I like this espresso very much. To me, it has a classic espresso taste - deep, rich and well balanced.
I use a Mazzer Mini and an Anita with Eric’s digital thermometer.
I should point out that I usually roast my own espresso with a Gene Cafe and my “go to” blend is SM’s Monkey. I also drink SO’s if recommended by SM.
The beans looked and smelled great. It was roasted just right for me. A deep brown color with only a fleck or two of oil.
I made several straight doubles at slightly different temperatures, ranging from 195 to 205 - and they were all very good. I have to say, this was some of the smoothest espresso I’ve had in quite a while. Not a hint of harshness, sour, bitter - no matter what temperature.
The crema was very nice and the shot had a good consistency.
I found it very forgiving and had a rich coffee taste with a nice buttery feel as an aftertaste.
In my cappa (4 oz.) it was also very good.
My preference, here, is a straight double to really appreciate this coffee.
I pulled a few doubles using a normal double basket and also an 18 gram dose and had some nice results. Really nice stripes in the crema and a nice bite to it. My recent favorite is Sweet Maria's Monkey blend, and the Blend #5 has a stronger taste and some fruit to it (maybe raisins or cherries?). The dry grounds had a nice raisin aroma to me, or at least that's how I would describe it. This was the first of the two coffees that I tried, and I'm still going to taste more of it and see if I can describe some more flavors or maybe compare it some more. The flavors also really held up well in milk drinks.
#5. ^ Superb, uniform roast with light oils. Fragrance of burley. ^ 18g in a naked portafilter on a Silvia, drawn 45 seconds after boiler light went off. ^ 22 second, 2 oz. Wonderful, lush crema. ^ Pleasant herb-like aroma. ^ Capped with 2 oz of frothed 1/2 and 1/2 (I am strictly a milk drinker; don't do shots)
Moves to the bright side for my taste. The cherry <?> edge lingers a bit for me in the aftertaste. Seemed short on the bass notes for my taste, which would have enhanced it. Cup is not round enough for my tastes as flavors seemed to have a narrow range.
Dave, how old is the roast of your beans? Give it a few days and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised as it will round out for you. And yeah, the herbal/floral notes really give this blend some intrigue for me.
A little more on my own notes. Definately getting the cherry now, but it wasn't overly pronounced to me at first; for me this seemed to come through after some aging. This blend is brighter than my original impressions but everyone is going on and on about how bright it is, and I just didn't find it overpowering. In fact, found the fruitiness and acidity really nice in the upper end.
Also, does anyone else get any orange from it? It's either what my own shots are producing, or my palate, or I'm making it up.
This blend is two weeks old now for me and has lost some of the "magic", but the pulls are still making decent espresso.
Had the last iced latte this am. We were out of my usual FF milk, so I used 2%. Major difference. My drink was thoroughly enjoyable, but missing some intensity compared to a lower fat content milk. Still very good, with a nice aftertaste, but more suited to an afternoon or after dinner treat.
While I clearly lack the definitive skills of the majority of the tasters, I really enjoyed both blends and was impressed with the ease of use and how well they held up as time went on.
Again, Len, thanks. I would add this coffee into my regular rotation to be sure. The cost of shipping was a bit prohibitive ($11.85 or so), but I would order anyway.
Thank you for your kind words vis-a-vis the blends. As far as shipping costs...to quote from LEB website:
"shipping cost is...$4.75 for 1 pound of coffee or $7.80 for 2 pounds of coffee for Priority Mail
You can get a pound fresh roasted and shipped for a mere $4.75. That is a bargain considering that you live in the North West corner of the USA and I am here in the North East. :-)
Well then, that cinches it. Sorry for the error. I was using the postage amount as paid when it was shipped to me. Never thought to check website postage. Thanks for the correction.
Out of curiosity I went to Lens site and put some coffee in my cart and proceeded to check out just to see what the applied shipping would be to my zip code, in fact its right in line with what I would expect.
I can't wait to try these blends when they arrive, If I like them I plan to order two more pounds for no other reason to show Len my appreciation for eating 100% of the cost of my first two-pounds. Even if the beans may be a little more expensive that I what I usually get (and Len's aren't for me) I had the privilege of enjoying two-pounds completely free.
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