||ESPRESSO|| Counter Culture Coffee - El Salvador Finca Mauritania Pulp Natural Espresso

Coffee: Counter Culture Coffee - Finca Mauritania Pulp Natural Espresso
Price: $10.25/12 oz. + Shipping = $1.15/oz.
Year: 2008
Blend: Single Origin Espresso from Santa Ana, El Salvador
Roast: Slightly darker than they roast this same lot for drip/press coffee - probably just before second crack.
What they say: "An experiment by our roasting department has resulted in one of most delicious single origin espressos we have ever experienced. Roasted to the perfect pitch for espresso, this unique, very limited single origin espresso offers rich, round notes of dark chocolate, molasses, cherry, and licorice above a smooth, creamy body." Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
Scores - 87, 87, 87, 87, 87

Crema: Quite dark in the cup, with a burnt sugar taste. I found the crema to be on the thin side overall.

Aroma: I found aromas of flowers and anise. I think less of the roast itself comes through in the aroma than in a typical espresso, making for a lighter, sweeter "nose."

Body: I found the body to be light overall, but not sharply bitter. Often times thin body means a poor prognosis for a shot of espresso - not the case here. While thin, the shot still goes down smooth. The sip lingers on the tongue, but more like a windbreaker than the down-blanket characteristic of many espressos.

Milk: I only had soy milk available for this espresso's tenure. The "lattes"were unexciting, but can't you say that about all soy-milk drinks?

Profile & Flavors: One thing to note is that I found myself able to pull this espresso very consistently, with only minor grinder adjustments. The major flavors I tasted were cherries and plums, with a bit of anise. I also tasted dark honey (the chunky, unprocessed stuff). Think about those chocolate covered cherries with the liquor that bursts out, but with less chocolate ... like biting off one end and eating the whole filling ... then tone the intensity down about half. Someone I was sharing this with made a comment that this espresso would be a great way to win over your regular coffee drinkers to the world of espresso. I couldn't agree more. The shots are not as big as traditional espresso blends. The Finca Mauritania is smooth instead of rich, tastes of fruit syrup instead of melted chocolate, and is sweet instead of smokey. If your typical espresso is a port reduction, this is a "coffee consommé," that being a concentration of all the flavors you might expect to find if you brewed this coffee in a press pot.

Pairings: Good dark chocolate is the perfect compliment for this espresso. I thought it might actually make a good breakfast coffee, so I tried it once in the moka pot, and made enough to get a small cup to sit alongside my chocolate chip pancakes. Success.

Buy Again? Again, my overall impression was positive. Compared to SO Costa Rica espresso I tasted earlier, I preferred this one for sure. That being said, I would probably only recommend this in two situations: 1) The SO aficionado, who wants to try any SO espresso worth trying; and 2) The lonely espresso lover looking for a way to slowly sway friends toward espresso drinking.

||ESPRESSO|| Counter Culture Coffee - Twin Cities Express

Coffee: COUNTER CULTURE COFFEE – TWIN CITIES EXPRESS
Price: $15.50/12oz + Shipping = $1.61/oz
Year: February 2008
Blend: Lem Butler’s custom blend with coffees from Brazil, El Salvador, and Ethiopia
Roast: Full City, no surface oils
What they say: “Counter Culture barista Lem Butler used this custom espresso blend to win his second Southeast Regional Barista Competition in three years. Rich notes of caramel, toasted nuts, and citrus dance atop a smooth body and a sweet, berry-like aftertaste.” Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES:
Scores - 87, 90, 88, 89, 89

Crema: Rich, dark brown crema with a toasted marshmallow flavor. More sweet than bitter

Aroma: Mostly sweet on the nose – almost floral. I also noticed a faint hint of fresh sawdust on the nose.

Body: Excellent body, very rich and smooth. I often consider how viscous an espresso feels in the mouth as a major determinant of body. It isn’t just the pull – some blends give a more syrupy character, and this is an amazing example of just how syrupy and rich an espresso can feel in your mouth. The initial sip is thick and rich, and the body never fades.

Milk: A very nice espresso to blend into milk drinks. I found myself consistently making some very interesting cappuccinos. The coffee flavor was not at all lost in milk, and the resulting
drink was very rich with flavors of cream and dark berries.

