Espresso Reviews

Notes of tea rose, honey and orange in the aroma. Long, sustained flavors in the small cup, displaying a deeper, more complex variation of the aroma profile (including brandied fruit, flowers and chocolate) with the flavors persisting in the long, sweet-toned finish. Lean but smooth mouthfeel. Retains impressive complexity in two parts milk: lemon and flowers softly layered on deeper chocolate, nut and caramel tones.

Evaluated as espresso. In the small cup sweet-toned but crisp, with complex and impressive aromatics: fresh-cut fir, lemon, orange, roasted nut, and a hint of milk chocolate carry engagingly from aroma through finish. Smooth but slightly lean mouthfeel. In three parts milk the flavors resolve into a pungent, fruit-toned dark chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Savory-sweet, syrupy and deep in the small cup: cherryish fruit, dark chocolate, brandy, aromatic wood. Simplifies a bit but remains rich in two parts milk: Dark chocolate and aromatic wood dominate; the fruit rounds toward apricot.

Evaluated as espresso. Dark chocolate, cherryish fruit and a hint of cedar in the aroma. In the small cup syrupy and robust: continued dark chocolate and cedar, a savory anise note, hints of flowers and pear-like fruit. Deep, resonant finish. In two parts milk a crisp, richly bittersweet chocolate dominates with continued faint suggestions of anise and flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. Intense, complex aroma: dark chocolate, flowers, nut, fresh-cut fir, toast. Smooth but rather lean mouthfeel; butter, fir, dark chocolate in the flavor. In two parts milk the buttery dark chocolate nicely dominates, with a continuing pungent complication of fir.

Evaluated as espresso. In the small cup some citrusy brightness, but the main sensory excitement is provided by pungent aromatic wood and savory anise notes with a deep backgrounded dark chocolate. Slightly leanish, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Lovely in two parts milk: the aromatic wood notes round to roasted nut and the dark chocolate swells and sweetens.

Evaluated as espresso. Bright and juicy. Flowers, ripe citrus and stone fruit in the small cup with caramel undertones. The fruit carries into a clean finish, with sugary sweetness developing in the long. Two parts milk amplifies the caramel character and rounds the persistent fruit and floral notes.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, rich, smoky dark chocolate with hints of fresh-cut fir and caramel in the aroma. In the small cup fresh-cut fir dominates, complicated by continued smoky dark chocolate, flowers and an apricot-like fruit. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel and crisp, sweet-toned, though slightly astringent finish. Impressively balanced presence in two parts milk: buttery dark chocolate, hints of flowers and apricot.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, sweet-toned aroma: toast, nut, flowers, apricot. In the small cup rather lean in mouthfeel but pleasing in flavor: sandalwood, apricot-like or perhaps mango-like fruit, dark chocolate, a hint of flowers. Rich, flavor-saturated finish. Crisply chocolaty in milk with continued complications of apricot and sandalwood.

Evaluated as espresso. Bright and complex in both aroma and small cup: cedary lemon, distinct floral tones and a cocoaish chocolate. Smooth though rather lean mouthfeel. Sweetens but maintains character in two parts milk: lemon curd and chocolate, with a particularly long and flavor-saturated finish.

Evaluated as espresso. A steady and even-tempered espresso, sweet-toned and balanced. Toast, dark chocolate, cedar and a pineapply fruit in aroma and small cup. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. A cedary chocolate lingers in the long, deep finish and carries with some elegance into two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Opulent, complex and big-bodied. Night flowers and a pronounced brandy-like fruit dominate aroma and the small cup, with a crisp, drying hint of cedar. Plump, syrupy mouthfeel. Long, flavor-saturated finish. Two parts milk turns the brandied fruit toward a minty dark chocolate with a continuing floral complication.

Evaluated as espresso. Pungent and sweet in the small cup: brandy-toned dark chocolate, fresh-cut fir, cherryish fruit, a hint of flowers at the top. Lean though smooth mouthfeel; rich, fruit-toned finish. Two parts milk soften and diffuse the fir and brandyish chocolate notes without obscuring them.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep and sweet-toned in the small cup: cedar, milk chocolate, orangy fruit. Medium-bodied but buttery and supple in mouthfeel. Very sweet finish with a pleasantly drying, walnut-like hint in the long. Seductive in milk, which pushes the chocolate forward and lightens and brightens the fruit.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, orangy dark chocolate, nut, and hints of flowers and aromatic wood in aroma and flavor. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. A nagging astringency betrays the cup in the finish, where it eventually overpowers a chocolaty sweetness. Round, balanced presence in two parts milk: Rich chocolate with a continuing hint of orange.

Complex layers of flavor in the small cup, including sweet lemon, nut, cocoa and flowers. A sweet concentrated fruit note lingers deeply into the finish. In two parts milk the profile softens and rounds, with flowers still evident and the chocolate taking on a spicy character.

Evaluated as espresso. Forcefully bright in the small cup: a berry-like sweetness supports tangy citrus and tart cherry. An impressively flavor-saturated finish combines chocolate, aromatic wood and concentrated fruit. A softer version of the fruit complex carries into two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Cherry and chocolate dominate in the small cup and linger deeply into the finish, with layered complications of flowers, aromatic wood and anise. In two parts milk the chocolate becomes deeper and the fruit slightly less nuanced, but overall flavor remains sweet, round and balanced.

Evaluated as espresso. A complex small cup layered with notes of maple syrup, fir, toasted nut and dried fruit, apricot perhaps. Medium-bodied, but with deep, sustained flavor that carries sweetly into the finish. Flavor becomes even more nuanced in two parts milk: richly sweet caramel supports pungent fruit and aromatic wood notes.

Evaluated as espresso. Smooth, quietly complex. Lemon and flowers in the aroma, with deepening notes of aromatic wood and chocolate in the small cup. Full, syrupy body. Very long, rich finish saturated with chocolate and flowers. Sweetens nicely in milk but simplifies a bit, though the lemony chocolate rings on, particularly in the finish.