Ethiopia Espresso

This coffee was blended with espresso in mind, and what a lovely espresso it makes. (After all, it is a blend of Ethiopian coffees!) I try not to judge espresso by how it looks, but watching the velvety textured liquor fold into itself when pulling a shot, I found myself transfixed by the visual parallels to pouring chocolate syrup!.For espresso, I’m sticking with medium to dark roast levels as the recommended range for this blend. Anything lighter than this and you wind up with a fairly bright shot. This may suit some, but I found it to be a little too puckering. At a medium roast, there’s a nice mixture of bittersweetness and fruit paired in the shot, berry and softer stone fruit notes, and tangy citrus flavors as well. There’s even a hint of florals at this roast level. This makes an incredibly creamy-textured shot, with a thick layer of brown-speckled, golden crema crowning the liquid. Fruit flavors are experienced through a bittersweet lens, dark fruit notes are jammy and sweet, rolled into robust bittersweet flavors that have a lasting impact on the finish. Stepping out a little farther on the flavor branch, I pick up on notes of red berries covered in dark chocolate, raspberry-laced chocolate truffles, and cinnamon-spiced bittersweet ganache. Dark roasts flatten out the acidity, but berry notes still manage to leave an impression amidst bittering roast tones that bring out more of a sharp cacao nib bittering quality.