La Republica Espresso de Nicaragua Reserve Coffee Ground for Espresso Maker (Lion's Mane, Reishi, Chaga, Dark Roast, 60 Servings)

The plastic “envelope” exploded in the bubble wrap “envelope”. Maybe card board would keep the coffee grinds from spilling out to the plastic envelope. Love this coffee but not the clean up upon opening the bubble wrap envelope.

I'm still getting used to the idea that healthy MUSHROOMS have been added to my morning java, in the forms of coffee and espresso. I have to admit, the image of mushrooms + coffee still create a little hesitation, because the outcome can be so different with different brands.But, since I'm also excited thinking about my "perks with benefits", I've been trying different ones!With some brands I've tried, there's definitely more of a "prominently earthy" taste, and with some others I can't even tell there's any difference compared to my regular brewed "plain" coffees or Espresso.The flavor of this "La Republica Espresso de Nicaragua Reserve Mushroom Coffee Ground for an espresso maker" is "just right" for coffee/espresso flavor and mild for the mushroom flavor-it's almost undetectable.I like that the instructions include measurements for both drip coffee maker and French press. I did find that the grind was a little too fine for my coffee maker, as the grounds compacted a bit and the water had some difficulty draining through. Next time I'm using the espresso pot. I also like that the bag has a really nice "zipper"-close after tearing covering off.At first glance, the price for 12 oz seems "pricey". But when you consider it states the bag contains 60, 6 oz servings, that amounts to about .50 cents a serving. So I guess it's not too bad even if MY servings are more than 6 oz.If you are "curious" or new to mushrooms in your coffee, this is a nice one to get.

It's always exciting for me to find a craft roasted decaf coffee, and to find a mushroom coffee is a real treat. The grounds smell rich and deep and the brewed cup adds an earthy aroma. The coffee is flavorful, primarily earthy. It tastes like coffee but that flavor is balanced with the earthy flavor from the mushrooms. I enjoy darker coffees and this really satisfies me, plus it has no acidity.With a lot of instant mushroom coffee mixes, you get a lot of sediment if you don't keep stirring it. I'm not sure how much of a benefit there is from the brewed coffee if you run it through a paper filter. I use a mesh filter, which did leave some sediment, though, if there is a benefit.Overall, while this is a fairly pricy option (par for the course with mushroom extracts), it's a pleasant coffee and perfect for any time since it's decaf.

This coffee comes as a reasonably fine grind (as the name Espresso would suggest) and is a nice dark roast. It also contains a blend of mushrooms to combine the benefits of coffee with those of mushrooms. I find that mushroom coffees can range from tasting a lot like mushrooms to hardly tasting like them at all (pretty much tasting like you’d expect a coffee to taste). This coffee is more the latter and tastes like coffee.The directions on the back of the bag are for drip and french press. While you may be able to use a finer grind like this in a drip coffee maker, I would suggest not trying to use them in a traditional french press. I found that it does do well in my AeroPress coffee maker (I also tend to like a finer grind to my coffee, especially for my AeroPress).I am usually more into a medium roast as many dark roasts can just taste down right burnt, but this dark roast truly is well done and retains a lot of good flavors without punishing the pallet with charred coffee bean remains. I was able to pick out various notes in the flavor profile while also enjoying a roastiness that didn’t overwhelm the natural flavors of the bean. I couldn’t hardly taste the mushrooms, and I think the blend used here does well to complement the flavors of the selection of beans from Nicaragua.The coffee comes in a foil lined bag that has a zip seal at the top of it. The seal and bag seem to do well to keep the coffee fresh and I never had an issue with it spilling out or letting a ton of aroma out. To me, these are good indications that the coffee will keep in the bag and not oxidize too quickly.

Waste of $$$

I was pleased to find that this coffee doesn't give mushroom flavors or scents - it just tastes like coffee. Very smooth and mellow. One thing I discovered is that even though I got the decaf and not the espresso roast, it is fairly silty which became apparent when I made myself pour-over cups of this brew. At a certain point, the water stopped dripping through the cone, and even a bit of stirring didn't really get it back up to speed. I assume that this is because the mushrooms are finely ground, even though the grind of the actual coffee looks fairly normal. Because of this I also tried brewing this in my moka style espresso maker, and that actually worked fine and will be my preferred method for this decaf, since the pour-over was being fussy.

In recent days, my father in-law was showing me a mushroom coffee he has been drinking. The ground had a strong -and not so pleasant- smell, but I didn't taste it. Later, I saw this La Republica and decided to give it a try, even when I am not a fan of "Dark Roast" coffees.To start, it comes in a quality resealable bag that helps keep the coffee fresh, and even with the bag sealed, you can smell the coffee. You open it, and confirm the good smell from the grounds.The brewing smell and color were very pleasant and dark. We decided to try it black at first and then as we usually drink coffee, with milk (not creamers) and sugar. I have to say, it was a strong black coffee with a different taste, but not a burnt nor strong mushroom taste. Then, we poured some milk and sugar, and it definitely gave it a smoother flavor.We both agreed that this coffee has an excellent blend, since it really tastes like coffee... but includes mushroom extracts. Other positive characteristics are that it is organic, vegan, gluten-free, etc. As a not so good note, it is pricey.