Espresso Reviews

A rather dramatic difference surfaced between co-taster Willem Boot and Ken on this very dark-roasted Panama. Ken wanted more sweetness and body; Willem apparently found enough of both and admired the elegant nuance. Willem: "Aroma with caramel and mild-apricot notes. Despite the dark roast, balanced flavor with apricot and chocolate. Pleasantly spicy with milk" (91). Ken: "Lovely aroma, high-toned but sweet fruit notes. In the small cup lean-bodied and crisply bitter, with a rich but astringent finish. Fruit re-emerges in milk, dry, smoky, chocolate-toned." (83).

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot found chocolate notes running through aroma and small cup: "deep-toned chocolate" for Willem, "caramel, chocolate" for Ken. Both, however, complained about a slight sharpness in the finish, though Willem found it "minty." Good presence in milk: "Spicy and sweet" for Willem, "smoky, fruity and rich" for Ken. Willem rating 87, Ken 87.

Ken and co-taster Willem Boot both found the aroma impressive: resonant, floral, fruity. The body disappointed, however: "imbalanced and gritty" (Ken), "unsettled" (Willem). The flavor was "complex" for Willem, "rich" for Ken, with floral and fruit endnotes. Both were approving though not excited about performance in milk: "Tickling, spicy" for Willem, "dry chocolate" for Ken. Willem 85, Ken 84.

This smoky, dark-roasted coffee pleased Ken and co-taster Willem Boot more in flavor than in body. Aromatics and flavor were "smoky, rich and sweet" (Ken), "dark chocolate and smoky" (Willem). Ken found the body "gritty," however, Willem "oily and heavy." The cup softened but didn't sweeten in milk, where it was "smoky and dry" for Ken with a "butterscotch finish" for Willem. Willem 85, Ken 85.

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot remarked on the vanilla- and floral-toned aroma. Once to the cup, however, neither was impressed. For Willem "chocolate-bitter flavor and aftertaste" in the small cup and "spicy and slightly oniony in milk." Ken found the coffee rather lean-bodied and thin with roasty, sharp tones in the small cup, though rounder and fatter in milk. Willem 82, Ken 82.

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot found the aroma impressive: "elegant, sweet nut" for Willem, "elegant, sweet and fruity" for Ken. Once to the cup, however, neither found much to praise. Willem found the flavor "pungent but sweet and sour," Ken "bittersweet but sharp and shallow." Willem faintly praised this coffee's presence in milk as "mellow," whereas Ken found it "thin, a bit sharp." Willem 79, Ken 82.

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot criticized this coffee's tendency to sharpness and astringency. Ken nevertheless admired a "heavy apricot-toned fruit" that complicated the small cup and maintained a pleasing if lean presence in milk. Willem 76, Ken 84.

Co-taster Willem Boot: "Fine and complex fruity/minty aroma. Exotic berry-like flavor notes with fascinating wild black currant aftertaste. Balanced, sweet and intriguing with milk" (93) Ken characterized the wild, sweet, edge-of-ferment fruit tones running through the profile from aroma to aftertaste as black cherry, and enjoyed them almost as much as Willem (90). In milk Ken completely concurred with Willem: "sweet, balanced, lovely."

Co-taster Willem Boot greatly admired this coffee, awarding it an exclamatory 95: "Reddish brown supershot! Complex aroma with tingling body. Mild sweet and dry flavor balance with intense fruit and spicy notes. Cardamom flavor with milk." Ken's admiration was more restrained. He enjoyed the low-toned bouquet of pipe tobacco, leather, toast, smoke, spice and musty cantaloupe notes enough to award a rating of 88, but found the body "gritty" (Willem called it "tingling") and the finish slightly astringent.

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot remarked on a medium but smooth, buttery body. Aromatics and flavor were "floral and slightly malty/musty, toasty and crisp" (Ken), "light chocolate & elegant, spicy-smoky" (Willem). "Pleasant[ly] caramel" in milk for Willem, "balanced, sweet yet crisp" for Ken. Willem 90, Ken 88.

