||GUATEMALA|| The Roasterie - Guatemala Huehuetenagno

Coffee: THE ROASTERIE – LIMITED RESERVE GUATEMALAN HUEHUETENANGO HUIXOC ESTATE
Price: $11.27/12oz + Shipping = $1.19/oz
Year: 2007 (October)
Location/Blend: Reserve lot from the Huixoc Estate in Huehuetenango
Roast: Vienna style light roast
Flavors to look for: Cherries and Chocolate
What they say at The Roasterie: "The Huehuetenago region in Northwest Guatemala grows some of the best coffees in Central America. The Roasterie's HueHue is from the Huixoc Estate where the coffee is shade grown on the high slopes of the Sierra Madre in the cool mountain air. The coffee trees are of the Bourbon variety, when ripe the workers select the total ripe cherries and with the use of mountain water and sun drying the results are a world class coffee. Silky sweet in the cup with hints of cherry and chocolate resulted in a 92 rating by CoffeeReview.com." Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
FRENCH PRESS	ESPRESSO
Fragrance: Sharp citrus, smoky	Crema: Dissipates quickly, nutty taste
Aroma: Dry, deep, nutty	Aroma: Sweet cherries
Body: Mild body, but consistently smooth. Fades quickly	Body: Thin body
Acidity: Strong citrus-like acidity upfront that really opens up the cup. When brewed at lower temperatures, the acidity almost overpowers the cup. Balanced at higher brewing temperatures	Milk: Milk drinks have a chocolate flavor with notes of cherries, the sweetness of milk drowns out the bitter elements of the straight shot
Finish: Finishes with a sweet, tart flavor, like fruit that isn’t quite ripe. Dry, light finish, lacking complexity.
Profile & Flavors: Notably dense in the cup, with a deep color. Keeps a froth for several minutes, though not particularly oily. Acidity, fruity aroma, and nutty flavor predominate the early cup. Think of biting into a firm plum … very crisp and firm up front with strong acidity and sweetness that lingers in the back of the throat. Notably dry. As the cup cools, the acidity almost overwhelms the cup at times. When fully cooled, the coffee calms and takes on a very sugary flavor. At higher brewing temperatures, above 200*, the sugary sweetness combines with smokiness, reminding me of sweet BBQ sauce. Overall, a sharply acidic coffee that is very naturally sweet. More interesting at higher brewing temperatures. Parings: I think this needs to be sipped alongside food that is not acidic, like breakfast pastries, so as to cut down on the repeated acidity with every sip.	Profile & Flavors: Obviously, not every coffee is intended for espresso … this one certainly is not. Offers very little in terms of unique SO flavors. The roaster’s description says to look for cherry flavors. While I did not taste this when brewed in the press, there was a definite cherry element to the espresso. It actually works fairly well in milk drinks. Overall, even the best shots were fairly short, sharp, and thin. Most pulls actually ended up in the sink.
Score: 85	Score: No Rating
Buy Again? No. It very well may be my palate, but even at higher temps, the acidity overwhelmed what seemed to be interesting flavors. Weak as espresso. As a side note, this coffee actually worked fairly well with sugar as Turkish coffee.

||ESPRESSO|| The Roasterie - Super Tuscan Espresso

Coffee: THE ROASTERIE – SUPER TUSCAN ESPRESSO
Price: $9.11/12oz. + Shipping = $1.02/oz.
Year: 2007 (October)
Blend/Roast: Secret Blend; Medium – French roast. The Roasterie air roasts all their coffees.
What they say at The Roasterie: “Super Tuscan Espresso recently received a 90 on CoffeeReview.com. We are proud to say that this is one of the most complex and tasty espressos on the market. Like the famous wine of Tuscany, this top-secret recipe delivers a buttery-sweet, soft and mellow, full-bodied flavor that simply melts in your mouth. Connoisseurs may note hints of cocoa and a unique nuttiness, it peaks six days after roasting. Absolutely perfect for after dinner with sweets or cheese.” Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
Crema: Thick, rich, pecan colored crema
Aroma: Smokey and caramelly
Body: Medium body with a lingering finish
Milk: Mixes well with milk. I think the sweetness of the steamed milk balances out the bitterness in the espresso very nicely. While this espresso is quite bold as a straight shot, it melts into quite a nuanced cappuccino, with chocolate and fruity flavors present.

