Medium Roast Whole Bean Coffee, 100% Arabica Coffee - Hair Bender 12 Ounce Bag with Flavor Notes of Citrus and Dark Chocolate

I’ve been a coffee lover for years, and I’m always on the hunt for something with a little more character. Stumptown Coffee’s Hair Bender definitely does not disappoint! The blend offers a perfect balance of complexity and smoothness. It has rich, bold flavors with a touch of cocoa, caramel, and a slight fruity finish that keeps me coming back for more. I usually brew it in my French press, but I’ve tried it with a drip coffee maker as well, and it holds up great either way. It’s strong, but not overwhelming, and has a nice, clean finish that doesn’t leave any bitter aftertaste. If you like your coffee with a deep, multi-layered profile, Hair Bender is a must-try. It’s a bit on the pricier side compared to your standard supermarket beans, but the quality is absolutely worth it. I’m officially hooked and will definitely be ordering more soon!

Great coffee! I buy it often. It has a rich complex taste. A daily favorite.

Saw this coffee mentioned on a social media platform done by coffee experts. They tasted several coffess and were asked to critique. At the end of the video the 3 had to select their favorite. One of the judges choose this coffee so I thought I'd give it a try. I really like it. It's a bit pricey, but is well worth it.

Read an article that gave this coffee high marks so decided to try it. Overall I am not disappointed with the flavor, but definitely not my favorite. Flavor is too mild for my taste. I tried adding more, but never could get it up to my standards for a good cup of coffee. If you like a very mild flavor this might be for you, but definitely not for me.

Stumptown Hair Bender is not “coffee.” It is structure. It is architecture. It is a calibrated sensory event. I’ve been through the phase. The “this is fine” supermarket beans. The oily, over-roasted charcoal disguised as “bold.” The pre-ground tragedy that tastes like regret and cardboard. Hair Bender is none of that. First: the aroma upon opening the bag. Dense. Layered. Cocoa, citrus oil, faint caramelized sugar. Not the flat, ashy blast of dark roast mediocrity. This is aromatic complexity. You inhale and immediately realize your grinder has a purpose again. The beans themselves? Even roast. No scorched oil slick sheen. No inconsistent mottling. Proper development without tipping into bitterness. Whoever roasted this batch understood heat curves and didn’t just set it and pray. Dial it properly. (Please don’t insult it with a blade grinder.) Medium-fine for pour-over, 18g in, 36g out for espresso in 28–30 seconds. Respect the ratio. Respect the bean. The first sip delivers structured chocolate and balanced acidity — not sour, not sharp, not confused. The citrus is integrated, not screaming. The sweetness is clean, not syrupy. The finish lingers without turning bitter or drying out the palate like poorly extracted nonsense. Milk drinks? Elevated. Straight espresso? Composed. Pour-over? Articulate. If your coffee tastes “fine,” it’s not fine. You’ve just normalized mediocrity. Hair Bender reminds you what calibration tastes like. Is it precious? Yes. Does it deserve to be? Also yes. If you’re not weighing your dose and timing your extraction, maybe sit this one out.

If you're looking for a pourover coffee, you should be aware that freshness can vary depending on when you order and whether or not a bunch of new stock has come in. I ended up receiving some older stock, about 5 weeks old. If you're a fan of pourover, you'll typically want something more fresh, like less than <2 weeks old. However, if you primarily drink espresso or want espresso shots for Cafeé lattes, you'll want coffee that's >2 weeks old so there's less carbon dioxide in the coffee leading to less issues with channeling in your portafilter. Just understand that there can be a great variability. Comparing to the coffee I bought direct from Stumptown, it ended up being only 11 days old. Also as a tip, if you go into the single origin stuff from Stumptown, it'll be even fresher when ordered direct! Mine was only 3-days old. The closer to the beans you receive to their original roast date means the more flexibility you have from when you open your coffee beans to when they are past their optimal tasting period. I mean it's Stumptown, so it'll likely taste great after 3 months, but obv they're better fresh!

I am fairly certain that this coffee's best used by date is March of 18. Its a little hard to read but I am also pretty sure that Stumptown does not date their coffee several months out from when they roast given that espresso blends are best consumed within 3 weeks of roasting and this is pretty much universally known in coffee. Also I have flat out asked their customer service person Melanie how long they recommend for their coffee to be consumed after roasting and they say no more than a month. So I am pretty sure that is an 18 not a 19 given that I ordered this in JAN of 19. If I literally had any other coffee in the house I would have sent this back. Sadly when this arrived it was all I had to use so I used it against better judgment. It was a huge mistake. It tastes terrible compared to the fresh stuff. I cannot believe that Amazon sold me coffee that was literally almost an entire year past its best by date. I am pretty unhappy about it and probably wont buy any grocery from them again if at all avoidable. How they could think this is acceptable I don't know. Shame, because this is really good quality coffee from a good company when fresh.

I enjoy this coffee, but to be honest Stumptown is a pretty safe bet