Review of Java Paradise Dark Roast by Distant Lands Coffee

Distant Lands Coffee - Java Paradise Dark Roast

When I saw this coffee on the store shelf, I thought "Nice package, but is the coffee inside any good?" The apparent price of this dark roasted blend seems rather low when compared to the premium coffees sitting on the shelf beside it. So you look at what appears to be a price that is one dollar or more lower than other brands surrounding it, you think that it might not be a quality coffee. The price is lower for a simple reason - the package of dark roast coffee that they are selling is a 10 ounce size, not the typical 12 ounce or 1 pound one. The price per ounce calculates to be a few cents cheaper than Seattle's Best Coffee that is sitting very close to it.


On the package they refer to it as an Arabica blend that produces, "a bold, yet smooth cup." The coffee that is in this blended coffee is 100% Arabica that is a Rainforest Alliance Certified™ Coffee. For more information on what this means, check out the information on it on the Mother Earth News website. If you are interested in doing the "right thing," for the planet, Mother Earth News is a great place to go - I recommend them highly. In addition, you can find out more by visiting the Distant Lands Coffee web site.

The coffee that I purchased was already ground, so I decided to taste it as a drip coffee. A couple of days later I tried it in my french press. The flavor results were similar, so I decided to report on my findings about the drip coffee that resulted.

Upon opening the bag of ground coffee, I could smell the richness of a dark roast that had a "sharpness" to the the aroma - I personally thing it was due to the acidity of this blend. Once I brewed up a pot, I smelled a slight scent of rubber in the brew. Note - this is more typical of Robusta coffees and not of Arabica blends. I confirmed the aroma that I was smelling by rubbing some of the coffee between my fingers - there is a faint rubbery smell - could be due to a higher caffeine content - I am not sure.

The color of the grounds also looked like a deep medium roast mixed with dark roast, but the first sip definitely was dark roast coffee.

This coffee has a pleasing taste that has a certain earthy quality. The acid level of this blend is a little higher than most, but it is a good coffee to keep on hand and it definitely is good enough for my tastes. The cup it produces is bold, yet not overpowering. I would say the statement that Distant Lands put on the package is correct.

For food pairings, I would say desserts or fruit that is not terribly sweet. I tried it with one of my favorite items, a Snickers bar, and found that it goes well with the blend of chocolate, caramel and peanuts that are present in the candy. Strawberries without chocolate or with a good dark chocolate would be excellent for this brew.

I discovered a couple of nice .pdf information articles on the Distant Lands site, so I thought I would share them:
The Perfect Roast
The Ultimate Cup


I hope this review helps you in your search for better coffee and, as always, may your next cup be your best.