Since drdna is on a bit of a hiatus lately I thought I would continue the series on Sweet Maria's espresso workshop blends. There has been near unanimous agreement that the limited edition offerings so far have been strikingly good to great and certainly an improvement on their standard blends.

I have tried and raved about the offering #1, Ophiolite Blend that was a concentrated chocolate covered cherry of defined flavors that peaked at 7-12 days. Rob I recall got brandy notes at later times around 12 days. Mine never lasted that long! I purchased 5 lbs. and regret that I have only about 3 left to enjoy.

So, I bought 10 lb of Dextral-Strike blend based on Tom's notes which claim "if you really nail the extraction, you will see it is Dextral ...totally Dextral. It's heavily fruited, with dense and satiny body, milk-to-bittersweet chocolate, spicy, and yes, earth-shaking in its complexity....The aroma from the extracted espresso has pepper, clove, anise and fresh fennel spices, and interesting pungency leveraged against a darkly fruited backdrop. The flavors unfold in complex layers amidst dense chocolate and satiny mouthfeel. Anise and fennel are still present, but a black currant fruit flavor dominates with citrus brightness throughout. Yes, it's another bright espresso ... well, if you don't over roast it that is. The fruit has a ripe, wine-like character (Cabernet Sauvignon), and amazingly thick, fantastically creamy and weighty residual mouthfeel; it lingers forever, or so it seems.........Those who like properly fruited espresso will enjoy this. (That means people who have had good results with Monkey and Puro Scuro in the past as well)."

I roasted some up on the HotTop to the very first sounds of second crack about where Tom recommends though I might have extended the drying phase a bit more then I needed. After four (4) days rest I pulled three shots this morning and was pretty lucky with the extractions.

16 gm
About 201*
26 second extraction times
Noticed that this coffee seems to need a tighter grind setting then some other blends so perhaps it indicates some softer bean varieties (???).

Overall impression so far is that this blend is very much like a "better monkey blend". The first shot was a full 2 oz and sweetest of the three but less density and texture then I would have liked. I tightened the grind and kept the temp. the same and the improvement was noticeable. The flavors were a deep bittersweet chocolate and rich winey fruit with a spicy note but a bit muddied and not separate and distinct. So far I detect no brighter fruits and certainly no citrus notes. We will see if they develop or if I really need to roast without any second crack at all. This is still so far a very good espresso and better then the regular offerings. I will of course see what happens over the next few days and play with the dose and temperature to try to improve. To my tastes even right from the first drink I prefer the Ophiolite.

There is either not enough interest in this blend or no one else has tried any as yet. I'll continue my observations.

On day 5 I continued along the same general path with my extractions though I upped the dose a touch to 16.5 gm or so and continued to pull 1.5 oz, 26 sec drinks at similar temperatures.

The coffee has absolutely evolved in a day such that the brightness is up a notch and the citrus notes (more lemon) have come out. Still, the density and layers of distinct flavors are not there.

Day 6 (late in the day so I can't get overcaffeinated (I have a golf game at The National Golf Links of America tomorrow and I need my sleep ). My thoughts to obtain density and flavor distinctions are to tighten the grind still using 16.5 gm and pull a ristretto of 1 oz or less. Well, I think I've hit the sweet-spot of this blend at least for my own tastes. I got the temperature a touch too low and a bit too sour BUT we now have about 0.75 oz with the layered chocolate, winey fruit and citrus all in a dense drink that coats the palate. Tom says Cabernet in his notes but I taste more cherry-like flavors that remind me of a good red Burgundy. Still this is now evolving into a blend that I can recommend. We will see what the next few days bring. I'm roasting another batch now and I hope to leave it until day 6.

I'm interested but I don't have any to try myself so I'm simply an interested reader. Keep posting your findings.

I've tried it days 4-6 and definitely prefer it on day 6. It's a blend of washed and naturals, so there isn't a huge amount of crema, but flavor-wise, I like it. Decent amount of fruit with some spice. Best results, as GC7 posted, are slightly updosed double shot pulled short.

