Very good dark roast for capsule coffee which I usually give a half grade bump to. Smoky, great mouthfeel, massive persistent linger, a touch of spice, and a clean finish.

Cupping Method:Dolce Gusto machine in Spain

Outstanding espresso with complexity, smooth mouthfeel, and lively acidity. Has some natural sweetness and a hint of those lightly sweet European breakfast cookies.

Cupping Method:At a cafe next to the Guggenheim

A balanced chocolate and earthy dark espresso with a touch of acidity that's very good.

Cupping Method:Espresso at Gomez Fusion, a cafe in Satander, Spain

A lot to like for dark roast espresso drinker. Flavorful, with a bit of smokiness, balanced flavor. Nutty, caramel. Big lasting crema, very nice mouthfeel, and a very pleasant lingering finish.

Cupping Method:At a cafe in Santander as a cafe solo

One of the better decaf espressos I've had in Spain. Big crema and great mouthfeel. Very earthy with a touch of nuttiness. Dark roast characteristics are muted but present and contribute rather than detract as a touch of spice and smokiness. Acidity is very limited, just a touch of blackberry for a split second in the mid-palate.

Cupping Method:At El Colonial, on the Sardinero in Santander

Really enjoyed this roast and can see why it's a winning cafe dark roast. Super smooth, dark chocolate with just a touch of spice and caramel. The good dark roast characteristics without much bitterness. Persistent crema and good mouthfeel. Very clean finish that left me wanting another!

Picture from cafe is a few minutes after coffee arrived due to childcare issue delaying my enjoyment.

Cupping Method:Espresso at a cafe in Santander, Spain

This espresso was much better than another Templo I had just a few days before. Definitely on the dark side as well but much more vibrant. Chocolate, spice, clove and a nice lasting crema. Good mouthfeel and clean/short finish.

Cupping Method:Doppio at Ily Cafe in Leon

Toasty, caramel, spice, lime. Nice, complex espresso.

Had heard that San Agustin was the hot roaster in Leon. Tried the decaf espresso last night also with good results. Tried in the morning to go to what in Google Maps was labeled "San Augustin" on the same street and found a weird store that only sold bags of coffee. Woman seemed surprised we were there. Kids wanted ice cream again so made it back to try this espresso.

Cupping Method:At an ice cream shop in the Romantic District of Leon

Complex, floral espresso with massive bright crema and great mouthfeel. Will be a touch acidic for some.

Cupping Method:At La Posteria in Leon

Interesting medium roast cafe blend espresso that has some complexity while being middle of the road in many ways. Medium body, medium acidity, medium crema, but NOT MID!!

Central to that is that the fruity acidity mid-palate takes a couple interesting turns even if never veers close to the limits. There's also just a hint of the florality that's expressed in lighter roast espressos. I can see why the Pozo brand has some lasting appeal!

Cupping Method:At a cafe in Madrid

Excellent Rwandan where the stone fruit is definitely prominent after the cooling off. Actually drinks a bit darker before it cools, then it's very much black tea and fruit. Ends up being very easy to drink and clean, and a very well-executed roast characteristic of high-quality Rwandan red bourbons.

Cupping Method:At Randall Coffee in Mercado Vallehermoso in Madrid

I like this coffee a lot and was glad I picked it, as sometimes I avoid Kenyans. This was the lightest roast available from La Deseada, a coffee shop where'd I'd just pulled an incredible shot of Myanmar espresso from Osorio.

I think Osorio has done great work with this Kenyan. If there's any savoriness, it's limited to maybe just a touch of celery. Otherwise, it's black tea, blood orange for days, bright strawberry/raspberry, and very easy to drink. A hint of natural sweetness in the brown sugar spectrum, plus a good mouthfeel ad very clean finish. Practically chugged the cup I made this morning.

Cupping Method:Chemex v60

Longer post here, but a super super interesting coffee with an aroma on the grind that was absolutely incredible. I have to confess, I actually kept drinking this coffee and I couldn't quite figure out what word to use. I decided on a sweet sage or salvia but I don't think that's quite right. It's neutral in terms of whether it adds or u

There's a nice tropical acidity and some blood orange clear through that makes it very pleasant overall. It's a 8 in terms of how delicious (would happily have every day) and a 10 in terms of intellectual process and fun to try to understand for a specialty coffee lover.

It was explained to me as thermal ferment, which I previously had explained to me.

So what is a thermal ferment?

The process commences by carefully selecting cherries at their optimum ripeness, ensuring a significant sugar content.

Subsequently, the thermal procedure initiates through a brief exposure to a high-temperature shock, approximately 70 degrees Celsius. The coffee cherries are pulped and placed directly under the sun to achieve this. The heat exposure commences the breakdown of the coffee cherries' natural sugars, resulting in partial caramelization. This innovative technique imparts the coffee an exceptionally sweet and fruity flavor, leading to a well-balanced and rounded cup.

The coffee undergoes thorough mixing and is transferred into a tightly sealed tank. The complete closure of the tank is crucial as it prevents the escape of CO2 and ensures pressure generation. The tank's temperature is carefully regulated throughout the fermentation process. Additionally, the pH is constantly monitored after 15 hours to track the progress of fermentation.

Fermentation must be halted once the sugars in the mucilage have been consumed, without any alcohol being produced. This creates flavor complexity different and unseen in other processes which is definitely seen in this coffee!

Cupping Method:v60 pourover in the Dabov Madrid store. Photo is Dabov expert barista measuring.

