Sometimes bitter and dark, sometimes sweeter and sharp
Amount of grounds:
2 tablespoons per 10 oz of water
Brewing time:
8.5 minutes
Additions:
Works great with vanilla almond milk, which really brings out the chocolatey flavor.
Reusing grounds:
Not tested
Using grounds in food:
Not tested
General Thoughts:
Overall I have a hard time drinking this one black, but it's not as bad as the Ecuador French roast. Depending on what I'm comparing this one to, often times there's this sweeter flavor that I kind of describe as "not quite spicy" that comes out, and even when drinking it black, it makes it really good. But, the catch is for that to come out, I have to be doing a side-by-side, otherwise it's quite bitter.
Starting with the light roast, it's chocolatey with hints towards the usual Ecuador pungency. The dark roast is, well, much darker and much more pungent, and going back to the light roast after highlights the buttery flavor of the light roast. I think I'd also describe the flavor of the light roast as "smoother", although I'm not 100% sure why. I almost want to say the dark roast almost has a "spicy" flavor, but "spicy" isn't the right word. It's definitely more of a punch to the buds, and the flavor is much stronger, but there's something to it I just can't quite describe. I think I'm missing some vocabulary to be able to describe it properly. Anyway, both roasts are good in their own way, but I think I prefer the light roast over the dark.
I blended the last third of each cup because I thought I'd get something kind of like a "medium" Ecuador roast. It's not quite that, though, but I'm not sure how to describe it. This has more of a chocolatey flavor than most blends have, and maybe even a kind of "sweetness" (sort of, but not really) but it also has a strange "dryness" to it. It's good, and I could see having this as a go-to for when I'm in an Ecuador mood but not in the mood for a really light or really dark roast.
I wondered if the differences I saw between the Choffy and Crio Bru Ecuador French roasts was because of the roast levels actually being somewhat different, or if it's more of a bean origin (regional?) difference.
The difference between the Choffy Dark and Crio Bru French is less noticeable than the Choffy French roast was. The Choffy Dark still has that slightly pungent flavor and smell, but there's more of a chocolate flavor to it as well. In contrast, the Crio Bru French has a slightly more grainy quality to it, but the stronger chocolate flavor it still there, too. I still like the Crio Bru version more.
The Crio Bru Ecuador French roast is starting to feel a big enigmatic to me. Now I want to test it against the Ivory Coast Dark and French roasts to see how the grainy quality I'm picking up compares. I have a feeling It's going to be one of those "test it against all the things!" varieties.
Since the new batch of Crio Bru Ecuador French roast is different than the old batch, I'm comparing these again.
These two are now really close. In spite of the roast levels between the two being stated as different, they are pretty evenly matched in reality. Beyond that, the Choffy has more of that biting pungent quality to it than the Crio Bru, while the Crio Bru is milder. Actually, if I really pay attention to the aroma while I'm drinking it, I'm still getting a little bit of that grainy quality to the flavor and smell that I mentioned in the original comparison. I do still like the Crio Bru version more, but to a lesser degree than the first time I compared these two.
I'm not sure why, but when starting with the Ghana this time, I was immediately hit with the buttery flavor due to it being a light roast. Usually I pick up more of a grainy or earthy flavor first. Maybe it's because it was still just a bit on the hot side when I started sipping it? I'm not sure. I can taste the earthy flavor in it, too, but I was just surprised. The Ecuador is pretty much as expected, pungent and a bit roasty and strong. And again, a bit weird, but going back to the Ghana after the Ecuador, it's more earthy now than buttery. That's a real flip from what I've experienced previously. The Ghana is also closer to a "normal" chocolate flavor and aroma than the Ecuador. I like the Ghana more for sure.
I blended the last third of each cup, and the end result is indistinct. I can kind of pick out some of the Ecuador pungency, and maybe a tiny bit of the Ghana earthiness, and overall the flavor is somewhat of chocolatey. It's good, but these blends really perplex me because of how they just don't seem to have any defining characteristics. I kind of wonder how my experience would have been different if I had started with blends and then branched out into origins. Considering I started this whole thing because I thought everything already tasted the same, I guess I would have really been confused about how they all really taste the same then, and wondered why they'd bothered to blend rather than going single origin.
