shadowfax wrote:Say, Chris, I assume this is the same La Maravilla as Intelligentsia is offering? Their description sounds similar (if less interesting) to your accolades for Ecco Caffé's roast of the coffee. I've also read a few raves on Intelligentsia's roast from people on Flickr comments, etc.

I'd be interested to know how the two are different if you've happened to try them.

I believe they are the same green but I could be wrong.

I've tasted both - but not back to back.

The Intelli Maravilla was lovely (I think I might have written something about it). It was one of my two favorite coffees from them the last time I did a full tasting. I would whole-heartedly recommend it. It was a little less "unusual" than the Ecco version. I found it a little more mid-toned, with more chocolate and a nice sweet cherry note.
The Ecco Maravilla I find higher-toned and less well suited to milk drinks (other than the very short versions). But it's a really lovely and unique espresso.

JohnB. wrote:What roast level would you say Ecco is using for the FLM espresso roast?

I don't have an Agtron so honestly it would be me just guessing on memory of visual appearance (ie pretty much worthless).

The Maravilla is now listed on the Ecco Caffe website (along with a couple other new and excellent coffees).

http://www.eccocaffe.com/catalog/index.php

malachi wrote:The Maravilla is now listed on the Ecco Caffe website (along with a couple other new and excellent coffees).

http://www.eccocaffe.com/catalog/index.php

Chris,

Thanks for the update.

I note that Ecco lists this coffee as both a single-origin espresso, and has a separate, non-espresso designation. This was the same case for the Beloya a while back. I actually much preferred the non-espresso variant of the Beloya better, as SO espresso.

Which retail version of the Maravilla do you prefer as espresso, as described in the above posts?

... or perhaps there is no difference, and the labeling difference is a marketing technique?

I definitely plan to order some of this stuff soon.

-Mike

Different roasts.
I prefer the espresso as espresso, and prefer the non-espresso for non-espresso preparation.

Thanks, Chris. I always appreciate your insights, and (lately) your previews of good upcoming stuff from great roasters like Ecco Caffe.

Coffee ordered. I'll try both kinds, as I'm going camping soon and will use the non-espresso version in an Aeropress.

Unfortunately, the Mypressi Twist won't be out before the trip!

-Mike

Received some more of this coffee last night.
Just as good as I remembered!

Tons of cherry flavours (not only sweet, but also sour and even dried cherry notes) with a body of semi-sweet chocolate and a finish dominated by the cherry and a lovely caramelized brown sugar sweetness.

Gorgeous as a straight shot but also lovely in a macchiatto.

I just tried a home roast of this bean purchased from Sweet Marias. It was roasted on my HotTop to a Full City level just before ANY evidence of second crack and rested for four days before sampling as a vac pot brew and SO espresso.

Since this is an espresso discussion I will only say that the shots mirrored quite well the flavors and balance in the brew. I can also say that this coffee as described above takes on a different dimension when extracted at different temperatures. I did not play very much but I always start my SO espresso with lower doses between 14-15 gm. In this case I was using between 14.7 and 15 gm and pulling about 1.2 OZ or so. I was therefore a bit lower dose and lower volume then Chris reports above.

This is a lovely and complex drink which to my tastes bursts of cherries as the dominant accent of the cup. Brighter fresh fruit lingering more at lower temperatures and drier with a more pronounced cocoa chocolate and spice at higher temperatures. There is certainly more in the cup then that but I can't discern the specifics of the flavors as yet.

This is a very nice bean and one that I will use again as an SO and probably find a way to include it in blends.