Profile & Flavors: Overall, this was a blend that I felt I was pulling fairly consistently by looking at the shots. Upon tasting, however, I found a wide variety in flavors. Some shots were very sweet, with orange and blackberry flavors predominating. Others I found a completely different profile, with brown sugar, butter, and nutty flavors. Yet others were a sort of complex medley that was difficult to define. Though the shots may have tasted different, they had one thing in common: they were all very rich, and all very delicious. I think not quite knowing what to expect out of each shot may very well have made me like this espresso even more. Overall, the most notable characteristic was the thick, rich body. The overall buttery, sugary backbone of the shots reminded me of dark nut brittle that hasn’t quite hardened.

Pairings: Come to think of it, some dark nut brittle would probably have been a great companion, though I cannot confirm this. I did find that the shot tasted great with dark chocolate pieces.

Buy Again? Yes, though I believe this blend was a limited time thing. Mr. Butler, if you come up with another espresso creation, I will certainly give it a go.

||ETHIOPIA|| PT's Coffee - Ethiopia Biloya Selection One

Coffee: PT's COFFEE - ETHIOPIA BILOYA SELECTION ONE
Price: $23.95/12 oz + Shipping = $2.29/oz
Year: 2007 (December)
Location: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. This is a special selection lot of dry processed coffee
Roast: Medium-light ... probably toward end of City

What they say: Various roasters have sold this coffee over the last year. Here is Ken David's review of 4 of them, which provides a good idea of what to expect. I tasted the coffee corresponding to this review.




Tasting Notes:
FRENCH PRESS; Score - 95

Fragrance: The dry fragrance out of the grinder is extremely powerful, and the flavor is undeniable - blueberries, blueberries, and more blueberries. Subtle background hints of ginger and pepper

Aroma: A delicious wet aroma that follows through where the dry fragrance left off. I looked forward to cracking the crust every single time I made this coffee, because the aroma was just so unique and pleasing. Blueberries, tropical fruit, and sweet honey predominate. In the background are earthy notes, and a hint of the roast comes through. Even sitting in the cup, the aroma really permeates the whole room.

Body: It feels like a big bodied coffee, which I would describe as almost tannic - like young Bordeaux wines or Cabs. This puckering flavor is separate from the acidity, and really coats the mouth. There is also a nice earthy body in the cup, which mellows a bit as the cup cools.

Acidity: There is no doubting that this is a bright coffee. Very well balanced. A nice, bright, grapefruit-y sensation is the first thing to hit the tongue. This immediately melts into the driving flavors behind the coffee - blueberries, and a wonderful tartness. If the Lord created a fresh blueberry that had the tartness of a cranberry, this is what it would taste like.

Finish: The coffee finishes quite mildly. As the fruit and acid fades, the coffee flavors left in your mouth are very earthy. Sweet spices - like corriander and ginger - reveal themselves. The finish isn’t big, and it isn’t complex. But it is delicious. Simple, sweet, earthy. There is very little lingering aftertaste, but it does leave a tannic sensation in the mouth, and begs for the next sharp sip.

Profile & Flavors: Blueberries. Earth. The flavors were so straightforward, that I think this coffee can be aptly described with those two descriptors. I could use more: honey, corriander, ginger, and tart. But as I said, this coffee was straightforward ... and delicious. Many people get caught up in culinary complexity. Complexity is great. It’s unique. To execute complex flavors requires skill, and when executed properly, can create whole new avenues in flavor. But complexity isn’t everything. The sum total of a complex dish (food, drink, cup of coffee, etc) won’t come together unless the characteristics of its individual ingredients are impeccable. And once that makes sense, it becomes extremely easy to appreciate simplicity ... even to celebrate simplicity. That is exactly what this coffee brings to mind. It is quite simply amazing quality. The tart blueberry flavors exploded in my mouth and nose. I do want to emphasize the tart flavor. First of all, tart does not equal bitter, and bitter does not equal bad. They are two different things in my mind, neither of which is meant to sound better than the other. I found this coffee to be much more tart than bitter, which I can't recall from any coffees I have tried before.

Pairings: A great “drink-alone” coffee - I found myself drinking this coffee by itself in the afternoon as a snack. Paired well with fresh fruit. Paired poorly with cheese.

