Lidl Deluxe Colombian Risaralda Roast & Ground Coffee

£2.49 for 227g from Lidl. So a good price. Grade 4 roast. This is lovely. Creamy and smooth with a lovely body that is rich and flavoursome, but not overpowering. Nicely balanced all round with little flavour treats in all directions. My gosh I like this. This is a gentle, subtle brew. Low acidity and low burnt notes, even though this is a Grade 4 roast. There's a range of nut flavours - peanut, almond and hazelnut. This is soft, relaxing, and invites further drinking to explore the flavour combinations a bit more. I'm going to enjoy this one. My sort of coffee. The more I drink this the more I like it, and it has come top in three blind taste tests I've done against other Colombian coffees.

Risaralda is an area in Colombia that is part of Unesco's World Heritage Site for its historic coffee landscape and its global significance as representative of Colombia's coffee production. While Colombian coffee growers promote the region, opinion is divided, with some feeling the best Colombian coffee grows out of the region.


Date: Sept 2015  Score: 7/10

This does pretty much what I want in an everyday coffee. It is easy drinking yet flavoursome. There's flavour and character but without excessive bitterness or acidity. It is easy to make, and enjoyable to drink. It is rounded and satisfying in the mouth, and gives off a warm aroma. It's not an exciting coffee, but most of the time I don't want that - I just want a flavoursome and satisfying coffee that's quick and easy to make. And I love the flavour of this one. Crisp toffee, chocolate, butter and almonds. Nice.


Date: March, 2018   Score: 8


This is currently:

Best quality Colombian
Best value for money Colombian

***

Colombian coffee

Lidl Tea & Coffee

Percol Smooth Colombia / Easy Drinking Colombian

£2.49 from Lidl for the standard 227g, so an average price. Packaging is bright, but not attractive, and there is no reseal tape. The design appears to be giant lily pads, which is confirmed by the blurb on the back which tells us that "Colombia is home to over 130,000 species - including the giant water lily (which can support the weight of anything from a poisoned dart frog to a small child)."We are told nothing about where the coffee is from, other than somewhere in Columbia. The coffee is both FairTrade and Good For Life, which is Percol's own charity.

It has a medium roast, grade 3, though still manages to be fairly assertive with a fair amount of burnt notes. The coffee is gritty and sludgy in the mouth - something I've experienced before with Percol coffees. There are some bright notes, with pleasant acidity, and the coffee finishes with a pleasant chocolate and hazelnut flavour. I could possibly like this if it were not for the gritty grind.

I've tried this a few times now at various strengths, temperatures and brew times, and I've not quite managed to get a totally satisfying brew out of it - sometimes it's too thin, other times too acidic - though on the whole it's not offensive, and while unremarkable can be acceptable and pleasant.

Name change from "Colombia - The Smooth Coffee" to "Smooth Colombia"


Date:  Sept  2015    Score: 4 - 5

Another name change.  I like Colombian coffee - you get a proper coffee taste, and it tends to be easy drinking.  It can be a bit variable when making it - sometimes a bit too assertive or sludgy, sometimes a bit too watery, and sometimes both, and there are no heavenly delights or surprises. It's just a decent everyday coffee.


Date: Feb 2018    Score: 4

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*CoffeeAdventurer
 

Colombian coffee

Percol

Percol

Percol was founded in 1987, and mainly sells coffee from Central and South America

Percol (the main brand of  the Food Brands Group), operates their own Good for Life charity that supports families in third world communities.

Guardian article

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CoffeeJudges

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Colombian coffee

Colombian coffee is regarded by many as among the best, if not the best, in the world. Since 2011 the coffee growing area has been a World Heritage Site.The coffee is apparently comparable to Costa Rican or higher grade Brazilian..

"The highland Arabicas thrive under ideal climate conditions: clouds, guamo and banana trees protect the coffee plants from scorching heat and severe winds. The Colombian coffees are a generally soft but very aromatic. Their body is somewhat richer than Brazilian coffees, but equally soft and rounded in taste. The Supremo coffee with its big beans can be described as velvety and well balanced."

"Colombia is second only to Brazil in overall coffee production and first in quantity of Arabicas grown. The Juan Valdez ad campaign helped make Colombia the best known origin. “Supremo” is the highest grade, based on bean size. Colombian coffee has long been considered generally good, but unspectacular. Some really fine coffees, however, are produced in Colombia, mostly in the southwest part of the country."


 Coffee Review

ColombianCoffeeHub

CoffeeChemistry

FastCompany

Dallmayr.

