This is probably close as I'll get to having Gold Coast outside of grinding beans! Maybe someday there'll be an actual Gold Coast verissimo pod available for us folks?
This has become the measure against which I evaluate all other coffees, and they all fall short. In fact, I think this coffee has ruined me for all other coffee, including other Starbucks varieties. The cocoa notes in it are wonderful and it has a sweetness to it without the bitterness often associated with dark roasts. There are times that drinking it reminds me of letting a really good dark chocolate just melt in my mouth. I can honestly say this is the only coffee my family buys.
I've tried all of the Starbucks dark roasts and keep coming back to Cafe Verona. Not too smokey with a bit more chocolate, I enjoy it prepared in both a moka pot and a French press.
I do a 50/50 mix of regular and dear Verona whole beans and grind them fresh every morning. Honestly, it is one of the last things I think about at night before going to sleep: "Coffee in the morning!!!!"