Kurt - thanks for your input

Day 8- I've finished the last of my first roast today and it seems to be a chameleon blend in that there are very distinct and changing flavor profiles that vary especially with volume and temperature after concluding that slight updosing is a good variable to start. Perhaps I'm improving my ability to pull shots and detect the varied yields of a coffee blend but this one seems to be picky with conditions.

With normal volume shots and especially at higher temperatures (202 or so) the winey flavors yield to bittersweet chocolate and orange and lemon citrus notes. Distinctly shorter shots at slightly lower temperatures (200-201) yield those wine notes I described above along with less prominent but clear citrus fruits.

I have another roast - this time no second crack but for a couple of snaps form the last beans ejected from the HotTop drum. I liked this roast profile with slightly faster dry time better in theory at least. It will be at day 6 on Monday and I'll try to wait - lucky I have some Idido Misty Valley SO's to try until then!

GC7 wrote:Since drdna is on a bit of a hiatus lately...

This is what happens when you have a little holiday vacation.

Well, I was curious about the New #4 blend, but have not yet made the purchase for a couple reasons:
1. I have about 20 pounds of Ethiopian to get through.
2. I kind of rely on those little flavor analysis diagrams that Tom has on the Sweet Maria's site. I have found that when the diagram looks like a flattened oval on a left diagonal axis I like the espresso blend. In the case of the New #4, it looks like a flattened oval on a RIGHT diagonal: so basically the opposite of what I think I would like.

I was thinking this will be a citrusy uber-Californian hypermodern espresso style, if you know what I mean. It is great and all that you can do that with espresso, and I also appreciate how some vegetarian recipes make ground up almonds into something resembling a meatloaf. It's no small feat, but sometimes I just want my simple old macaroni and cheese, you know.

Anyway, I was kind of worried about it.

I wonder if the lack of effusive raving over the new blend reflects my reservations? Or perhaps it simply means there haven't been enough people who have tried it yet?

Adrian

Interesting analysis. I still have about 10 lbs of various Sweet Maria's green beans to use up until I try something new. But, I am excited by what they are doing with these workshop blends. But, I think, I too am a bit cautious about citrusy blends- not taken into second crack.

The one workshop blend I roasted - 1/2 lb of Ophiolite - tasted great after a week's rest.

Howard

Well my total lack of restraint on trying new coffee has led to me ordering a couple pounds of this (as well as each of the Kenyans they just got in) even though I'm not sure I'll like it from the description.

Edit: I now have the beans on hand but it will be a while until I get to roasting and trying them.

I've now roasted and pulled my first shot with this blend. I did a very light roast, no second crack. I pulled the shot at 15.2 grams a low temp, 214 on my pid but that's at the top of the boiler, 48 hours after roast. I don't have the taste buds or descriptive language that some of you do but I can say I like it! I do get the winey flavors near the end, overall good balance of flavors, no bad or off flavors. It's much better than the Liquid Amber I've been trying lately.

I have roasted two batches of Dextral Stike-Slip just into second crack in my Whirley Pop, and the flavor was rich and complex, with a deep body. Fantastic espresso and I am going to order more.

I was thinking this will be a citrusy uber-Californian hypermodern espresso style, if you know what I mean.

I know what you mean, I think. I place Ritual coffee in this hypermodern West Coast style—it tends towards acidic, citrus, and winey, and a short shelf life in its ability to deliver excellent shots with good body. I love Ritual coffee, and a well-pulled shot is a joy and pleasure, but it is a demanding bean, which ages fast, and the mantra demanding super fresh beans goes double.

By contrast I find the Dextral Strike-Slip to have a sturdy medium body flavor base, and a complexity of rich flavors. The coffee ages well.

This reminds me a lot of Cuvee's "Meritage" blend. It's very tasty!

I just pulled my first shot of this on my Factory (Pavoni Professional). Wow! I roasted it on Saturday and hit about FC+ or so (just a bit of 2nd crack). I got loads of crema with nice tiger striping. The flavor was very good. I think it tracked SM's description. The feel and flavor lingered for quite awhile.

After reading above, I was expecting a bit of difficulty, but that was just great!