Coffee 2 struck me as a classic Pacific Northwest style espresso. The roaster's spec advises a high temperature and high brew ratio; my best shots fell into this category (~18g dose, 25-28g shot, 28s total brew time). For me, this espresso comes into focus when the acidity is tamed and the low notes emphasized. At its best, the acidity seems to be of the mild sour cherry variety. The bass notes are much more complex, with notes of peat, tobacco, bitter cocoa, and perhaps cola nut(?). At low temperatures, the acidity muddies into funkiness, and a lot of saltiness emerges. Shots pulled too long (time or brew ratio) quickly develop an astringent bitterness. I found the grind needed to be on the coarse side: long preinfusions and fine grinding produced bitter, acrid shots; my best shots used short, 6s preinfusions typical of most espresso machines.

This coffee works nicely in modest amounts of milk. I found my cappuccinos to emphasize chocolate and vanilla flavors that are subtle at best in the straight shots.

C2 was roasted 9/19, and I began sampling it after a week of rest. It proved to be an interesting, complex, somewhat challenging espresso blend. A preliminary brew on the Aeropress was fruity and sour, so I anticipated an acidic, fruit-forward espresso. I was not proved wrong.

C2 was easy enough to dial in for espresso, using fairly standard grind and brew settings. Higher brew temperatures are needed to tame the acidity (92-96C on my Spaz S1). The flavor profile is highlighted by citrus fruitiness, bittersweet chocolate, liquor overtones, and some caramel with milk. The blend faded rapidly towards the end of the second week, when it became difficult to eliminate sour/bitter/acerbic flavor defects.

Who should buy this: fans of fruit-forward espresso blends.

I preferred this coffee pulled this at higher temperature of 203°F. Experimenting with brew ratios ranging from normale to ristretto, I preferred it on the tighter side to emphasis sweetness. At its best, it featured chocolate notes and enjoyable tobacco/leather finish. If you start noticing savory notes dominate, like beef broth, try a coarser grind setting and slightly increased dose. The taste profile improves as the espresso cools. Those who like their espressos clean and straightforward will appreciate this coffee, especially if paired with a small amount of milk.

C2 was an interesting coffee. It is not an easy coffee to get dialed in. I am noticing a trend with these coffees. They are all pulling at higher than normal temperatures with unique flavor profiles.

Coffee C2 was difficult to get dialed in. At low temperatures it is sour and acrid. A bitter shot that reminded me of, well, bitters. A bitter savory herbal flavor. Not all that good.

You need to crank up the temperature with this coffee. I was using my 21 gram LM basket dosed down to 18 grams and pulled at 202-203F. At higher temperatures and slightly tight on the extraction the cup sweetens up and you get a floral semi fruity espresso. The acidity on this coffee is quite high and crisp. Granny smith apple kind of acidity. Avoid it with milk. I found that it became somewhat alkaline in milk and the flavors washed out quickly.

Coffee 3 is a bright, clean, citrus-forward, caramel-laden coffee that shines as a ristretto. I found it to be an exciting, interesting coffee that lent itself strongly to "Slayer style" shots: my favorite shots were dialed to gradually reach brew pressure by about 20 seconds, with an 18-25s brew phase. It works best at a medium to hot temperature, with the temperature necessarily scaling with the dose size.

I found 2 sweet spots with this coffee. The first is a high dose (18-19.5g), high temperature (201-203°F) shot pulled to 28-30g (60-70%). These shots are bracingly tart and sweet, with an almost super-real citric acidity that reminds me very of Sweet Tarts candies. The body is juicy, but the finish leaves a lingering powdered texture for me that was a visceral reminder of eating Sweet Tarts as a kid.

The second sweet spot was a lower dose (~16g), medium temperature (199-200°F) shot pulled to 24-26g (60-65%). These shots are considerably less acid-forward while retaining some of the unusual citrus notes. Instead, these shots are dominated by a complex array of caramels, with notes of banana as well.

Both shot styles worked very well in milk, producing exactly what you would expect-sweet, creamy, caramel delicacies that linger on the palate.

