Consumer reports rated it in their top 5 during the last test a couple of years ago, but only the pre-ground stuff. Curiously, the whole bean rated poorly. In a similar test run by Americas Test Kitchen, they gave the whole bean stuff two thumbs down for having too many "quakers" in the bag. Apparently DD does a better job of quaker removal when making the ground stuff than the whole bean.
ATK determined that there was a direct correlation between how many "quakers" were in each sample of coffee and how good it was...fewer quakers, better coffee.
“Quaker” is coffee-industry jargon for an underdeveloped coffee bean that fails to get sorted out before the roasting stage. Lighter in color, and less dense than a regular, mature bean, quakers can wreak havoc on the coffee's flavor profile, imparting a spoiled taste to the brew. In general, the better the coffee did in the taste testing, the fewer quakers beans were in the bag.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10928519/
Anyhow, if you sign up for the automatic delivery, they give a 20% discount. It costs me about $8.xx to ship four (actual 16oz) pounds. They have specials a couple of times a year for additional discounts. The bags are well enough sealed to still have good aroma and flavor after two months, and we drink about 2lbs a month, so we went with 4lbs every other month automatic.
I think it beats the crap out of most of the supermarket stuff and for a substantially lower price.
