Picked up a bag of The Boss over at Barefoot on election day and pulled it out of the freezer and brewed it this week. I found the best brewing parameters to be 199.5ish, going for a 30 second 1.75 oz. double out of an updosed (slightly over the top, finger compression to flatten before tamping) double basket.

Interestingly, here is the description on Barefoot's web site:

A smooth but intense Rico Suave timpanic symphony of espresso passion, an avalanche of almond, cashew and brazil nuttiness with a hint of dry cacao and wildness. Medium-heavy body and only a dusting of brightness. Best between 25-27 seconds at 2oz and around 198-200 F.

I was a bit frustrated trying to get nuts out of this, until I noticed the following. Here is what is on the bag I bought:

Dark chocolate layered on darker cacao, mmmm sticky creme brule sugar, caramalized onions Spice, gardenia notes, hints of tangerine finish

That sounds a lot more like what I was tasting (good, just not nutty). Looks like perhaps the new Boss is not quite the same as the old Boss!

yes there is a new boss... we serve it at bevalo as our main espresso blend. we also run a single origin as well that we switch out every few days , this gives you a choice of 2 kinds of spro.

the new boss is a three way blend of brazil monte christo, ethiopian sidamo morodecafe, and sumatra lintong. it tastes great and we love it. tony did an excellent job blending this "espresso drinkers espresso".

we have also had the sidamo as a single origin it works really well and tastes good straight or in milk.

the boss rocks! sometimes people ask for the "springsteen", or call it the "CEO".

sweet coffee love.

jon

sweaner wrote:What does Gardenia taste like? I have a completely non-developed palate, at least as of yet. However, maybe I don't want one, as I don't really want to taste caramelized onions in my coffee!

Good question... I did get cacao, floral and sweet citrus, but I couldn't pick most flowers out by smell, maybe carnation & rose... our coffee writer must have a better knowledge of flowers than average!

With four espresso blends to choose from, Barefoot really ought to keep the website updated with current tasting notes as the blends change.

Sorry about not updating the espresso flavor notes. Felt chastised. Updated em. they are now current.

Element is being redone right now with some new harvest coffees. Boss and Sweetness as well. Boss will only change a tiny bit. Sweetness is pushing towards more and more bright, sweet explosion.

hi andy we love you!

Keep on rockin'.

Jon

Thanks for posting Andy & no chastise intended I'm sure! (For the first post at least, just my own brewing notes...) Come to Stephen's tasting/sensory class tomorrow & I'll buy you a cup.

BTW, was working with Element 114 today (10/30 batch) & after wrestling a bit made an astounding shot at 203 pulled extra short (1 oz or just under from a level dosed double basket). It didn't like normale style nearly as much, but lord, once I hit it (twice, to be sure), sweet, flavorful love, I didn't want to go to work... need to play with the temp more now that I've figured out the extraction volume, but will no doubt enjoy the rest of the batch...

Hi Andy,

Didn't mean to chastise, just some constructive criticism! For online customers like me who don't have the pleasure of visiting the store, website descriptions must substitute for chatting with a barista. i.e. "What's in this blend? What's it supposed to taste like? How should I pull it?"

So thanks for writing fantastic new descriptions and being specific about blend components. It's a very effective way to reach out -- I went from "Wonder what Barefoot is up to these days, wonder how those old blends are holding up" to "These new blends sound fresh and amazing and I must try them ASAP."

Ryan