Whole bean review · 4 min readby Amazon Colombian review: the pick of the by Amazon beans
The only bean in the range labelled above 3 out of 5, delivered in two 500g bags, at the same 23p a cup as the rest.
Of the three by Amazon whole bean coffees, this is the one to buy. It's the only one Amazon rates 4 out of 5 for strength, the only one with real acidity to it, and it comes as two 500g bags rather than one kilo, which matters more than it sounds. It also has the one genuine quirk in the range: it runs fast in an espresso machine, and you'll need to do something about that.
Single origin Colombian arabica at 23p a cup, with more brightness and body than its stablemates and a tendency to extract fast.
- Tastes
- Rounded acidity, balanced sweetness, full body
- Strength
- Medium
- Best for
- Filter and bean-to-cup
- Valuecup price vs the format median
- 5/5
- Easy to likefrom the roast profile
- 4/5
- Good for beginnersblend, roast and pack size
- 3/5
Buy it ifYou want a bean with some brightness rather than a coffee that stays out of the way.
Skip it ifYou want a dark, heavy, crema-forward espresso, because acidity is the whole point of this one.
Live prices, sizes and retailers for this coffee sit on its product page. This review is the analysis alongside it. See prices →
What separates it from the rest of the range
Almost everything about the three by Amazon beans is identical: medium roast, 100% arabica, Rainforest Alliance certified, roasted and packed in Belgium, same grind chart, same best-before dating. Two things aren't. This is the only one Amazon rates 4 out of 5 for strength, and the only one whose published notes describe rounded acidity, balanced sweetness and a full body rather than shrugging at you. If you're picking one of the three blind, pick this one.
| House Blend | Brazilian | Colombian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength on the label | 3 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
| Origin | Not published | Brazil | Colombia |
| Published notes | None | Hazelnut, chocolate | Rounded acidity, full body |
| 1kg pack format | One 1kg bag | Two 500g bags | Two 500g bags |
| Per cup | 23p | 23p | 23p |
Buyers notice the packaging too, and mention it without being asked, which is rare. Two sealed 500g bags beats one open kilo for freshness, and you get that benefit whether or not you can be bothered to decant anything.
What it tastes like
The recurring positive is smooth richness rather than fireworks. Buyers land on a good full-bodied Colombian, a medium roast that makes a decent cup. The acidity in the published notes is real, and it's what gives this one the definition House Blend hasn't got.
The dissent is worth taking seriously, because it's specific rather than vague. Some buyers rate it below its own stablemates on flavour, which is the opposite of what a 4-out-of-5 strength rating implies. That's not really a contradiction, it's a preference: a brighter coffee reads as lighter if you equate strength with darkness. Worth knowing which of those two people you are before you order.
Do not confuse this with the American Amazon Fresh Colombia bean, which is roasted and packed in the USA, sold in a 32oz bag and carries a completely separate review base. Several round-ups conflate the two. They are different products with different tasting notes.
Grind it finer than you think
This is the one genuinely actionable thing on the page, so do it. Buyers report the bean extracts too fast in an espresso machine, and separately that it makes a weak drink in a moka pot. Same cause behind both: it's a lighter-tasting, less dense roast than the label suggests, so water gets through it quicker than you expect. The fix isn't exotic. Grind finer, tamp properly, and if your shot is running in twenty seconds when it should take twenty-eight, that's the machine telling you to tighten up.
- Filter and pour-over: the easiest place to get a good cup out of it, and where you can stop thinking.
- Bean-to-cup: good, as long as the machine lets you move the grind a notch or two finer.
- Manual espresso: fine, but plan to dial it in rather than dropping to your usual setting and hoping.
- Moka pot: the weakest reported use. Avoid, or buy something else for it.
What it costs against everything else
23p a cup for named single origin arabica is the value story of the whole by Amazon range. The whole bean median here is 63p a cup on the same 18g dose, so you're paying a little over a third of the going rate for a coffee that names its country and carries a certification. That's the argument, and it's a strong one.
What that costs over a year
- by Amazon Colombian£0.23 per cup£168
- Typical whole bean£0.63 per cup, our median£460
At 2 cups a day, by Amazon Colombian costs £292 less a year than the typical whole bean coffee we track. That is the same coffee habit, bought better.
Who should skip it, and what to buy instead
Skip it if what you actually want is a dark Italian-style shot under a thick crema, because a medium arabica with rounded acidity is a different drink and no amount of grinding turns it into one. Skip it if the moka pot is your daily brewer. And skip it if your machine dictates its own grind and leaves you no way to compensate for a fast-running bean, because then the one fix on this page isn't available to you.
Where to go instead, depending on which of those is you.
- After something darker and heavier? Lavazza Qualità Rossa is robusta-backed and built for pressure, at 29p a cup. Want that but decaf? Grano Milano Decaf French Roast.
- Want the same idea but softer and nuttier? by Amazon Brazilian, same 23p a cup, same two-bag packaging.
- Want it roasted in Britain? Planet Java 100% Arabica House Blend at 31p a cup. You're paying 8p a cup for the shorter journey.