When starting with the Ghana, it's fairly chocolatey and doesn't give a strong impression of roast up front. I'm also not initially picking up any sort of grainy or earthy flavor. Next to it, the Ecuador has that usual strong, pungent, and roasty quality to it. There's a flavor or aroma to the Ecuador that's still eluding me in terms of vocabulary (not quite "spicy", but something else) so I'm not sure how to describe it, but my brain likes that part of it. When I go back to the Ghana, I can definitely pick out the earthy tones, and it's really good. I strongly prefer the Ghana over the Ecuador.
I blended the last third of each cup, and this is one where everything really snaps to the middle. The flavors that are the standouts of each flavor are completely gone, and it's replaced by the good-yet-ambiguous chocolatey flavor that these blends often have. Even the aroma on this one is pretty flat.
I've been a little nervous to try the Choffy Ecuador varieties because Sam said that it really is the most coffee like from his experience. But I figured today was the day to start low!
Given my unfortunate sipping experience with Intermission 1, I was afraid I really was going to hate it. The Nicaraguan Medium has that familiar kind of bitter dark chocolate taste, but not much else, while the Ecuador Dark Roast definitely tastes different. It's labeled as "Chocolatey and Robust". I can definitely pick out the "more coffee like" tones in it, although I'd hesitate to really say it's truly anything like coffee. I'm not 100% sure how to describe it, but when smelling or tasting it, it has a "sharper" or more pungent smell to it. I would even almost describe it as "sour", but definitely in a good way. I think it's more organic smelling and tasting about it versus the Nicaraguan Medium roast, but not in the trendy "organic" marketing speak.
With the exception of the Ivory Coast Dark roast, I think this may be one of my more favorite dark roasts so far.
The Ecuador doesn't really have any surprises going on at this point. It's the usual kind-of-dark and kind-of-pungent thing going on that's easier to drink than the french roast version. Next to the Venezuela it's pretty good. It's a little darker, as the name would imply, and a bit more bitter, especially in the lingering aftertaste, whereas the Venezuela is more chocolatey and has a little bit of a buttery or bready flavor to it that I've been noticing more and more. There's really not much to say except that I like the Venezuela more than the Ecuador.
I didn't really do this comparison properly, mainly because I thought I already knew the outcome. With the Uber Dark being so, well, dark, I figured that the constant switching back and forth between the two would do two things. First, it would just make the Ecuador taste almost like nothing. And second, the comparative lack of flavor of the Ecuador would just make the Uber Dark taste that much darker and harsher. With those assumptions, I drank most of the Uber Dark cup before even touching the Ecuador, and it turns out that, yup, I was pretty much right. I really had to let the flavor of the Uber Dark dissipate before I could really wrap my face around the chocolatey and smoky flavors of the Ecuador. On the up side, by doing it this way, I was able to drink the Uber Dark without doctoring it up with anything, but I really enjoy the Ecuador much more than the Uber Dark.
I did a rematch so I could drink these in proper alternating fashion just to make sure I didn't miss anything. This definitely isn't my favorite pairing, but most of what I said in the first round still stands. The Uber Dark is quite overpowering compared to the Ecuador. But I will say that in a few other comparisons, I noticed the Uber Dark had a "sweet sharpness" to it that wasn't the usual roasty or pungent flavor, and that is completely absent in this comparison... on the Uber Dark side. I'm now picking it up in the Ecuador! It's a little bit of what makes up that "pungent" flavor I always talk about there. The Uber Dark, on the other hand, really is all roast this time around. I still like the Ecuador better, so that hasn't changed.
Like I started doing with other Uber Dark pairings, I blended the last third of a cup or so of each one to see what happens. I feel like this one retains more of the roasty aroma, and a little bit of the roasty flavor and pungency of both varieties, and even comes across as slightly... sweeter? Weird. But oddly, it still flattens out a bit. Not as much as the others, but more than I would have thought given the similarities between the two.
