My own description of the flavor here
Amount of grounds:
2 tablespoons per 10 oz of water
Brewing time:
8.5 minutes
Additions:
None
Reusing grounds:
Not tested
Using grounds in food:
Not tested
First Impressions:
The smell of the dry grounds reminded me a lot of Ancillary Darkness, which I was never able to make myself finish. After brewing, the aroma is milder, and really more coffee like, although I can catch a hint of Ancillary Darkness in it. The flavor is quite bitter and very smoky. I'm not sure that I can pick out any chocolate in it at all. I don't know if this is one I could drink black. Adding vanilla almond milk to it, it does bring out the chocolate flavor somewhat. It's still kind of bitter, and I'm picking up more on that truly pungent aroma from the Ancillary Darkness. Honestly, I'm a bit worried about doing this one through side-by-sides.
General Thoughts:
General feeling about the roast
I started off with the Nicaragua because I wasn't sure what Shot in the Dark was going to do to it. The aroma is fairly chocolaty with a hint of bitterness, and the flavor is pretty much the same, but with some added tartness. It's definitely not one of my favorite roasts, but on its own it's not terrible. Shot in the Dark is pretty much just smoke and char after the Nicaragua. It's also bitter, but where the Nicaragua is more like the bitterness associated with dark chocolate, this one is not. It's just pure charred bitterness. Going back to the Nicaragua, the tartness is stronger. That can sometimes go two different ways. Usually it goes in the direction of tasting somewhat fermented, but today I'd definitely say it's more of a fruity sort of tart, like a cherry or a plum. It's definitely the winner here.
Adding vanilla almond milk to both, I started again with the Nicaragua, and I got a nice little surprise of a strong chocolate flavor along with something that is truly a fruity flavor. Interesting! The Shot in the Dark is still very much charred and smoky, but there's some chocolate coming through in the aroma. Not so much in the flavor, though. It's a bit like drinking a yule log. Not a log. I don't have a log, but I mean, you know...if I had a log. Not in the sense you think I said I did. Whew! Good golly. 'Tis the season to be going back to the Nicaragua. It has more of the tart flavor and that fruity flavor is now somewhat missing. Bummer. It's still better than Shot in the Dark, though.
I started with the Uber Dark this time around, and while it's very dark, roasty, and smoky, it has more range of flavor to it than I pick up sometimes. I wouldn't call it chocolatey, but I do detect a hint of the sharp sweetness I typically find in the lighter Ecuador roasts. It kind of evens out the roast a little bit. Going over to the Shot in the Dark, it's all char and bitterness except a little tiny bit of a sour pungency that I used to hate in Ancillary Darkness. Going back to the Uber Dark, the Shot in the Dark really takes a lot of the roast out it and I get a stronger note of Ecuador's sharp sweetness, and it winds up as the strong winner.
Adding vanilla almond milk to both, the Shot in the Dark gets a little bit of a chocolatey flavor, but it still has a really strong charred component. With the vanilla in it, there's the tiniest hint of Anakin's toasted marshmallow flavor, but it's like the marshmallow was left to burn completely before blowing it out. It's better, but not great. This is one that I'm just really not liking, honestly. Going over to the Uber Dark, the roast is pretty much gone in comparison, and there's a light chocolatey flavor riding on top of the sharp Ecuador sweetness. I actually like it a decent amount here in this comparison, and while I'm not sure that I'd feel the same just drinking it alone, it's the definite winner.
Like with the Nicaragua, I started with the Ocumare because I'm not sure what the Shot in the Dark is going to do to it. Ocumare starts off a bit on the bitter side, but it's much like a dark chocolate flavor, which is nice. Shot in the Dark is all bitter, smoky, and charred, but there's a sour note to it, too. Going back to the Ocumare, it's a bit on the earthy side, and there's an interesting grainy flavor I haven't picked up in there before. It's actually pretty decent! It reminds me a lot of the Ivory Coast roasts, and is by and far the clear winner here.
