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 aroma on this one is much more smoky than the Nigeria Medium, and honestly, that's pretty much all I can smell. The flavor pretty much matches the aroma. It kind of reminds me of the Volta or Ecuador French roasts, minus the extra pungency of the Ecuador. Drinking it black, I'm overall not a fan, and now I'm kind of dreading testing out the Nigeria French roast.
With vanilla almond milk, it's better, but I still wouldn't call it great. The chocolatey flavor comes out a bit, and the smoky flavor recedes a bit, but it's still there. Overall I'd give it a solid "meh."
General Thoughts:
General feeling about the roast
Starting with the Nigeria, there's absolutely nothing new to kick things off. It's smoky and has a burnt nut flavor, and there's just a hint of chocolate in the aroma. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming, but it's not at the moment, which is nice. For the Ecuador, I was expecting more of the sharp sweetness and decent chocolaty flavor I usually get, but I was surprised to find that it was actually leaning more towards the bready and fermented side this morning. It still has the sweetness and chocolate in the background, and it's good overall, but yeah, it definitely has more of the fermented thing going on today. Even with that being the case, I still like it better than the Nigeria.
Adding vanilla almond milk only to the Nigeria at first, it has the strong chocolate aroma and the nutty flavor with a hint of the burnt flavor in the background. I really wish the french roast version would vastly improve like the dark roast does. Sigh. Anywho, comparing it to the black version of the Ecuador, the Ecuador is still carrying around that strong fermented flavor and aroma with just the hint of chocolate and sweetness. Honestly, between the two, I think the Nigeria wins! I was not expecting that at all. I figured as I got to this point, the Ecuador winning in every case was a sure-fire thing.
With the almond milk in the Ecuador, it still has that hint of fermented or bready flavor, but it's much improved. There's some chocolate there, but honestly what I'm picking up the most is something that almost reminds me of cinnamon! It's not the spicy kind, but the warm and cozy kind like what you'd find in a good cinnamon roll. This is really good, and I like it a lot better than the Nigeria. I'm not sure I'd call it top-tier favorite when it has to compete against other things like the doctored versions of Shadow's Silhouette, Fogilifter, and Anakin, but holy moly this is good and unexpected.
I feel like at this point being about three quarters of the way though the comparisons with this one, I can pretty safely say that this one, along with the Choffy version of Ecuador French, are at the very bottom of what I consider to be drinkable when black. I'm just really not a fan.
Starting off with the Nigeria, it's the now familiar bitter and burnt nut flavor with a hint of chocolate to the aroma. The Ecuador has a little bit of of that sharp sweetness to it, mainly in the aroma, but also in the flavor just a little bit. It also has a good bit of roast and smoke in the flavor, too. Going back to the Nigeria, the flavor is even more bitter and burnt than the first time around. The Ecuador is definitely better than the Nigeria, but it's only ok in this pairing.
Adding vanilla almond milk only to the Nigeria first, it goes from being bitter and burnt to quite a bit more chocolaty with a hint of smokiness to it. Comparing the black Ecuador to it, it's mostly the same as the first test, which is the sweet aroma but kind of a smoky flavor. There's a part of me that likes the richer and nuttier flavor of the Nigeria more than the base flavor of the Ecuador, but the sharp sweetness in the Ecuador is also good. In the end, I think I'm calling it a tie.
Giving the Ecuador a splash of almond milk, it gets more of the sharp sweetness in the flavor, and it's maybe a tiny bit more chocolaty, but not much in this comparison, surprisingly. I think in the end, the vanilla boosts the Ecuador just enough to call it a win, but only a little bit. I'm kind of surprised it is this close!
As it's been up to this point, the Nigeria is unsurprising. It's burnt and bitter with a hint of chocolate in the aroma. The Ghana has a light sweet aroma to it, a little like the sweetness I pick up from the Ecuador roasts, but not with the same sharpness. The flavor is light and grainy with not much chocolate to be found, but it's really good overall. It doesn't seem to impact the flavor or aroma of the Nigeria at all, so the Ghana is a the strong winner here.
