Organization: Eight O'Clock Coffee, Montvale, New Jersey
Coffee: 100% Colombian Whole Bean
Reviewed: October 2008
Overall Rating: 90 points
Roast (Agtron): Medium (53/64)
Estimated Price:
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Origin: Colombia.

Notes: Recommended retail store price is $5.64 per 12-ounce valve bag, an equivalent of $7.52 per pound. Eight O'Clock coffee originated with the A&P supermarket chain in 1919, and is one of America's most long-lived and traditional coffee brands, offering whole-bean, all-Arabica coffee in retro-looking bags at prices that come close to competing with cheap, robusta-heavy canned blends. In 2005 Eight O'Clock was acquired by Tata Coffee, a well-managed, vertically integrated Indian coffee growing, exporting, roasting and retailing company. Visit www.eightoclock.com or call 800-299-2739 for more information.

Blind Assessment: A classic morning cup. Delicate but lush, crisp yet voluptuous, with cherryish fruit and hints of chocolate and tart orange carrying from aroma through finish. Balanced and well-integrated acidity, medium weight but silky mouthfeel, clean, lingering finish with a slight walnut-like astringency in the long.

Who should drink it: As we tasted it, a traditional breakfast cup that both lives up to and transcends its venerable brand. Given the volume and anonymity of coffee needed to fill the Eight O'Clock 100% Colombian bags over the course of a year, some variation on the profile described here should be expected.

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