Espresso Caffee Review

Ecco Caffe Daterra Reserve
Origin: Cerrado growing region, Minas Gerais State, Brazil 
Been remarked on the "lush but elegant" aroma and fat, buttery body of this single-origin espresso. In the small cup, dry berry notes and semi-sweet chocolate. Blooms sweetly and richly in milk. The flavor in cup and milk a bit too simple, limiting his score to a 90, but the profile throughout was complete, classic, and worth a resounding 95. Nominating reader: "incredibly balanced, round, extremely smooth, shows total finesse, abundant chocolate...thick and rich on the palate."
Overall Rating: 93 points

The Supreme Bean Espresso Bella Luna
Origin: Not Disclosed
An impressively sweet, smooth, deeply dimensioned, softly complex espresso. Co-cupper used the term "resonant" twice to describe flavor and finish in the small cup. We were most impressed by the details: a fresh-cut cedar character that was pungent but sweet and round, and wine-toned fruit notes. Bloomed in milk with discreet balance and a rich chocolate. Reader nominated another of Supreme Bean's espresso blends, but we ended up reviewing this one instead.
Overall Rating: 92 points

Fieldheads Coffee Peggy Sue's Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
A crisply classic espresso. Fresh leather and spice notes in the aroma. In the small cup the mouthfeel is a bit lean but the flavor complex: dry berry, wine, semi-sweet chocolate, cedar. The wine and berry notes persist in the long, clean finish. In milk perhaps a bit lean in mouthfeel, but the cedar and berry notes bloom sweetly. Turns out this espresso was nominated by the roaster, Peggy Sue herself, but roasters are readers too.
Overall Rating: 92 points

Blue Bottle Coffee Espresso Temescal
Origin: Costa Rica; Mexico; Ethiopia; Sumatra, Indonesia
Exceptionally complex espresso that maintains aromatic intrigue from aroma through a rather majestic finish in milk. Elegant aroma with deep-toned fruit and herb notes. In the small cup smooth in mouthfeel and medium-full in body, slightly sharp and acidy in structure but with a continued fruity complexity that reads persuasively as chocolate. Both co-cupper were particularly impressed by this blend's performance in milk: lavishly fruity and chocolaty with a rich, clean finish. Blue Bottle's espressos were nominated by reader Christopher Losa.
Overall Rating: 91 points

Blue Bottle Coffee Hayes Valley Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
A smoky, cedary espresso with a deep-toned fruit that in the small cup suggests semi-sweet chocolate or perhaps a rich port wine. Co-tasters differed a bit on this blend's impact in milk: Ted found this blend mastered milk with an impressive sweetness and richness; the chocolate carried nicely into milk but the mouthfeel was a bit lean. Nominating reader  testified to his admiration for this blend in almost lurid terms: "rich, thick, and chocolaty...the way it syrups out of the portafilter is absolutely sexy...comparative to a California Zin or a Petit Syrah fruit bomb wine.'
Overall Rating: 91 points

Organic Planet Coffee & Tea Finesso Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
A full-bodied espresso with exotic aromatics. Floral and fruit tones throughout the profile, with pungent notes that read as herbal for one co-taster (90) and licorice-like and smoky for another (89). Full body and heavy mouthfeel seemed partly to stifle flavor in the small cup, but for both this blend came into its own in milk, where it rounded and sweetened richly without losing power or nuance. Nominated by Kemp LaMunyon of Las Vegas.
Overall Rating: 90 points

Majik Coffee Indian-Indonesian Espresso
Origin: India; Indonesia 
A co-taster liked this espresso with its earthy-musty influenced aromatics considerably more. In the aroma, vanilla, floral, earth, leather and fruit notes. In the small cup medium body, leanish but smooth mouthfeel, with a rather sharp, musty/fruity flavor that persisted in the mildly astringent but resonant finish. Probably at its best in milk, which rounded and softened the coffee, turning the musty fruit toward a pleasingly complex chocolate. Reader testifies that "Simply put, [this] is the best espresso I have ever tasted. And I have tasted plenty."
Overall Rating: 89 points

Left Bank Cafe Custom Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Delicate floral and vanilla-toned aroma, clean and precious. In the small cup medium-bodied, with a sweet, softly fruity character that suggests banana, perhaps, or papaya. Long, sweetly resonant finish with a slight astringent bite. Co-tasters felt this soft, delicate blend faded a bit in milk; Ken (88) found it limited perhaps in nuance but sweet and substantial in presence. Nominating reader Martin Freeman exclaims that this "best espresso blend ever ... rich, creamy ... deep, fragrant ..." is "WORLD CLASS."
Overall Rating: 88 points