InterAmerican

Reviews

Lidl Deluxe Colombian Risaralda 
Best quality Colombian coffee
Score: 7  Price: £2.49 for 227g

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference
Colombian (Finlays)
Score: 7  Price: £3.30 for 227g

Aldi Alcafe Colombian 
Best cheap Colombian coffee
Score: 5  Price: £1.69 for 200g

Lidl Bellarom Colombian 
Best value for money Colombian coffee
Score: 5  Price:  £3.59 for 454g

CafeDirect Colombia 
Score: 5   Price: £3.79 for 227g

Tesco Finest 
Colombian Supremo coffee beans 
Score: 5   Price £2.99 for 227g

Taylors Cacao Superior Colombian
Score: 5
Price £3.50 - £4.50

Tesco Colombian Coffee 
Score: 4 - 5  
Price: £2.00 for £227g

Taylors
Colombian High Andes 
Score: 5  
Price: Currently not available

Starbucks Colombia 
Score: 5   Price:  £3.50 for 200g

Percol Colombian 
Score: 4 - 5  
Price: £2.50 for 227g & 200g

Lidl Deluxe 
Colombian Supremo Coffee 
Score: 3  Price:  £2.39 for 227g

Asda Extra Special 
Colombian Coffee 
Score: 2  Price: £2.79 for 227g

***

Lidl Deluxe Colombian Supremo

£2.39 for 227g from Lidl. Roast 3. This is a a full flavoured and rather assertive coffee, especially for a grade 3 roast. I have been struggling with it a bit, and have tried both smaller measures and less brewing time to get the right strength for me. I think the right approach is to use the standard 3 spoons, quick stir, and then plunge, pushing down slowly, raising the plunger to allow the coffee to settle, and then finishing off. The mouthfeel is creamy dense, and there's chocolate and all sorts of darkness, but nothing much to contrast it - no acidity or fruit, except a hint of violets. This is pure darkness. It feels intense, as though packed with caffeine, and I am wary of it. The finish is too bitter for me. I'd like to like this coffee, but I am still struggling with it.

"Supremo" relates to the size of the bean - it is the largest of the beans grown in Colombia. Other regions have different names for their largest bean, such as Superior, AA, or Extra Fancy. From what I 've been reading, some feel that as long as beans are the same size when roasted, so they all roast at the same rate, then size doesn't have an impact on the flavour, while others feel that larger size generally results in better quality. Beans grown at higher altitude tend to grow more slowly, and are harder, larger, denser, with more acidity and flavour.
"Highland" refers to the altitude at which the beans are grown. Generally the higher the altitude the more valuable and better tasting the coffee.


Date:  Sept 2015   Score: 3/10

I didn't get on with this. Found it lacked distinctive flavour - just giving off generic strong, bitter coffee vibes. Tried using less, and brewing for shorter times, but still found it too strong and bitter. Ended up drinking it with milk. 

Date: Feb 2018  Score: 3

Colombian coffee

Lidl Tea & Coffee

Tesco Finest Chocolate Tea

Black tea with 5% cocoa and a little bit of vanilla. I've tried it a few times now, and while I don't actively dislike it, I haven't fully warmed to it yet. I prefer it with milk, as that softens it a little. I think the main problem for me is the vanilla. I like vanilla - I love it in yoghurt and ice cream; but I'm not so keen on it when used as a flavouring in herbal teas. The vanilla tends to dominate so that is more of what I encounter than the cocoa. The chocolate is more of a tannic bitterness and a faint caramel note than full chocolate flavour, but it does make itself noticed in the finish.

4/10

Tesco tea and coffee

Pukka Peppermint & Licorice tea

This has more licorice than the Lidl Peppermint & Liquorice, 40% compared with 35%, so is a little sweeter and a little heavier. I prefer the cleaner, fresher, zippier taste of the Lidl - it feels more balanced to me. But it's a minor point, and it's each to their own. Cost is around £2.40 for 20 bags (30 gms). The bags are individually wrapped in packets, but inside is a standard tea bag. The Lidl has the better quality pyramid bags.

The tea  has the earthy warmth and sweetness of the licorice, and the lively zest of the peppermint. They go well together. This is a nice tea, and I  like the box - it's attractively printed inside and out.  If I hadn't had the Lidl version first, I would be excited to find it, but I'm quite happy with my Lidl tea.

Pukka teas are from the Pukka Herbs company, founded in 2001 in Bristol.  They have an extensive range of attractive organic teas. They are FairTrade and trade ethically and responsibly. I like the company, I like the flavour combinations, and the packaging, I love the whole idea. But they tend to be a little pricey.

Date: Sept 2015   Score: 6

***

Mint tea

Pukka teas

Lidl Deluxe Peppermint & Liquorice tea

Intriguing balance of licorice and peppermint.  Refreshing and zippy with mint, and sweet ad earthy with the licorice. Nice one. 

Date: Oct 2020   Score: 8 

I love this. A perfect combination - the freshness and zest of the peppermint, with the dark, malty, earthy sweetness of the liquorice. Lots of companies are doing this combination right now, and I'll be interested to try the others, but from my experience of comparing peppermint teas, I suspect there won't be any significant difference, and I'll end up with the cheapest.


Date: Sept 2015  Score: 8

***

Mint tea

Lidl Tea & Coffee