Buy Again? Without a doubt. This is the highest I have ever rated a coffee, and I will undoubtedly remember it for a long time to come. Again, like some other coffees I have written about, this is a great example of how good coffee can be. For people who consistently drink good coffee, I think this would be a chance to appreciate the difference between great coffee and good coffee. And for the casual, pre-ground, drip coffee drinker, I have been told the difference is “mind boggling.” The price was certainly high, but among the high priced coffee in 2007, I think this had to be one of the winners.

ESPRESSO; Scores - 83, 85, 86, 85

Crema: Thinnish, reddish brown crema. Tastes nutty.

Aroma: Pineapple and tangerine like aromas. Interestingly, as obvious as the blueberries were in the grind and in press pot coffee, I really didn’t find when pulled as espresso.

Body: A medium body, thinner than most traditional espressos. A nice mouthfeel however, with definite earthiness throughout the sip. The tartness apparent in the press pot is also apparent in the shot.

Milk: I only made one big milk drink with this coffee - a cappuccino. As you might guess, it was quite fruity and sweet. A good cappuccino - different if nothing else. I did make a couple macciatos, and a couple espresso con panna drinks. The con panna was my favorite overall way to drink this espresso - richly sweet with an underlying fruity taste. Quite tasty.

Profile & Flavors: Overall, this coffee is not particularly difficult to pull as espresso, and produces a thinnish, yet nicely balanced shot. This is certainly no ground breaking SO espresso, but it is worth pulling and drinking in my opinion. To put it simply, the shots have an earthy background, with a tartly sweet taste at the beginning of the sip. It finishes mildly, but the sweet flavors linger throughout. I think adding high fat milk helps these flavors stay in the mouth longer, and create nice drinks.

Pairings: Works very well by itself. As an espresso con panna, having a fruit scone or muffin on the side was a very nice treat.

||NICARAGUA|| Olympia Coffee Roasting Co - Nicaragua Las Termopilas (CoE #4)

Coffee: OLYMPIA COFFEE ROASTING CO - NICARAGUA LAS TERMOPILAS
Year: 2007 (December)
Location/Blend: From a farm located in Esteli, a landlocked region in the North of Nicaragua.
Price: $12 for 8oz + Shipping = $1.89/oz
Roast: Full City

What they say: “#1 Nicaraguan COE Organic Coffee. Exceptionally well balanced, floral aroma, sweet acidity flavors of honey, brown sugar, and vanilla with a long pleasing finish.”
Read about it on the CoE website

TASTING NOTES
FRENCH PRESS	ESPRESSO
Fragrance: Very disctinctive dry fragrance of toasted white bread. Undertones of lime zest.	Crema:
Aroma: Ever had that Cuban holiday dish, with pork roasted long and slow with oranges and its own juices? That is what the wet aroma brought to mind, sweet yet spicy. Paprika, oranges, and chocolate predominate. Absolutely incredible.	Aroma:
Body: Almost sticky, with a surprisingly heavy body coming through.	Body:
Acidity: A good acidity punch to counteract a surprising body.	Milk:
Finish: Very pleasant lingering finish, with sweet and nutty flavors. There is a bit of a fatty element to the whole mouthfeel. Think of flash fried almonds dusted with powdered sugar. Flavors of oranges, honey, and chocolate are also present. The aftertaste will linger for quite some time if you allow it to. When I did, I noticed the pungency of fresh greens deep into the aftertaste.
Profile & Flavors: This coffee is a beautiful maroon type color in the pour with great layering. The initial flavor reminded me of bread, honey, and nuts. Think honey nut cheerios. As the cup cools, the orange and chocolate flavors come through, with spices in the background. The cup finishes quite boldly, with a fatty mouthfeel, and the finish stays tasty on the tongue for at least a minute or two.	Profile & Flavors: I did not pull this coffee as espresso. There was too little of it, and I was appreciating it too much in the press!
Pairings: This coffee would be a great pair with a hardy breakfast: bacon and eggs or pancakes. Fruits and chocolate, on the other hand, don’t do anything special for the coffee.	Pairings
Score: 90	Score:
Buy Again? Most definitely. The first few cups of this coffee were nice. But after sitting for a couple days, the cups really started to explode with such unique flavors. The wet aroma was incredible, and a sure way to impress someone with how quality coffee can be a real culinary treat.