Espresso Reviews

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.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, deep, balanced in the small cup. Cedar, orange, apricot, dark chocolate, a hint of flowers. Full, syrupy mouthfeel. Excellent presence in two parts milk, though surprisingly dry, displaying a citrusy dark chocolate that it’s tempting to call butterscotch.

Evaluated as espresso. Delicate, floral- and caramel-toned aroma. In the small cup the caramel drops back and a pungent, lemony cedar dominates, complicated by continuing floral top notes. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Caramel returns with the flowers in the finish. Almost loses its way in two parts milk, but the caramel turns pleasantly chocolaty and the cedar contributes some authority.

Evaluated as espresso. Great depth and complex range in aroma and flavor: crisp walnut and dark chocolate, cedary anise, lemon and floral top notes. Heavy, satiny mouthfeel; long, rich, sweetly resonant finish. Surprisingly delicate in two parts milk, but ultimately a sweet but complex chocolate, toffee- and mint-toned, impresses.

Evaluated as espresso. Complex, crisply sweet aroma deepens and turns bittersweet in the small cup: dark chocolate, pungent, mango-like fruit, orange, smoothing again in a resonant, flavor-saturated finish. Medium body, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor simplifies and fades a bit in milk, though the dark chocolate and tropical fruit character persist.

An espresso blend evaluated here for use with non-espresso brewing methods (drip, French press): Distinct dark chocolate in aroma and cup, enlivened by a hint of pungent, grapefruity citrus. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Citrus and lemon carry into a smooth, sweet finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned and quietly complex: pungent fir and dark chocolate dominate, with top-note hints of lemon and flowers. Mouthfeel is smooth if slightly lean; cleanly rich, straightforward finish. At best in two parts milk, where the chocolate softens and rounds to fill out the milk nicely, complicated by continued suggestions of lemon and fir.

Evaluated as espresso. Although both Ken (94) and co-taster Sean Kohmescher (90) lavished a bundle of descriptors on this complex and challenging espresso, the real issue was how much to honor a pungent, musky character as it plays out in a well-pulled espresso. Both Ken and Sean were puzzled by the unusual aroma, but Sean, as he followed it into the cup, found it pleasing but just a bit edgy, perhaps musty, whereas Ken enthusiastically read it rich with the sort of pungent, earthy grapefruit character one finds in the best Sumatras. In two parts milk Sean found this flavor complex “musky” and “antique”; for Ken it was suavely nut-like.

Evaluated as espresso. Complex dried-in-the-fruit profile. “Berries and more berries” in the aroma for co-taster Sean Kohmescher (91). For Ken (91) berries plus a lot of other notes: brandy, malty dark chocolate, fresh-cut cedar. In the small cup Sean felt the aromatics turned crisper and drier: lemon, flowers, green bitters (as in asparagus); Ken read the same rounder, brandyish, cedary berries-and-chocolate notes as he had in the aroma. Both found the body medium and the mouthfeel silky. Rather crisp in two parts milk; cocoa for Ken, lemon and flowers for Sean.

Evaluated as espresso. Gently tart, lemony, delicate. Co-taster Sean Kohmescher (91) was a bit more lavish in his descriptors than Ken (91): “bright citrus” in the aroma; more sweet citrus, vanilla, hints of flowers and honey in the small cup; vanilla and cranberries in the finish. Ken pretty much left it at lemon and flowers. The lemon dominated in two parts milk, but the milk coaxed out a sweet chocolate to round and support it.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken, at 92, liked this unusual sample better than co-taster Sean Kohmescher (90) did, perhaps because Ken read more depth in the aromatics and flavor. Sean stopped at citrus, honey and caramel in aroma and small cup whereas Ken added dark chocolate and pungent fir. Ken also found a bit more going on in the finish, with flowers complicating a deep, bananaish chocolate. In two parts milk Ken and Sean read the cup about the same although applying slightly different language, with Sean citing lemon and ”light caramel” and Ken a “lemony chocolate.”