I added a splash of vanilla almond milk only to the Nigeria to start with, because I suspect that the Ghana may wash out very easily when I do the same there. The aroma and flavor of the Nigeria is now much more chocolaty, a little nutty, but there's still a hint of the burnt and smoky flavor to it. Not much, but just a hint. Comparing this to the Ghana, the grainy flavor of it seems even stronger, and there's a hint of bitter tartness to it now. I still think it's better than the Nigeria, but the race is much closer.
Even with adding almond milk to the Ghana, it still has a strong grainy flavor. Well, it's not quite grainy... Oh, it reminds me of "Ohs!" cereal! I feel like I've run into that before, but I'm not sure if it was with this one or not. Ah, no, it wasn't. It was a chestnut tea from the tea Advent calendar my sister and I did after Christmas of 2021. Anwyay, there's still just the tiniest hint of the tartness here, but it's mostly imperceptible. It's really good overall, and is still the clear winner over the Nigeria.
This is my first time doing a comparison in the office. That means that I brushed my teeth roughly an hour ago, and so I'm a little curious if that's going to affect flavors at all. I really hope not.
Taking my first sip of the Nigeria, I have to say, no, I don't think the teeth brushing has any lasting flavor effects. The Nigeria has the normal smoky and burnt nut flavors with a hint of chocolate in the aroma. The Ghana is a little earthy but also a little sweet and seems to maybe have just a bit more chocolate in the flavor. The Ghana is a pretty clear winner.
Adding a splash of vanilla almond milk to the Nigeria, the aroma is much more chocolaty, and the flavor is a lot more nutty without the burnt and smoky flavors. Comparing that to the Ghana black, the Ghana feels a little flatter and the earthy flavor is a little stronger. It still has the hint of sweetness, though. But I think between the two, the Nigeria wins this one!
Adding the almond milk to the Ghana, the sweetness seems a little stronger, and there's a little bit of nuttiness there, too. I'm kind of wondering if I overdid it with the almond milk. :-/ Anyway, it's good and has more of a chocolaty flavor. The burnt nut flavor is now a little more apparent in the Nigeria, but overall it's still really good. This is a super close race, but I think I'd go with the Ghana because even though it doesn't have the stronger chocolaty flavor or aroma to it, it also doesn't have the burnt nut flavor.
Note: I accidentally poured these when I was supposed to swirl them, meaning they only brewed for about half the time. I thought I may have to redo this one, but I don't think it really affected the end result.
Starting with the Nigeria, there is some of the burnt nut flavor, but this time around it's leaning a little less burnt and more nutty. I don't know that there's much chocolate flavor to be found, though. The Nicaragua smells and tastes tart, fermented, and bready. Again, there's not much of a chocolate flavor here. Overall, I'm a little surprised that neither one is weak considering the messed up brewing time. I think choosing between the two, though, I'd have to go with the Nigeria, because the bready flavor and aroma of the Nicaragua is really off putting to me.
With vanilla almond milk in both and starting this time with the Nicaragua, after the black versions, it's now quite chocolaty with only a hint of the tartness and fermentation. The first sip is really good. Going to the Nigeria, the burnt part of the nut flavor is decently strong still, and there's still not much chocolate flavor here. Meanwhile switching back to the Nicaragua again, it has a little more of the tart and bready flavor, but it's still decently chocolaty. Nicaragua is definitely the winner of this side of things.
Starting with the Nigeria, it has the usual strong flavors of bitterness, burnt nut, and smoke with just the tiniest hint of chocolate in the aroma. The Venezuela has a slightly grainy flavor to it and is more chocolaty. The aroma matches, and the flavor is kind of light overall. It doesn't seem to affect flavors and aroma of the Nigeria when I go back to it. The Venezuela is the strong winner between the two.
Adding vanilla almond milk to the Nigeria only first, it's gets the usual stronger chocolate flavor, and the burnt and smoky qualities drop to the background, but they're still there. The Venezuela, in comparison, is a little strange. The flavor is a bit more bitter, and somehow it vaguely reminds me more of tea than brewing cocoa. Weird. I think the Nigeria actually wins this pairing.
