thatbrian wrote: I've had many bitter and espressos, and a few sour ones, but I've never anything coming even close to sweet.

There is definitely sweetness in good espresso, sometimes more, sometimes less, but it is always there. Sugars are always present in the beans and can be extracted. Dark chocolate, for example, can be described as bitter, but you can still taste sweet notes in it, can't you? Same with espresso. To say that espresso never comes even close to sweet is a very strange thing to say. They put sweetness rating on the bag for a reason. All my espressos are certainly sweet.

Having said that, the only time I remember not being able to make a sweet espresso is when my espresso machine was not producing hot enough water and all I was getting is very sour taste (underextracted). I couldn't call it sweet. So I believe the right temperature is one of important keys for a good sweet espresso, assuming proper grinder is a given. Not hot enough water will give you sour and not sweet taste, too hot will give you bitter with burnt ashes taste, and not so sweet either. So you have to make sure that water temperature is right. Beans play important role too. Fresh roast gives more sweetness IMO. Then the grind. Too fast extraction gives watery, unpleasant taste. Too slow, it will probably be sour again. So my formula for sweet espresso would probably look something like this:

SWEET ESPRESSO = FRESH ROAST x PROPER GRIND x RIGHT WATER TEMP

"To say that espresso never comes even close to sweet is a very strange thing to say."

That has been my experience.

Espresso is complex and can have varying tastes of bitter, sour, salt, and sweet. So, is there an espresso that exists which is entirely sweet? No. Just as there isn't one which is entirely sour. But each of those tastes can be more or less present depending on multiple factors and there are plenty of espressos which will have enough sweetness to be described as a sweet espresso. Sweet won't be the predominant taste but there is often enough of the sweet taste being perceived to describe it as a sweet espresso relative to others.

I agree that espresso is never just sweet, this is why I gave an example of dark chocolate, which may predominantly taste bitter, yet you cannot say that it has completely zero sweetness to it. But I wanted make this post with another example that I just remembered. A few weeks ago I received a new bag of fancy specialty coffee beans and was very impressed with the taste. In fact, I was so impressed that asked my 14 year old daughter, who doesn't drink coffee, especially unsweetened, to taste my freshly made americano. She took a sip and her first words were: "Mmm, it is very sweet". For a kid who doesn't have experience with coffee, that is quite a testament that there is sweetness in espresso IMO.

jdrobison wrote:Espresso is complex and can have varying tastes of bitter, sour, salt, and sweet. So, is there an espresso that exists which is entirely sweet? No.

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Sweet won't be the predominant taste but there is often enough of the sweet taste being perceived to describe it as a sweet espresso relative to others.

Again, this is more a lack of data than reality. I know on HB people love to argue based on limited personal data sets... but that just means new experiences are waiting around the corner. Instead of arguing against the existence of something, try seeking it out.

I bought this bean mix for espresso many years ago in green form and roasted light-medium myself. It really was like drinking sugar. Way too sweet for me. I mixed it into other beans to sweeten them up. You might notice the commenters roasted it dark.

It's even called "Sweet Santa."

https://greenbeanery.ca/products/espres ... 4792108611

Ristretto ? Correctly made, not a shortened espresso, and with adapted roast. Could it be the stairway to (heaven) sweetness ?

I totally get where OP is coming from with this question. I think he wants to know if there is any espresso/coffee that is sweet in the conventional sense of the word, not the term of art used in coffee circles. The closest I have gotten (while still FAR from a sugary sweetness) is a natural process coffee, in which the bean is dried in the cherry. I had one once that was very prominent blueberry/strawberry, that translated to a sort of sweetness.

Also, I get closer to a conventional sense of "sweet" in the aromas of some coffee, moreso than in the cup.

You might try this "honey process" coffee I just got from Klatch, Organic Colombia - La Pradera Tabi Honey, in a light-medium roast.

https://www.klatchroasting.com/products ... tabi-honey
https://www.klatchroasting.com/blogs/ne ... processing

You open the bag and it just smells sweet in a very desirable way. The shots (I do it as espresso) are also relatively sweet compared to other coffees.

The macro flavor components of espresso are bitterness, acidity and sweetness. The best espresso to my taste has equal parts of all three. If you are looking for an espresso where the dominant characteristic is sweetness, then add some sugar. Boom! It's sweet.

Natural processed Ethiopians are my go to when wanting espresso that's is sweet dominant. That's not to say it tastes like candy, but certainly has more sweetness vs bitterness