Starting with the Ecuador, it's pretty dark and roasty and bitter, but it has that hint of sharp sweetness and pungency behind it that is pretty typical for the Ecuador roasts. Going over to the Ocumare, it's very mild in comparison, with a good bit of chocolate, and that extra earthy bitterness that is its mainstay. Going back to the Ecuador right after really makes that sharp sweetness pop out. Some of the bitterness and roasty flavor is still there, but they're pushed a little more to the background. Overall, I prefer the Ocumare over the Ecuador by a fair amount.
I blended the last little bit, and in the first sip, I could still make out the Ecuador quite a bit, especially in the aroma, but I could also pick up the strong earthy tones from the Ocumare. I gate it a little more time to incorporate, and now I pick up the earthiness of the Ocumare more in the aroma, but I can just barely still make out some of the flavors of the Ecuador. As I get to the bottom of the mug, things have mostly snapped to the center, and I can't really make out much of anything from either one in the flavor, although I thought I could still pick out a little of the sweetness of the Ecuador in the aroma. I've never had a blend move around so much in flavors before, I don't think. That was really interesting.
The Mexico roast is starting off fairly tart, but not as bitter this time, and with a decent amount of chocolate. Yeah, that tartness is pretty strong this time. *shudders* The Ecuador is fairly smoky, but not to the point of tasting burnt, and there's a hint of the sharp sweetness hanging out in the aroma, but not in the flavor. The flavor really is mostly smokiness and pungency. Going back over to the Mexico, it's a lot milder than the Ecuador, and after the Ecuador, the tartness isn't nearly as strong, though it's still there. But, in the end of things, I prefer it over the Ecuador.
I decided to go with adding vanilla almond milk only to the Ecuador first and see how it goes. I'm picking up more on the sharp sweetness in the aroma and flavor, but there's still a lot of smokiness there, and I'd hesitate to call it chocolaty. The Mexico next to it is very tart again, with little else. I think the Ecuador actually wins here.
Adding almond milk to the Mexico brings out the stronger chocolate flavor and tames the tartness a bit, but it's still hanging out in the background. I have a feeling after trying the Ecuador again and going back to the Mexico, it's going to come out stronger, but we'll see. The Ecuador still has a pretty smoky profile to it. I thought at first maybe I had overdone it with the almond milk, but I guess not. Going back to the Mexico, it actually didn't change as much as I thought it would. It's still just a hair tart, but it's decently chocolaty and has more flavor depth than the Ecuador, I think. I definitely prefer it over the Ecuador.
I was a little surprised to find that the Dark roast is slightly more pungent and bitter than the French roast. The French roast is a little milder, but has another flavor that's a little stronger that I'm not entirely sure how to describe. "Plastic-y" isn't right, but it's what comes to mind.
I had Em try them both, too, and she liked the Dark roast slightly more, and she confirmed that these really are more coffee-like than others she's tried.
I got part way though both cups and decided to try adding vanilla almond milk to them both and do another comparison. It makes them almost indistinguishable, but brings out more of the chocolate flavor, which was another surprise. It does it slightly more so for the Dark roast, I think, but they were so close it was hard to tell. I also didn't measure the almond milk at all, so I could have added more to the French roast. I just thought it was interesting.
Starting with the Ivory Coast, it definitely has a light grainy flavor with just a little chocolate. It also has that slightly buttery flavor I've found in some of the lighter roasts. The Ecuador is just like it always is: pungent, roasty, and a little bitter. (Just like me!) Switching back over to the Ivory Coast, the buttery flavor is much stronger, and it's less grainy and chocolatey. At one time this was one of my favorites, but I'm not sure that's the case anymore. It's still really good, and I do like it better than the Ecuador, but as I'm getting to know the roasts quite a bit better, it's just kind of lacking in flavor and aroma. I feel like I prefer other roasts from the same region, like the Ivory Coast Dark, Volta Dark, or Crio Bru's Ghana, but I haven't done full comparisons of those yet, so I don't know for sure.