Adding a splash of almond milk to the Venezuela, too, it takes on more of a chocolaty flavor, but that strange tea-like flavor and light bitterness is still there. The grainy flavor also seems to be making a come back, which is good. It's decent overall, and I think it wins out over the Nigeria because of the lingering burnt nut flavor still hanging out in the background of that one, but it's close.
Kicking off with the Nigeria, the burnt nut flavor is pretty strong this morning. There's a little bit of chocolate in the aroma, but not really any in the flavor. Going over to the Uber Dark, it seems a little muted in comparison. There's not much of a smoky or roasted flavor, although I can pick out some of the sharp sweetness of the Ecuador that I'm pretty sure is in the blend. As I go back and forth between the two, the Nigeria isn't really changing, although I am starting to pick up the roast in the Uber Dark. I'm not a fan of either one like this, and I think it's pretty much a tie.
With a splash of vanilla almond milk in each, the Nigeria loses a bit of the burnt flavor, but it's still somewhat nutty, and there's a stronger chocolate note coming out in both the aroma and the flavor. For the Uber Dark, there's also a little more chocolate in the aroma, as well as more of the Ecuador sharp sweetness. They're both ok, but I think the Uber Dark eeks out a win even if it's not great.
Going with the Nigeria first, it's mostly the same not-so-chocolaty, kind of smoky, and burnt nut flavor. It's tolerable, but not great. The Ocumare has a good bit of bitterness, it's kind of earthy, and a little tart. Again, there's not much chocolate here in the flavor, but I am picking it up in the aroma. It's ok, not great, but I would probably pick it over the Nigeria. Actually, the more I drink it, the better it gets. The same is not true for the Nigeria. so yeah, Ocumare is definitely the winner.
With vanilla almond milk in both, the Nigeria takes on a stronger nutty flavor and a more chocolaty aroma, and most of the smoky or burnt qualities are gone. It's decent, and certainly much improved over drinking it black. The Ocumare has a much stronger chocolate aroma and flavor to it. There's still some earthiness, but the tartness is gone, and it's pretty good overall. Going back to the Nigeria, the burnt nut flavor is a little more apparent, but not enough derail it. But in the end, I'd still go with the Ocumare as the winner here, too.
I started off with the Mexico, and I think at this point I mostly "get it". It's a little tart with a hint of bitterness, and a bit of chocolate in the flavor. The aroma is more tart than anything. Nothing surprising there. The Nigeria has a much more smoky aroma that reminds me a little bit of Choffy's Ecuador French roast, but the flavor is a little more tame than that. I'm not picking up much chocolate in the flavor, but there is the slightly burnt nut flavor hanging out there. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's also in the aroma a bit. Going back to the Mexico, it now has a much more tart and fermented flavor and aroma, leading slightly into bready territory. I'm not a fan of either one, but I think if I were to drink either like this long term, I'd have to go with the Mexico. But I wouldn't be happy about it. :-p
I decided to add vanilla almond milk only to the Nigeria to start off with. I know that it's likely that I'd prefer whichever one that I add the almond milk to first, but I'm more curious about how it affects the flavor of the unaltered Mexico. The Nigeria gets a little bit more of a chocolate flavor, and a little bit more nuttiness, but it still has the burnt taste to it. The unaltered Mexico still has the strong tartness and fermented flavors going on. I don't like the burnt nut flavor of the Nigeria, but I think I still prefer that over the flavors going on in the Mexico.
With a splash of almond milk now in the Mexico, the tartness is somewhat tamed, but still there and obvious. But it definitely has a much more chocolaty flavor than before. The Nigeria, in comparison, mostly just has the burnt nut flavor now. Overall this isn't a great pairing and I'm not terribly happy with either one, but I think I prefer the Mexico over the Nigeria when they're both altered.
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.
Starting off with the Nigeria, there's an ok chocolate aroma to it, but the flavor is mostly smoky, with the nutty flavor leaning towards "burnt", kind of like the french roast version, but not nearly as strong. The Ecuador, in comparison, isn't as smoky, and has a strange flavor do it that I haven't noticed before. I don't quite know how to describe it. Oh! Banana! There's an ever so slight banana flavor to it! That's a new and weird one. Going back to the Nigeria, there's actually a bit more chocolate in the flavor now. That's interesting. I think that the Nigeria wins here, by just a hair.
