Espresso Reviews

Both Ken (90) and co-taster Byron Holcomb (89) enjoyed this blend's natural sweetness. Ken found the sweetness balanced by a "gentle pungency," which could have been another term for what Byron described as dry berry or black currant notes. The aroma was delicate and "floral" (Byron), the mouthfeel buttery for Ken and nectar-like for Byron. Nicely balanced and gently chocolaty in four parts hot milk.

Sweet, deep, crisp aroma: aromatic wood, toast, hints of flowers and tropical fruit. In the small cup big body, slightly rough but deeply syrupy mouthfeel, notes of flowers, dark chocolate, banana- or coconut-toned fruit. Sweet, rich, flavor-saturated finish. Crisply chocolaty in milk, though it does not completely open and bloom.

Aromatic notes of chocolate and toast, with hints of vanilla and flowers. In the small cup, a lightly syrupy body with complex flavors of berries, stone fruit, caramel, licorice and smoke and a long, mildly roasty, mildly astringent finish. Sweetens and simplifies in milk with pronounced caramel notes and hints of nut and milk chocolate.

Deep aroma: sweet nut, hints of orange, toast and vanilla. Smooth, buttery mouthfeel and pungent flavors of cedar, more orange and caramel, toasted grains and a hint of flowers. The sweet nut tone returns in the finish. The subtle flavors found in the small cup turn subdued in milk, limited to a mild, milky chocolate and toasted nut; finishing with a fine sweetness but a hint of astringency.

Evaluated as espresso. Delicate if rather subdued aromas of flowers, toast, chocolate and vanilla. In the small cup, a lightly syrupy mouthfeel, flavors of orange, tart berry and pungent cedar, sweetening and rounding with hints of caramel toward the finish. Finishes cleanly, with dark chocolate, sweet lemon and mild floral notes. In two parts milk, crisp with some sweetness, citrus and nut.

Subtle aroma: fruit, toast and nut. Full body, smooth mouthfeel and tight-knit, balanced flavors ranging from tart lemon to sweet cherry, with hints of caramel. Toasty sweetness in the finish turns toward cocoa in the long. Continued balanced complexity in milk, with distinct notes of cherry, nut and chocolate.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. Chocolate-toned fruit and leather in the aroma. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The leather turns toward aromatic wood and the chocolate and cherry fruit notes deepen in the cup. Simple, slightly astringent finish. Sweetens but maintains crisp presence in two parts milk.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. Subdued aroma: vaguely sweet, some leather and cherryish chocolate. In the small cup lean-tending but lightly syrupy mouthfeel, sweet with aromatic wood notes rounding toward a crisp dark chocolate. Sweetly rich short finish saturated with dark chocolate fades toward a slight astringency in the long. In two parts milk light-bodied but balanced in flavor with milk-rounded dark chocolate and aromatic wood notes.

Evaluated based on a one-ounce shot produced from a Nespresso capsule on a matching Nespresso www brewer. Deep, sweetly pungent aroma: hints of tropical fruit (papaya?), dark chocolate. In the small cup medium body, rather dense, syrupy mouthfeel, and a balanced, perhaps simple flavor: continued dark chocolate, hints of aromatic wood and a gently pungent fruit that reads as date or perhaps raisin. Rich, flavor-saturated finish. Balanced presence in two parts milk: cocoa-toned, though perhaps a bit too lean in mouthfeel.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. Fresh, bright aroma: flowers, cherryish fruit, just-cut fir, leather. In the small cup lean mouthfeel with continued refreshing, gently acidy fruit notes and hints of flowers, fir and milk chocolate, all of which carry into a clean, sweet finish. This bright, rather delicate blend is subdued in two parts milk, although a crisp, muted chocolate is pleasant.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. Aromatic wood, leather, tartly cherryish chocolate and delicate floral top notes carry from aroma through demitasse to finish. Leanish mouthfeel. In two parts milk caramelly dark chocolate and a continued suggestion of cherry-toned fruit.

Evaluated based on a one-ounce shot produced from a Nespresso capsule on a matching Nespresso D290 brewer. Bright, fruit- (cherry-?) toned aroma with a hint of flowers. In the small cup smoothly balanced, medium in body, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Aromatic wood, cherryish fruit, citrus, cocoa. Clean, sweet, lemon-toned finish, very slightly astringent. Delicate to a fault in two parts milk: The citrus hints turn more prominent, backgrounding the cocoa and lower acid fruit.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. An apparently balanced robusta and Arabica blend hampered by pods that at best netted a 20-second shot. Nevertheless, rich, deep aroma with a buttery or caramelly nut and bananaish fruit. In the small cup lean mouthfeel and short finish, but quite sweet: pungent nut, hints of chocolate and ripe, slightly fermented fruit. Even sweeter in milk, with a cocoaish chocolate inclination.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. The low-acid wood and nut character of robusta dominates. Surprisingly lean mouthfeel, but the woody nut notes hint nicely at chocolate in the small cup and turn sweetly rich in the finish. Blooms nicely in milk with a gently fat dark chocolate character.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. Aromatically simple, robust espresso with a heavy, slightly rough mouthfeel and a woody date and nut character. Pleasingly rich in milk, with a minty hint to the chocolate.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. Crisply sweet-toned aroma with subdued caramel and cherry chocolate notes. In the small cup fullish mouthfeel, creamy textured though very slightly astringent. A salty-sweet, aromatic wood dominates, rounded by a continued cherryish chocolate. Milk develops the chocolate tendencies, though in the long finish the pervasive salty astringency prevails.

Evaluated based on a one-ounce shot produced from a T Disc capsule on a matching Tassimo TAS451xUC brewing device. Crisp, sweet-toned aroma, leather and chocolate notes. At a one-ounce shot leanish, rather astringent mouthfeel with flavor dominated by fir and leather with the slightest hint of chocolate. Simple finish with some richness. In two parts hot milk, balanced flavor (dark chocolate, continued aromatic wood notes) but thinnish mouthfeel.

Evaluated based on a one-ounce shot produced from a T Disc capsule on a matching Tassimo TAS451xUC brewing device. Sweet, faintly fruit- and chocolate-toned aroma. Thinnish body and mouthfeel, softly pungent flavor with vague, subdued fruit notes. The flavor fades very quickly in the finish to a rather stolid heaviness. In two parts hot, fresh milk, displays a roundly pungent chocolate suggestion with an edge that could read as smoky. Combining this disc with the contents of the matching Gevalia Latte milk disc (and allowing both to respond to the bar-coded instructions incorporated on the discs) netted a rather dilute beverage, sweet and distinctly chocolate- and nut-toned but thin-bodied with a faint metallic shadow.

Produced from an ESE pod on a FrancisFrancis! pod brewer. Sweet, juicy-impressioned fruit dominates in the aroma (papaya? cherry?) with a hints of fir and leather. Syrupy mouthfeel and great richness and depth of sensation in the small cup, with continued low-acid fruit and fresh-cut fir notes. Superb finish: long, deep. In two parts milk good presence and chocolate-toned fruit, though just a touch flat and woody.

Evaluated based on a one-ounce shot produced from a Nespresso capsule on a matching Nespresso D290 brewer. Sweet-toned, lush aroma, with clear chocolate notes and hints of leather, fruit and flowers. In the small cup heavy body with a creamy though slightly rough mouthfeel, and deep, leather and fir-toned, cocoaish chocolate smoothing and sweetening in a long, rich finish. Good presence and body in two parts milk, but remains rather stolid, not quite fully opening and blooming.