Espresso Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet, delicate, balanced. Vanilla, orange, citrus flowers and roasted cacao nib are lightly expressed in aroma and deeply in the small cup. Smoothly silky, lively mouthfeel; crisply resonant finish. Flavor carries well into three parts milk: almondy orange, cacao nib, flowers.

Crisply sweet, deep. Dark chocolate, hazelnut, cherry, anise, night-blooming flowers in aroma and small cup. Full, velvety mouthfeel; flavor simplifies but carries into a balanced finish. Delicately complex and sweet in three parts milk: chocolate, hints of cherry, nut and flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly pungent. Fresh-cut cedar, roasted cacao nib, orange zest, rich prune in aroma and, more pronounced, in the small cup. Crisp but rather heavy mouthfeel; flavor consolidates though persists in the finish. Quietly but resonantly pungent in three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly tart, complex. Dark chocolate, butter, blood orange, apricot and licorice root in aroma and small cup. Full, syrupy mouthfeel. Tartly dry, flavor-saturated finish. Flavor, particularly sweet chocolate and a zesty orange, carries with some complexity into three parts milk.

Deep, savory/sweet. Dark chocolate, fresh-cut cedar, plum, hints of rose and perhaps thyme in aroma and small cup. Full, lightly syrupy mouthfeel; clean, rich and, chocolate-toned in the finish. In three parts milk a complexly expressed, plummy dark chocolate dominates.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, sweetly pungent. Dark chocolate, banana-like fruit, lavender, malt in aroma and small cup. Heavy, almost fudgy mouthfeel; flavor consolidates in a rich though drying finish. Strong presence in three parts milk: crisp, richly malty chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by a Singolo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. A prune-toned fruit is complicated by a salty chocolate and sweet wood in aroma and small cup. Heavy but rather inert mouthfeel. Salty and astringent sensations dominate in the finish. Very woody in three parts whole milk, though the pruny fruit sweetens to a pleasant chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 30ml/1-ounce shot by a Verismo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated separately using a conventional steam wand, not with milk from the Verismo milk capsule. Scorched and astringent. Burned caramel, gently charred cedar, dark chocolate, a floral hint in the aroma. Leanish mouthfeel. A drying woody sensation dominated the flavor of the small cup, with hints of dark chocolate and rubber. Rich but very drying, slightly salty finish. In three parts whole milk displays a woody but sweet chocolate with a slight rubbery hint in the background.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by the Rivo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated separately using a conventional steam wand. Plum, dark chocolate, gently scorched wood in aroma and cup. The roasty fruit shows a slightly salty tendency in the cup, but sweetens again in a pleasant finish. Roundly chocolaty in three parts milk, though with a continued dry, woody edge.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by a Singolo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. Shots from the tested samples of this blend were rather uneven in aroma and flavor, suggesting that blending may not have been sufficiently thorough before the coffee was ground and put in capsules. The mouthfeel was full and syrupy in all shots, but in flavor and finish some shots were dominated by a simple woody molasses, whereas others were livelier, with the wood note more aromatic, the molasses approaching carob, and hints of a tart fruit. The best shots were particularly impressive in three parts whole milk, where they displayed a roundly nuanced milk chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 30ml/1-ounce shot by a Verismo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated separately using a conventional steam wand, not with milk from the Verismo milk capsule. Pungent, roundly bright. Fir, butter, dark chocolate in aroma and small cup. Smooth but slightly lean mouthfeel; crisp, sweet, slightly drying finish. In three parts whole milk displays a muted but sweet fir-toned chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a 40ml/1.35-ounce shot by the Rivo capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated separately using a conventional steam wand. Soft, simple, chocolaty. Distinct chocolate, hints of orange and cedar in aroma and small cup. Smooth, slightly lean mouthfeel. Flavor fades in the short finish, but a pleasant hint of chocolate revives in the long. Delicate in three parts milk with the chocolate sensation showing some richness and hints of complexity.

Evaluated as espresso produced in the Nespresso-recommended standard 40ml (1.35-ounce) shot by a Nespresso capsule espresso brewer and with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. Sweet-toned, with distinct floral and fruit – mango, apricot – notes in aroma and small cup. Very lightly syrupy mouthfeel; the finish is sweet, clean, simple. Fades a bit in three parts milk, though a delicate floral-toned chocolate persists.

Evaluated as espresso produced in a Nespresso-recommended ristretto 25ml (.85-ounce) shot by a Nespresso capsule espresso brewer with whole milk heated using a conventional steam wand. Rich, deep, dark chocolaty. Hints of cedar and perhaps lemon. The mouthfeel is full, perhaps a bit heavy. Clean, simple, rather deep finish. Imparts a sweet, wood-toned chocolate and syrupy mouthfeel to three parts whole milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet chocolate, pronounced fruit (green grape, ripe apple, peach), almond, and vanilla-like florals, lightly expressed in aroma and richly expressed in the small cup. Full body and silky mouthfeel. Flavor simplifies in the finish, settling toward a crisp chocolate. In three parts milk the small cup’s strengths transform nicely, showing a delicate but distinct buttery chocolate and fine vanilla.

Evaluated as espresso. Dark chocolate, sweet yam, vanilla, roasted chestnut, ripe orange in quiet aroma and vivid, flamboyant flavor. Rich, syrupy mouthfeel. The chocolate and orange resonate in a rich finish and carry rather quietly into three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Complex, savory-sweet. Sweet herb (lavender and sage), dark chocolate, rich molasses, allspice and cinnamon in aroma and more pronounced in the small cup. Creamy mouthfeel. Crisp chocolate and lavender persist in a rich finish. Complexly expressed dry chocolate in three parts milk, nuanced by malt and floral herb suggestions.

Evaluated as espresso. Lushly floral and brightly fruit-toned. Jasmine, raspberry, lime, crisp roasted cacao nib in aroma and small cup. Light, silky mouthfeel; sweet, richly drying finish. In three parts milk the cacao notes fatten to a dry chocolate, the tart fruit ripens and rounds.

Reviewed as espresso. Sweetly and roundly bright. Cherry, plum, cedar, buttery dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Lively, lightly creamy mouthfeel. The buttery dark chocolate moves forward in a balanced, gently rich finish. In three parts milk the chocolate triumphs again, fatter and roundly fruit-toned.

Evaluated as espresso. Pungently sweet. Fresh-cut cedar, caramelly dark chocolate, apricot, a hint of flowers in aroma and small cup. Light but smoothly silky mouthfeel; flavor consolidates in a rich finish. In three parts milk delicate and rather drying, with sweet chocolate notes nicely nuanced by apricot and flowers.