The term "balanced" dominated both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot's notes. The body was balanced and smooth for Ken, balanced and buttery for Willem; both found the presence in milk balanced and complex. Ken admired the small cup's "elegant dry fruit" while Willem praised its "lively, citrus" character. Willem 87, Ken 90.

Reader Jim Beckham of Athens, Texas reports he drinks "about a pound a week ofthis espresso. I frequently try others, but I always come back to this great blend." I might comeback to it too. Dry fruit, chocolate and leather notes, fat body, smooth, round, completelywithout bitterness. In milk excellent authority: rich, developing from dry chocolate in small dairyto milk chocolate in large.

Reader Derick Miller called Graffeo to my attention, testifying that this groupof three small in-store roasters produces "great coffee." I found this light-roasted version of theGraffeo blend acidy but sweet, rich, with a broad flavor range including delicate orange and floralnotes. Both aroma and finish showed a slight bitter edge which rounded and softened as the cupcooled.

"Great crema - best espresso I've ever had," writes Mandy Elion of Pasadena,California, who rates Supreme Bean espressos 90 - 94. This all-organic espresso blend isbalanced, richly and roundly roasty in the demitasse, with undertones of fruity chocolate. Atingle of astringency in the finish is invigorating rather than rough. In small milk comes acrossheavy with fruity chocolate tones; in large milk sweetly and roundly fruity.

Reader Liz Snyder of Newark, Ohio rates this blend 95 - 100 on the basis of an evaluation thatmakes up in enthusiasm for what it may lack in technical detail: "I love [this coffee]. It tastes SOgood." I evaluated the Wiener Melange as espresso. In the demitasse I found it full and round inbody and heavily bittersweet in flavor, complicated by dry chocolate tones. In small milk itremained dry, smoky, chocolaty and rather heavy. In larger milk it came fully into its own,softening but still dominating with fruit- and chocolate-nuanced authority.

Reader Derick Miller called Graffeo to my attention, testifying that this groupof three small in-store roasters produces "great coffee." I brewed this dark-roasted version of theGraffeo blend as espresso and found it medium-bodied, smooth in mouthfeel, sweet but crisplyroasty. In small milk the bittersweetness read as a dry, smoky chocolate; in larger milk as adelicately sweet but rather dilute chocolate.

Reader "Cynmar69" reports this espresso blend "has a true coffee taste, ...smooth and flavorsome unlike most burnt flavored coffees." I found it full-bodied and fat on thetongue, with the kind of pleasantly fermented fruit tones that suggest chocolate-covered cherries.A shimmer of sharp acidity is balanced by sweetness. The finish is clean, rich and chocolaty.Slightly disappointing in small milk, where the coffee seems to simplify without softening, but inlarger milk the fruit and chocolate tones bloom nicely. The preground, canned format doubtlessaccounts for the subdued aroma.

Reader Peter Lynagh nominated this coffee, rating it a 90 to 94. He describes it as "sweet, bold, fruit-toned, yet perfectly balanced and round," as well as "paradoxical." Paradoxical perhaps because it maintains the fruity brightness of medium-roasted coffees while avoiding aggressively dry or acidy notes. I would agree with all of the above, though I wish that my sample had not displayed a slight, muted bitterness.

Reader Peter Lynagh nominated this coffee, rating it a 90 to 94. He describes it as "sweet, bold, fruit-toned, yet perfectly balanced and round," as well as "paradoxical." Paradoxical perhaps because it maintains the fruity brightness of medium-roasted coffees while avoiding aggressively dry or acidy notes. I would agree with all of the above, though I wish that my sample had not displayed a slight, muted bitterness.

An exquisitely delicate coffee. Meltingly sweet and cocoa-toned in the nose, in the cup gently acidy and crisply fruity with cocoa and pear notes. The finish is pleasingly chocolate-toned, but slightly astringent.