With just a splash of vanilla almond milk in both, the Nigeria actually gets a nice chocolaty flavor, but with the nutty flavor in it, it ever so vaguely reminds me of chocolate peanut butter. The burnt flavor of the nuttiness seems to be mostly gone. For the Ecuador, the aroma is a little more chocolaty, and the roasty flavor is tamed quite a bit, but the flavor seems a little one dimensional compared to the Nigeria. There's a hint of the pungency and that "sharp sweetness" flavor that pops up in some of the Ecuador roasts, but not enough to get excited about it. The Nigeria wins again!
Normally I start off with the one I'm currently testing against everything else, but in this case I'm starting with the Ivory Coast because I'm just not sure how the Nigeria is going to affect it, and I want to get in at least one good swig of it before the flavor is tainted by the comparison. The Ivory Coast is the usual grainy flavor with little to no chocolate overall. It's a little funny to me that it used to be one of my favorites. I mean, it's still really good, but it's just not at all representative of any of the rest of the brewing cocoa world, and sits pretty solidly near the middle of my preference list.
Going to the Nigeria after the Ivory Coast, it is the usual thing of being a little smoky, but leaning more towards the burnt nut flavor with just a little chocolate to it. Going back to the Ivory Coast right after the Nigeria really drives home the grainy flavor of it, but it's still very strongly the winner between these two.
Also, recently my normal thing has been to add vanilla almond milk to both roasts at the same time, but I have a feeling it's going to wash out the Ivory Coast quite a bit, so I'm actually starting with only adding it to the Nigeria first. There's still just a tiny bit of the burnt nut in the aroma, but the flavor is much more chocolaty, and really is mostly lacking the nutty flavor. Oh, no, wait... there it is. Haha! It took a second to show up. Comparing it to the black Ivory Coast, it's a close call, but I think I do prefer the Nigeria by just a hair.
Oh interesting! Adding the vanilla almond milk to the Ivory Coast now really brings out more of a nutty flavor than a grainy flavor. It's actually pretty good like this. Going back to the doctored Nigeria, it seems a little weaker in comparison, now missing a decent amount of both the chocolate and nutty flavors, but some of the smoky and burnt flavors are back. Yeah, the Ivory Coast has a pretty strong nutty flavor now. Not grainy, but truly nutty. It's actually really good, and the clear winner.
Starting with Nigeria, it's the usual bitter concoction of burnt nut, smoke, with a whiff of chocolate mixed in. The Ivory Coast is earthy, even leaning a little bit into "beany" territory. The aroma is more earthy than anything, but there is some chocolate there. Not so much in the flavor, though. Going back over to the Nigera, the aroma comes across as even more burnt. The Ivory Coast is the clear winner here.
Adding vanilla almond milk only to the Nigeria first, it goes from smelling and tasting mostly like burnt nut to having a good bit more chocolate in the aroma, a lighter nuttiness coming out, but still with a hint of the burnt flavor and aroma lingering around. Drinking the Ivory Coast black next to it, it's taken on just a hint of a sweeter flavor and seems less beany now. I prefer the chocolate portion of the flavor of the Nigeria, but I think as an overall picture, I still prefer the Ivory Coast by just a hair.
Giving Ivory Coast just a splash of almond milk and comparing again, there's still a little bit of an earthy flavor and aroma to it, but there also seems to be just a little more chocolate to it, too. In comparison, the Nigeria still has a good bit of the burnt flavor coming back in, so in the end, I still prefer the Ivory Coast over the Nigeria.
The Nigeria is starting off pretty much as expected. It has a fairly strong burnt nut flavor, a little smoky, and the aroma has a just a hint of chocolate, but it's not really in the flavor. It's quite bitter today, actually. The Ivory Coast has kind of a dusty and earthy aroma, and the flavor mostly matches, although I feel like there's more chocolate in the flavor than I pick up on sometimes. The Ivory Coast is the winner.
With vanilla almond milk in the Nigeria, it's the usual story of the first sip is quite chocolaty compared to what it had been, with a fairly strong nutty component, and most of the burnt flavor is gone. In comparison, the Ivory Coast seems fairly smoky after tasting the doctored Nigeria. And the Nigeria isn't wavering in flavor as I go back and forth. The Nigeria wins this!
