||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.