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XPRZZO

About me:

My Equipment:

Espresso machine & grinder

MY LATEST REVIEWS

A DEPARTURE...
xprzzo | Tue, 05/10/2011 - 10:08
Update: I received a very nice message from Paul at Westbeans, who ensured me that the oil on the beans should not have been there - so I will certainly give it another try. I upped my rating by one cup, simply due to their commitment to their product. ------------------------------------------------ from the 'acidic, burnt, smokey West Coast espresso blends' it is, but it still has a long way to go before it reaches its proclaimed goal of being a 'medium-mild, sweet blend'. I know, I may sound like a broken record, but again, if you have oil on the beans, it is no longer a medium roast - it has, as so many others, been roasted to a point, where the roast profile starts to dominate the profile of the blend. As mentioned by another reviewer, it is very temperature critical (201 is what worked for me), a degree too low and it turns sour on you, a degree too high and bitter is all you will get. Not quite the prima-donna that Vivace's Dolce is, with its 203.5 deg. temp recommendation - you have a two degree window, but if you miss it.... it is pretty much a sink shot. Does well in milk. And yes, please put a roast date on your bags.....

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NICE LIGHT ROAST, SMOOTH,
xprzzo | Tue, 05/10/2011 - 10:00
Nice light roast, smooth, but fairly one-dimensional. Nothing unpleasant in the cup, but also nothing that would make it stand out. Very forgiving, so probably not a bad backup to have around, when you do not feel like messing with a Prima-Ballerina SO.

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IT IS OK...
xprzzo | Tue, 04/19/2011 - 11:18
Nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing that makes you want to try it again. After the first pound, I used up the remaining two in milk drinks and did my straight shots with the Ecco I still had....

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TOO DARK
xprzzo | Tue, 04/19/2011 - 11:04
It may just be me, but if the beans are oily, you can no longer call it a 'medium' roast.... when playing with the temperature profile it went straight from sour to bitter - I went through two pounds and never could find its sweetspot.... it does come alive in milk though, when its own bitterness is toned down by the milk sugars.

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NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ONE....
xprzzo | Tue, 04/19/2011 - 10:59
as with most of the 'choclaty' blends I have tried lately, it seems to be roasted too dark - full city plus, maybe even a tad beyond that... though it is advertised as a medium roast. You still get a hint of the potential, but it is overshadowed by the roast profile. What I received was no match for Dolce from Vivace (though I have received kind of a dark batch from them the last time) or the offering from Ecco.... I will try them again at some point just to make sure the dark roast was not a one-off....

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