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We review: Super Tuscan from Kansas City's "Roasterie"

Written by colin newell

Friends of the Coffeecrew - Mike and Tracy report on Super Tuscan Espresso blend from "the Roasterie" of Kansas City, Missouri.

The Machine: Gaggia Carezza
The Grinder: Gaggia MDF

We brewed four shots to ensure all aspects of the machine were primed.
The beans were a nice color, and describing them as dark medium would be accurate. Super Tuscan from The Roastery - St Louis Missouri

Super Tuscan from The Roastery - St Louis Missouri

The crema came through thick in three shades of Brown. There was subtle flecking throughout. The consistency of the crema was thick and creamy and clung very nicely to the demitasse cup sides.
In addition, the crema was smooth in texture, not foamy and stayed in tact over a 2 minute span showing no signs of dissipating.
The flavor was strong but not over-powering and the finish was smooth. It wasn't the most full bodied espresso but it was definitely not thin either. There was no bitterness at all from start to finish.

The age of the bean concerned us a little, however the crema, flavor, and body did not seem to suffer at all. I would be very interested in trying a sample of freshly roasted beans to see how it compared to this experience (48-96 hours would be nice).

In short, I would purchase this coffee if it were available here and serve it to anyone, coffee connoisseur or not. It was very easy to drink and if it weren't late in the day I would probably be having more. Thanks to Colin and "the Roasterie" for the opportunity to try out a new bean!

Tracy wrote: "The shots poured thickly and the crema was a beautiful reddish-caramel colour with some nice flecking. The crema clung to the cup and had good staying power. The espresso itself was very easy to drink. It was a smooth, medium-bodied espresso, with hints of cocoa. There was absolutely no bitterness and no unpleasant aftertaste. I would describe it as an espresso blend that would be enjoyed by people who don't normally enjoy espresso."

My findings using 2 methods of "alternative brewing":

The day the "Super Tuscan" arrived, some 2 weeks after it was shipped, I was concerned about its ability to yield a nice cup. I started by brewing with an Aeropress - in a rather strong mix of 3 tablespoons of espresso grind to about 8 fluid ounces of water just off the boil. I steeped and stirred the Aeropress for about 30s prior to pressing the coffee. Served in a pre-heated mug, the coffee came across as very smooth with very clearly defined caramel notes - very little fruit came to the surface and the coffee did not any annoying or cloying lemon-citrus notes. Without going too deeply into what I thought was in this blend, I would readily conclude that it does not have much if any Ethiopian or African origins.

During the work day today we brewed 2 batches in a Newco OCS-8 thermal carafe drip brewer. Once again, this method yielded a fascinating and satisfying cup of rich coffee. Again, there were no overarching fruit or berry flavors, no sign of citrus or sharp astringency - just straight ahead coffee flavor with very dark sugar flavors - to my eye it looked like a medium roast, fairly uniform in quality with a slightly higher than average number of broken beans.

I totally agree with Mike and Tracy: It would have been nice to experience this coffee roaster fresh. Maybe next time!

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Colin Newell lives and works in Victoria B.C. and is in search of the perfect cup of coffee. His friends and colleagues, Tracy and Mike also agree that there are few things nicer than a really good cup of coffee.

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