Nominees for "Favorite Espresso Blends 2011" review

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.

What espresso blends would you like to see reviewed?

Barefoot Coffee - The Boss
26
3%
Barismo - SOMA
12
2%
Barrington Coffee Roasters - Barrington Gold Espresso
11
1%
Hayes Valley Espresso - Blue Bottle Espresso
30
4%
Café Grumpy - Heartbreaker Espresso
32
4%
Caffé Vita Coffee Roasters Co. - Caffé Del Sol
7
1%
Cartel Coffee Lab - Black Market Espresso
4
1%
Chris' Coffee Service - Machristay Black Pearl
27
4%
Cuvee Coffee Roasting Co. - Dead Fingers Espresso
13
2%
Counter Culture Coffee - Aficionado
39
5%
Counter Culture Coffee - Apollo
38
5%
Batdorf & Bronson Coffee - Dancing Goats Blend
20
3%
Evocation Coffee Roasters - Spitfire Espresso
16
2%
Evocation Coffee Roasters - 49mm Espresso
17
2%
Gimme! Coffee - Leftist Espresso Blend
36
5%
Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea - Alphabet City
14
2%
Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea - Black Cat Organic Espresso
37
5%
Metropolis Coffee Company - Red Line Espresso
54
7%
Olympia Coffee Roasting - Big Truck Espresso Blend
17
2%
Paradise Coffee Roasters - Espresso Classico
26
3%
PT's Coffee Roasting - Southpaw Espresso
24
3%
Red Bird Coffee - Red Bird Espresso
83
11%
Ritual Coffee - Sweet Tooth Espresso
41
5%
Sightglass Coffee - Owl's Howl Espresso
22
3%
Sweet Maria's - Espresso Monkey Blend
41
5%
Velton's Coffee - Bonsai Blend
13
2%
Verve Coffee Roasters - The Sermon Espresso
17
2%
Verve Coffee Roasters - Streetlevel Espresso
18
2%
Victrola Coffee Roasters - Streamline
14
2%
 
Total votes: 749

User avatar
HB
Admin
Posts: 21971
Joined: 19 years ago

#1: Post by HB »

Last year's Favorite Espresso Blends 2010 proved popular and we would like to update/expand it for 2011. Below is the list of last year's skipped nominees plus this year's nominees:
Please pick up to 10 of your favorites from the list above. Below are out of country nominees that will be featured in a later non-US favorites poll:
For reference, below are the coffees that were reviewed last year:
Dan Kehn

mitch236
Supporter ♡
Posts: 1231
Joined: 14 years ago

#2: Post by mitch236 »

Dan, its been a few weeks. Any clue on what's next?

User avatar
Sherman
Posts: 824
Joined: 16 years ago

#3: Post by Sherman »

A couple things are in the works. Getting the ducks in a row right now, and we should be publishing closer to mid-August.
Your dog wants espresso.
LMWDP #288

Nik
Posts: 458
Joined: 17 years ago

#4: Post by Nik »

I am sure there are some excellent espresso blends out there and before I started roasting I was ordering from most of the more popular roasters. The only ones that I gravitated to most ofter were Vivace Dolce and Red Bird. I always enjoyed Black Cat but it was a moving target from bag to bag and I tired of it quickly. It has taken quite a while to get my blends the way I like them which is different than any I have ever bought commercially. Chocolate? It has to be balanced and if it dominates I consider it a failed blend. I would prefer a chocolate, vanilla, malty, nutty base with some fruity midtones and supported with mysterious earthy, leathery bass notes. I don't consider the cost of the components when I blend and I think this is where the commercial blends are limited in their flavor profile. It also appears to me that the coffees from both Central and South America are changing each season with flavors reminiscent of some of the finer African coffees. They are influencing my thoughts on future espresso blends.

I would also like to comment that the new Blue Jaguar espresso blend from Jeff Pentel at Redbird Coffee is absolutely delicious with flavors I haven't discovered before.

User avatar
HB (original poster)
Admin
Posts: 21971
Joined: 19 years ago

#5: Post by HB (original poster) »

To keep the thread Favorite Espresso Blends 2011 focused on the coffees under review, I merged the last few replies to this thread. The review thread will be locked while reviewers post their comments on new espresso blends in the coming week.
Dan Kehn

User avatar
cafeIKE
Posts: 4698
Joined: 18 years ago

#6: Post by cafeIKE »

<rant>

too many of the listed sites deserve a web site sux
  • missing pages & images
  • lousy, generic description.
  • blank pages
  • busted shopping carts
  • no espresso recommendations
  • 'dial-up' servers
  • busted 'contact' so we can't even tell them
FWIW, I troll a site to make sure it works before posting a link. Which is not to say it won't 404 tomorrow.

Dan - how about an H-B policy that to have your site listed, it at least has to work? :evil: :evil: :evil:

</rant>

User avatar
malachi
Posts: 2695
Joined: 19 years ago

#7: Post by malachi »

I'd rather have a policy that the coffees nominated for consideration have to not suck.
What's in the cup is what matters.

User avatar
Chert
Posts: 3530
Joined: 16 years ago

#8: Post by Chert »

LMWDP #198

User avatar
malachi
Posts: 2695
Joined: 19 years ago

#9: Post by malachi »

No - just what I said.
I'd rather have coffees that taste great but come from roasters with ugly bad websites than horrible coffees that come from companies with super sexy sites.
What's in the cup is what matters.

User avatar
cafeIKE
Posts: 4698
Joined: 18 years ago

#10: Post by cafeIKE »

That maybe well and good for the glitterati who get samples to evaluate, but for the great unwashed, a glowing review of a stellar coffee that's difficult to obtain is less useful than a spent puck.

Post Reply