Vivace Espresso Dolce - 1 lb.

I don't feel I've gotten the best of it - I don't usually use milk or sugar but after reading a comment on H-B I tried a shot with a little sugar and maybe an ounce of warm milk (I haven't learned to steam properly) and it was interesting, a kind of mild cheese flavor in there, I imagine properly textured milk would have made it very nice . The texture I've gotten for shots is more frothy than syrupy.

This is a very good espresso when pulled right. It is a little difficult to get it right, (hint: it likes high temps!!) once you get it right it is amazing.

Good cream, smooth, with a good aftertaste that take a while to get rid off. Not bad.

I liked this espresso quite a bit and it will go into my regular rotation

Great beans and very quick service. You have found a new customer. Thanks.

I just went through a pound of Vivace Dolce and just brought another half a pound from the freezer. Great coffee! I am definitely getting it again!

Good beans

I found the Dolce to be an excellent coffee; perhaps a bit temperamental, but worth the wasted shots when I got one right.

I love the fact that they ship it to you in 2 8 ounce bags. And the bags are cool too. It seems to be getting better the longer it sits. Lots of Crema it is just under a week. I am not sure about the resting of the bean thing. Is it that important. Please someone let me know. This maybe one I get all the time. Well see.
I am waiting a little while now and this seems to be helping flavor. I will buy this roast again.

It seems the vivace produces a more rich dark speckled crema than other popular blends I've tried and seems not to blonde as quickly during the pour. I drink latte's which often mask the subtle coffee flavors and the Vivace's taste seems to cut through the milk very well.

I was excited to try this coffee. Now that I've read some other reviews I see I'm not the only one that thinks this one is touchy. I've gotten some OK shots and some bitter ones. Still trying to get that perfect one for the "dolce" flavor. Strength is somewhere between medium and robust but anything else is hard to discern yet. I've got the rest of my two bags to get it right. Perhaps because I have a heat exchanger machine it will be difficult to tweak the brewing. Open to suggestions...

I like this blend a lot. I think I may like Vita a little better, but this blend worked really well in milk drinks (short cappucinos). It needed about 6 days rest to really shine. I tried it starting at 4 days and felt it needed to rest a little longer. Try bumping the temp up a little for smoother tastes. I also really like that they ship in two half pound sealed bags. Nice touch.

I was excited to try this roast, as I'd heard good things. I'd also heard that it's very particular, and now I must say that I agree. Many of my shots ended up bitter, with only a few of them living up to the namesake of Dolce. I wanted to like it, but can't say that it agreed with my setup as much as some other blends. I really liked that it came in 2 half lb bags, and that I received it within two days post-roast - just couldn't get it to shine on my setup.

Excellent roast for espresso, just find the right grind and you will be surprised how rich those beans are.
Roast date as close as could be to delivery, plus a very friendly service from roaste.com.

I typically drink espresso with milk in latte form and didn't care for this espresso when mixed with milk. HOWEVER, when I drank a plain shot (with a tiny bit of sugar) it was excellent!! I just may start drinking more espresso as a plain shot!

After reading about the recent espresso shootout on home barista, and how finicky the Dolce is I had to try it out for myself. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I liked mine at 202F, 17,5g dose for espresso. Seems more palatable and forgiving in milk drinks.

Got my order within 2 days of roast date and love the two separate 1/2 pounds bags that the beans are packaged in.

I didn't want to love Dolce expecting it to be more about the name than the coffee, but I do love it. It needs to be pulled hot and at least 17g's, but when you pull it right (which I think isn't that hard in spite of its reputation) it is unique and quite delicious.

Wow is all I can say. The flavor profiles I have got with this Dolce is amazing. I also love that it came packaged in 2 - 8oz. pressure release bags. Will definitely order again. I think I have a new favorite bean!

This was my first time trying this blend. I heard good things, but never tried it before due to cost. Roaste solved the price problem. The blend is nice, I dose about 18 grams for a 25 second pull that results in about 1.5oz of espresso. Nice and sweet (caramel and toffee) with some fruity acid (light berries). I also got some for my dad and he really enjoyed the blend too.

The blend works well with milk drinks, but I prefer something with a little more acid.

Truly an outstanding blend. Slightly updosed double basket and a higher than normal temperature yielded a very very good straight shot or macchiato. Body and taste were excellent, though tailed off about eight days post-roast. While many people have commented elsewhere that the temperature window is fairly narrow, it did not seem that picky, though, perhaps I happened to get lucky. Initial brightness and bite goes to full chocolate/nuts with a lingering, tongue coating finish.

