Espresso Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Spicy and quite complex. Vanilla, fresh peppercorn, cedar, baker’s chocolate, mango, a hint of flowers in aroma and small cup. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel; lively, quietly flavor-saturated finish. Simplifies in three parts milk, though the dry chocolate note fattens and sweetens and the spice and mango suggestions survive.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, tartly sweet. Wisteria, ripe passion-fruit, dark chocolate, a hint of fresh turmeric in aroma and small cup. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Long, flavor-saturated, gently drying finish. In two- to four-parts milk, continuing suggestions of chocolate and crisp passion-fruit balance a cooling hint of mint or tumeric.

Evaluated as espresso. Intricate and lush; tartly sweet. Caramel, hibiscus and rose, candied ginger, honeydew melon in aroma and small cup. Lean though smooth mouthfeel. Floral notes in particular carry into a remarkably long, complex finish. Flavor carries intact into two parts milk, where a hint of grapefruity acidity is juxtaposed with the milky sweetness.

Evaluated as espresso. Round, crisply sweet, balanced. Dark chocolate, hazelnut, fresh-cut cedar, bourbon-whisky-like hint in aroma and small cup. Full, syrupy mouthfeel. Dark chocolate dominates in a buttery, richly drying finish. Tartly chocolaty with an almost floral vanilla complication in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Complex flowers and citrus, high-toned but smooth. Flowers, butter, grapefruity citrus, roasted cocoa nib in aroma and small cup. Smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel; rich, long, chocolate-saturated finish. Superb in two parts milk, sweetly and richly chocolate-toned with a gently tart fruit that resonates with particular distinction in a long finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly and rather tartly bright in aroma and small cup: fresh-cut fir and tangerine-like citrus are rounded by a honey- and chocolate-toned sweetness. Impressively full, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is tartly bright but smooth. Retains character in two- to four-parts milk with a dry chocolate dominating.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, rich, chocolate- and cedar-toned. Gently scorched cedar, plum, chocolate, and a hint of anise in aroma and small cup. Syrupy mouthfeel. Chocolate and cedar carry into a sweet but drying finish. Dominates two parts milk, but the fruit-toned chocolate rounds and softens in four parts.

Evaluated as espresso. Pungent, deep, richly tart. Dark chocolate, apricot, roasted nut, orangy cedar in aroma and small cup. Full, syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a resonant finish. Dominates two parts milk; perhaps shows best in four parts or taller milk, which rounds the tart pungency and better develops the sweetness in the chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly tart yet profoundly sweet. Raspberry-toned dark chocolate, orange or tangerine marmalade, crisp cedar, a hint of flowers in aroma and small cup. Full, buttery mouthfeel. Flavor rounds without losing its complexity or sweetly tart authority in two- to four-parts milk.

Reviewed as espresso. Tart, raspberry-like fruit balanced by a dark chocolate and almond sweetness in aroma and small cup. Gently syrupy mouthfeel; crisply chocolaty finish. In two parts milk the tart fruit character turns rich and deep, supported by a chocolate predictably milk-sweetened.

Evaluated as espresso. Buttery dark chocolate and hints of flowers, vanilla and cedar in the roundly balanced aroma. In the small cup the cedar comes forward and the chocolate turns crisp and backgrounded. Medium, lightly syrupy mouthfeel; gently and richly drying finish with good persistence of the chocolate note. Crisp and balanced in two parts milk crisp, with excellent flavor persistence: The buttery chocolate dominates with the cedar note once again backgrounded.

Evaluated as espresso. In the aroma tart plum, soft cedar, backgrounded chocolate and floral hints. In the small cup a tart character dominates, turning the flowers toward anise and suppressing the chocolate. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Chocolate resurfaces in the crisply sweet finish. Flavor carries nicely into two parts milk, which rounds without suppressing the tart fruit while predictably intensifying the chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Dark chocolate, cedar, roasted nut, vanilla, blackberry in the impressive aroma. The aromatics dry out a bit in the small cup but retain complexity; the mouthfeel is full and robust; the finish richly drying with some flavor persistence. In two parts milk the coffee rather sharply dominates the milk, but it softens and blooms while retaining some complexity in four parts.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned aroma: Banana, crème de menthe, dark chocolate, ripe plum. In the small cup creamy mouthfeel with rich depth and balance; the chocolate turns caramelly and the fruit richer and sweeter, complicated by a hint of anise. Flavor persists in a resonant finish. Excellent flavor in two parts milk: dark chocolate, plum, mint.

Evaluated as espresso. In the small cup complex aroma and flavor: dark chocolate, honey, night-florals, grape-like fruit, pungent cedar. Impressively syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a sweet though drying finish. Balanced and rather brisk in two parts milk: chocolate, cedar, flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. In the straight shot complex floral notes ranging from lavender to lily, honey, fresh-cut cedar, vanilla-toned dark chocolate. The mouthfeel is medium in weight and lightly syrupy in texture; the finish sweet and resonantly persistent. Preserves character in two parts milk with a zesty orange-toned chocolate and a continuing hint of flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, sweet-toned aroma: dark chocolate, butter, leather, a hint of pineapple. In the small cup the pineapply fruit note moves forward and dry anise and cedar notes complicate the sweet chocolate. The buttery smoothness of the aroma reasserts itself in a very persistent, complex finish. Rather light, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Very fine in three parts milk: buttery chocolate, pineapply fruit, richly balance.

Evaluated as espresso. In the small cup, richly and roundly bright without sharpness. Orange, apricot, dark chocolate, hints of fir and night-blooming flowers. Body is medium in weight but impressively velvety in texture. Flavor carries nicely into a sweet finish. In two parts milk delicately and briskly chocolaty with backgrounded hints of fir and fruit.

Evaluated as espresso. Nut-toned chocolate, cedar, delicate florals, quiet vanilla in aroma and small cup. Smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Chocolate in particular persists in a sweet but drying finish. Flavor carries well in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisp, lavender-like flowers, molasses sweetness, dark chocolate in aroma and small cup. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor carries into a smooth finish. The chocolate sweetens and rounds but maintains a crisp complication of lavender in two parts milk.