Marley Lively Up!
| Brand: | Marley |
|---|---|
| Rating: |
Marley Coffee was founded by Bob Marley's son, Rohan. All their coffee is organic and, as you might expect, they have their own estate in the Blue Mountains, in Jamaica.
However, they also source beans globally from Ethiopia and Central America which makes it unclear precisely what goes into each of their three blends.
This is a shame, because I had instinctively assumed – given the Marley name – that I was holding a bag of Jamaican coffee. It was only on reading their website that I came across any hint that this might not be (entirely) the case. At this price point, it's not unreasonable to expect a little more transparency on origin.
This is Lively Up!, their 'espresso roast' blend – the range also includes a medium and dark roasted offering.
The grounds are dark and smell divine; hot wood and redcurrants with a suggestion of molasses in the background and even occasional notes of overripe orange.
Brewed, it's less fruity and the sweetness becomes softer, closer to fudge. There's still a slightly acidic citrus edge lurking underneath, too.
In the mouth, it has a generous body with a nice, dark fruit flavour and a surprisingly delicate bitter edge. There's just enough sweetness to bring those flavours to the front, and it all combines to give a very tasty coffee – 4 stars.
At well over £8 on Amazon these days, Lively Up! is a touch more expensive than the average supermarket coffee, but is quite well priced for the 'premium' side of the market.
Many thanks to Marley for this sample!
This review was originally published 24th March, 2014. It was last updated 1st June, 2023.