With vanilla almond milk, the Ocumare has a really striking chocolate flavor! That first sip was really good, and it will be interesting to see if it continues. Shot in the Dark is still very roasty, bitter, and sour, but there's a hint of a fruity aroma to it. It's definitely improved over drinking it black, but I'm not sure I'd say that I like it. The Ocumare is staying strong with the chocolate and just a hint of the grainy flavor. If this is the way it had always been, it would have been near the top with the doctored versions of Anakin and Shadow's Silhouette. Then again, I did a side by side with Shadow's Silhouette, and even with the almond milk, Ocumare didn't fare well against it. But here it's really good and the clear winner.
I have to say that although I'm not liking Shot in the Dark, having it to compare against other roasts and seeing what it does to them has been invaluable. I love this type of discovery.
I meant to start with the Mexico, but forgot and started with Shot in the Dark instead. Sigh. Well, Shot in the Dark is, as expected, very smoky and roasted. That's pretty much all I can taste in the flavor. No chocolate or earthiness or pungency or anything else. This is probably the closest to the "campfire ash" that I've had since my first batch of Choffy's Volta French roast. Next to it, not only is Mexico mostly tart and bitter, but it's even a little on the fermented and slightly bready side. I'm picking up maybe just a little bit of chocolate in it if I really think hard about it, but it's mostly not there at the moment. The flavors aren't really changing as I go back and forth, either. But in the end, I still prefer the Mexico over Shot in the Dark, even if I don't really like either one.
With a splash of vanilla almond milk in Shot in the Dark, it's actually taking on a bit of the toasty marshmallow flavor of Anakin, but in a more smoky way. It's more like an overdone marshmallow, I guess. But it's really much improved for the moment. The Mexico next to it is still very tart, bitter, and bready. Again, going back and forth between the two, the flavors aren't changing at all. Surprisingly, in this case, I prefer Shot in the Dark over the Mexico.
A splash of almond milk in the Mexico brings out the strong chocolate flavor. There's still a hint of tartness there, but it's mostly in the background. The Shot in the Dark now has a somewhat sour aroma, but it doesn't seem to carry through to the flavor. It's still smoky, but still has the toasted marshmallow hanging out there. It's a stubborn one! That flavor really isn't budging no matter how I change up the Mexico around it. The Mexico, on the other hand, seems to be wavering back and forth between tart and chocolaty. It's a close race, actually. Like with other similar pairings, they both have good sides and bad sides, and I'm having a bit of trouble picking out which one I'd drink long term. In the end, I think the smokiness of Shot in the Dark is just too smoky, even with the almond milk in it, so this round goes to the Mexico.
I have to admit, I'm kind of dreading this pairing.
Starting with the Ecuador, it's the usual very smoky and roasty and pungent sort of flavor and aroma. At the moment it's not quite as strong as usual, so it's tolerable, but not great. Shot in the Dark, on the other hand, is almost pure char next to the Ecuador. I'm picking up no chocolate in the aroma or flavor, and in fact it really tastes a lot like coffee to me. Which is kind of the goal of that one, so, uh, good job to Chocolate Alchemy for that. But yeah, it's definitely not my thing. Going back to the Ecuador after that, and it actually brings out a lot of the natural flavors of the Ecuador. I'm picking up on that sharp sweetness behind the smoke and pungency. Again, it's not great, and I'm still not a fan, but for me it's drinkable compared to the Shot in the Dark. I'd be really curious what my wife, the coffee drinker of the household, thinks of Shot in the Dark.
With vanilla almond milk in both of them, which I may have gone a hair heavy on this time, I started again with the Ecuador. The roast is mostly gone, and there's a decent amount of chocolate in it. I can still pick up the roast in the aroma, but the flavor is pretty decent. The Shot in the Dark still has a lot of roast and char to the flavor, but I definitely picked up on something else in the aroma. Something darkly fruity and sharp. Not sweet, but not chocolatey, either. Hmm. I wonder if I really overdid it with the almond milk and I'm just mostly tasting the smoke in that. Eh, that's part of it, but that's not all of it. There's definitely something else in there. I wouldn't say I dislike it, but I'm also not sure that I like it, either. There's also a good bit of bitterness in there. In fact, I'm also picking that up in the Ecuador, but not to the same degree, and it's almost a different sort of bitterness. I guess if I really think about it, the smoky flavor of the Shot in the Dark with enough of the almond milk yields something a tiny bit like the toasty marshmallow of Anakin, but it's so far removed from it that it's hardly worth calling it out. Yet, here we are. Either way, I think I'd call the Ecuador the winner here, too.
