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:
Choffy claims that the Nigeria Medium roast "boasts the greatest chocolaty flavor of any brewed chocolate that exists naturally in the market today." The aroma of the dry grounds does seem fairly chocolatey, although the brewed aroma is less so. They also says it has a nutty quality, which it definitely does. If the Ivory Coast roasts are more on the earthy/grainy side, this is earthy and nutty. But as far as chocolate flavor, I'd have to say that while it's "more", I wouldn't call it "the greatest chocolaty flavor". It's decent, though, and I like it. But adding vanilla almond milk to it, it's definitely way more chocolaty than the other standard offerings from Choffy and Crio Bru. The aroma is still lightly grainy to nutty, but the flavor is quite chocolatey with still some hints of the nuttiness. I'm going to enjoy this one.
General Thoughts:
General feeling about the roast
Starting off with the Nigeria, it's fairly chocolaty this morning, with a little bit of nuttiness and only the tiniest hint of bitterness. Thee may even be an even tinier hint of sweetness in there. Going over to the Ecuador, it's actually coming across as just a tiny bit bready and fermented in both the aroma and the flavor this time. There's some of the usual Ecuador sweetness, too. Going back over to the Nigeria, the bitterness is now stronger and it seems less nutty and chocolaty than before. The Ecuador seems just a little flat compared to the Nigeria, but in the end, I think I like the Ecuador a little more.
I feel like adding vanilla almond milk to only one of these would result in the automatic preference of that one over the unaltered one, so I'm just jumping in and adding it to both straight away. The Nigeria now has a very chocolaty and nutty aroma with just a light kind of pungency to it. The flavor is mostly the same, minus the pungency. The Ecuador, oddly enough, is actually coming through as more bready and fermented now, both in flavor and aroma. There's a little bit of a stronger chocolate flavor, but the sharp sweetness seems to come and go between sips. They're both pretty good, but that kind of "stinky" pungency in the Nigeria is knocking it down a bit, so the Ecuador comes out on top in spite of the fermented flavor.
Starting off with the Ecuador, it's just a little roasty, somewhat chocolaty, and has a hint of sweetness there. Going over to the Nigeria, I was really surprised at the "burnt nut" flavor that seemed to jump out at me. I used to pick that up a lot with the Nigeria dark roast, and it's the only flavor in the Nigeria french roast, but I haven't really hit that here before. I feel like the longer that I'm testing this one, the more I'm picking up on the flavors that seemed hidden because they were just so overwhelming in the darker roasts. I have a feeling that if I went and had the dark roast now, I'd hate it. Anyway, there's an ok amount of chocolate there, but yeah, that nutty flavor is just a hair on the burnt side today. Going back to the Ecuador, the background sweetness is now stronger, and it really seems like very little roast there. Between the two, I definitely prefer the Ecuador.
I decided to go with a splash of vanilla almond milk in the Nigeria only and see how it fairs. The nuttiness is much more pronounced, but it no longer tastes burnt, and the chocolaty flavor is much stronger. It makes the Ecuador taste slightly bitter in comparison, but not much else has changed. The Nigeria is the winner.
With a splash of almond milk in the Ecuador, the bitterness is gone and it comes across as more chocolaty and milder. It's really good, but the flavor seems to lack some depth compared to the Nigeria, but the sweetness is still hanging out. The Nigeria tastes like straight up chocolate with a little bit of a nutty flavor, and the combo is really good. It's a super close call. I think it actually comes down to the aroma. The Ecuador aroma is lightly sweet and almost floral, whereas the Nigeria is a tiny bit pungent. I don't want to say its stinky, but it's not something I'd want to sniff over and over, whereas the Ecuador smells great. I think the Ecuador wins by a hair!