Doing business with Roaste is a pleasure! Always a very fast ship. Ordered coffee on Sunday, roasted on Monday, at my house in Virginia on Wednesday.
This is a very good espresso blend. For those who like a chocolaty, carmel blend-this is for you. In a latte it tasted like a Milky Way bar.

Bought it on a Sunday night, received it three days later. Tastes better 2-3 days after opening the bag. Great as espresso or as a milk drink.

Dolce is very nice as a change to my usual Belle. It is very forgiving and seems to do best for me at 18-19g in Synesso double basket, 203f, 1.75 oz in 30 seconds. I am getting a nice rich chocolaty sweet syrupy flavor.

I will definately order this one again.
Thanks to Roaste for the great service and price considering the free shipping.

Great espresso. If you prefer milk based espresso drinks Vita is probably even better. Fast shipment so you may get fresher coffee than from the local roaster.

Great service through Roaste. shipping to Atlanta was super fast. I think I started using beans way too early... espresso seemed to best around 8 days past roast. I used 18gms, triple basket at 203 degrees on my expobar III (which I read were vivace recommendations). Now that I have a better handle how many days to wait post roast I will order more beans and try again.

Ordered one day, shipped the next, traveled cross country and received on the 3rd day. Doesn't get much better!

Pulled shots at 203, 17g. Just fantastic. Chocolate and carmel, as a cap it is almost like a hot chocolate.

I will buy more!

Very good but not as sweet as I expected.Good crema.

This is a VERY good espresso blend. One thing about it, it NEEDS high temps.. David Schomer Suggests 203.5F for this blend.. higher then most any of the popular espresso blends from other Top Tier roasters. But, if you have a machine capable of consistently hitting this temp(or as close to it as possible, ie: +/-.5F, then you will be rewarded with a shot as thick as pure melted chocolate, that tastes like chocolate, caramel, creamy almonds and hazelnuts, and a SLIGHt fruity presence. But most of all, the sweetness is out of this world. By far, the sweetest espresso Ive ever had.

This blend is desinged to be pulled at higher temps, high doses, and a high extraction ratio. Or, simply put, updose and pull ristretto. I was pulling about 1.5-1.75oz in 30-35seconds, with AND w/o pre-infusion.

I thought my other coffee was extremely good. And it is.

Then I tried Vivace Espresso Dolce - from the reviews actually. I was not disappointed. It gets better with each cup and I do drink it as a first cup in the AM. It is subtle but with definition that gets better as I drink it more regularly.

Whose to know - I might try it as demi tasse?

5 Thumbs Up!

This was very good. I am a newbie.

Great as espresso as well as cappuccino. Would recommend to anyone.

Great!

Love the "slightly less roasted" for better espresso experience.

An excellent espresso. Fairly bright through the sip, but finishes sweet and clean.

Excellent blend. 203-203.5F 17-18 grams.

Makes for a very smooth espresso shot--perhaps a little too smooth if you like a little more bite to your espresso. Would purchase again.

Nice coffee.

Just reordered another pound of these beans...they are phenomenal and pretty easy to work with. They got here with the fastest shipping I've experienced ordering beans online. Thanks Roaste! I now have a new source for my fresh roasted bean fix :)

Awesome, awesome espresso blend. I really love this coffee and will most definitely be a repeat buyer of it through Roast-e! I ordered on a sunday, and it was roasted wednesday and I received it on Wednesday across the country in RI! If you love ristrettos, you will absolutely love Dolce... It just isn't quite as good when dialed in for a normal double shot - I kept mine to between 1 and 1.5 oz and loved it :)

I ordered my beans Mon. morning and they were delivered on Wed., wow 2 days from the west coast to Wisconsin. They were roasted on Mon. so I waited until Fri. to try them. The beans where alittle oily so grinding them in my Baratza Vario the grinds flew around more than most beans I grind. Shots of espresso were a fantastic deep redish brown with lots of crema. Straight shots of espresso were mellow and creamy tasting with hints of like cedar, didnt taste any chocolate or cherry flavors so not my favorite straight espresso. But a double shot cappacino 6oz. cup it was one of my favorites to date so I will definately be ordering more. I also ordered the Vita, which also was oily and I thought was very similar to the Dolce. Rated 4/5 due to the oily beans.

Flavor improved after a week, as others have mentioned. The valve bags are a bit thin, but better than the paper bags they used to use in the past.

In the past 5 years of making espresso at home, Vivace has for some reason eluded me and I'm not certain as to why? The blend has forever been praised by many in the coffee community, but for some reason, I never got around to trying it. Some say hit, some say miss, I say Good/Solid Espresso.

