I tried three of their offerings last year:

Hayes Valley Espresso
17ft Ceiling
Opascope

Of these, I liked the Hayes Valley the most.

The good news is that they offer just about everything (I think) in 6 ounce bags, so you can try a number of them without breaking the bank or being stuck with a ton of beans that you're not wild about or can't get through before they go stale.

I used to go back and forth between Bella Donovan and Giant Steps. This was before I had an espresso machine and I was using a "Brikka" moka pot which makes coffee at about 5% strength. Kind of a lungo but not quite. Anyway I'll bet both of those coffees would be good as espresso too.

It's been a long time since I've had Blue Bottle. I used to visit the Mint location regularly until I realized I could buy it at our local Whole Foods. The paper Blue Bottle bags were always within a few days of roasting. But now supermarket Blue Bottle is something that I don't recognize. It isn't even on their website: "Bold", "Balanced", "Bright", and "Espresso". Some marketeer's idea. I wonder if it's roasted on Mars. Like almost everything else I order all my coffee online now.

Balthazar_B wrote:Ground on a Mahlkonig EK43, which is a big flat burr machine. Quite expensive and so ugly it may be grounds for divorce. But when it's calibrated correctly, it can grind very evenly and provide high-extraction shots. But there are many other grinders out that that will give you the means to make reliably great espresso (and the grinder is the most important piece of equipment for this).

Thank you @Balthazar_B for the informative explanation.
..."it may be grounds for divorce." Very funny my friend !

not really sure the EK is that ugly... but i get the sentiment

Post a pic of your home espresso setup...

and more recently

Post a pic of your home espresso setup...

once i figured out how to maintain the alignment... i'm back in love with it..