Espresso Reviews

Evaluated as espresso produced in a Nespresso-recommended ristretto 25ml (.85-ounce) shot by a Nespresso capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. Rich, deep, dark chocolaty. Hints of cedar and perhaps lemon. The mouthfeel is full, perhaps a bit heavy. Clean, simple, rather deep finish. Imparts a sweet, wood-toned chocolate and syrupy mouthfeel to three parts whole milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet chocolate, pronounced fruit (green grape, ripe apple, peach), almond, and vanilla-like florals, lightly expressed in aroma and richly expressed in the small cup. Full body and silky mouthfeel. Flavor simplifies in the finish, settling toward a crisp chocolate. In three parts milk the small cup’s strengths transform nicely, showing a delicate but distinct buttery chocolate and fine vanilla.

Evaluated as espresso. Dark chocolate, sweet yam, vanilla, roasted chestnut, ripe orange in quiet aroma and vivid, flamboyant flavor. Rich, syrupy mouthfeel. The chocolate and orange resonate in a rich finish and carry rather quietly into three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Complex, savory-sweet. Sweet herb (lavender and sage), dark chocolate, rich molasses, allspice and cinnamon in aroma and more pronounced in the small cup. Creamy mouthfeel. Crisp chocolate and lavender persist in a rich finish. Complexly expressed dry chocolate in three parts milk, nuanced by malt and floral herb suggestions.

Evaluated as espresso. Lushly floral and brightly fruit-toned. Jasmine, raspberry, lime, crisp roasted cacao nib in aroma and small cup. Light, silky mouthfeel; sweet, richly drying finish. In three parts milk the cacao notes fatten to a dry chocolate, the tart fruit ripens and rounds.

Reviewed as espresso. Sweetly and roundly bright. Cherry, plum, cedar, buttery dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Lively, lightly creamy mouthfeel. The buttery dark chocolate moves forward in a balanced, gently rich finish. In three parts milk the chocolate triumphs again, fatter and roundly fruit-toned.

Evaluated as espresso. Pungently sweet. Fresh-cut cedar, caramelly dark chocolate, apricot, a hint of flowers in aroma and small cup. Light but smoothly silky mouthfeel; flavor consolidates in a rich finish. In three parts milk delicate and rather drying, with sweet chocolate notes nicely nuanced by apricot and flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. Aromatic cedar, dark chocolate, orange, fresh-turned earth in aroma and small cup. Velvety mouthfeel; flavor consolidates but persists in a rich finish. Orange and an earthy, cedar-toned chocolate in particular persist in three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned; lively but deep. Chocolate, almond-paste, tangerine and plum notes with vanilla hints in aroma and, more pronounced, in the small cup. Syrupy body; the finish is resonant though gently drying and eucalyptus-toned. The chocolate and citrus further sweeten and soften in three parts milk; the plum note turns delicately floral.

Evaluated as espresso. Immense, sweet, lushly complex. Rich chocolate, pineapple, banana, cherry jam and floral notes in aroma and small cup. Light but smoothly syrupy mouthfeel; sweet, flavor-saturated finish. Flavor persists comprehensively in three parts milk with particularly pronounced floral tones.

Reviewed as espresso. Quiet, round, chocolaty. Butter, dark chocolate, plum/apricot and a hint of raisin in aroma and small cup. Smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. A hint of chocolate carries into a delicate, drying finish. In three parts milk the dark chocolate continues to dominate, with a backgrounded apricot-like fruit.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken (93) and his co-taster (93) both admired this roundly and very discreetly roast-influenced espresso. They found the aroma deeply pungent, the flavor complex with a wide range of sensation: raisin, apricot, flowers, fresh-cut cedar, “crisp, fresh berry” (co-taster). Ken particularly admired the full, syrupy (for the co-taster buttery) mouthfeel. Long, sweet, cedary (Ken’s word) finish. The co-taster in particular made a case for this espresso in three parts milk, where it showed chocolate and a fresh, sugar-cane-like sweetness.

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. In the small cup both Ken (91) and his co-taster (92) admired the bright, refreshing fruit (strawberry in particular) rounded by a fudgy chocolate, an impressively syrupy mouthfeel, and a flavor-saturated but clean finish. Vivacious in three parts milk: orange zest and caramel.

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. Both Ken (93) and his co-taster (91) enjoyed this crisp and rather cleanly wine- and brandy-toned dried-in-the-fruit profile, though Ken enjoyed it two rating points more. The co-taster read “berries, pineapple and dried fruits” in the small cup; Ken’s associations ran to parallel descriptors of grape, orange, apricot and fresh-cut cedar. Both admired the shot in three parts milk, citing a deep, balanced sweetness that for Ken was pleasantly viscous and “banana-like.”

Evaluated as espresso. Both Ken (91) and his co-taster (90) admired a gently bright, citrus-and-berry character in the small cup; Ken found distinct floral suggestions as well. A dark chocolate note emerged clearly and perhaps surprisingly in the finish. Citrus, chocolate and (for Ken) flowers all carried with grace into three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken (93) and his co-taster (88) went rather different ways on this deep, sweet, brandyish, lightly herby dried-in-the-fruit profile. Ken enjoyed the overripe, fermenty fruit notes in aroma and cup; his co-taster was not greatly impressed. Both had good things to say about the mouthfeel (co-taster: “huge and enveloping”); on the other hand, neither were impressed by the rather astringent finish. Ken admired the impact in three parts milk (“juicy and rich”) more than did his co-taster, who found it pleasantly berryish but a bit too tart.

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).

Evaluated as espresso. Ken rated this softly bright espresso three points higher at 92 than the co-taster did at 89. Ken simply seems to have found more going on and liked what he found better: a fuller mouthfeel, a slightly more complex set of aromatics (for Ken citrus, honey, flowers, chocolate; for his co-taster taster citrus, praline, pear), a longer finish and a more complex, persistent flavor in milk.