I blended the last third of each cup, and like with many other 50/50 blends, it kind of becomes nondescript. I may pick up just the tiniest bit of the Ecuador pungency or roast, and a tiny bit of the Ivory Coast earthiness in the aroma, but the flavor is actually a little bland on this one. Most other blends I describe as "good", but this one's kind of "meh". It's ok. It's not terrible, but it's not quite "good", either. If I guzzle it instead of sip it, it does pick up more of a chocolatey flavor, which is interesting. I only did so because I had to finish it quickly so it wouldn't get cold while I went to do something else.
Starting with the Ivory Coast, it's pretty much exactly what the description says. It's lightly chocolatey and a little earthy. The Ecuador has a pretty good punch to it, and has that usual strong pungent and almost-but-not-quite-spicy flavor. The roasty side isn't standing out as much here, which is interesting. Going back to the Ivory Coast, it's also interesting to see how the flavor doesn't change at all.
What I mean is, often times when I'm comparing two roasts, I'll drink from one, then the other, and then go back to the first. When I get back to the first one for the second sip, the interaction of the flavors plus the "tiring out" of my tastebuds from both varieties tends to bring out other flavors or aromas that weren't evident on the first sip. For example, I've had other Ivory Coast cups where at first it tasted quite chocolatey with very little earthy or grainy flavors, but after drinking from the second brew and going back to the Ivory Coast, the chocolate flavor takes a back seat and the earthy qualities take center stage. That's not the case this time! This time both brews are holding their identities really well.
This time, I really like both of them pretty equally when just comparing them one to the other. I have to go with the longer range "drinking it for the long haul" view to decide that I'd pick the Ivory Coast over the Ecuador. It's a much closer race than I'd anticipated for this round.
I blended the last half of each cup, and the end result is more of the same where everything gets very muddy in flavor and none of the distinguishing flavors or aromas stand out anymore. It's somewhat chocolatey, but that's about it. The pungency, the earthiness, and the roast are all gone. It always strikes me as being so weird when that happens with two fairly strongly flavored varieties. I mean, it's good, but it's just... flat.
I started with the Ivory Coast this time, even though it's the darker of the two roasts. It's a little roasty and decently chocolatey. The Ecuador has the usual strong pungency, but this time in comparison, it's also a little something different. I wouldn't call it sweet or spicy, yet it feels a little like both. Would it be considered fruity? Maybe it kind of is against the Ivory Coast, but the end result is that it's pretty good. It's a closer race than I thought it would be. I really like the Ecuador in this comparison, but looking at it from the perspective of "which one could I get a big bag and drink for a while, along with lacking the chocolatey flavors of the Ivory Coast, I prefer the Ivory Coast over the Ecuador.
Starting with the Ecuador, it comes across as very roasty and smoky and pungent. There's maybe a tiny hint of the sharp sweetness I get sometimes from the Ecuador roasts, but it's pretty far in the background. It's more in the aroma than anything. The Nigeria next to it is much more chocolaty with a tiny hint of bready flavor and a hint of fermentation in the aroma. The nutty flavor that's often in the Nigeria roasts doesn't seem to be there today. Going back to the Ecuador, while the roasty pungent flavor is still pretty strong, the sharp sweetness is coming through more in both the aroma and the flavor. But even with that being the case, I think I prefer the Nigeria just because it's not such an assault on the senses.
Starting with a splash of vanilla almond milk in the Ecuador, it now comes across as more chocolaty, and the sweet flavor is a little stronger, but there's still a smoky and pungency hanging out. Comparing it against the unaltered Nigeria, the Nigeria is still more chocolaty overall, lacks the pungency, and still has the light bready flavor to it. But I still prefer it over the Ecuador.
With the almond milk added to the Nigeria, it comes out as much more chocolaty and a little nutty and is really good overall. The "Ecuador sweetness" also seems to be coming out stronger when I go over there, but it still has the smoky and pungent flavor hanging out, and I just don't like it as much. Nigeria wins!
It's no surprise that the Nigeria starts off with the usual mild burnt nut flavor with maybe just a hint of chocolate in the aroma, but that's about it. The Ecuador is not so much smoky as it is dusty. There's a hint of sweet sharpness to it, and maybe a smaller hint of chocolate. Going back to the Nigeria, there seems to be less of the burnt nut flavor, and maybe a hair more chocolate, but between the two, Ecuador is the winner.
