Seattle Reviews

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 30ml/1-ounce shot by a Verismo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated separately using a conventional steam wand, not with milk from the Verismo milk capsule. Pungent, roundly bright. Fir, butter, dark chocolate in aroma and small cup. Smooth but slightly lean mouthfeel; crisp, sweet, slightly drying finish. In three parts whole milk displays a muted but sweet fir-toned chocolate.

Rich, pungently fruit-toned. Ripe grape and apricot, moist pipe tobacco, molasses, roasted cocoa nib in aroma and cup. Lush, juicy acidity; syrupy mouthfeel. Crisp, deeply flavor-saturated finish.

Delicately intense. Very complex aroma and flavor: flowers (plum blossom), ripe lemon, watermelon, moist pipe tobacco, roasted cacao nib. Bright but balanced acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Long, flavor-saturated finish. Turns especially sweet and juicy as the cup cools.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken (91) liked this bright, zesty espresso; his co-taster (92) liked it even better. Both admired the citrus and floral vivacity of the aroma and flavor. Ken and his co-taster both accepted the smooth though rather light mouthfeel as an appropriate complement to the lively aromatics; both enjoyed the emergence of a lower-toned fruit (fig, roasted cacao nib) in the finish. Ken found the sweet-citrus impact in three parts milk a bit more pleasing than his co-taster did, though the co-taster offered an apt descriptor for it: “key lime pie.”

Evaluated as espresso. Both Ken (93) and his co-taster (91) admired the wine-like intensity of this dried-in-the-fruit profile, though Ken read more complexity, in particular floral top notes, in flavor and finish. Both tasters cited a creamy mouthfeel and consistent finish. Especially impressive in three parts milk, where the shot bloomed with a complex expression of fruit-toned chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken (91) and his co-taster (91) recorded identical scores and very similar readings for this lively, balanced espresso: in aroma and flavor sweetly tart fruit (orange, lemon, kiwi) rounded by flowers for Ken and “sweet pea” for the co-taster; smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel; most impressively a very sweet finish with chocolate and cinnamon suggestions. Delicately chocolaty in three parts milk (“pure milk chocolate” according to the co-taster).

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a Keurig-compatible capsule to produce a 6-ounce serving): Buttery dark chocolate, a marzipan-like almond note with an enlivening hint of slightly tart fruit in aroma and cup. Brisk, roast-influenced acidity; very light but silky mouthfeel. Hints of chocolate and walnut survive in a sweet but drying finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a Keurig-compatible capsule to produce a 6-ounce serving): Roundly bittersweet. Carob (or a woody chocolate), caraway seed, a hint of fresh earth in aroma and cup. Round, roast-muted acidity; heavyish mouthfeel. Some flavor survives in a drying finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a Keurig-compatible capsule to produce a 6-ounce serving): Delicate, crisp. Dark chocolate, walnut, a hint of fennel-like herb in aroma and cup. Delicate, subdued acidity; smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Some chocolate and walnut survives in a simple, sweet-toned finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a Keurig-compatible capsule to produce a 6-ounce serving): Crisp, rather deep, quietly complex. Roasted cacao nib, walnut, orangy fruit, a hint of flowers in aroma and cup. Roast-muted acidity; smooth mouthfeel. Sweet, chocolate-toned, though rather drying finish.

Intense with distinct whisky-like notes. Dry, nut-toned chocolate, raspberry, rye whisky, fresh-cut fir in aroma and cup. Rich, delicately bittersweet acidity; silky, lively mouthfeel. The dry chocolate note in particular dominates in a crisp finish.

Lightly scorched cedar dominates in aroma and cup, complicated by dark chocolate, cardamom-like spice and hints of flowers and lemon. Roast-muted acidity. Leanish though smooth mouthfeel. Chocolate moves forward in a simple but sweet finish.

Richly pungent: scorched cedar, cardamom-like spice, and, particularly in the cup, a pleasant hint of dark chocolate. Lean mouthfeel with some silkiness. The chocolate hint carries into a rather sweet, rich finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly and rather tartly bright in aroma and small cup: fresh-cut fir and tangerine-like citrus are rounded by a honey- and chocolate-toned sweetness. Impressively full, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is tartly bright but smooth. Retains character in two- to four-parts milk with a dry chocolate dominating.

Sweetly tart, richly dry. Blackberry and black currant notes dominate in aroma and cup, supported by hints of flowers, honey and cedar. Round, complexly expressed acidity; very smooth, silky mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a sweet-toned, resonant finish.

Round, sweet-toned, balanced. Apricot, orange, caramel, lily-like flowers and a hint of chocolate in aroma and cup. Softly tart acidity; plush mouthfeel. The chocolate hint in particular comes forward in a slightly drying finish.

Sweet but crisply dry in mouthfeel; complex. Tart berry, roasted cocoa nib, sweet coconut and night flowers, hints of mint and fir in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart, wine-toned acidity; lightly syrupy texture. Very sweet but gently drying in the finish.

Sweetly pungent, intense. Molasses, fresh-cut cedar, grapefruit, and a sweet-toned fresh earth note in aroma and cup. Rich, lively acidity; silky mouthfeel. Long, richly flavor-saturated finish.

Bright, sweet, richly floral-toned. Honey, rose-like flowers, fresh-cut fir, zesty tangerine in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart acidity; lightly syrupy, very lively mouthfeel. Long, honey-toned finish.

Comfortable, inviting cup combines a cedary black-currant pungency, dark chocolate sweetness and a vanilla-like floral freshness. Delicate, crisply balanced acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Quietly sweet-toned, resonant finish.