Len (Worldman) has started a somewhat unique business. He has no caffe, roster, storefront etc... Just an online presence and a local roaster that makes blends for him, www.lensespressoblends.com

Len gave me a call to see if I wanted to try out a couple of his blends. Never being one to pass up free coffee I graciously accepted his offer. A day later I had a bag of his #5 and F.T.O. Blend.

I would call the #5 blend a classic espresso. It is blended and roasted for espresso. The flavors are balanced and not overpowering. The roast is what I would label a medium, a nice deep brown with only a spot or two of oil showing on the beans. I ran the blend through a variety of doses and temperatures on my Elektra A3 using a Cimbali Max grinder. I was getting the best results with a 15.5 gram dose pulled at 1.5 ounces at 30 seconds. I got my best shots in the 201-202 range. I got a nice sweet espresso with some nutty toasty flavors, a touch of earthiness (good earthy not dirty) and some background fruit notes. I would call it a medium acidity drink with a heavy crema and slightly buttery mouth feel. A good all around classic espresso.

In milk the shot got lost. This really is best as a straight espresso. In smaller amounts of milk (3-4 oz) it worked ok. The fruit was absent but I got a little chocolate in the background. In 6 oz or more of milk the espresso was simply overpowered but the blend was not intended for a big gulp milk drink.

Dave! I was wondering if you had ever posted anything and am glad to see that you enjoyed my "work". Where can I see you post on the F.T.O.?

Len, a.k.a. Worldman

I enjoyed both, each for its own reason. I have simply neglected to post my notes on the FT blend. I am in the midst of relocating and things have been hectic to say the least. About to fall asleep at the keyboard.

The Fair Trade has more body. The roast level is a bit darker so you get more roast note in the blend. A hint of chocolate and that good peaty earth note you find in a good Sumatran coffee. The cup is not as sweet as the #5 but has much more backbone and a heavier mouth feel, thicker, butterier. It holds up much better when paired with milk. I actually preferred this blend with a little milk. 6 ounces of milk was no issue, you could even push 8 ounces for a latte. I usually pulled it with a 14 gram dose at 199F for 1.5-1.75 ounces. When drinking it as a straight shot I thought the cup benefitted from a swirl or slight stir with a demi spoon. That mixed the flavors and gave me a more balanced cup. Unmixed, the first sip or two had a slight bitter twang but stirred, the bitter subsided and the earth, spice, nugget/toffee flavors came out.

I'd suggest pulling straight shots of the FTO at a lower temp then most seem to be using judging by the posts here & in the CG thread. I found it best at 90C where I got a nice cherry flavor up front followed by a sweet cocoa. Personally I preferred it over the #5 as a straight shot but I typically prefer S/O espresso to blends so maybe my tastes are a little different then the majority of those posting reviews on these blends.

Interesting. I bracketed the temps but dont recall going that low on the FTO blend. I will have to pick up another pound and play with some lower temperatures.

I am glad other are trying the blends. I like to see other peoples opinions. Different kit pulls different shots. One interesting note. When I visited Len a couple years ago we spent the evening pulling shots and shooting the breeze, enjoyable afternoon. He is not using a LM or other bionic multi group cafe machine but an Expobar. His blends are designed around that. I see a lot of posts where someone has some shots at a cafe but cannot reproduce those flavors at home. That is in part because the blend was designed around that uber-machine. Lens coffees are designed to work on home equipment and get good results. As I said I enjoyed both and can see adding his offerings into my coffee rotation.

I posted my comments in more detail over on CG before this discussion took off, but I agree with the opinions so far. If I had to summarize:

#5: Sweet classic mild. Very enjoyable.

FTO: Aggressive, distinct bold.

Those are cheesy descriptors but they fit what I found best. I loved the #5 blend myself and am ordering more today. So many blends try to be bold and unique to stand out in the crowd (IMHO) where the #5 just tries to be itself and produce excellent classic espresso. #5 just suits me and my tastes on my equipment.

The FTO was a different beast and one I suspect would be at home in a milk drink. I too liked this blend cooler when pulling straight up. I don't like to document numbers because I don't trust my gauges (they are for reproducibility) but I took this cooler than I typically do and it became sweeter and more subtle. This one is clearly a dark punchy roast. Powerful straight-up and very accommodating in milk.

Both outstanding.

Dave,

Any comments on the F.T.O.?

Len

My website: http://www.lensespressoblends.com was off-line for a few days as I had inadvertently let the domain name expire! YIKES!!! I couldn't believe that it has been 1 year since I registered the domain. Anyway, as soon as I discovered that this is why I wasn't receiving any email to LEB, the oversight was remedied and all is back and running.

I apologize for any inconvenience that I may have caused any of you.

Len, a.k.a. Worldman

PS: As the G20 Summit (http://www.pittsburghsummit.gov/) will be held in Pittsburgh (where both I and my roaster are located) next week, and as the security and closed roads and bridges will make it nearly impossible for me to get to the roastery from Wednesday (23rd) through Friday (25th), please place any orders by this weekend as I will be having the beans roasted either next Monday or Tuesday for shipment that day.

Len