Score: 86, 88, 89, 87, 87

Profile & Flavors: Talk about a good description – this espresso truly did peak between 6-8 days for me. The earliest pulls – those being in the first 2-3 days – were quite spicy to my palate. Peppery and bitter on the finish, with a very big flavor upfront that I could not quite specify. Over the next couple days, a definite smoky element emerged. Still spicy, but think toasted white pepper as opposed to black pepper. As the espresso peaked on days 6-8, that enigmatic flavor became more identifiable. I taste dark caramel. There were also hints of sweetness to the pulls. All the pulls had a definite bitter element to them. At first it was a little too much I think – like a shot of Campari. But as the caramel elements began to come through, the shots seemed to balance better. I also noticed that a touch of sugar can benefit this espresso. I typically do not use sugar in my pulls, but the bitterness of the blend along with how well it worked with milk made me try a couple pulls with sugar. Interestingly, fruity elements came forth and combined with the smoky flavors to create a unique shot. Think of grilled fruit. Extending the alchohol metaphor, these pulls reminded me more of Anisette than Campari. The best shot I had was a straight ristretto: smoke, spice, and caramel – in that order. The most unique shot I had was a regular shot with a dash of sugar in it. A completely inconsequential note is the striking red color of the coffee itself. It really almost looked like red food coloring had been added, which I have never seen before.
Parings: I think this espresso would work great after a hefty meal, and it will definitely please all your guests, whether they prefer milk drinks or a straight shot.

Buy Again? Not yet. I like this espresso because it has unique flavors to it, but I would like to sample other espresso blends - even the other blends at The Roasterie before revisiting this.

||ESPRESSO|| Counter Culture Coffee - Espresso Toscano 2007

Coffee: COUNTER CULTURE – ESPRESSO TOSCANO (CAFFE DULCE)
Price: $10.15/12oz. + Shipping = $1.05/oz.
Year: 2007 (February)
Blend/Roast: Brazil Ipanema "Dulce" + Sumatra Lintong + Sumatra Aceh Gayo; A wonderful espresso roasted and blended in the caffe dolce or "sweet coffee" tradition of Central Italy. Sweet and mild, with notes of caramel, hazelnut, and dark chocolate, Toscano has built quite a following of professional Baristas and home espresso enthusiasts alike.
What CC says: “Toscano has been a favorite of ours since then, its sweet dark chocolate and caramel notes are perfect for the cappuccinos and ristrettos we live for. Each year, as new coffee crops arrive, we reformulate Toscano so we are sure to get that special sweetness we prize in this coffee. We've recently reformulated the blend to emphasize the sweet chocolate notes that accompany Toscano's classic butter-caramel sweetness. We love chocolate and caramel in this coffee!” Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
Crema: Pretty tan-colored crema. Not thick, not thin.
Aroma: Powerful toasted roasted aroma
Body: Thick and syrupy when dialed in
Milk: Strong enough for milk – but use at least full-fat or soy milk, because otherwise it just tastes like you are watering it down.

Score: 90, 87, 87, 89, 88

Profile & Flavors: Toasty, deep, bitter espresso that is quite nice when pulled right. Think dark as opposed to light. On the bitterness, think bitter chocolate as opposed to astringent. I found this espresso fairly easy to pull consistently. Make no mistake, this espresso is quite unique and quite good. Very nice chocolate flavor, and I would specify the caramelized flavors as toasted marshmallows ... very heavily toasted marshmallows. Makes a very solid milk drink, especially a mocha (if you are able to drink such things, which in this case, I am). When condensed into a ristretto, the shot is delicious, and indulgently dense, like drinking pure melted chocolate as opposed to chocolate milk.

Buy Again? Yes, but I want to try Counter Culture’s other espressos first before returning to this one.

||COSTA RICA|| Caribou Coffee - Costa Rica Sombra del Poro

Coffee: CARIBOU COFFEE – COSTA RICA SOMBRA DEL PORO
Price: $11.99/lb = $0.75/oz.
Year: 2007 (May)
Location: Unknown
Roast: 4/10 on Caribou’s Scale. Pretty light, probably around City+
Flavors to look for: Chocolate, cherries, cream.
What Caribou says: “Costa Rica Sombra del poro has flavors of semi-sweet chocolate and black cherries and a bold creamy texture reminiscent of a fine burgundy wine. These beans grow under the beautiful flower-laden branches of poro trees in central Costa Rica. Under the “sombra del poro” (shade of the poro) the coffee cherries develop more slowly, allowing the fruity flavors of the bean to intensify.” Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
FRENCH PRESS	ESPRESSO
Fragrance:	Crema: Very thick, but sour crema
Aroma: Unique aroma, like sweet melted chocolate	Aroma: Sweet aroma
Body: Fairly thin body that gets overpowered by the acidity	Texture: Syrupy texture
Acidity: Sharp acidity that mellows as the cup cools	Milk: Didn’t try
Finish: Finishes just the way it starts, thin and sharp. The complexities you expect from a good cup of coffee just don’t seem to pop out in the finish.
Profile & Flavors: If you drink the coffee quickly, it is a little disappointing. The body is thin and the acidity is biting. But if you let the temperature cool a bit, and try to appreciate the aroma and flavors, it is a pretty nice cup of coffee. The flavors don’t really match the aroma, which is earthy and chocolaty. The flavors are more acidic and citrus-like, but pleasant still. The chocolate the roaster describes is apparent, but the winey qualities are not.	Profile & Flavors: Quite bitter when pulled short. Intentionally letting the pull go longer, 40-50 seconds or so, tastes better. Still perhaps just not meant for espresso
Score: 80	Score: No rating
Buy Again? No. Caribou must have other origins/blends that are better, so give those a try first.

||RWANDA|| Kean Coffee - Rwanda Karaba

Coffee: KEAN COFFEE - RWANDA KARABA
Price: $0.85/oz
Year: 2007 (July)
Location/Blend: Gikongoro Region, Southern Rwanda
Roast: medium-full
Flavors to look for: cherry, sweet pecans, caramel, dark chocolate
What Kean says: "These rediscovered classy Rwandas are the rage with coffee insiders." Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
FRENCH PRESS	ESPRESSO
Fragrance: Sweet, fresh, bitter out of the grinder	Crema: Pale brown crema, very bitter
Aroma: Blueberries and freshly wet woodchips come to mind	Aroma: Deep, toasted tobacco
Body: Phenomenal body. You feel a coat of coffee blanket your tongue with each sip	Body: Deep body, syrupy texture in the cup
Acidity: An understated acidity becomes more evident as the cup cools	Milk: Handles milk in a macciato, some of the more delicate flavors are lost in a capp
Finish: One of the better finishers I have had in a long time. The finish is quite different from the initial flavor, which adds to the complexity of this coffee.
Profile & Flavors: Very earthy and unique. The most obvious descriptions would include: wet, earthy, spicy, berries. But it is indeed a complex cup with difficult flavors to pinpoint. The earthy flavor is the most predominant, and gives a solid foundation to every sip. Nice fleeting notes of vanilla, berries, and spices play with your tongue. The finish is actually quite sharp and acidic, leaving you wanting that dry earthy taste from the beginning of the next sip.	Profile & Flavors: This Rwanda pulls quite nicely as an espresso. Very syrupy and bitter with the first sip. Can be finicky to pull, and does best at a relatively lower temperature. I enjoyed it best as a macciato with nutmeg on top. Still, it holds its own as a straight shot, with bittersweet chocolate and spice flavors predominating.
Score: 93	Score: 86
Buy Again? Most definitely. An extremely unique origin, and Kean does well with it. One of the most complex cups of coffee I have had in a long time.

||ESPRESSO|| Sweet Maria's Liquid Amber Espresso

Coffee: SWEET MARIA’S – LIQUID AMBER ESPRESSO
Price: $10.00/16oz. + Shipping = $0.83/oz.
Year: 2007 (April)
Blend/Roast: Secret: Dry-processed+Wet-processed+Monsooned (Arabica and Robusta);A Northern Italian style roast (lighter espresso roast, really a Vienna roast, stopped 30-45 seconds into 2nd crack), highlighting the following characteristics: Bold / Pungency, Power, Aftertaste
They say: “I wanted an espresso blend that was potent, sharp, intense; but without excessive mustiness, fruitiness, or earthy flavors. Extracted in a properly-functioning, clean espresso machine the blend produces a lot of crema, making the mouthfeel very thick and creamy. The sharp pungent bite to the blend is not bitter, and fades into a rich tobaccoy-milk chocolate aftertaste. In the Liquid Amber Blend there are hints of fruit, mushrooms, sweet smoke, caramel, and cream in the extended aftertaste. This blend works extremely well in milk drinks, meaning by that a true cappuccino (6-9 oz.) or machiatto." Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
Crema: Very thick. Rich, red crema that does not dissipate for several minutes
Aroma: Toasty
Body: Body and viscosity are good, but the coffee is surprisingly thin for what your senses expect.
Milk: Again, it tastes like it would stand up better to milk than it eventually does. Still makes a nice cappuccino

Score: 87, 87, 90, 90, 90

Profile & Flavors: Fresh anise definitely comes through, making this a very unique espresso, that would work marvelously with a splash of anisette for an after-meal espresso. Other obvious flavors are the tobacco and smoke. The coffee is very bold and powerful, as intended – but considering how strong it is and how thick the crema is, the coffee itself seems thin. This is not necessarily a criticism, it just contradicts the senses a little bit. Imagine ordering pasta with a bold red sauce, but the waiter brings you something that looks like pasta primavera. Then you taste it, and it tastes like that bold red sauce – still what you were expecting, but a sensory mismatch nonetheless. The roaster attempts to get a pungent, bold espresso that is not bitter. I think this is exactly the source of the sensory mismatch. Many strong espressos rely on a strong bitter element. This espresso uses something else. The result is a cup that is less syrupy and not as bitter to the tongue. Unique indeed.

Buy Again? Yes – but try Sweet Maria’s other espresso blends first.

||ESPRESSO|| Counter Culture Coffee - Espresso Aficionado 2007

Coffee: COUNTER CULTURE COFFEE - ESPRESSO AFICIONADO
Price: $10.00/12oz. + Shipping = $1.13/oz.
Year: 2007 (October)
Blend/Roast: Blend not known (Brazil + Ehtiopia Harrar?); Relatively lightly roasted, Northern Italian style espresso blend and roast. Requires slightly hotter pulling temperatures, near 203*F to extract its full potential sweetness.
CC says: “The Northern Italian espresso is a completely different animal than in the rest of Italy. Relatively lightly roasted; complex, delicate, and composed, many espresso devotees proclaim the Northern Italian style to be the quintessential espresso experience. When the modern espresso machine entered this milieu, the coffee blend of choice naturally reflected the Northern Italian taste: coffee flavors are balanced against one another; the natural sweetness of lightly roasted coffees offset their aromatic complexity and dance above a full-bodied foundation. The final product is a sophisticated and complex, and perfectly suited to the Northern Italiand espresso ristretto and the traditional cappuccino.” Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
Crema: Deep reddish brown, easily burnt crema. Thick and substantial crema layer with every cup
Aroma: Sweet and toasty aroma, like toasted marshmallows. Makes you think of s’mores.
Body: Creamy body that lingers in the mouth after each sip. Surprisingly dry overall.
Milk: One of the best milk-handlers I have ever pulled. Sweet syrupy notes come through like chocolate into a delicious latte or cappuccino. Perfect with any milk, from 2% to half and half.

Scores: 88, 97, 90, 88, 95, 90

Profile & Flavors: Semisweet chocolate is the most obvious flavor. Sweetness is apparent throughout, but difficult to assign an exact flavor. I taste dark cherries. This espresso is dry and nutty to the finish. Think of the skin on a hazelnut, naturally dry and almost salty, pulling out the sweetness of the nut. Very complex indeed, but very delicious. Just like they were trying to do, it seems that the Espresso Aficionado captures the quintessential espresso flavors: bitter, sweet, and almost winey when pulled properly. It can be a bit finicky to pull (note the fluctuance in scores), but when hit right, it is an extremely rewarding espresso (see 97!). A great everyday espresso, which earns extra points for its wonderful milk-handling ability.

Buy Again? Definitely. Perfect for everyday shots and for milk drinks. I actually prefer this to their ’07 Toscano (review coming).

||HONDURAS|| Counter Culture Coffee - Finca El Puente

Coffee: COUNTER CULTURE – FINCA EL PUENTE HONDURAS (“PURPLE PRINCESS”)
Price: $10.65/12oz + Shipping = $1.18/oz.
Year: 2007 (October)
Location/Blend: Marcala, Honduras; Blend of 11 microlots from Finca El Puente farm (farmer Marysabel Caballero)
Roast: Full City + roast; oil still evident on dark brown beans
Flavors to look for: Lavendar, Purple fruit, Silky body
What CC says: "Honduras is one of those off the beaten path origins. This coffee does its part to support the truism that spectacular coffees come from spectacular places. The farm itself covers the side of a mountain, and there are a number of little hidden valleys where the coffee is tucked; each has a name, and its own personality. The chemists tell us that great coffees have thousands of aromatic chemicals that give coffee its character, and it’s coffees like this that make me believe it. Every time I grind this coffee, I am surrounded by flowers, fruits, and perfumes. Delicate and complex at the same time. This coffee simply defines elegance, I would choose it if I were serving a princess." Read about it on their website

MY TASTING NOTES
FRENCH PRESS	ESPRESSO
Fragrance: Dry sweetness, like raisins, and very floral	Crema: Very light brown creama, thin
Aroma: Very sweet, wet aroma, similar to its dry fragrance, just more moist. Dates, raisins, and dried fruit	Aroma: Sweet, floral, burnt sugar aroma
Body: Very good body, very oily in the cup. Creamy body emerged as the cup cooled	Body: Thin, but lingering
Acidity: Medium acidity doesn’t wax or wane as the cup cools	Milk: Too bitter for milk.
Finish: Beautifully silky body finishes with a more floral/earthy finish
Profile & Flavors: “The Princess” got me through my surgery rotation. Every morning, our team of three med students could look forward to an elegant cup of coffee, while everyone else was stuck drinking the brown water being passed off for coffee in the surgeon’s lounge. We could see the oils floating in the cup, taste the sweet dried fruit with each sip, and enjoy the slightly biting acidity. Figs, raisins, and dates come to mind. Just the thing to wake you up. As the cup cooled, it turned creamy and silky. The sweetness didn’t disappear, but cooled to a more floral tone. Background flavors of vanilla and brown sugar persisted throughout. This is the kind of coffee that needs to be enjoyed over 10-15 minutes, as the flavor profile changes multiple times. I personally think brewing this coffee at a lower temperature, around 196-198, helped bring out some of the more floral and delicate characteristics.	Profile & Flavors: A very bitter cup of espresso. Some different flavors indeed, and an interesting SO pull. Burnt sugar and vanilla predominate, and the bitterness does not have much to balance it.
Score: 92	Score: 82
Buy Again? Most definitely. This coffee has opened my eyes to Hondurans for sure, though I have a feeling this is a somewhat unique coffee. See, for me, this coffee will always remind me of the early mornings and long hours of my surgery rotation. I certainly will always remember the rounds, the patients, the lectures, and the six hours of retracting in the OR. We certainly were the bottom of the totem pole. But when it came to the morning coffee, we were kings, if only for ten minutes. Did it have to be this coffee? Probably not. But it was. And that will keep me buying it for years to come.