I started off with the Nigeria, and even though an earlier comparison today yielded a sweeter and lighter version, this time around it's more bitter and slightly burnt tasting. There's a decent amount of chocolate in the aroma, but it doesn't seem to be in the flavor so much, and the signature nuttiness is mostly gone altogether. Going over to the Ghana, both the aroma and the flavor are very light and bright. It's a combination of grainy and fruity. There's just a hint of tartness, but it's also leaning a little sweet. This is one of those times where it's reminding me just a tiny bit of "Ohs!" cereal. Going back to the Nigeria, it now tastes even more bitter and burnt than before trying the Ghana. The Ghana is by far the winner here.
I added vanilla almond milk to the Nigeria only since it did so poorly above. Immediately the flavor and aroma are very chocolatey and a little nutty, and as of now, the bitter and burnt flavors are gone. The unaltered Ghana next to it is still very light, grainy, and sweet, but the fruitiness is mostly gone. It's less like the "Ohs!" cereal, but still very good. But like things seem to go sometimes, it feels a little one-noted compared to the richer flavor of the Nigeria. I think the Nigeria actually squeaked out a win here.
With a splash of almond milk in the Ghana, now it really tastes like "Ohs!" cereal. It's much sweeter, with the strong grain flavor component, and it's just slightly buttery, but in a good way, like a nice croissant. It's not very chocolaty, but it's really good. Even with as good as the Nigeria is right now, the Ghana is better.
Starting off with the Nigeria, it's a little bitter, a little nutty, and a little chocolaty. Not in equal parts, though. It's like a 3/2/1 mix of those. The Nigeria has definitely been taking on more of a bitter flavor recently, and I'm not sure why. The Ghana is a little sweeter, has a hint of smokiness, is a little earthy, and is a little chocolaty. Going back to the Nigeria, there's also now a tartness coming out, and the bitterness seems a bit stronger in the flavor, but the aroma started leaning a little more nutty. Would you just. hold. still. Nigeria while I try. to... oh forget it. :-p Just for that, I prefer the Ghana over the Nigeria.
Adding a splash of vanilla almond milk to the Nigeria, the aroma goes more nutty and chocolaty, as does the flavor. There's still a hint of bitterness hanging out in the flavor, too, but it's much better than it was. Going over to the unaltered Ghana, it has more of a dusty flavor to it, and the sweetness has mostly dissipated, but overall it tastes a little flat compared to the doctored Nigeria. I think I prefer to the Nigeria here.
Adding a tiny bit of vanilla almond milk to the Ghana, it takes on more of a chocolaty flavor, but the aroma is a little more on the dusty side. But it is pretty good overall. The Nigeria still has the strong nutty and chocolaty aroma, but now the bitterness is coming out stronger int he flavor again. Even though I like the more chocolaty flavor of the Nigeria, I think looking at it overall, I prefer the Ghana.
I decided to start off with the Nigeria this morning because I know I haven't been a fan of the Nicaragua in the past. The Nigeria is decently chocolaty and a bit nutty in flavor, but there's almost a light smokiness in the aroma. Or maybe it's more of a bitterness? Either way, it's starting off pretty enjoyable. Going over to the Nicaragua, I'm getting a lot of fermentation and breadiness in the aroma, and that's before even taking a sip. The flavor is fairly tart. There's also some chocolate there, but the fermentation and tartness are mostly what I am picking up. I also kind of feel like this may be what some of the different brewing cocoa vendors may refer to as "fruity". It's a bright flavor, but not sharp. Going back to the Nigeria, the nuttiness is stronger, and there's now a pronounced sweetness in both the aroma and the flavor, a little akin to what I pick up in the Ghana roasts sometimes. The Nigeria is the clear winner.
I decided to add vanilla almond milk only to the Nicaragua to start off. The aroma has a much more pronounced chocolate note to it, and the fermented and bready aroma, while still there, has mostly been relegated to the background. The flavor is overall pretty good, too. Again, a lot of chocolate, with just the smallest hint of tartness and fermentation hiding out in the back. Comparing it to the unaltered Nigeria, the first sip is a close race. That sweet flavor seems a little stronger now. Going back and forth, they're both pretty good like this. I almost want to call it a tie, not so much because the flavors are so close, but because when it comes to longer term drinking, I think I'd like the doctored Nicaragua more than the unaltered Nigeria, but I wouldn't want to have to add the almond milk every time just to drink it. But on pure flavor, I think the Nicaragua wins by a hair.