Caffe Fresco Ambrosia Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
An attractive if underpowered espresso. Muted notes of flowers, fruit and chocolate in the aroma. In the small cup medium-bodied, supple in mouthfeel, but limited in flavor: some floral hints persist but the main impression is a thinnish pungency that was called smoky and spicy. Nevertheless, rounds and richens in the finish, and reveals a round, semi-sweet chocolate character in milk. Nominating reader says simply "It is one of my favorite espressos."
Overall Rating: 87 points

Thanksgiving Coffee Organic Espresso, N. Italian Style
Origin: Not Disclosed
Co-tasters ended with comparable overall ratings but differed in how they got there. The aroma a bit flat but delicate, with toast, apple and floral notes. One found the body fuller and the mouthfeel more substantial than another. Both found the flavor in the small cup toasty/smoky and a bit sharp in the finish. Both admired the way the blend rounded and sweetened in milk. Nominating reader praised this blend as "perfectly balanced ... big body, slightly sweet, not too much acidity but enough to enliven the cup; holds up well in big milky drinks but is fantastic as a straight shot."
Overall Rating: 86 points

Zoka Coffee Roasters Espresso Paladino
Origin: Not Disclosed
Once past the aroma, a co-taster had little positive to say about this blend, finding it lean in body, rather burned/bitter in flavor, and weak in presence in milk. Another one also found the mouthfeel too lean and the finish too astringent, but enjoyed the berry-like, chocolate-leaning fruit that carried through the profile from aroma to milk. The reader who nominated this blend said he wanted "to see if this espresso is everything it is claimed it is."
Overall Rating: 82 points

Lighthouse Roasters Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Aroma was muted and burned. Ted found the body in the small cup light; Ken (81) found it fuller but rough in mouthfeel. Nor did Ken or Ted have much positive to say about flavor: pungent and rough for Ted, burned and sharp for Ken. In milk pleasantly sweet but thin-bodied for Ted; Ken was more positive here, finding that the milk smoothed out the sharply roasty character of the coffee, turning it toward a pleasing fresh leather and a clove-toned spice. The reader who nominated this blend found it "exceptional, that's all.
Overall Rating: 80 points

Orleans Coffee Exchange Espresso Milano
Origin: Not Disclosed
Complex, smoky/toasty aroma with chocolate and vanilla suggestions. Medium body with a roundly smooth mouthfeel. Crisply elegant in the small cup: apricot and semi-sweet chocolate. Rich, chocolate-toned short finish, slight astringency in the long, but the chocolate well outlasts it. Superb in milk: good presence, sweet, with distinct milk chocolate and vanilla tones and a long, (once more) chocolate-toned finish.
Overall Rating: 92 points

Tastes of the World Marcafe Crema Bar Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Lush, complex aroma: wine, raisins, dark chocolate, nuts, spice. In the small cup full body, buttery mouthfeel, and a distinct raisin-chocolate flavor with slight salty undertones. The raisin-chocolate carries into the rich finish, as does the shadow saltiness. In milk the chocolate rounds and sweetens richly from raisins to cherries with a whiff of fresh leather and a persistent hint of salt.
Overall Rating: 87 points

The Roasterie Organic Fair Trade Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Delicate aroma, toasty with distinct raisin and chocolate notes. Deepens in the small cup; the mouthfeel is buttery and the raisin and chocolate notes turn lavishly rich with a tickle of brandyish ferment. Long, resonant finish. Transforms beautifully in milk; the chocolate intensifies without turning trite or candyish, while the fruit seems to lift and reveal lighter, brighter tones of melon and flowers.
Overall Rating: 93 points

Thanksgiving Coffee Organic Espresso, N. Italian Style
Origin: Not Disclosed
A superb, versatile blend. The aroma is deep with chocolate and tropical fruit tones (banana?), the mouthfeel buttery and the body full, the small cup sweetly cedar toned with a lush, very slightly fermented fruit that reads as a rich raisin- and floral-toned chocolate. The finish is resonant and long with a low-key, pleasantly bracing astringency. In milk the shot rounds and sweetens without losing identity or authority.
Overall Rating: 93 points

The Supreme Bean Organic Decaf Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Deep, sweetly pungent aroma with echoes of apricot or papaya. The mouthfeel is a bit rough but pleasantly so. The small cup is rich and sweet with a tightly-knit, deeply fruity complexity complicated by hints of cedar and toast. The sweet richness persists from short through long finish. Impressive range of sensation in milk: crisply sweet yet lushly chocolate.
Overall Rating: 92 points

