having the opposite effect.

Excellent Product! The Variety Is Perfect & The 1st Sip Will Tell You This Straight Up!There were no problems with a single pod in this order, awesome variety, can't choose which one i like best but I'm liking the "Ethiopian" kind a little more than the rest. Shipping was lightning fast and very well packaged!This Is My 3rd Order... Last order was sent to my daughter by mistake and she refused to send it back!Will Definitely Buy Again & Again!

It’s good

Very good dark roast coffee with a kick. It's my regular coffee daily.

As described