Ever had a "what?!?" response to a highly regarded espresso blend?

#1: Post by HB » June 22nd, 2010, 12:47 pm

Poll suggestion from Favorite Espresso Blends 2010 by John Weiss: "Have you ever had a WTF response to a highly regarded espresso blend? As in, why the !@#$% can't I pull a decent shot with this blend, when everyone around me considers it boss?"

RapidCoffee wrote:Of course nobody is saying this. We are doing our best to evaluate the selected espresso blends in an honest and straightforward fashion. But you're right, preconceptions alter your experience. There are plenty of examples in wine tasting, and coffee tasting is very similar.

My preconceptions suggested that Dolce would be a finicky blend, and an examination of the beans reinforced this. Instead, I found a classic Northern Italian blend that was easy to enjoy. Not everyone agreed. There's been reasonable consensus in this review of espresso blends, but some striking differences as well. Dolce is perhaps the best example of the latter.

In addition to preconceptions, "de gustibus" is highly influential in evaluating coffee. Certain chemical constituents in the complex concoction of espresso may trigger a strong negative reaction with your particular taste buds. This is more likely to occur with poorly prepped blends than meticulously prepped SO COE beans, but could happen with any coffee. Remember, some people simply cannot stand the taste of coffee in general. I doubt this is merely a case of uneducated palates.

#2: Post by **Nik** » June 22nd, 2010, 1:02 pm

Absolutely....it took me months to get Black Cat right. Everyone raved about Meritage but I never got a good shot out of it. However Dolce has never been finicky or difficult at all once I got the temperature to 202.5/203. I have been going through about 5 pounds of Dolce a month for a long time. I have recently discovered Red Bird espresso which has much of the same characteristics of Dolce but less expensive. It is equally as satisfying.

It's all subjective, isn't it?

#3: Post by **RapidCoffee** » June 22nd, 2010, 1:05 pm

Credit where due:
My ruminations on this topic grew out of an exchange with Jim Schulman. (Not every original coffee-related idea springs from Jim's fertile imagination, but sometimes it sure seems like it.

)

#4: Post by **Jeebs** » June 22nd, 2010, 1:07 pm

Hairbender

I love it at Stumptown, but I've never pulled a great shot at home. Now I consider it a treat when I'm visiting Portland, and stick with less finicky coffees at home.

#5: Post by **TrlstanC** » June 22nd, 2010, 2:24 pm

It looks like everyone has run in to a problems with one blend or another. The one that sticks out in my mind is Black Cat from a few years ago when everyone was getting rich dark chocolate, and recomending it as a great beginners blend, I was getting nothing but bitter swill. I couldn't get it to work for me at any grind or dose I tried and gave up on it after going through the few bags I had ordered.

I'm looking forward to trying out the latest batch of orange marmalade coffee though

#6: Post by **another_jim** » June 22nd, 2010, 11:00 pm

I had a double WTF moment with Vicace's Dolce. After hearing it was the second coming of espresso for four years, I went to Seattle in 2005 and got an espresso that was just marginally better than a brass knuckle punch in the teeth. Then, for this review, I got some really tasty shots with plenty of comfort food chocolate and nut, along with some lurking complexities. The new taste Black Cat is a real surprise too.

Roasters don't seem to be big on reputation anymore.

#7: Post by **chang00** » June 22nd, 2010, 11:13 pm

This is an espresso blend from a well regarded roaster in southern California.

15.5g of unculled beans, as is:

I am surprised to see this many tipped beans:

These are the defective bean fragments. Notice some are charred, therefore not from shipping or storage:

The OCD in me counted the number of beans. Overall, there are 96 normal appearing beans, 24 tipped beans, and 13 broken fragments.

#8: Post by **malachi** » June 22nd, 2010, 11:18 pm

How did it taste? (I'm not being snide - see Jim's comments on Dolce in the Favorite Blends reviews)

#9: Post by **Mark08859** » June 23rd, 2010, 10:41 am

Same type of issue with me regarding Counter Culture's Toscano blend. Use to nail it on the head. Now it is almost all deep flavors with barely a trace of the sweetness that is supposed to be its primary characteristic. Frustrating.

#10: Post by **jammin** » June 23rd, 2010, 4:13 pm

Jeebs wrote:Hairbender

I love it at Stumptown, but I've never pulled a great shot at home. Now I consider it a treat when I'm visiting Portland, and stick with less finicky coffees at home.

X2 on the hairbender. I wanted to call it Hairpuller for a while