Adding the almond milk to the Ivory Coast, the smokiness goes away, and the vanilla brings out a decent chocolate flavor, but an earthy or dusty one. I like it, and it's an improvement over the base flavor of it, but the Nigeria is staying strong with a richer chocolate flavor combined with a bit of nuttiness. They're both really good, but I have to say that I think the Nigeria wins again!
The dark roast is mostly as expected. It has a bit of the bitter, smoky, and burnt nut flavor to it. It's not nearly as bad as the french roast, but I'm still not a fan. The medium roast is decently chocolaty and a bit nutty, but without the burnt flavor. There's also just a hint of the sharp sweetness that I sometimes get from the Ecuador roasts. The medium roast is the definite winner.
With vanilla almond milk in both, the dark roast is much improved. The burnt nut flavor is still there a little bit, but it's mostly obscured by the chocolaty flavor that comes out of it. The medium roast is just much more chocolaty overall, and really pretty good. The nutty flavor is mostly gone here, too, but since it's not burnt like the other roasts, it's just a nice flavor. Again, the medium roast is the definite winner.
I decided to start with the French roast because I figured it may give me a better end result for tasting the dark roast, and as usual, it's very smoky, bitter, and has a burnt nut flavor to it. It's not as bad as some others I've had, but I don't like it. Going over to the dark roast, there's more of a nutty and chocolaty aroma, and it's not nearly as smoky as the French roast. The nutty flavor isn't as burnt here, and comparatively, I like it ok. Going back and forth between the two doesn't give me anything new, so, unsurprisingly, the dark roast wins here.
With vanilla almond milk in both, the French roast gets a nice chocolate boost in both the aroma and flavor. On the first sip, most of the smoky and burnt nut flavors are gone. For the dark roast, there's there a good chocolate boost to the flavor just like the French roast, but it retains more of the nutty flavor, too. Back to the French roast, there's more smoke coming through, but overall it's still not too bad. Going back and forth, I still prefer the dark roast a good bit.
The Nigeria is leading in with no surprises again. It's a little chocolaty in the aroma, but the flavor is mostly burnt nut, smoky, and somewhat bitter. The Volta is a little different than I'm used to, though, because along with being a little earthy and chocolaty, it also has just the slightest fermented and bready flavor with a little bit of tartness to it. Going back to the Nigeria after it, there was a strange, almost licorice flavor to it for a brief second, but then it went back to primarily smoky and burnt nut and bitterness. Even with the tart breadiness of the Volta, it's the winner.
Adding a splash of vanilla almond milk to the Nigeria first, it gets the now expected chocolaty and nutty flavor, and most but of the burnt and smoke flavors are pushed way back. I wish the french roast version did this. Sigh... Anyway, comparing it against the black Volta, I have to say that the Nigeria wins here. It's really pretty good.
With a splash of almond milk in the Volta, it gets a much stronger chocolate flavor with just a hint of earthiness. I think it would be easy to overdo it with the almond milk in this one, though, and completely wash it out. Sipping the Nigeria after it brings some of the burnt nut flavor back to the forefront, but overall it's still fairly chocolaty and pretty good. This one is a really close call. The chocolate flavor of the Nigeria is a little richer with some warmth to it due to the nuttiness mixed in, and the chocolate flavor of the Volta is a little more one dimensional but much closer to what I would think of as a "dark chocolate" if I were comparing it to a chocolate bar or something. As I go back and forth, the burnt nut flavor of the Nigeria just keeps hanging out there in the background, and I think that's hurting it. I think the Volta wins by just a hair.
While they're sitting here cooling, there is a pretty strong chocolate aroma floating around, which is really nice.
Starting with the Nigeria, it's the normal thing of burnt nut flavor and a tiny bit of chocolate in the aroma. The Volta has a combination of grainy and earthy aroma and flavor. It almost reminds me of some sort of bean, like a navy bean or something. There's also a little bit of chocolate in there, but the bean-like flavor is definitely stronger. Going back to the Nigeria, it's now coming across as more smoky than burnt, but the amount of chocolate is still about the same. The Volta is also taking on a little bit of a dusty flavor, but in spite of that, it's the winner here.