This coffee decidedly falls in the "3rd wave orange juice" category, but has an unusual, delightful combination of flavors that make it a stand out for me. If this style of coffee is up your alley, I strongly recommend this one to you.

This was an incredible surprise for me, and adjectives run out before I can describe how interesting it was, especially given that I generally shy away from bright, tart espresso. This coffee is a surprisingly dense bean that tantalizes the palate. It's amazingly bright, very pleasantly sweet, tart and has a luxurious finish that absolutely sparkles. The complex nature of the citrus fruit flavors mixed with effervescent acidity in harmony with very, very clean sweet, sometimes turbinado sugar sweetness blended well with the very prominent jackfruit that lingered and integrated well amongst the tart citric components. This coffee gave me the equivalent impression of sipping a fine Champagne mimosa.

A bit more rest brought out an even rounder, smoother and increased balance, however the scale tipping imbalance of tartness, (because it was also sweet) was actually a positive and unique characteristic. With these shots, the brightness was pushed further towards the finish.

This coffee is certainly an all-star in my book, it even makes for decadent cappuccino. It loves milk, converting into layer upon layer of deliciously sweet light caramel in a clear stand out fashion, unshadowed by cocoa, nuttiness or other commonly surviving flavor notes in many a typical cappuccino. My fiancé practically cooed when she tried her first sip of hers.

To me, it defines what a bright, yet developed espresso should be. It almost recalibrates the palate with its intense sparkling, tingling brightness. It was much like having Sweet-Tart candies, but better.

From my extraction notes, it pulled easily for me around 19g without a flush, pre-infusion pump fully engaged from the beginning. These shots mellowed and balanced when taken past ristretto stage, but I did enjoy toying around with the new IMS Singles basket for tiny ristrettos that allowed the separation of flavors to pop even more. It's a win-win either way.

Years ago, when this site only featured reviews and no forums, a bright fruit-forward like C3 would have had me running for the sink. Jim jokingly refers to them as 3WOJ (third wave orange juice) espressos! But tastes change, thick chocolatey espresso bombs are no longer the end-all be-all. While I still appreciate a good syrupy ristretto from time-to-time, I regularly enjoy a clean, fruity, bright espresso. The third of the Chicago trio is one of the best I've tasted in recent memory.

I describe it as tart, crisp, sweet cranberry juice. At 50% "normale" brew ratio, it's almost wine-like. As the ratio approaches 100% "ristretto" brew ratio, it becomes more juicy and intense, but remains tart with a sweet finish. If the brightness is too much for your palate, try raising the temperature to +202°F.

There has been a trend with this trio of coffees. A few years ago most espressos extracted in the tight ristretto pulled in the 198-200°F range. Booming bass and heavy chocolate and spice has given way to high temperatures pulled in the more normal 50-60% ratio yielding bright acidic coffees laden with fruits and berries.

C3 follows this trend. This is a fruity, sweet candy espresso. When pulled correctly, you get a crisp and lively acidity. I was pulling shots in the 202-203 range with a fine grind and 18 gram dose (another common theme). As you tighten up the shot and approach the 70-80% brew ratio range the sweetness goes up drastically. You end up with a little cup of fruity pancake syrup. Now, if your temperature is low and extraction lungo you get a cup of pancake syrup poured over grapefruit pith. Sweet and floral but face puckering tart and bitter. Remember those commercials from a few years ago about skunky beer face.
That is the reaction I had to over extracted, under temperature shots.

I found the grind to be less finicky than C1, but you do need a good grinder for this coffee. The grind is a little finer than a 'normal' blend.

I did not care for it in milk. I cannot put my finger on the exact reason why. It was just off in milk for me. Maybe citrus juice in an old milk glass? The coffee improved as it aged. If you pull it to early it is overly tart acidic. I found it hit stride in the 8-10 days post roast range. Interesting coffee. I have not had one like this for some time. If the coffee was not so sweet, the tart citric acid would be overpowering.