Espresso Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Pungently bright, lively. Ripe citrus, anise, dark chocolate, fresh-cut cedar in aroma and small cup. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel; flavor saturates a crisply dry finish. In three parts milk the chocolate blooms gently with continued hints of citrusy brightness.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisply rich, dense-bodied, slightly smoky. Dark chocolate, cedar, roasted almond, a hint of flowers in aroma and small cup. Very full, dry mouthfeel. Dark chocolate carries into a rich though drying finish. Smoothes out in three parts milk; a sweet chocolate dominates with continued smoky and cedary complications.

Sweet, richly complex. Honeysuckle, watermelon, strawberry, hints of pungent sandalwood and roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Deep, floral-toned acidity; lightly syrupy, lively mouthfeel. Flowers and a rather chocolaty cacao nib in particular carry into a resonant finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly intense. Carob, prune, brown sugar and moist tobacco leaf delicately expressed in aroma and pungently in the small cup with further complications of lime, cherry and cedar. Lightly smooth, creamy mouthfeel; the tobacco and cedar carry with particular clarity into the finish. Three parts milk rounds the carob and brown sugar to a sweet chocolate nuanced by the fruit and tobacco.

Immense, complex aromatics. Floral notes stretch from lush narcissus to crisp lavender; fruit from orange to sweet papaya. Honey, pungent sandalwood, roasted cacao nib. Richly tart, cleanly wine-like acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Richly dry, deeply flower-saturated finish with a slight savory edge.

Reviewed as espresso. Rich, round, big. Dark chocolate, fresh-cut cedar, peach-like fruit, orange zest in aroma and small cup. Full, syrupy mouthfeel. Chocolate carries into a resonant though drying finish. Retains its rather massive mouthfeel and cedary chocolate in three parts milk, though shows best in taller milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, shifting complexity. Dark chocolate, hazelnut, a hint of night-blooming flowers in aroma and small cup. An apricot-like note in the aroma brightens and turns delicately citrusy in the small cup and in a sweetly drying, chocolate-toned finish. Buoyant, creamy mouthfeel. Chocolate dominates in three parts milk, crisply sweet and nut-toned.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet, delicate, balanced. Vanilla, orange, citrus flowers and roasted cacao nib are lightly expressed in aroma and deeply in the small cup. Smoothly silky, lively mouthfeel; crisply resonant finish. Flavor carries well into three parts milk: almondy orange, cacao nib, flowers.

Crisply sweet, deep. Dark chocolate, hazelnut, cherry, anise, night-blooming flowers in aroma and small cup. Full, velvety mouthfeel; flavor simplifies but carries into a balanced finish. Delicately complex and sweet in three parts milk: chocolate, hints of cherry, nut and flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly pungent. Fresh-cut cedar, roasted cacao nib, orange zest, rich prune in aroma and, more pronounced, in the small cup. Crisp but rather heavy mouthfeel; flavor consolidates though persists in the finish. Quietly but resonantly pungent in three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly tart, complex. Dark chocolate, butter, blood orange, apricot and licorice root in aroma and small cup. Full, syrupy mouthfeel. Tartly dry, flavor-saturated finish. Flavor, particularly sweet chocolate and a zesty orange, carries with some complexity into three parts milk.

Deep, savory/sweet. Dark chocolate, fresh-cut cedar, plum, hints of rose and perhaps thyme in aroma and small cup. Full, lightly syrupy mouthfeel; clean, rich and, chocolate-toned in the finish. In three parts milk a complexly expressed, plummy dark chocolate dominates.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, sweetly pungent. Dark chocolate, banana-like fruit, lavender, malt in aroma and small cup. Heavy, almost fudgy mouthfeel; flavor consolidates in a rich though drying finish. Strong presence in three parts milk: crisp, richly malty chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by a Singolo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. A prune-toned fruit is complicated by a salty chocolate and sweet wood in aroma and small cup. Heavy but rather inert mouthfeel. Salty and astringent sensations dominate in the finish. Very woody in three parts whole milk, though the pruny fruit sweetens to a pleasant chocolate.

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. Scorched and astringent. Burned caramel, gently charred cedar, dark chocolate, a floral hint in the aroma. Leanish mouthfeel. A drying woody sensation dominated the flavor of the small cup, with hints of dark chocolate and rubber. Rich but very drying, slightly salty finish. In three parts whole milk displays a woody but sweet chocolate with a slight rubbery hint in the background.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by the Rivo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated separately using a conventional steam wand. Plum, dark chocolate, gently scorched wood in aroma and cup. The roasty fruit shows a slightly salty tendency in the cup, but sweetens again in a pleasant finish. Roundly chocolaty in three parts milk, though with a continued dry, woody edge.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by a Singolo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. Shots from the tested samples of this blend were rather uneven in aroma and flavor, suggesting that blending may not have been sufficiently thorough before the coffee was ground and put in capsules. The mouthfeel was full and syrupy in all shots, but in flavor and finish some shots were dominated by a simple woody molasses, whereas others were livelier, with the wood note more aromatic, the molasses approaching carob, and hints of a tart fruit. The best shots were particularly impressive in three parts whole milk, where they displayed a roundly nuanced milk chocolate.

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.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by the Rivo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated separately using a conventional steam wand. Soft, simple, chocolaty. Distinct chocolate, hints of orange and cedar in aroma and small cup. Smooth, slightly lean mouthfeel. Flavor fades in the short finish, but a pleasant hint of chocolate revives in the long. Delicate in three parts milk with the chocolate sensation showing some richness and hints of complexity.

Evaluated as espresso produced in the Nespresso-recommended standard 40ml (1.35-ounce) shot by a Nespresso capsule espresso brewer and with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. Sweet-toned, with distinct floral and fruit – mango, apricot – notes in aroma and small cup. Very lightly syrupy mouthfeel; the finish is sweet, clean, simple. Fades a bit in three parts milk, though a delicate floral-toned chocolate persists.