Death Wish Coffee Organic Dark Roast Ground Coffee

The bag has a skull and crossbones on it, which tells you most of what Death Wish is going for. It’s a dark roast blend of smooth arabica and robusta beans, and the robusta is there on purpose: those beans are naturally high in caffeine. The tasting notes are baker’s chocolate and cherry, with a heavy, smooth body and low acidity, and the roaster aims for a bold cup without burnt or bitter notes.

This is the ground version, 16 ounces, USDA Organic and Fair Trade certified, ready for a drip machine or a French press. It’s a consumable, which makes it a smart pick for a dad who insists he has everything. He can’t already own a bag of coffee he hasn’t drunk yet, and it won’t sit on a shelf collecting dust.

It suits the dad whose first full sentence of the day comes after the first cup, the early riser who takes his coffee dark and serious.

The catch: this one is ground, so it starts to lose freshness once the bag is open, and a strong dark roast won’t please someone who likes a mild cup. If he grinds his own beans, look for the whole bean version instead.