With a splash of vanilla almond milk in each, the first sip of Nigeria loses the burnt part of the nut flavor, but it's still nutty with a much more strong chocolate component. For the Ecuador, the sharp sweetness is a bit stronger, and it also has a stronger chocolate component to it. Going back to the Nigeria, it kind of loses the nut flavor, too, and is coming across as just a bit on the weak side. The Ecuador is still holding on to a bit of the dusty flavor, too. Between the two, while they're both good, I think the Ecuador eeks out a win, but just barely.
The Volta does start out decently chocolatey with maybe just a hint of an earthy flavor, and switching to the Ecuador really brings out that sweet-almost-spicy flavor, but my brain doesn't equate it with chocolatey. Switching back to the Volta, the earthy flavor becomes quite strong, along with a hint of buttery in the aroma, but it feels like it's also goes more bitter. I like the Volta more, although it's close because once the comparison starts in earnest, I actually like the Volta flavor and aroma less than when I started with it. It's not to say that I dislike it at all, but something about the Ecuador next to it seems to make the Volta a bit more "meh". It does retain a good bit of chocolatey flavor, though, which is good, but it's very much more of a dark and bitter chocolate.
I blended the last third of each cup, and the result is very similar to the Ivory Coast Dark blend where there's a chocolatey flavor, but most of the identifying characteristics of each roast gets thrown out the window. There may be the tiniest hint of Ecuador's sweet pungency in the aroma, but you have to really be looking for it, and it doesn't come out in the flavor at all. The flavor, if anything, leans ever so slightly in the direction of the Volta, having the slightest of bitterness to it, with a decent chocolate flavor. Oh, interesting! After letting it sit for a minute or two while I went to look at something, when I came back to it, I could taste a bit of the sweet pungency of the Ecuador in the initial sip, but it goes away after that.
The Volta starts out nice and chocolatey with just a little aftertaste of the roasty flavor, which I guess I'd call smoky. Going over to the Ecuador, that enigmatic "sharp or sweet or spicy" flavor is really strong today, and with the first sip, I almost think I prefer the Ecuador over the Volta. It didn't taste very roasted in this context at first, but the more I drink it, the more I'm picking that up. Going back over to the Volta, the earthy tones are really heightened after drinking the Ecuador. I think the Volta has more of a chocolatey flavor overall, but I'm not sure if it's due to the earthy flavor, or in spite of it. I think I like the Volta more overall. I would be curious to try both of these with vanilla almond milk to see which I like better that way.
I blended the last third of each cup, and I was surprised to find that I can still pick up that "sweet or spicy" flavor of the Ecuador a tiny bit at first, but then it kind of went away and the rest of it was the usual "Where'd it all go, George?"
Update: I did a comparison with vanilla almond milk in each of them. I started by sipping out enough of each cup to make room for the almond milk, and at first I thought he almond milk really washed out the flavor of the Volta. The Ecuador was fairly chocolatey in comparison and overall better with the almond milk. After a bit more sipping, I found that the Volta was not as washed out as I thought. Most of the way through each cup, they're both pretty chocolatey. The Volta has more of a traditional chocolate aroma, whereas Ecuador has that sweeter or spicier aroma to it, but it's still pretty chocolatey. I think I actually prefer the Volta due to the traditional chocolatey aroma and flavor that comes out of it with the almond milk in it.
I started with the Ecuador since it's the lighter of the roasts. and I was a little surprised by the bitterness that it started off with. It's better than the french roast version, but still that roast, pungency, and bitterness are strong. Going over to the Volta, yes it's roasty, but it lacks the extra punch that the Ecuador has, and moving back and forth between the two, the Ecuador loses some of that darker roasty quality. That sharp pungency, though, is still right up there. Also, I can pick up on the earthy or grainy quality of the Volta in the aroma, and the flavor does carry a little bit of bitterness. Overall I like the Volta better.
