Sweet Maria's Espresso Workshop
Our Blends and Single Origin Selections, Roasted for Espresso
Some months ago when we introduced our regular roasted "coffee pairings" we stopped offering roasted espresso and roasted decaf. We think that the roasted coffee pairings are working out well; customers enjoy the differences between the two coffees, giving access to great small-lot coffees from around the world.
Now we are bringing back roasted espresso! We will offer one Espresso Workshop blend and one Standard blend for sale each week. Or maybe it will be a Single Origin espresso, or two Workshop blends – we'll see what strikes us. We plan to roast the coffee weekly and keep it in stock as an inventory item – so you can add the coffee to an existing order and it all ship together. Our reasoning is this: roasted espresso stays fresher longer, and the flavor will change as the coffee sits. Generally, even with the lighter roast style I am doing now on espresso, I will not get the most out of the coffee until the third or even fourth day out of the roaster. We will post the roast date on the coffee, and have enough fresh espresso on hand to fill orders as they come in.
Recently, we divided our green coffee blend offerings into Standards, blends we maintain and consistently offer, and new Espresso Workshop editions. These later "editions" are blends designed around specific lots; the blends will last only as long as their unique ingredients last, and then they are gone. Instead of maintaining the blend and making ingredient substitutions down the line, the Espresso Workshop editions follow the crop cycle of the coffee; they come and go. We also will insert specific unblended, Single Origin coffees in our espresso roast rotation.
Our roast style for espresso is light, what has come to be called West Coast Espresso in forums and blogs lately. These are roast levels that have not reached 2nd crack, and produce a clean, bright, lively cup, without the carbony, tarry flavors some people associate out of habit with espresso. So be forewarned! If you are accustomed to espresso roasts as black, shiny blobs of coal, you won't like our roast. If you are excited to see what other flavors are possible in espresso, then the Espresso Workshop selections might interest you.
If you roast your own, you might want to cup your roasts versus those done on the gas-fired German Probat with our profile tailored to espresso, and compare the "degree of roast" we have chosen for the specific coffees to your own. If you don't roast at home, well ... here's the next best thing! We have a new Sweet Maria's Roasted Coffee Weblog where we discuss the why and how of each week's selection ... and you can make comments too. It serves as an archive for previous roast sessions, so you can go back to review our comments, versus your findings.
If you're interested in roasted coffee for drip brewing, check out our Roasted Coffee Pairings.
Roasted espresso offerings:
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Sweet Maria's Liquid Amber Espresso Blend (roasted on 2009-11-12) - $12 (1# ship wgt)
One of our longstanding blends, this batch was roasted to light Vienna with quite a few snaps of second but not quite rolling. This should be outstanding for milk drinks.
Liquid Amber Note:If the coffee arrives and doesn't appear evenly blended, this is because of the vibration during loading and shipment. I can positively guarantee your that the blend was packed in the exact, correct proportion (we are extremely careful about this), but the difference in size/density of the Monsooned/non-Monsooned can make them separate a bit with vibration. Just give it a stir....
We have a Sweet Maria's Roasted weblog where we discuss the "why and how" of each week's selection ... and you can make comments too. Please visit!