Espresso Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Deep and balanced aromatics that suggest tart green apple, sweet plum with jasmine-like flowers that follow into the small cup and comingle with cocoa powder, citrus zest, walnut and a spicy note that is reminiscent of cinnamon or ginger. Leanish mouthfeel with a slightly syrupy edge. Cocoa powder turns to a bakers chocolate and the spicy note transforms into cedar-like aromatic wood in a dry finish. Nicely balanced in two-thirds milk; bakers chocolate persists while the steamed milk adds a sweet nuttiness.

A pungent musty note reads charitably as dark chocolate in some cups, with a bit of crisp, apple-like complication. In other cups it reads mainly as musty. Best feature is a fullish though slightly rough mouthfeel. The chocolate suggestions fade quickly in a drying finish. We deducted three rating points from the raw score for the uneven cups and the musty suggestions.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly pungent. Dark chocolate, slightly scorched cedar, and a lush, coconut-like fruit in aroma and small cup. Full, syrupy mouthfeel. Sweetly chocolaty short finish but mildly drying in the long. Excellent presence in two parts milk, where chocolate, cedar and fruit all persist.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, sweetly tart, very complex in the small cup: mandarin orange, layered suggestions of milk chocolate, apricot, brandy, fresh-cut fir, anise. Syrupy mouthfeel. The orange note turns ripe and sweet in the finish. Soft, delicate and impressively complex in two parts milk: chocolate-toned orange, apricot, a continued hint of fir.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisply complex from aroma to finish: tart orange, flowers, dark chocolate, almond. Lightish but silky mouthfeel. Fades just a bit in two parts milk, but maintains its tartly orangy milk chocolate presence.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich aromatics: ripe red apple, caramel and rose-like flowers carry from the aroma into the short cup where they are deepened and complicated by hints of dark chocolate and fir. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor mutes but gently persists in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Fresh-cut fir, cedar and orange-like citrus in the delicate aroma. Lightly syrupy body. Intense flavor: fresh-cut fir persists, complicated by a caramelly milk chocolate and a brisk walnut. Flavor carries well into a complex, resonant finish. Balanced in two parts milk; the fir sweetens and a suggestion of lemon emerges.

Evaluated as espresso. Intense, multidimensional citrus in the aromatics: layered suggestions of grapefruit, lemon, lime. Light but buoyant mouthfeel. Lively in the short cup: cranberry, lime zest, chocolate and cedar carry into a dryish finish. Balanced and sweet in two parts milk: more sweet citrus and a hint of toasted almond.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned, pleasing but simple aromatics: roasted almond, lemon, grape. Buttery mouthfeel. Dry plum, lemon/lime-like citrus and anise carry from the small cup into finish. Continued hints of lemon and anise in a well-balanced, two-part milk drink.

Evaluated as espresso. Subtle, balanced aroma. Dark chocolate, flowers and berry carry into the cup with the addition of peach-like stone fruit and hints of fir. Deeply syrupy mouthfeel. Dark chocolate dominates the sweet, quiet finish. Fades somewhat in two parts milk, though the peach-like stone fruit ripens and chocolate notes sweeten.

Evaluated as espresso. Smoothly round aroma: toasted almond, cocoa-toned caramel and apricot-like stone fruit. Syrupy mouthfeel. Turns crisper in the small cup: the almond turns smoky and walnutty, the caramel deepens toward a cedary dark chocolate. Dominates richly in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Elegant aroma: milk chocolate, toasted nuts and rose-like flowers. Creamy, rich mouthfeel. Milk chocolate deepens to dark chocolate and the rose-like flowers to lavender in the small cup with complications of cedar and stone fruit. Hints of all carry into to a long, resonant finish. Flavor softens but maintains presence well in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned aroma: chocolate, nut, cherry. In the small cup buttery mouthfeel with excellent depth and balance; the chocolate turns caramelly and the fruit toward a zesty orange, both supported by a pungent cedar. In the finish good flavor persistence but slightly bitterish. Maintains flavor with authority in two parts milk: rich, pungent, with hints of continued orange, cedar and chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned and deep. Raisin-toned chocolate and a hint of flowers in the aroma. Syrupy mouthfeel in the small cup; the chocolate turns crisp and cedar-toned, and the fruit plumps out to apricot and melon. In two parts milk rich, bittersweet chocolate and continued apricot-like fruit.

Evaluated as espresso. Very sweet-toned, gently bright aroma: sweet cocoa, pineapply fruit. In the small cup lean but silky mouthfeel, with the fruit and cocoa notes deepened and enriched by hints of wine, cedar and leather. In two parts milk a sweet chocolate dominates complicated by gently tart fruit.

Evaluated as espresso. Intense aroma: semi-sweet chocolate, rose-like flowers, sweet cherry. All carry into a cup complicated by pungent citrus and aromatic wood. Syrupy mouthfeel. The chocolate and rose notes linger in a complex finish. Strong presence in two parts milk: dry, lemony and dark-chocolate-toned. Begins to soften and sweeten toward toffee in three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Elegantly sweet aroma and flavor in the short cup suggests evening flowers, almond-like nut, dark chocolate and a nectarine-like stone fruit. The stone fruit develops a bright, citrusy edge in the cup. Lively, lightly syrupy mouthfeel; citrus and chocolate carry into the finish. Pronounced presence in two parts milk; the citrus and chocolate character show up with particular clarity.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly sweet, custardy milk chocolate notes dominate aroma and flavor, saved from simplicity by a green apple tartness and a hint of cedary pungency. The finish in the small cup is surprisingly tight and drying, but the roundly sweet, mousse-like chocolate notes and the hint of tart fruit make an impressive return in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. In the small cup roundly balanced but engagingly complex. Melony fruit, apple, brandy, dark chocolate suggestions in both aroma and cup. Light-footed, creamy mouthfeel; deep, cleanly resonant finish with particular persistence of the dark chocolate note. Strong presence in two parts milk, dominated by a fruit-toned bittersweet chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned and balanced in the small cup; heady floral notes anchored by pungent cedar and anise and a hint of nut-nuanced chocolate. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel; excellent flavor persistence in a slightly drying finish. In two parts milk pronounced presence with a complex, bittersweet chocolate dominating.