Been making espresso at home for a month or so. Understand that espresso is intense, but when done right, bitterness shouldn't over take the whole thing. When I pull the shot, bitterness isn't the first impression. It's balanced enough bitterness doesn't over take the taste. It's intense coffee with light sweetness. Most of the taste note comes after the drink is finished. Sweetness lingers for awhile. It's not watery, sour or too acidic. That's me. My wife on the other hand says it's full of flavor. So, why isn't it full of flavor for me? I know everyone's palate's different. I love smoking tobacco, all sorts of tobacco. But my wife hates tobacco. Maybe coffee is like that? My palate just can't get things out of espresso?

Your wife does not smoke, and says espresso is full of flavor.
You smoke, and say espresso is not full of flavor.

Not being judgmental at all, but the mechanism at work here could not be more obvious.

Tobacco isn't the problem. I don't have issue with food, tea or spirits. But coffee. Any coffee. I don't get detailed note out of coffee of all kind.

Maybe your palate works better with filter or other beverages and that's ok. Personally unless I'm aerating my mouth while drinking it I don't get a world of flavors... This is why slurping is a big thing

My best wine tasting experience was once where we had cups with shavings of different citrus, cloves etc and we smelled then side by side with the wine. That was quite revelatory and allowed me to calibrate my senses to really find those notes in the wine. I'd probably need to do that 50 times to train my brain. People able to immediately pinpoint flavors have typically done many hours of tasting and focused practice, don't get discouraged. That said, neuroscience is clear, each person has their own viewpoint in what they taste, it's not universally accepted what a cup tastes like.

Neopolitain practice that's fairly common in Europe is to offer some water to clear the palate before savoring an espresso.

Chewing a shot also helps directing it around the tongue to hit all the taste sensor zones. I started doing it for the fuller flavour before finding out it's a common tasting practice.

Another thing about taste complexity I've read and experienced is that it's in the smell. A flu once gave me sinusitis that totally blocked my sinuses. I couldn't smell anything and lost my ability to taste anything too. It was horrible.

It is said that women have more keen olfactory senses and there are two women in our cigar circles who have exceptional palates. It is probably attributed to that, and also perhaps the fact that she doesn't drink as much as you (maybe?) and is more sensitive to a non-daily ritual. It could be also you need more zinc in your diet or perhaps a supplement to sharpen your senses.

Been smelling it before each sip lately. Then take little slurp. Swish in mouth, roll it around before finishing. This morning's double shot was rather nice, and bit fruity sweet. Thing is I don't think it should be fruity sweet. I'm drinking mostly Italian medium roast such as Illy, Lavazza and so on. They remind me of espresso I drank back in college days. But more balanced. I know with tobacco pipe smoking, it took me few months to be able to notice different notes. Irish whiskey took awhile also. Not really sure why I like espresso, but I do. Noticing after opening the package, shots taste better after about 5-7 days. Usually, keep enough beans out for a week, and rest goes into freezer. Beans out for use is in airtight box.

Kimbo is good too. They have a few roast blends. I like the Crema Intensa. Dark, smoky, gooey crema Neopolitain. As a store bought there's a hint of stale but more predominant flavours cover it up. Really nice with a small spoon of sugar cream, which is a drizzle of espresso whipped into sugar.