Death Wish Coffee
Dark Roast Whole Bean
7.2Good
An organic, Fair Trade arabica–robusta dark roast with baker's chocolate notes and about 180 mg of caffeine per 6 oz cup.
4$0.66 / cup
Cult favorite
Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Hair Bender
Stumptown's original café espresso blend: citrus, dark chocolate and raisin, forgiving enough to work in nearly any brewer.
8.1
Great
Coffee Reviews score
See the breakdown →
Community
—/10
- Roast
- Medium-dark
- Origin
- 🇮🇩 Indonesia
- Caffeine
- Regular
- Price per serving
- $0.84 / cup
- Dark Chocolate
- Raisin
Certified B Corp Direct trade (roaster-stated)
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Last reviewed October 17, 2026 by the Coffee Reviews editors · How we score
Stumptown's original café espresso blend: citrus, dark chocolate and raisin, forgiving enough to work in nearly any brewer.
Hair Bender is Stumptown's signature blend and the house espresso in its cafés, built from Latin American, Indonesian and East African coffees with roaster notes of citrus, dark chocolate and raisin. Stumptown places it fourth on its five-step roast scale, darker than Holler Mountain but lighter than its French Roast. Home baristas like it as a consistent, grocery-available espresso; the main caveats are shelf freshness and a slightly fussy dial-in.
Best for
- Home espresso and cappuccinos with a classic chocolate profile
- A dependable grocery-store specialty bag
- Households brewing several methods from one coffee
What we like
- Stumptown's own café espresso, tuned to work across espresso, drip, pour-over and French press
- Chocolate-forward profile with enough brightness to stay interesting in milk drinks
- Easy to find at grocery stores and on Amazon
- Roaster states B Corp certification and direct-trade sourcing
Watch-outs
- Origins are listed only by region, with no producers or percentages
- Grocery-store bags can be well past roast; buying direct is fresher
- Some home baristas find it less forgiving to dial in than darker blends
Flavor profile
What it tastes like.
In the roaster’s words
“Citrus, Dark Chocolate, Raisin”
- Dark Chocolate
- Raisin
- acidity
- body
- sweetness
- bitterness
LightMediumDark
How it scored
The breakdown.
8.1Great
Cup score out of 10, weighted across five factors.
- Flavor & cup quality30%8.3
A balanced chocolate-and-citrus espresso blend that independent reviewers rate well (Espresso Mike gave it 89 points), if not as vivid as top specialty single origins.
- Quality & freshness20%8.0
Consistent enough that home baristas keep it as a staple, but Reddit users warn grocery-shelf bags are often stale compared with buying direct.
- Value20%8.1
About $0.84 per 15 g cup at the $19 list price, reasonable for a specialty café blend that is easy to find in stores.
- Sourcing & transparency15%7.4
Stumptown cites direct trade sourcing and B Corp certification, but the blend is disclosed only by region (Latin America, Indonesia, East Africa) with no named farms.
- Community love15%8.4
A long-running Reddit favorite for home espresso and a 'keep it on the shelf' bag, with some calling it tricky to dial in.
Creator video reviews
Watch it in action.
3 positive
Independent creators, verified with YouTube and TikTok. We don’t pay for reviews and creators don’t pay us.
What people are saying
From the forums.
Verbatim from Reddit, forums and long-term owner write-ups — linked so you can read the full thread.
“I drink mostly high grade single origins and roast my own. 100% are used in my espresso machine. Been doing it for many years. However I keep a bag of Stumptown Hair Bender on my shelf at all times. I love it.”
“One of the most consistent performers for me, regardless of machine, is Stumptown Hairbender which you can buy at most grocery stores (and it’s not local).”
“If you’re in the U.S., order something medium roast, fresh, and forgiving — suggest Counter Culture Big Trouble or Stumptown Hair Bender — order direct from the brands online since it’s usually stale when you buy it at target or Whole Foods for those brands.”
“Something along the lines of Hair Bender by Stumptown might work out. It is not the easiest bean to dial in though -- a trait it shares with lighter roasts generally.”
Details
The particulars.
- Origin
- 🇮🇩 Indonesia
- Species
- Arabica
- Format
- Whole bean
- Caffeine
- Regular
- Best brewed as
- Espresso, Pour-over, Drip machine, French press, Lattes & milk drinks
- Certifications
- Certified B Corp, Direct trade (roaster-stated)
- Typical price
- $19.00 for 12 oz (checked October 2026)
- Servings
- ≈ 23 cups at 15 g per cup (12 oz bag); a 5 lb bag is $105
Community
Member tasting notes & discussion.
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Discussion
No discussions yet.
Own Stumptown Coffee Roasters Hair Bender? Ask a question or share your recipe — you’ll be the first.
FAQ
Good questions.
Is Hair Bender a dark roast?
Stumptown puts it fourth on its five-step roast scale, darker than Holler Mountain and lighter than its French Roast, so it sits around medium-dark. Its Amazon listing describes it as a medium roast.
Is Hair Bender only for espresso?
No. It is the espresso in Stumptown cafés, but the roaster says it also brews well as pour-over, drip and French press.
Where does Hair Bender come from?
Stumptown says the blend combines coffees from Latin America, Indonesia and East Africa. It does not publish the exact countries, farms or percentages.
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