For several years I've driven by Moschetti Espresso here in Vallejo, and smelled the coffee roasting. I never did actually see the business until this past Saturday, when I paid Fabrice Moschetti a visit.

Last Christmas I got my wife (and I) a Rancilio Silvia and started back to our old habit of having Espresso and lattes in the morning. But I was challenged in finding a good fresh local coffee bean that was suitable for Espresso. Everything I tasted seemed stale or just seemed to be a bitter and mostly nasty.

Then I remembered smelling the coffee roasting, and I searched around and found that the roaster was Moschetti. I emailed Fabrice and got an invitation for a tour and a tasting. Cool!

So this Saturday I went over to Fabrice's Shop and was rewarded with incredible hospitality. Fabrice pulled a number of shots for me and had me experiment with straight espressos and then espressos with milk just to see how they appealed to my taste buds. One mix of three different beans was astounding for it's absolute mellowness. I've never had such a smooth espresso in my life. The other was zingy and full of complex flavors that had a rather pleasant lingering richness.

And then I got a tour of the roasting facilities. Fabrice explained how the roasters worked, and then showed me the whole process of roasting a batch of Guatemalan. It was amazing. And I left with a bag of freshly roasted Guatemalan that was still warm when I got home, plus a bag of their special Espresso Roast. It's very interesting how the aroma changes from freshly roasted to a few hours, to over night. Fabrice said it would be at it's best in three days. Well, already, it has an intoxicating perfume when I open the bag. Will crack open the other bag tomorrow that is his specialty Espresso Roast (I forget the blend, but will find out). Want to also brew a regular cup of coffee with both roasts just to experience it.

I pulled some shots on Sunday, and this morning and they are getting better with each day. Amazing amount of crema and the aroma in the house is fantastic!

I am a lucky fellow to have met Fabrice Moschetti, and experienced his hospitality and passion for coffee, and to have sampled his product. Tomorrow he is roasting Sumatra and some other big tasting beans and I have an invite to sample. And now I want to roast some coffee myself.

Life is mighty good!

GulDam

Visited with Fabrice Moschetti today and shared some Blue Bottle 17 Foot Ceiling with him and his crew. Fabrice quickly dialed in the grind and pulled a perfect shot that tasted the same as my last shot from Blue Bottle. I attempted to describe the flavor as dark chocolate, caramel and Port. He added, maybe a slight hint of licorice and then he said, "Ethiopian". Ethiopian beans as the predominate contributor of the big burst of flavor.

And then we tried a Sumatra he'd roasted on Tuesday. Very big but smooth flavor without the big sudden burst that you get with Blue Bottle 17 foot. Took my palate a while to get acclimated, and then it was very happy. Next we tried a straight Ethiopian, and there was that big winey/port flavor of the Blue Bottle 17 foot!!! Wow. I am blown away.

And now I have a bag of fresh roasted Sumatra, a bag of Ethiopian, and a mix of Sumatra and Yemen Mocha.

Came home after all that Espresso tasting and pulled another shot from Miss Silvia. And that was a very excellent shot of Moschetti Mystral.

I'm buzzing, buzzy, bzzzzzzzzzzz.

Life is extraordinary.

GulDam