Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


4.01.2009  

S.O. What?

I recently sent this email to the Sweet Maria's mailing list:

Has anyone tried the Ndaroini as a single-origin espresso? The other night, a friend and I pulled a few shots of this delightful little bean. It had been roasted just a couple of snaps into 2nd crack, just like Tom advises, and rested for a full seven days.

Wow! The crema was an explosion of citrus bittersweets and sours, with a touch of creaminess; the middle had a touch of chocolate and sweet, fruited notes; the bottom was a liquid Mystery Jolly Rancher of some sort, I swear it was! The shots were all pushing the high edge of the flavor envelope for espresso, but I don't think they ever went over it. Maybe peeked, maybe danced along the edge, but never over. Those shots were, simply put, a delightful rush.

After the second shot, I called up another friend, a barista that had recently competed in Millrock's latte art competition at Coffeefest in Chicago, and asked him, "If I told you that we're standing here sipping on a single-origin espresso that is one of the sweetest things I've ever put into my mouth, and that that SO is from Kenya, would you believe me?" He said, "No, I wouldn't. But because it's you, I do."

All that to say, if you've not tried this little wonder as espresso, give it a try.


In order to understand the craziness of pulling a shot of single-origin espresso from a Kenya bean, well, you have to understand that it's just not done...at least, not in a normal coffee world where the rules are followed.

posted by Bolo | 12:22 PM
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