Starting off with Shot in the Dark, there are no surprises here at this point. It's super dark, roasted, smoky, and bitter. Going to the Nigeria right after, it's almost as if it has little to no flavor. This is one where I need to wait a little bit between switching from one to the other. After giving it a minute, the Nigeria is milder, smoother, and has both a little bit of a chocolaty flavor as well as kind of a burnt nut flavor. To me, neither one is great, or even good, honestly, but I think I'd have to say that Nigeria wins this one.
With vanilla almond milk in both of them, I started with Shot in the Dark again, and I got a nice surprise in that there was a bit of a chocolaty aroma to it, and the flavor had just a hint of the toasted marshmallow that I'm fond of in Anakin. Based on the first sip, it almost seems like most of the smoky bitterness is gone, but that may be just because it was the first sip after drinking them black. The Nigeria is milder with less smoke in it as well, and has more chocolate in the flavor, but it still has that burnt nut flavor to it. Going back to the Shot in the Dark, like I suspected, the second sip wasn't as good as the first, but it still wasn't too bad. Finishing them up, they're both pretty strongly improved by the almond milk. As far as preference, I think I have to call it a tie. I still wouldn't want to drink either one long term, even like this.
For the other two Nigeria roasts, I did a preliminary taste test to see what I was getting into. I found that the dark roast was already so smoky that it seemed to obliterate most of the chocolaty flavor, and given that the aroma of the dry grounds of the french roast seemed even more smoky and dark than the dark roast, I decided to just go head first with it and compare it to Shot in the Dark.
Starting with just the aroma of both, Shot in the Dark is very smoky, but also seems to have a bit of a bitter aroma to it, almost pungent. The Nigeria also has a very smoky aroma, but it's a little lighter, I think, and has an earthy quality to it. I'd even almost call it a burnt nutty aroma, but for some reason it almost reminds me of an old house.
As far as flavor, I started with the Nigeria, and it's not just smoky, but charred. There may still be just the barest hint of the nutty flavor to it, but it's really hard to tell. The Shot in the Dark, on the other hand, is sour and bitter in addition to smoky. Going back to the Nigeria soon after, the smoky flavor is a little less, but there's still a dark earthy flavor that I'm just really not a fan of. I don't like either one black, but I think with the strong sour notes coming out of the Shot in the Dark, I'd have to call it the bigger loser.
Adding vanilla almond milk to both, the Shot in the Dark gets drastically better. I'd even almost call it "good". There's a chocolaty flavor that comes out that's pretty decent, while most of the smokiness takes a back seat. The Nigeria, on the other hand, still pretty much that strong earthy flavor and a lot of smoke, just less. Oh man. This isn't good. There's almost a rubbery flavor to it here. Going back to the Shot in the Dark, it's not as good as the initial couple of sips right after adding the almond milk, but it's still better than the Nigeria. Giving the Nigeria a minute and going back to it, the aroma does seem to be a little more on the chocolaty side, but the flavor is still terrible to me.
I may have found a new least favorite. :-(
After trying Shot in the Dark against Ecuador French, I decided I needed to do a "Battle of the Char" and pair it up against Volta French.
Shooting off with the Shot in the Dark, it's extremely smoky and bitter both in aroma and flavor. There's really just not much else to it. Going over to the Volta, I can pick up the earthiness in the aroma. The flavor is also very smoky, but it's not as bitter, and has a good deal of earthiness to it. I wouldn't say that I'm tasting any chocolate with either one, though. Going back and forth between the two, they don't seem to really be affecting each other in terms of presentation. The flavor and aroma doesn't seem to be changing based on waiting longer between sips or which one I had most recently. I think I'd call the Volta the winner, but just barely, and I don't like either one like this.
Even with almond milk in both, I'm still mostly tasting watered down smoke and char with a little bit of the vanilla. They kind of remind me of a chocolatey flavor a little bit, but I think that's mostly the vanilla speaking. The Volta is much milder and a little bit of the earthy a barely chocolatey flavor comes through, so it winds up the winner, but I wouldn't call it a victory.