A lighter roast to pull as an espresso, but the barista at Dabov Madrid wanted to do it, so I obliged. This was somehow right at the edge of being undrinkable and really good. My first impression was it's going to be too acidic but it never crossed that line for me (I'm pretty sure it would for a dark espresso lover). Almost like a gobstopper, it changes taste and mouthfeel about 4 times in 5 seconds. Fruitiness and florality is at the center of it all. I don't know if it's what I want as my every day espresso but it was a lot of fun.

Cupping Method:Dabov pulled this for me as a single shot of espresso at their store in Madrid, side by side versus their Signature Blend. The Signature Blend is pretty outstanding but I think it didn't influence my judgement here.

I had this coffee as cold brew so I might not have gotten the full experience here, but it's something Dabov offered me.

I can say the cold brew was delicious, fruity but low acidity, low bitterness with a wonderful natural sweetness and a touch of tropicality and florality.

Cupping Method:Cold brew at Dabov store in Madrid.

One of the better capsule coffees I can remember. An easy drinking light-medium roast for people who like a lighter bodied coffee.

A good crema after extraction that dissipates pretty quickly. Very clean acidity, I get the red apple described (but not really the mandarin). Has some natural sweetness. A touch of nutty/caramel right before a very clean finish.

Uses a compostable pod that extracted well.

Cupping Method:Nespresso machine, pink capsules purchased from Dabov store in Madrid

I was actually surprised by how good this was. I had it a cafe in the Retiro and had low expectations. Intense, bold, with some complexity. Chocolate, carmel, and some graham cracker character, and a very nice crema - that was a surprise for a capsule coffee.

Although I could be wrong about our reading of European can labels, I think this is a separate roast from ones that Illy offers that a similar red color. It has the word MOKA on the front of it in all caps. In any case, our hosts in Spain put this roast in a large Moka Pot and it was impressive how smooth it was with a high degree of flavor. Very chocolatey with some natural sweetness and great with postres.

Syra has really well trained baristas. A chai latte (or any drink with added calories) is a rare treat for me, but Syra has earned my trust. The chai latte was well-executed and not too sweet, as they often are in the US. I wish they'd use a bit more ice but I think one or two large cubes is the standard in Spain.

Cupping Method:Oat milk. Actually got to the office and dropped an espresso capsule to make it dirty and it still held up.

Quirky decaf. A little bit tart and a little bit salty/savory (tiny hint) with a big crema and tons of evolving characteristics. Acidity after nuttiness, maybe macadamia? Interesting long linger. Didnt like it at first but it really grew on me. A unique and pleasant way to finish a nice meal. Never had a decaf like that.

Cupping Method:After meal decaf at a pizza restaurant by Michelin star chef Javi Estevez

I had heard of Delta simply because it's so big in Portugal. I can see the hype here! This reminds me a lot of Starbucks dark espresso roast, a really well executed dark roast that is balanced and level enough to go smooth with milk.

I'd describe it as dark but smooth, dark chocolate, long pleasant linger. Some dried plum. Maybe a touch of that European fiber cookies sweetness. Bitter and darkness are present but in moderation. When cool you get some blackberry notes. A top-notch cafe roast.

Cupping Method:At a cafe in Madrid as a double espresso

Labeled as Origen Planet (or is Origen & Planet), this is a Nespresso capsule that is compostable I bought at a supermarket in Madrid. I have to say that I am quite satisfied given that it's ecological and capsule based. It extracted well with a nice medium crema, and is very smooth caramel and nutty characteristics. A little red grape finish, and overall low bitterness and acidity. Probably better than just about every Nespresso original line capsule. Very inexpensive here in Spain.

Cupping Method:Nespresso machine

Juicy, interesting roast. Starts off for me with blackcurrant and black tea with a bit of grapefruit. Some natural sugar (maple syrup mentioned by the roaster is apt). Then you really get the citrus, with lime and perhaps a touch of rosemary like herbaceousness. The lime for some will be a bit much.

Its an interesting journey lining up with some of the better Guatemalans coming out these days.

Cupping Method:Pourover, Hario v60

I had an excellent double espresso here. This is a really nice cafe (small chain, from what I can tell) with great pastries. The house espresso roast is not as dark/bitter as many roasts in Spain. It's a thoughtful medium roast with complexity and nuttiness. Perhaps a bit of malt, caramel, and a clean lightly tart finish that isn't overwhelming.

Cupping Method:Double espresso

A really nice fruity cold brew, a tasty streak of blackberry with a nutty/caramel/brown sugarcharacter front of palate (pretty subtle). Acidity is just right.

Cupping Method:From the Madrid store in Cuatro Caminos.

A very clean, pleasant light roast (or perhaps I grossly under steeped it). A subtle hint of nuttiness, and vanilla and peach/citrus flavors. Underlying jasmine/black tea. A lovely cup.

Cupping Method:Steeped while traveling in Madrid

Smoky and robust, but very clean with a long, pleasant linger. Good crema creates harmony. Good for Italian roast lovers.

Cupping Method:At the SZ cafe in Iceland airport

Had an excellent Doppio in Iceland made from Intenso. Dark and intense but not overwhelmingly bitter.

Good instant decaf. Dissolves easily, taste is velvety smooth, a little bit of chocolate, a little bit of nuttiness. A touch of nice plum acidity. Rounding up for the challenge of instant and decaf.

Cupping Method:Cup of evening joe at the Marriott near Keflavik Airport in Iceland

Very nice clean cup of coffee on the lighter side. Very well designed steeping mechanism. Smooth, nice acidity. A pleasant cedar and milk chocolate character.

Cupping Method:Steeped in a smallish paper cup