sweet maria's liquid amber espresso blend

i got this for 2 reasons :
1) SM doesn't have TOO many espresso blends, and I may as well try them all
2) i fargen like the name, it rules. liquid amber. liquid amber. liquid amber. ahhhhhhh.

i pulled a decent shot of it today. just starting to temp surf regularly (well, that is, I count to 45 after the light comes on after i've pulled a blank shot - i'm pretty sure that counts). i am getting shots that are a little better and less bitter. i'm going to PID after the NY so i can stop worrying about temperature and focus on roast + grind + tamp + the other bazillion variables. sigh....

so anyhow, back to the beans.

drinking it, I think : this is bold. aggressive. assertive. it's a coffee that says: "hey, motherfucker, you're drinking coffee, not water!"

it's coffee that makes me want to maybe go back to making cappas because it'd definitely hold up well and come through.

it's got a super after taste. i guess i don't use the standard coffee tasting terms (maybe I should). but the aftertaste is "coffee grounds", which may not be appealing to you, but i dig it. yum.

the label on the bag sayeth:

potent, pungent, caramelly, sharp, licorice

i concur.

roasted up another batch, this might last me until xmas departure. at that point (unless i take the gaggia with me, which i might) it's drip coffee only for a week and a half. no worries.

i ought to try a really dark french roast of this stuff some time. but i've only got 3 or 4 batches of it left, and 5 fargen lbs of the more mellow "classic italian espresso blend", not to mention a pile of "espresso monkey".

espresso monkey also has a cool name, but i don't like it as much (the flavor, not the name) as liquid amber and CIEB.

blah blah blah.