With a splash of vanilla almond milk in both, the Nigeria does the normal first sip thing where now the nutty flavor is fairly strong and there's a good bit more chocolate both in the aroma and flavor. The Volta still has just a tiny bit of that beany quality, but it's more chocolaty now, too. Going back to the Nigeria right after, it loses a little bit of the nutty flavor, but is still decent overall. The Volta is also taking on more of a chocolate flavor as I go. They're both pretty decent here, but I think the Volta still wins by just a little bit.
Starting with the Nigeria, the burnt nut flavor is quite strong this time. It's not as strong as the french roast version, but it's still there. There's also a little bit of chocolate flavor behind it, but it's pretty obscured by the smokiness and burnt nut flavors. The Volta has some smoky flavor to it, but after the Nigeria, what I'm mostly picking up on is the "dusty" earthy flavor, with a hint of chocolate. Going back to the Nigeria, the aroma is now a little more sour, but the flavors are pretty much the same. I think the Volta wins here.
With some vanilla almond milk in both, the Nigeria gets more of a chocolaty flavor and the smoky and burnt flavors are mostly gone. In the Volta, the story is mostly the same. The smokiness is mostly gone, but there's still a hint of the earthy flavors and more of a chocolaty flavor coming out. It's a close race, but I think I like the Nigeria just slightly more than the Volta here because the chocolaty flavor is richer and has more depth.
This is, at the moment, my last comparison with Nigeria Dark. I have to say that I'm glad I didn't give up on this one just because of my aversion to the french roast version.
Starting off with the Nigeria, it's just the normal smoky and burnt nut flavors with a little bit of chocolate in the aroma. I guess if I really think about it, there's also a little bit of chocolate in the flavor, too, but it's mostly hidden behind the other flavors. Going over to the Anakin, it is really different from how I've experienced it before. There's just a hint of tartness, and maybe a tiny bit of fermentation, and a smokiness that almost reminds me of barbecue. I think this is the first time where I've ever tried it and thought, "Yes, it is just a hint of the darkness to come." And going back to the Nigeria, the smokiness there almost feels like it's gone. There's still some burnt nut there, but I almost feel like the chocolate is a little more apparent now. The way these two play off each other is really strange and interesting, but I wouldn't say that I particularly like either one like this. And the race is really close. Super close. In fact, I think I have to call it a tie.
With vanilla almond milk in both, I started off with the Nigeria again, and the smoke and burnt nut are mostly gone, and there's mostly just the chocolaty aroma with the nutty flavor. Going over to the Anakin, I'm so used to the doctored version coming across with the toasted marshmallow flavor, but it's just not there this time. Like above, there's a lightly tart flavor still, and I wouldn't call it chocolaty. The smoky flavor is still there, but that barbecue flavor is still hanging out, and it almost comes across as having a meaty flavor! It's so weird!! If I give it a little bit of time and come back to it without going to the Nigeria, I can start getting hints of the toasted marshmallow, but it's just not the rush of it that I'm used to. Going back to the Nigeria, the burnt nut flavor seems a little stronger, and the chocolate aroma seems to be less. And now the toasted marshmallow flavor of the Anakin is starting to come on stronger. So, in the end, I think Anakin wins, but it's a close and strange race.
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.
The Shadow's Silhouette decided to start off fairly tart this time, both in aroma and flavor. As always, there's a decent chocolate component there that doesn't otherwise lean earthy or pungent, but it just the tartness that seems to come and go. The Nigeria is really roasty and smoky, and there's not much of any other flavor coming out of it. In spite of the tartness of Shadow's Silhouette, I'd have to go with it as the winner as I just really don't like the extreme smoky flavor of the Nigeria.
With vanilla almond milk in both, the Shadow's Silhouette still has some tartness in the aroma, but the flavor is pure chocolate. The Nigeria still as a lot of smoke in the flavor, but the vanilla does bring out a little bit of the nutty and chocolaty flavors. Even with that being the case, I'm still not a fan. Shadow's Silhouette still wins by a mile.