Espresso Porn

Archer Farm's espresso was a pleasant surprise from a supermarket coffee. Does it rival a Trader Joe's Five Country Espresso Blend sealed with nitrogen to preserve freshness or a Kade's Espresso Blend that was locally roasted two days ago? No. But it is what it is. I would have liked it to be a bit more oily with brighter overtones, but I understand that this isn't a popular coffee that gets turned over on a weekly (or even monthly) basis.

This organic blend combines hand picked coffee from Asia and Latin America. The specific regions are not indicated. I first brewed an espresso shot that yielded a medium bodied, slighly fruity brew, with a dark red/cinnamon colored crema. The crema was not as thick as a freshly roasted bean, but did manage to stick around until the end of the shot. As I dialed in the grind, the shots became sweeter with richer crema.

I thought that perhaps this coffee was better suited to a latte, so I got out the milk and fired up my steamer. It made a pretty decent latte with absolutely no bitterness. However, I don't often drink milk drinks after noon, so I will stick to shots which are perfectly acceptable from this coffee. It would be interesting to taste this coffee freshly roasted, but I doubt many coffee connoisseurs purchase their coffee from Target to keep it freshly rotated. I might experiment with this coffee in a French Press later on this week, but right now I hesitate to disturb my precise grind setting.

Sorry if this is boring for the non-coffee geeks out there!

cheers