As expected, Shot in the Dark starts off with being super roasty, dark, smoky and bitter, and with not much else to bring to the table. As a side note, I had my wife try a sip because of the supposed coffee flavor. She said that it doesn't really taste like coffee, which I figured, but she said that she could see where saying that it tastes like coffee comes from. In comparison, Anakin doesn't smell or taste as dark and smoky as it usually does. There's more of a chocolate flavor in there. It's still not a favorite like this, but it's decent, and definitely wins out over Shot in the Dark.
With vanilla almond milk in both, Shot in the Dark still has strong smoky and bitter components, but less so than drinking it black. What's really interesting is that there's also just the tiniest hint of Anakin's toasty marshmallow flavor. It's barely perceptible, but it's there. Over on the Anakin side, the toasty marshmallow flavor is still there, but it's less prominent than usual. There's more of a chocolaty flavor this time around. It's quite different than I'm used to, but it's still super good, and wins hands down.
This is one of the things that I love about these side-by-side comparisons. It started out as just trying to see if any of the roasts were actually different, then it shifted into trying to find out which one I liked the best. And while that's still a big part of it, there's a secondary part that is about trying to tease out some of those background flavors that I miss when drinking these things on their own. The only downside is that I feel like I have a terrible vocabulary for describing what I'm experiencing with a lot of them, such as Ecuador's "sharp sweetness". But even if that's the case, it's still a lot of fun.
The very first sip of Foglifter has a lot of the fudgy flavor and aroma, but also quite a bit of tartness to it. It's, at the moment, not as strongly tart as when I compared it against the Nigeria Medium yesterday, but it's still a lot. And it's getting stronger in subsequent sips. Oof. I really want to like it for the fudgy and brownie flavors, but that tartness is really making it hard. Next to it, Shot in the Dark is pretty much all smoke and roast. There's a tiny bit of tartness there, too, but it feels weirdly disembodied from the strong smoky flavor, almost like it has no business being there, and that it's only there because the Foglifter is bullying it into being tart. Going back to the Foglifter, the aroma now has a fermented breadiness to it, but it's also still super tart, and the fudgy brownie flavor has taken a back seat to it all. I'm just not a fan of either one, but given the circumstances, I think I have to say I actually prefer Shot in the Dark. Ouch.
Giving Shot in the Dark a splash of vanilla almond milk, it's still very smoky, but it's starting to take on some toasty marshmallow sweetness that I typically find in Anakin. It's definitely much improved. Foglifter is still super tart next to it, and it does still have a hint of the fermented breadiness, but some of the brownie flavor is back now. Going back to Shot in the Dark, the toasty marshmallow flavor has dissipated a little and it's mostly just smoky. But even then, I think I still slightly prefer Shot in the Dark over Foglifter.
I didn't get to do a comparison with almond milk in Foglifter.
The Bolivia is starting off with a somewhat smoky and leathery flavor, and mildly tart. The aroma pretty much matches. It's also just a little on the meaty side at the moment, but it will be interesting to see what drinking it next to Shot in the Dark does. Shot in the Dark is very smoky and roasty, almost charred, and pretty bitter. That's pretty much all I can get out of the either flavor or the aroma. Going back to the Bolivia, the darkness of Shot in the Dark knocks out out the smoky flavor out of it, and so it's less in the "meaty" realm, but it's quite a bit more tart than it was at first. It's not Foglifter-level of tartness, but it's pretty up there. Between these two, I'm not sure if I have a preference of one over the other. I don't really like either one when compared like this.
Since it was a tie so far, I just added some vanilla almond milk to both at the same time. The Bolivia starts off a lot more chocolaty, and at the moment, is mostly lacking the leathery flavor. Shot in the Dark is still mostly just smoky, but most of the bitterness is gone. It's not as harsh as it is when it's plain, but there's still no real other flavors coming out. The Bolivia is actually keeping a pretty decent chocolate flavor to it and not getting tart or otherwise weird, and I actually like it quite a bit. Bolivia is definitely my winner here.