This is a coffee Paradise Roasters sells green or roasted as an SO espresso. I reviewed it on Coffeecuppers in March, ordered a good lot, and have been working with it since then. Most of my review stands, but contrary to what I said, it can be roasted well into the 2nd crack if one raises the heat slowly **after** the first crack, rather than before it.
As has been said, it makes a very good SO espresso, one I personally prefer to the Daterras; however, I'm beginning to appreciate what a fine blender it makes. The mild cocoa, almond and cherry flavors do wonders for blends with African or Indo beans; almost like adding a string section behind some edgy solo instruments.
In general, blending varieties are the Rodney Dangerfields of the coffee world; they get no respect. Moreover, with the trend towards SOs, they aren't even getting bookings. Well, I like good blends for their balance and finesse; and I've spent last year without a good Brazil blender, and have been struggling with totally stellar beans to get a stellar espresso blend. No dice. Everything I tried was either unbalanced or muddy. With the Yellow Bourbon, it's become a total no brainer, everything I try works well, and I'm left with the pleasant task of refining something already good, rather than trying to find the magic proportion that'll balance a bunch of prima donna beans.
So, if you want to try your hand at blending, give the yellow bourbon a try; even a kazoo sounds good with a philharmonic in the background.
