Had two cappuccinos, both with beans from PT's. First was a Bella Vita - great as always, but the second was their Brazil Fazenda Ipanema Dulce; a little darker, slightly heavier body, very strong presence of chocolate with an equal amount of caramel. I have to say it totally remind me of a Ghirardelli Caramel Square, though with a little less caramel. This may become my after dinner favorite.

Photo courtesy of Ghirardelli.com

Coffee at Jeff's Cafe has been great lately!

Started off with some brewed Ethiopian Longeberry Harrar in the Clever, courtesy of GenX and my new Hottop, and then followed up with the end of a bag of Paradise's Classico Cappuccinos, and then a few shots&Machi's with the Espresso Nuevo. Paradise's blends are quite delicious.. the the Classic is a total fruit bomb, but it is incredibly balanced.. and the Nuevo, is the lightest "milk blend" Ive ever seen. I steered clear of it for quite some time, because I feared it would be like La Forza(too dark for me), but boy have I been missing out! IDK about you guys, but the shots taste like raisinets and cowtails.. absolutely delicious!

A couple days ago, I finished off a 12oz bag of Terroir's Kenyan Espresso... Now, one of my coffee-related NewYears resolutions, was to pull a great shot using a Kenyan coffee. It was inspired by Jim S's(I think) post about roasting kenya's for espresso, and then me failing miserably. Anyway, when I saw George Howell was offering a Kenya for espresso, I figured, who better to do so?

If you like FRUIT in your espresso, but still want a balanced cup, this Kenya SO is a winner in my book. The quickie descripton on the bag, is Blackberrys embedded in caramel, and in short, it could not be more correct. Easily some of the best coffee Ive ever had. . . delicious brewed as well.

Oh man, pulled short double 14g Counter Culture Espresso Aficionado on my Maximatic. Boom, god shot. Never had shot come out like that. Rich, thick, syrupy, coffee flavors with some hazelnut and dark chocolate. Beautiful crema. Wow. As soon as it started coming out I knew it would be good and I was not disappointed.

20 minutes later I can still taste it. It had addictive quality. Got to do it again.

Sumatra Mandheling DP Harimau Tiger roasted on a HG/BM to 15 seconds after beginning of second crack at 12:30.
Brewed in a Silex narrow neck vac pot. Full-bodied, clean. 1st pot was done before the wood stove hit 500 degrees
at 7 a.m. Second pot consumed leisurely as the sun took over and melted the rest of the snow on my deck.

Well, first coffee was'nt espresso. Tim Wendelboe's Kenya Kiawamururu brewed on aeropress. First shot at work (ethiopia sidamo 80% washed 20% pulped natural) was a tad short with a great acididy start and a darker more chocolate/tobacco finnish.

Chert wrote:Early am coffees today described above sound "YUM!"

Mine was SM Espresso Workshop #9 - Denouemoi (roasted at Sweet Maria's March 2). Tom's description is loaded with fruit, just like the espresso! I'll see if the tannic, brightness settles down over the next few days. Such a tasty contrast to the excellent chocolate/cherry of Brazil Moreninha Formosa I finished a few days ago!

Chert -
I was happy to hear that someone had already tried Tom's new workshop blend #9. I was quite taken with his notes which include "The cup is intensely chocolaty; thick, waxy opaque, dense chocolate. The fruit is perhaps even more aggressive, dried peach and apricots in the lighter levels, turning toward mango and melon (even some traces of blackberry in the aftertaste). It straddles the sweet/bittersweet divide, first toward the later and then, ion the long aftertaste, fleshy fruit sweetness emerges. The mouthfeel is pure chocolate syrup."

I am hoping you could comment on Tom's take on his blend. It has quite a high score for brightness (9.1). In your opinion is the fruit and chocolate in balance and is the coffee aging well in the cup? I'm hoping to place an order along with some other items I need from SM so your opinion would be appreciated. As a means of comparison of tastes, the GCBC Brazil Moreninha Formosa is my "go to" espreso base (and great SO) that I usually combine with Misty Valley, Guat La Maravilla and with an accent of either Java or a different Brazil.

THanks for the input.

Another tic for Counter Culture Coffee. Pulled a couple of rich and creamy Afficiando caps this morning, an espresso later in the morning and an Americano in the afternoon. Life is good.

Cheers

Ian