Last Updated on July 9, 2023
I was excited when Aldi first started offering Fair Trade coffee. I was even happier when they added two single-origin, organic Fair Trade varieties in the Barissimo line: one from Peru, and one from Honduras. The packaging tells you that the Peruvian coffee comes from the San Pablo Estate and the coffee from Honduras is grown in the Montecillos region. Having never been to either place, that doesn’t mean much to me, but it might to a more refined coffee connoisseur.
Single-origin organic Fair Trade certified coffee is the holy grail for people like me who love coffee but worry about both pesticides and poor labor practices. In a word, modern hippies. Both of these varieties meet those standards and for a great price ($4.99). They are both good medium-roast varieties, but with slight differences in taste.
These are packaged as whole bean coffees, but you don’t have to own a coffee grinder to get them to the right consistency. I’ve had good success using my food processor as a grinder. You can also use a blender or grind by hand by putting the beans in a bag and rolling it with a rolling pin (or having your kids do it, though you should double-bag it in that case.)
I use a French Press, so I need a fairly coarse grind– larger pieces than pre-ground coffee provides. If you use a drip machine, you need to grind it much more finely. However you brew your coffee, refer to your machine’s manual to know exactly how course or fine your grind should be.
Barissimo Fair Trade Certified Organic Peru Coffee
The Peruvian variety is my favorite of the two. It has a mild, medium (but not boring) flavor with slightly sweet, caramel undertones. It’s mild enough that I don’t add cream to it like I do with stronger coffees. You can use cream or sweetener if you prefer, but they could mask the subtleties of the flavor.
Barissimo Fair Trade Certified Organic Honduras Coffee
The Honduran coffee is also a medium-roast, but the flavor is less complex than its Peruvian cousin. It has a slight chocolate undertone, but overall, the flavor is a little darker and significantly plainer — it reminds me of Folgers coffee. It’s a passable medium-roast cup, but it’s not very interesting. I’ve tried it with cream, and it doesn’t significantly change the flavor.
The Verdict:
If you prefer medium-roast coffee but want to support independent organic farmers, then either one of Aldi’s Barissimo Fair Trade Certified Organic coffees will work for you. I personally recommend the Peruvian variety, but the Honduran coffee is fine if you’re used to typical name-brand coffees like Folgers or Maxwell House.
Today for the first time I bought the Barissimo fair trade certified organic Honduras whole bean coffee. After grinding enough coffee for six cups I brewed the coffee in my drip coffee maker, it was the best tasting coffee to date! And the price $4.99 you cannot go wrong with this exceptional coffee.
I have enjoyed a variety of Aldi Coffees and have not really found a bad one and the price is awesome. As care as the flavored K cups I only get the regular flavored ground coffee ones, if I want a large K use my little italian pot and milk frother. Aldi also sells Bustello Cafe.
Okay so spell correct. If I want a latte I use my Italian coffee pot. Not the K cups.
Waiting for special coffees to come out understand they are seasonal, such as Salted Caramel would love to see this one carried year round.
I have the exact opposite taste, I prefer the Honduras over the Peru. I do prefer strong, earthy flavors though.
The Peru coffee has a nice syrupy taste that reminds me of a mocha java….as for the Honduras coffee…I find it to have a slight citrusy taste leaving behind chocolate undertones.
I have quit shopping at Aldi’s !!! first they drop my Friendly Farmer Hazelnut sugar free coffee creamer and substitute some chemical tasting crap. now they no longer carry the whole coffee beans from Peru. Maybe they should ask their customers what they like instead of a buyer that doesn’t use the goods to begin with. There appears to be no easy way to contact Aldi’s management.
Old comment, but I’m buying a bag of Peruvian right this second. The price is now $6.19, but I look forward to trying it
Yeah, I noticed the best used by is 2 years out, so it will say best by 03/ 2025, and there is another code before it in a smaller font, like M4 20032023, that seems to indicate the manufactured date, so in this example I bought my Honduras like 6 months later even with the vacuum seems still holding. I get small amount of crema. I wonder by the time we in the US received the shipment, what’s the earliest date it arrived after roasting? I have not tried the Peru one, is it a big difference from Honduras one? Honduras one I think it’s ok, just as @Elizabeth described here, it’s like not bad, but not quite like the Colombian I am looking for. I think the Honduras if extracted a bit over would be great for that bold espresso taste. I often under extracted it, so it’s a bit more on the sour side.
Coffee isn’t vacuum sealed exactly. They put a valve on the bag so gasses can escape from fresh coffee.