Moka 1 Cup wrote:November


Thank you.
I am not sure this is the right one. I found several roasters that were offering Panama Elida, but since I had already purchased from Dragonfly this is what I ordered. Prices were all over the places as well, not sure about the reason.


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Panama elida estate was a game changer for me in terms of taste. Haven't had it in a few years though.... really need to get my hands on some now!!'

December's selection.

RockyIII wrote: .....
Caffè Lusso Gran Miscela Carmo https://www.caffelusso.com/coffee/espresso/
.....
Rocky

I have been drinking this coffee for two days only but I'm really enjoying it.
It may be the way I am pulling the shot (that is: by pure coincidence... ) but this is the closest thing to an excellent Italian espresso that I have tried so far.
A little bit of bitterness in the after taste, but I may try to reduce some by playing with the parameters.

Thank you.

I don't know how intelligentsia hasn't been mentioned yet. If it did, I apologize for missing it, but their black cat I feel served a good bridge between classic and modern. Nice full body but satisfying acidity. It's what's in my head as the archetypal "espresso."

Moka 1 Cup wrote:December's selection.

I have been drinking this coffee for two days only but I'm really enjoying it.
It may be the way I am pulling the shot (that is: by pure coincidence... ) but this is the closest thing to an excellent Italian espresso that I have tried so far.
A little bit of bitterness in the after taste, but I may try to reduce some by playing with the parameters.

Thank you.

GMC is the coffee I wish I had started with when I first got my own machine and grinder. I've found it so stable, so consistent, and so delicious that it was a really good entry point for appreciating the difference in elements of puck prep, temperature, different baskets, etc. It was just never a variable I had to wonder about. I've tried other well regarded blends (Lusso's Lionshare, Nossa Familia's Full Cycle, Scarlet City's Warp Drive, Paradise Coffee's Espresso Classico) but for whatever reason I keep coming back to GMC as my basic, go to coffee.

I need to give GMC another try. The bag Denis included with the Monolith Flat was delicious. Subsequent direct orders of GMC...not so much. Tom Chips reported earlier this year Cafe Lusso did a little re-forumulating/re-blending/roast profile change for GMC and the flavor was improved.

January's selection

false1001 wrote:Dragonfly Leam Hammer

This is the third coffee from Dragonfly that has been recommended and that I try and I have to say that I can understand why members here like this roaster. A very interesting coffee. Roasted on 01/15, I started drinking as soon as I received it. I am at the end of the first bag and it was very interesting to see how it changed in just six days.
I can say that the shots that I liked most were the ones that I would call double-ristrettos: 18g in, a relatively long preinfusion, until the first drop, and 20g to 24g out. A very strong tasty espresso, with a prevalence of citrus and chocolate, and a long lasting chocolate aftertaste. I have just begun my second bag and I looking forward to experimenting some more and see how it continues to evolve day by day.

Thanks for the recommendation.

February's selection.
Probably this thread could not end with a higher note. I really liked this one. I was probably lucky, the setting of both the grinder and the espresso machine was the right one, but I got the wow factor from the first cup! Not a classic Italian espresso but neither too "fancy" for my taste. A good balance between the two styles, I think. I really like it.

Kryptonicspb wrote:Velton's Bonsai Blend. My personal favorite

Thank you for your suggestion.







It's definitely not easy to compare 12 coffees when you drink them one or more months apart from each other, so I'm not able to say which one I enjoyed the most when I tried it. Probably the ones from Etiopia. Or maybe the Panama Elida? I should try all of them again.
However, one year after my "maybe with time I will learn to like fancy espresso too" I can actually now say that, yes, I like fancy espresso too .
Actually, my taste has also changed a little bit. While my preference is still for the classic Italian style espresso, I have recently replaced the coffee we regularly drink at the office with Dragonfly Crema Dolce (one of the coffees tried thanks to this thread) in place of the old italian Illy. I find Crema Dolce much more interesting.
For home I'm undecided between Crema Dolce and Bonsai Blend. I will probably alternate them.

Thank to everybody for your contributions.

Thanks, Monte, I've enjoyed following this thread and hearing the recommendations.

Thanks for the thread!

Great thread! I definitely got some new blends to try from here. I'll offer my suggestion...

https://www.darkmattercoffee.com/collec ... esso-blend

From my notes, "Big and sweet but complex with a lot of depth. Makes a GREAT Cortado. Really hit it's stride 6 days post roast."