Ecco Caffe Northern Italian Roast Organic
Origin: Not Disclosed
Superb front end to this blend: velvety crema, the aroma deep but delicately and crisply chocolate- and vanilla-toned. In the small cup the body is full, the flavor caramelly and crisp but slightly salty and a bit shallow. Blooms with discreet elegance in milk, complicated by a dry but opulent chocolate.
Overall Rating: 89 points

Taylor Maid Farms Organic Shade-Grown Espresso Occidental
Origin: Not Disclosed
Delicate aroma, sweet with milk chocolate innuendo. In the small cup medium in body, smooth in mouthfeel, cedar-toned and gently bittersweet in flavor with a lean toward chocolate. Rich finish with a continuing shimmer of chocolate. Relaxes but doesn't quite bloom in milk; remains balanced and reticent with understated complications: fresh leather, cedar, raisiny chocolate.
Overall Rating: 89 points

Barefoot Coffee Roasters Bossa Nova Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Chocolate and toast show in the rather subdued aroma. In the small cup the body is medium and the mouthfeel slightly lean, with a simple but attractive pungent/sweet character complicated by a cocoa or dry chocolate. Rich, semi-sweet chocolate finish. In milk balanced and crisply sweet, with the chocolate retaining its dry authority.
Overall Rating: 88 points

D&M Coffee Hi-Octane Organic Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Deep, gently pungent aroma resonating with chocolate and low-acid tropical fruit notes. In the small cup the body is full, the mouthfeel a touch rough, the flavor slightly sharp and roasty with cedar and a hint of chocolate. The finish is rich and mildly astringent. Milk softens and sweetens the profile, nicely developing the implicit chocolate and fruit, though never completely plumping out the mouthfeel.
Overall Rating: 87 points

Kaldi's Best Sustainable Coffees Sweet Spot Espresso Blend
Origin: Not Disclosed
Deep, chocolate-toned aroma. In the small cup medium to full in body, in flavor sweetly cedar-toned with dry chocolate and apricot complication. The short finish is rich, the long fades toward astringency. Rounds nicely in milk, displaying a fine balance of crisp cedar and chocolate-toned fruit.
Overall Rating: 87 points

Gimme! Coffee Piccolo Mondo Espresso Blend
Origin: Not Disclosed
A rather aggressively roasted espresso. Delicate floral and fruit notes complicate an aroma that is toasty and almost burned. In the small cup medium to full body, creamy mouthfeel, and a flavor dominated by a gentle but slightly sharp bittersweetness. The complicating fruit notes are a bit too dry to read as chocolate. Sweetens and rounds in milk but never quite blooms.
Overall Rating: 85 points

Taylor Maid Farms Organic Occidental Decaf Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
Delicate but attractive aroma complicated by chocolate and low-acid tropical fruit notes. In the small cup medium body and a rather lean mouthfeel. The flavor is simple, cedar-toned, pungent-sweet, with a hint of semi-sweet chocolate. Rich in the short finish, a bit heavy in the long. In milk rather delicate, sweet-cedar-toned with a continuing hint of chocolate.
Overall Rating: 85 points

Kaldi's Best Sustainable Coffees Fellowship of the Bean Espresso
Origin: Not Disclosed
A pleasant but rather predictable American-style espresso blend. Subdued chocolate and fruit in the aroma, medium body with a somewhat lean mouthfeel, smoky and pungently cedar-toned flavor with a little shimmer of dry cocoa. Softens and sweetens in milk to a cedarish chocolate with a hint of fresh leather.
Overall Rating: 84 points

Allegro Coffee Organic Espresso Sierra
Origin: Not Disclosed
Subdued cedar and prune in the aroma. In the small cup medium body and lean mouthfeel. In flavor slightly smoky, slightly sharp, cedar-toned and rather shallow, with a suggestion of fruit and semi (very semi)-sweet chocolate. Shortish and rather astringent finish. Sweetens and rounds in milk, with some fruity chocolate softening the cedar and smoke.
Overall Rating: 82 points

Paradise Roasters Espresso Nuevo
Origin: Not Disclosed
Rich, deeply fruity papaya-toned chocolate in the aroma. In the small cup the body is medium in weight but smooth and balanced in mouthfeel; the flavor crisp but resonant, with a tightly knit complexity: wine, chocolate, cedar, perhaps pear. The finish is heavy but smooth and rich, with a recollection of chocolate. Sweetens and blooms in milk without losing its crisp elegance: fresh leather, pear, mint, cherry-toned chocolate.
Overall Rating: 92 points