SwansonFrench Roast Fine Ground Organic Coffee - Dark 16 Ounce (1 lb) (454 g) Pkg

Old, lacking in color, bouquet & taste. Compared against Seattle Best, Post Alley 5, (Previously Signature Blend No. 5) Smokey Intense Dark Roast Arabica BB 21OCT2022 & LaVazza, Claassico, Medium Roast Arabica/Robusta blend, Intensity 5/10, BB 30SEP2023. Both of these two have been stored unopened in a freezer for 6 months prior to opening 4-6 weeks ago.No idea about the organic claim, but you have a basic Lb silver coffee bag w/4"x2.5" label on the front. The claimed fine grind shows a mosaic of outer shell shards mix within as one would see employing a run of the mill budget electric coffee grinder cutting your own whole beans.The color is darker than your average brown though I would hesitant in referring unto it as a dark. . The LaVazza a tan brown w/SB #5 a true dark black.The Swanson aroma is practically non-existent. Very little coffee listing fairly heavily on the stale side. Not offensive, couldn't be if it wished as there's not enough of a scent, just old/blah.The LaVazza blend is a healthy dose of medium w/SB #5 an intense in your face could smell this if you had a cold.Taste runs along the same lines as smell.I prefer dark. Two measures coffee/2 cups water auto-drip. I use SB #5, in 50/50 measure, to enhance milder blends of coffee I find on sale. I have currently been mixing SB#5 w/the aforementioned LaVazza.Today I mixed SB #5 w/Swanson 'fine dark'. A weak brew. I would not be able to drink the Swanson by itself. On the high end of a medium color it's barker than a tan brown, but it is not dark.It gives the illusion of smooth, in a 50/50 SB#5 blend, because it is so weak. How much of that disappointment is the age of bean since picked, roast, storage and/or age since roasted/ground is hard to say.'French Roast?' No way, no how, not even close. Except for the shards of outer shell in the blend this could be your whatever weekly on sale large plastic jug Plain Jane java. LaVazza Claassico Medium claims on the back, of an actual brand not a sticky label on a generic coffee bag package, of an intensity of 5/10.Using that as a benchmark this Swanson faux French Roast, faux dark would rate a deuce.Perhaps, if you enjoy a milder roast, as the LaVazza Claassico Medium Roast Arabica/Robusta blend Intensity 5/10, you could use three coffee measures of Auld Swanson/two cups water in a drip machine.Even at under eight clams a lb it's no bargain for me. Seriously. More than biased I'm prejudiced to strong/dark roasted fresh ground coffee. To me this Swanson offering was more aligned w/generic coffee.I hope, for Swanson's & potential buyer's sake, that this particular roast/grind was inadvertently mislabeled.As always, YMMV ...ETA: I note that the one 5 star & 4 star rating, prior to mine, included no review. As well the pic of the coffee sack/product is undoubtedly the newer label. Maybe if you pay full price you receive that coffee/bag whilst the rest that use the 60% coupon are shipped the old funky coffee/label.At Swanson store there is no old label coffee pics. Only the new.https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/B340A1E5-5261-4E2C-8ADB-1E97F54F7F53?ingress=2&visitId=14f5cced-4b34-4c56-8786-e46b97d93ed9&ref_=ast_blnI cancelled an order of Swanson 'Fine Dark French Roast' whole bean as the price was considerably higher than ground and the coupon was, as my ground purchase, degraded. Fifty percent off of a higher price for what must be as aged as the ground offering was appealing when I did a Google search. It showed 2 bags at Amazon. What a deal/for YOU such a deal. There was no such deal when I clicked the link to purchase. Realizing I'm being bamboozled on several levels I canceled.ETA: Pulled Maxwell House French Roast Dark, 25.6oz best by 21FEB2023, out of the freezer. BBD is 5 months away and it has been sitting in the freezer for a couple of months. When I popped the vacuum seal a nice robust aroma immediately wafted up. No claims of MH being organic, but the dark colour and pleasant bouquet was welcomed whilst a sharp contrast to the feeble Swanson offering.I attempted a return, but Amazon wanted $7.99 to come by in a big brown truck and picked it up. No sense in throwing good money after bad. I will continue to mix what I have of Swanson's, at 50/50 w/other fresher tastier coffee, until it is depleted.If you use coffee out of the plastic jugs w/snap lid make sure you place a sheet of wax paper over the opening to help maintain freshness over the duration.As always, YMMV ...