Four of us were fortunate to received samples of this coffee. Thanks!

I received mine yesterday and have pulled four shots using the Astoria lever group. I went with David's recommendation (handwritten on the bag): "Try 16gr at 199deg for 24gr output" Hard to be sure, but I think my extraction temperature is pretty close to that on the lever. I would guess judging from the website that David is using a GS3 with it's temperature stability.

To my amateur's palate that recommendation makes shots that are nicely balanced bittersweet, smooth and deliver the caramelized coffee sugars to the cup that the FC+ bean profile offers. The lingering finish carries that on quite pleasantly.

I also received a bag of Bodka Coffee's Main Squeeze Espresso beans. Thank you so much for the giveaway.

My samples are pulled on a La Pavoni Pro lever.
- Using the double basket I can fit 13.3g.
- (It's the old small double basket, original to my machine.)
Grinder is Baratza Vario
Recommendations written on the bag: 16g at 199F for 24gr output.
(I'm no professional taster, but love great espresso.)

At the recommended temp I had very nice pulls with lots of crema. Flavors were along the lines of bittersweet chocolate, sweet, rich and velvety texture. This worked well with milk drinks too.
Pulling the espresso a little hotter than the above I found the bitter notes weren't too strong at all and it made a beautiful cappuccino.
Trying a cooler pull it was still quite mellow, thinner textured.
Normally I'd find more issues with the hotter and cooler pulls, but this

My wife loves lattes and cappuccinos, and she found this to be a great coffee for that. I think it's probably better for milk drinks than the usual I've been using.

These beans seemed very easy to dial in. Perhaps I was just lucky?

Thanks for the opportunity to review your espresso. Good chance this will be on a future order.

I broke out the Nuova Simonelli Oscar from the shelf to continue testing. It was well worth the effort!
I haven't had the Oscar online for a couple of months now, so I was a bit reluctant to shelve the La Pavoni; only got room for 1 machine in use at a time.

Based on the grind setting for this coffee on the La Pavoni I made a guess at what it should be for the Oscar. Dosed out 16g per the recommendation. Did a long flush on the Oscar to get a slightly cooler pull. Slapped in the portafilter, turned on the pump and ran it for a 25sec pull. Not sure the exact volume of extraction, but it looked like just over 1oz with crema.
It was a lucky dial in on the grind I guess, because the espresso was terrific! Flavors were balanced, sweet, slight bitter note in the crema, but the espresso liquid was beautifully sweet and balanced the shot great.

Flavors were still bringing out chocolate notes, but less bitter notes. Aroma is quite nutty. Crema was quite marbled and rich. I noticed subtle, background, "sour" notes from the cooler extraction, but they didn't rise to the level of cherry or other fruit descriptions, and served to balance the flavors nicely. (Again I'm no tasting pro, so my tasting descriptions will be lacking. Sorry, as I wish I could do this more justice.)

With the La Pavoni I could pull great shots for milk over and over, with good espresso shots for straight. With the Oscar I'm pulling great straight shots too. (Obviously I have some work to do on my La Pavoni shots to get them to this level.)

Thanks for the sample again. Although I'm nearly out at this point it's been a very enjoyable test.
Very likely to land on my mail order coffee list again!

Aroma from these beans filled my mail box and then my house - it's fun to try something new!

I followed the bag instructions - 199 F, 16g in, 24g out using the Quickmill Silvano and the Mazzer Major. The shot seems pretty bright on the front end with a subtle anise taste mixing with the caramel sweetness for an interesting and very long lasting finish - I was still tasting the finish a half hour later!

I still have a decent amount of beans to enjoy and will report any new thoughts in this thread.

Thanks Bodka Coffee for the chance to try these beans.

Those were just suggestions. You could try it a bit hotter.

I finally picked up my sample and pulled a few straight shots and milk based drinks. I used a Vibiemme super domo and a HG One Grinder with 83mm burrs.

Initial impression was that the beans smelled terrific. If filled up the room before I even ground anything. The roast was very even and a nice medium brown and not oily.

My sample is now 9 days post roast and either I got lucky like the others or the beans themselves are very easy to dial in. My first try i used 16 grams at 199 and pulled 24 grams at 27 seconds. The crema was still abundant and lots of dark brown spotting.

I do not have an experienced palate with straight shots but it was a very drinkable shot. No bitterness and chocolate and caramel was present. I tried lower temps and found shots to be more sour/fruity.

Where these beans excelled are with lattes that I made. The drinks were very good and chocolatey. As others have said there is a very pleasant lingering taste.

I would not hesitate to recommend these beans to milk based drinkers that like a rich chocolate flavour.

I will continue testing over the next few days to see how grind changes. If I have enough i will run it through the K10 as well.

Thank you for the sample.

One more little entry just to echo what others said about this blend with milk. I got a really nice crema with it and the coffee combined for cappuccino or latte quite nicely. I enjoyed the two cappuccino very much and my wife who drinks them on a regular basis liked her Bodka Creek small latte as well.

Thanks for the great reviews!

nsfr1206 wrote:Thanks for the great reviews!

Well, I'm on the bandwagon for 5#'s. Just ordered.
I'll give the coffee a few days after I receive it before cracking the bag. Or not.