Thanks, Ken. Good to know. That gives me another excuse to go there and to Luce across the street.

Of course another alternative is to take up home roasting the way Laron, Ken and I have done. This morning I cupped some Rwandan and Sumatran coffees I sourced from Mill City and roasted on my TJ-067. The Sumatran in particular was one of the sweetest, most chocolatey cups I've had in a long while. It's a clean cup too.

Here's that coffee.

I took it darker than Dave Borton, about 20 seconds into second crack, and brewed it at 177F. ROR wasn't always declining, but it sure tastes good!

alexjp wrote: Nossa Familia is pretty good, but since they focus exclusively on Latin America, they don't get that chocolate/berry balance that comes from mixing in (a small amount of) east African beans.

Nossa Full Cycle is currently a blend of Brazilian and Ethiopian:

http://www.nossacoffee.com/products/full-cycle

Have you tried Ristretto Roasters? I haven't, so I can't personally recommend them, but here's what they say on their website:

Ristretto Roasters wrote:We specialize in a medium roast, taking each coffee varietal to its peak of individual perfection. . . . Try the Guatemala Finca Bourbon: full-bodied and juicy, a mouthful of dark chocolate with a black-cherry finish.

Makes it sound like they are bucking the light roast trend and their description sounds like what you were asking about.

From your description, I would also try Sterling Coffee's Blendo Stupendo, and Water Avenue's El Toro blend. For something completely different Spella Caffe has a classic Neapolitan espresso blend. Very sweet if pulled well.

Best,
David

James Mulryan wrote:Check out your Northern neighbor 49th Parallel
Old School Espresso might be the ticket.
They blend African and South American beans, depending on the season.

I got to try 49th Parallel espresso this week at the La Marzocco cafe in Seattle and was very happy! What made me even happier was that I got to pull my own shots on a GS3. 49th P does serious chocolate in an old style, which I love. I didn't get to try all 3 of their classic espressos, but from their literature Blue Sky is the most intense (dark chocolate, low acidity, darker roast). Old School is a medium roast with serious cocoa and molasses, and Epic Espresso is described as a light roast espresso that's sweet, floral, and acidic. From the taste, I think I got the Old School, but the hopper wasn't labeled. It had to be either Old School or Blue Sky, as it was really rich and chocolate-y. And the mouth feel was incredibly big and almost viscous! The grinder was a Lux D, which is the same one they brought for the road show for the LM - and my shots on the LMLM (which were not 49th Parallel but I don't remember what they were) also had great mouth feel, although nowhere near as much so as the 49th P.

I'd second Compass and Spella. I've been having good results with Five Points' High Score and Dapper & Wise' Guns and Gold Blend, too.

I tried Stereo blend at Heart this last week and there was stone fruit but no bittersweet chocolate, at least not the way they prepared it. I like Heart's coffees but don't think this is what the OP was requesting.