Reviews for Blue Bottle Coffee
A ready-to-drink black coffee, tested cold. Crisply sweet-savory. Baking chocolate, hop flowers, Brazil nut, almond, gently scorched oak. Round, quiet acidity; velvety mouthfeel. Nut-driven finish with bittersweet floral undertones. Pleasantly and gently smoky with milk, with nice notes of bittersweet florals and baking chocolate.
A ready-to-drink bottled black coffee tested over ice. High-toned and sweetly bright. Notes of grapefruit zest, cocoa, almond, a hint of sweet flowers. Roundly sweet-tart and lively in structure; satiny in mouthfeel. Balanced and very clean in the finish. Adding whole milk develops a crisp chocolate and nut without completely sacrificing the citrus and flowers.
Richly bittersweet. Caramel, Brazil nut, cedar, blood orange, honeysuckle in aroma and cup. Round, low-toned acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Brazil nut and blood orange carry into a drying finish.
Mellow, balanced, sweet. Molasses, cinnamon, chocolate fudge, orange zest in aroma and cup. Balanced, sweet-toned acidity; lively, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is sweet and resonant, saturated by chocolate notes.
Sweetly bright, juicy. Orange marmalade, peach, pecan, vanilla, a hint of sandalwood in aroma and cup. Round but vibrant acidity; light but buoyantly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates around vanilla notes that turn distinctly floral in a rich though gently drying finish.
Gentle and sweetly bright; quietly vivacious. Honeysuckle, mulberry, apricot, fresh-cut redwood in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart acidity; syrupy, buoyant mouthfeel. A richly flavor-saturated short finish turns mildly drying in the long.
Opulent and complete; finely structured yet grandly complex. Lush flowers in front – lavender, lilac, fresh vanilla – supported by ripe pear and tangerine, roasted cacao nib, cinnamon. Balanced, round, resonant acidity. Plush, lively mouthfeel. Flavor rings on in a very long, sweet-toned finish.
Exotic; intricate; grandly and sweetly bright. Honey, loquat, tangerine, blood orange, jasmine, cocoa in aroma and cup. Sweetness envelops tart and bitter sensations in an intense, complex acidity. Plush, silky mouthfeel. Rich, deeply flavor-saturated finish fades very slightly in the long.
Savory nut and sweet honey notes together suggest an almost halvah-like richness, with complications of fresh-cut cedar and roasted cacao nib. Sweetly brisk, buoyant acidity; lively, silky mouthfeel. Drying though deeply flavor-saturated finish.
Very complex; big-bodied. Blueberry, ripe lemon, dark chocolate, hints of bourbon whisky and musk in aroma and cup. Round, quietly resonant acidity; syrupy, gently lively mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates but lingers in a rich finish.
Nice range of aroma and flavor, ranging from a honey and raisiny dark chocolate to pepper and pine hints to a shimmer of meadowy flowers. Backgrounded but vibrant acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Sweet-toned, balanced finish.
Big, complex but balanced dried-in-the-fruit profile. Honey, nectarine, fresh blueberry, hints of milk chocolate, fir and walnut in aroma and cup. Rich, lyrically sweet acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Juicy finish.
Exceptionally complex espresso that maintains aromatic intrigue from aroma through a rather majestic finish in milk. Elegant aroma with deep-toned fruit and herb notes. In the small cup smooth in mouthfeel and medium-full in body, slightly sharp and acidy in structure but with a continued fruity complexity that reads persuasively as chocolate. Both co-cupper Ted Lingle (92) and Ken (90) were particularly impressed by this blend's performance in milk: lavishly fruity and chocolaty with a rich, clean finish. Blue Bottle's espressos were nominated by reader Christopher Losa.
A smoky, cedary espresso with a deep-toned fruit that in the small cup suggests semi-sweet chocolate or perhaps a rich port wine. Ken (90) and co-taster Ted Lingle (93) differed a bit on this blend's impact in milk: Ted found this blend mastered milk with an impressive sweetness and richness; for Ken the chocolate carried nicely into milk but the mouthfeel was a bit lean. Nominating reader Christopher Losa testified to his admiration for this blend in almost lurid terms: "rich, thick, and chocolaty...the way it syrups out of the portafilter is absolutely sexy...comparative to a California Zin or a Petit Syrah fruit bomb wine.'
