8.28.2008
8.26.2008
Caffe d'Bolla Screen Door espresso
I'm very confident about the future of great coffee in the US.
I know that sounds like something I would never say.
But it's the truth.
And it's not because of Stumptown or Intelligentsia or 4 Barrel or Ecco or any of the other folks who are pushing (and have pushed) coffee forward.
It's because of the small companies in places you'd never expect.
It's because of Black Sheep in Bishop CA.
And it's because of Caffe d'Bolla in Salt Lake City.
You'd probably never associate great espresso with Salt Lake.
So you can imagine what I thought when I received a "care package" from John from Caffe d'Bolla.
But I have to say that I'm impressed by this coffee.
Really.
It's an espresso that I can drink quite happily.
As a straight shot it has tons of molasses and some really nice stone fruit and dried fruit notes on top of a rich buttery nutty base. Good texture, good body.
To me, however, it is a little "toasty" and "roasty" (which killed the aromatics that I know should be in there).
It seems very consistent shot to shot.
I found it best in short milk drinks where the "roasty" notes were muted and the chocolate brought out in its place.
My biggest criticism is that it's a bit "flat".
I'm a big fan of coffees that have a signature flavour. This doesn't really have that. It is almost a "base" blend for use in an espresso (and thus missing that "twist" that makes is stand out).
Really easy to use - with one exception. Does not respond well to being pulled ristretto (again, in my opinion). While the molasses really comes out, so does the roast. I ended up with a sweet spot at 18grams in an LM ridged double running at around 198.0F. Pulled at 1.8oz in around 27 seconds.
I know that sounds like something I would never say.
But it's the truth.
And it's not because of Stumptown or Intelligentsia or 4 Barrel or Ecco or any of the other folks who are pushing (and have pushed) coffee forward.
It's because of the small companies in places you'd never expect.
It's because of Black Sheep in Bishop CA.
And it's because of Caffe d'Bolla in Salt Lake City.
You'd probably never associate great espresso with Salt Lake.
So you can imagine what I thought when I received a "care package" from John from Caffe d'Bolla.
But I have to say that I'm impressed by this coffee.
Really.
It's an espresso that I can drink quite happily.
As a straight shot it has tons of molasses and some really nice stone fruit and dried fruit notes on top of a rich buttery nutty base. Good texture, good body.
To me, however, it is a little "toasty" and "roasty" (which killed the aromatics that I know should be in there).
It seems very consistent shot to shot.
I found it best in short milk drinks where the "roasty" notes were muted and the chocolate brought out in its place.
My biggest criticism is that it's a bit "flat".
I'm a big fan of coffees that have a signature flavour. This doesn't really have that. It is almost a "base" blend for use in an espresso (and thus missing that "twist" that makes is stand out).
Really easy to use - with one exception. Does not respond well to being pulled ristretto (again, in my opinion). While the molasses really comes out, so does the roast. I ended up with a sweet spot at 18grams in an LM ridged double running at around 198.0F. Pulled at 1.8oz in around 27 seconds.
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