I blended the last third of each cup, and the Volta still stands out a little in the end. The roast flavor is fairly high, and I can still pick up the earthy quality in the aroma, and the pungency of the Ecuador seems to come up a tiny bit as an aftertaste. It's ok, but it's not one of my favorite blends.
I started with the Ecuador, and it was surprisingly bitter at first, much more than I thought it would be. When I went over to the Anakin, it was very smoky and dark, but pretty good even though I was drinking it black. Going back to Ecuador, that sweeter not-quite-spicy flavor comes out of the pungency and bitterness, and it was actually made better coming from the Anakin. Drinking the two black, it's kind of hard to pick a favorite. I like the smokiness of Anakin and the sweeter pungency of Ecuador, but overall I think I'd go with the Anakin here.
Adding vanilla almond milk to both, the Ecuador goes quite chocolatey, and the Anakin goes very toasted marshmallow. I prefer the aroma of Anakin because Ecuador still has a hint of the pungency. Wow, this is a LOT closer than I thought it would be. They're both delicious like this, but I think this way may actually be a tie!
I blended the last quarter of each cup, and it's pretty good. The aroma is still slightly more like Anakin, but the flavor is a little more chocolatey. I may have to make a full mug of this one and see how the combo is black, but it's really good with the almond milk.
Update: After finding out how much I liked them blended with almond milk, especially after blending, I decided to do a single mug blended up front instead of doing it part way though the cup becauseI wanted to see what the flavor is like without the almond milk first. The combination is really good! It's chocolatey, and it's a little roasty. It's quite drinkable without adding anything, but adding the vanilla almond milk makes it even better.
Now I'm kind of curious how the combo would be with Anakin and Ecuador French instead.
This is my first side-by-side comparison in a long while. It's been close to 4 weeks since I've done one. I was waiting for the newest batch from Chocolate Alchemy with all the single origin stuff, the blends I haven't tried yet, and a bigger sample of Shadow's Silhouette so I could test it against everything. Plus I was reworking my scoring sheet to account for comparisons with additives like vanilla almond milk and to update the scoring system to a range rather than a flat "win/tie/lose" system to allow for more nuanced scoring. "Did I like it a little, or did I absolutely love it?"
Kicking things off with the Ecuador Dark, the aroma had a slight sweetness to it, but taking a sip, it was quite bitter at first, but after another sip or two, it calmed down some. It's still bitter, but I'm picking up on that lightly sweet "ting" that I've noticed in some of the other Ecuador roasts before. Going over to the Shadow's Silhouette, it smells quite chocolatey, very much like a brownie, and that kind of carries over into the flavor. It's definitely lighter, a little on the fruity side, and pretty chocolatey overall. There may be a slight hint of the fermented bready flavor I've picked up in other roasts, but in this case, it really lends itself to the brownie aroma and flavor it has going on. Quite interestingly, when going back to the Ecuador, that dark sweetness is quite a bit stronger after having spent a little time with the Shadow's Silhouette, and the overall experience is elevated over how the initial sips started. Going back to the Shadow's Silhouette immediately after the Ecuador causes a kind of tartness to come out. So in this case, going from Ecuador to Shadow's Silhouette needs to be done slowly, but going the other direction can be done quickly. The Ecuador is definitely growing on me more than how it started at the beginning, but in the end, I prefer the Shadow's Silhouette due to the richer chocolate flavor.
Adding vanilla almond milk to them both, the Ecuador really lightens up and gets more chocolatey, although it's a little washed out. That may actually just be due to drinking it so closely to the stronger and darker stuff just a moment before. Anyway, it's a different sort of chocolate than what was in the original Shadow's Silhouette, and rather than brownies, it's a more "just chocolate". The Shadow's Silhouette, on the other hand, goes from brownies to a chocolate croissant. It has more of that bready flavor, but without the fermented flavor to it. It's actually pretty good like that. This time around, at least, I'm not sure if I like it more or less than the version without the almond milk. Going back to the Ecuador after, that sharp sweetness stands out a lot more and is really good, and tastes less washed out. Between these two versions, I think I like the Shadow's Silhouette just a tiny bit more, but it's really close, and they're both very good.