Since Sobeys recently takeover of the Safeway chains, their store brand under the Complements label has some surprisingly great products. How about coffee? I just picked up a bag of Complements Organic Sumatra Blend for experiment.
The bag I pick up has a best before date of Dec 2017, I just hope this bag will be fresh because the “best before” date seems to vary from roasters to roasters.
Upon opening the bag, out of my surprise the beans look quite fresh. It doesn’t have that explosion of coffee aroma when I open it. They look like medium roast and the beans sizes are not consistent (they are blend). There are very very few broken pieces, I think these could easily be Grade 2 or 3 beans. I would estimate there are 3 kinds of beans in the mix. For $6 a bag, I think the quality is satisfactory.
The usual setup with the Aeropress in reverse to give it an immersion brew. This coffee is high on acidity, it is slightly sour on the first taste but not over-powering. Our of my surprise, it has a medium and strong body that leaves little or no bad after-taste. I would categorize this on the green/sour and slightly tangy/citrus tone. This could go well with or without cream.
The Complements Organic Sumatra Blend is exceeding my expectation for a store brand coffee. It has a medium body, a tangy citrus after taste makes this an enjoyable cup of coffee. Because it is not a strong/dark coffee, it should satisfy most coffee drinkers. I wish this could be a little less sour for the initial taste.
This coffee should be enjoyed hot brewed, I think the sour initial taste would amplify if cold brewed.