Adding a tiny splash of almond milk to the Nigeria, the flavor is more chocolaty and nutty. And surprisingly, that sweet flavor is still hanging around! That's unusual. Going back to the Nicaragua, I'm now back to picking up more of the fermentation. The Nigeria is back on top as the winner.
I started off with the Venezuela because it's been a while since I've had it, so I wanted to get it's flavor up front before the Nigeria causes it to change. It's decently chocolaty, a tiny bit earthy and tart, and there's a fruity quality to the aroma. Starting off, it's really pretty decent. Going over to the Nigeria, there's a sweetness in the aroma that reminds me of what I pick up in the Ghana roasts, but it's in the flavor only a tiny bit. The flavor is more nutty and chocolaty with just a little bit of bitterness thrown in. It's also pretty decent. Going back to the Venezuela, there's now more of a tartness in both the aroma and flavor. I think I like the Nigeria just a tiny bit better here.
Adding a little splash of vanilla almond milk to both, I started again with the Venezuela, and now it comes across as very chocolaty. There's maybe just the slightest hint of the tartness in the aroma, but barely. The Nigeria is more chocolaty and nutty in both flavor and aroma, but the flavor still has a bit of the bitterness in it. Going back to the Venezuela, it's still just about pure chocolate, and is by far the clear winner here.
Because it's been a while since I've had the Ocumare, and I remember not being a huge fan of it when drinking it black, I decided to start with it this time. The aroma is somewhat bitter, but decently chocolaty, and with just a hint of tartness, too. The flavor is mostly the same, although it feels a little flatter than the aroma. Going over to the Nigeria, the nutty aroma and flavor are very strong on the first sip, with just hint of bitterness. There's chocolate there, too, but it's really the nuttiness that jumps out. Going back over to the Ocumare, it's now more tart, but less bitter, and while there's still some chocolate there, the tartness is really coming out strong. Between the two, I prefer the Nigeria a good bit.
I added vanilla almond milk only to the Ocumare first to see how that does against the unaltered Nigeria. It now has a very strong chocolate flavor with only the tiniest hint of tartness or bitterness back in the back. Going to the Nigeria, I was surprised to get a whiff of the sweetness that I usually pick up in the Ecuador roasts. It's not in the flavor much, but it's there. It's also not coming across nearly as nutty now, but the chocolate is still decent. But I have to say that with Ocumare being quite a bit milder and the tartness gone, it's really good, and it wins here.
With a splash of vanilla almond milk in the Nigeria now, I'm picking up more on the nutty flavor, but also the burnt part of it, which strikes me as weird. Going to the Ocumare, a little bit of the bitterness is back, but mainly in the aroma. The flavor is still very chocolaty and the tartness isn't there anymore. The Nigeria is also still giving off a little bit of the sweetness I mentioned earlier. It's a really close race, but I think with the burnt flavor and aroma hanging around in the Nigeria, I have to call it in favor of the Ocumare.
This is my first comparison with the Mexico Medium roast, so I decided to start with it since I feel like at this point I have a pretty good understanding of the Nigeria. The Mexico is a little bitter, a bit tart, and the aroma has a sharp version of earthiness to it. The flavor has some chocolate to it, but it's more in the background of everything else. For the Nigeria, I'm picking up the Ghana-like sweetness in the aroma and flavor, and a little bit of nuttiness and a decent amount of chocolate. There's also a hint of bitterness in the aroma, but not so much in the flavor. Going back over to the Mexico, it's definitely more bitter and leaning more into pungent territory than tart. Between these two, I prefer the Nigeria quite a bit.
With a splash of vanilla almond milk in the Nigeria only for now, it is actually starting out more bitter and has a bit of the burnt nut flavor coming out. It's still generally nutty and decently chocolaty, but yeah, that burnt flavor seems to come and go. Comparing it against the unaltered Mexico, