||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.