Nominees for "Favorite Espresso Blends 2010" review - Page 2

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.

What espresso blends would you like to see reviewed?

Barefoot Coffee Boss
14
3%
Barrington Gold Espresso
6
1%
Cafe Grumpy Heartbreaker
11
3%
Counter Culture Coffee Toscano
45
10%
Caffe Fresco Ambrosia
22
5%
Ecco Espresso
23
5%
Espresso Vivace Dolce
37
9%
Four Barrel Friendo
7
2%
Gimme! Leftist
18
4%
Hines Espresso
6
1%
Intelligentsia Black Cat Classic
46
11%
Klatch Belle Espresso
31
7%
Metropolis Red Line
33
8%
Olympia Big Truck
4
1%
Paradise Espresso Classico
18
4%
PT's La Bella Vita
10
2%
Stumptown Hairbender
39
9%
Terroir Northern Italian
23
5%
Zoka Paladino
8
2%
49th Parallel Epic Espresso
34
8%
 
Total votes: 435

compliance
Posts: 214
Joined: 14 years ago

#11: Post by compliance »

HB wrote:Please note that it is not our intent to bill this as a "shootout". Rather our goal is to elicit the best every blend has to offer, ideally providing readers with brew parameters and tips for duplicating the results we report. The reviews will undoubtedly include copious taste notes, but true to the site's motto, there will be a strong emphasis on explaining what techniques we believe will work best for a given coffee.
Then I amend my previous use of the word "shootout" to "educational endeavor"! But seriously, the goals stated sound fantastic. I appreciate when roasters give us brew parameters, but they don't always work out for me. To have a panel with a variety of equipment and opinions could really help a newbie like myself dial some of these in.

This is probably a given, but please make sure to post the schedule ahead of time for those of us who want to get our orders in and follow along at home.

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JonR10
Posts: 876
Joined: 19 years ago

#12: Post by JonR10 »

I think this is a great move!

You might want to add:

Coffee Emergency's Code Brown
Cuvee Coffee (either Medici Blend or Meritage)
Jon Rosenthal
Houston, Texas

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rideold
Posts: 57
Joined: 14 years ago

#13: Post by rideold »

I'll put in my vote for Conscious Coffees Espresso Manteca.

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sweaner
Posts: 3013
Joined: 16 years ago

#14: Post by sweaner »

I thought Dan wanted to whittle the list down!
Scott
LMWDP #248

chappy
Posts: 3
Joined: 14 years ago

#15: Post by chappy »

I've had a number of these on the list. The only one that I would include as a personal favorite is Blue Bottle Retrofit. I also hope your reviews list the total cost and time from order to delivery of the coffee. I frequently order online and find that shipping prices and policies vary considerably. Of course, this has nothing to do with actual taste, but cheaper and on time is often the second consideration for me.

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Bob_McBob
Posts: 2324
Joined: 15 years ago

#16: Post by Bob_McBob »

I'd also like to see 49th Parallel on the list. I know a lot of people consider them the top Canadian roaster. It would be nice to have more than one Canadian coffee reviewed.
Chris

SylvainMtl
Posts: 138
Joined: 18 years ago

#17: Post by SylvainMtl »

I second bob_McBob's suggestion. I'd be nice to include 49th's Org espresso in the reviews.

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flyin
Posts: 1
Joined: 15 years ago

#18: Post by flyin »

Favorite espresso blends -
I don't know if there are geographical limitations on nominations, but I would propose two espressos that are fantastically smooth with thick crema and despite being very strong have no bitter edge whatsoever:

Karoma Nero (black label) by Feio SRL
via delle Fontane, 45
Angri (SA) 84012
Italy
http://www.karoma.it

Roma "Maximum Class" by Caffe Martella
Via Cesare Colizza, 28
Marino (Roma) 00047
Italy
http://www.caffemartella.it

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shadowfax
Posts: 3545
Joined: 19 years ago

#19: Post by shadowfax »

flyin wrote:I don't know if there are geographical limitations on nominations
In general, I think we have in mind (probably 'micro-roasted') espresso blends from US roasters that are available to order, nationally, online, i.e. easily available fresh to our domestic readership. So we've already ruled out international blends that would otherwise be on our list, such as offerings from Square Mile, Tim Wendelboe, Coffee Collective, etc.

Perhaps in the future we can arrange an international espresso edition of the review, if any of those roasters want to send us their coffee to check out. There's a lot of spectacular coffee in Europe, and we're sure not keeping it out of this series of reviews because it's not up to snuff.
Nicholas Lundgaard

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Marshall
Posts: 3444
Joined: 19 years ago

#20: Post by Marshall »

Dan,
Might I suggest the panel first ask the roasters which of the blends are kept (reasonably) consistent and which vary widely by season (a la Black Cat).
Marshall
Los Angeles