My experience with the blend:
Upon receiving the shipment I noticed that the Dolce arrived in 2 separate, plastic, 1/2 lb valve bags. I can honestly say that I never received a bean shipment in this type of packaging before, but I figured let's let the beans do the talking.

I let the beans rest an additional 4 days after roast, prior to opening. The shot poured and gushed entirely too fast and it was only then that I realized, Dolce needed more time to rest. I did this for the next couple of days and found that the beans needed a solid week before it could start to perform as it should.

Once dialed in and after the weeks rest, Dolce performs very well and tastes great. I find that the blend requires some fine tuning and is not as forgiving as some other blends that I'm accustomed to. It likes to be pulled with a really fine grind and updosed.

Makes solid doubles.
Still experimenting with triples.
Tastes just ok in milk, I think Vivace Vita is probably the alternative to milk based espresso.

Would I purchase the blend again? Absolutely.
I'm up for the challenge and look forward to experimenting with this reputable blend.

Great Value from Roaste and very fast shipping.

One of the best espresso roasts you can buy. Received the freshly roasted beans in a vacuum sealed bag.

A recent trip to Chicago introduced me to the world of Black Cat Espresso. It was a complete revelation in espresso crema. Never had I seen such richness in my glass and with such ease.

But this excitement was quickly surpassed by Vivace Dolce.

After tiring of long drives and waiting 10 minutes or more in line to buy days-old bags of beans, I searched the internet for alternatives. How lucky was I to have stumbled upon several postings recommending Vivace Dolce.

Dark, spicy chocolate with a thick, opulent head of crema appeared -- you'd think I pulled a godshot. I was hooked! Another reviewer compared it to the chocolate mousse of coffee and he's not far off, although I enjoy a Dolce latte far more than chocolate desserts of any type.

For an easy comparison of tastes between you and I - I'm not a straight espresso drinker. Never been able to even take more than a sip of a macchiato, so all my reviews are based on taste within lattes or other milk-oriented drinks.

First off, shipping was incredibly fast. The roast date was 3/22 and the beans arrived on 3/24.
I was out out of town for a couple days, so the beans had some time to off gas.
I really like the 1/2 pound bags, perfect size for my container, so the rest will remain sealed until
I need more.
My first shots were really good. Then I adjusted the temp a degree and got even better results.
I was pleasantly surprised by the mouth feel and natural sweetness, and it was amplified when I made
my first latte this morning. I think I will be adding Vivace Espresso Dolce to my regular line up.

Update: Just tried a slightly heavier tamp in an attempt to get a 25-28 second pull on a double with
enough fresh ground to qualify as a ristretto. Wow. After 6-7 seconds and nothing coming out, I was reaching for the switch to shut down and out came this amazing crema, like something out of a
YouTube video, into MY latte cup. How freakin' cool is that? I frothed 200 ml of 2%, and just experienced
a very rare moment with machine and bean. Dolce rocks.

Dolce seemed very forgiving to my technique and machines. I have a PV Lusso and a Gaggia, with moderately updosed doubles (15 g for the lusso and 18 for the gaggia) and aiming for the hot side on temperature, dolce was delicious.

Dolce had great floral notes at ~4 days rest, and became more balanced with more chocolate as it aged.

One of my fave blends of all time. Consistent, timeless, loaded with flavor and crema, highly forgiving and flexible, and great both straight and in milk-based drinks. Recommend.

Dolce may shape up to be my new favorite espresso blend. Today marked five days post roast, so I spent some time dialing it in. It seems to be a little touchy with temperature, but once I got within a good range, there were a lot of good notes coming through. At the lower end of the temp spectrum, I picked up some fruit, but the acidity was a little high for my palate, at least as a straight shot. The higher temperatures (around 203 F) were definitely more rewarding to me, with some great chocolate and caramel coming through, and significantly better balance in the cup. I also tried a 200 F shot (more fruity, a little more acid to it) as a cappuccino, and goodness was that terrific.

ROASTe got it to my door two days post roast, so I was disappointed I had to wait so long to try it out, but the free, fast shipping is something I simply can't complain about.

An excellent espresso! Very smooth, easy to work with.

I just opened my first 1/2lb yesterday after 7 days rest. Pulled a shot at 199*f & believe me you don't want to go there. Bumped it up to 202*f & got a dark chocolate shot but it still tasted off. Today (day 8) I pulled two very nice 20 gram triples at 203.5*f & got spicy dark chocolate with a very pleasant, lingering sweetness. Could have been the extra day or the higher temp.

Definitely a grinder friendly blend. Get it in the ballpark & you will get some of the most beautiful, Espresso porn quality pours & crema you will ever lay eyes on. Overall a very nice "dark chocolate/comfort food" espresso. If you are looking for fruit; look elsewhere.