Yes... I admit it. I plead guilty.
I pulled shots of espresso using the Stumptown Panama Esmeralda Especial Mario Carnaval.
And I don't regret it.
Not for one minute.
I can hear you right now... "you pulled shots with a high grown, washed geisha?!?! one that is auction only?!?! and which sells for $75 for 12oz!!!!!!"
Yes.
And it was fucking glorious.
Initial impact is the aromatics. Orange blossom, bergamot, jasmine, grapefruit zest. As you sip there is a rapid double hit of flavours. First you get intense fruit - tangerine and navel orange and mandarin. Then this is followed immediately by intense orange blossom honey that coats the entire palate. The honey softens into papaya with lime and the inimitable moscato d'asti flavours. At the finish a lovely sweet cocoa note appears and the lingering aftertaste is droste orange and champagne and lime blossom.
It's not fair to rank this in terms of espressos I've had.
Instead I'm going to rank it as a coffee experience - against all coffee experiences.
It was in the top 5 coffee experiences in the last year for me (a year with a lot of great coffee experiences) and in the top 10 in my life.
So no... I have to regrets and I offer no remorse.
Should you be tempted to be as crazy / criminal as I may have been - here would be my suggestion for how to prepare this coffee as an espresso:
200f brew temp
19.5g dose (LM or Simonelli double basket)
very slow flow
95% brew ratio
1.25oz volume
29s extraction
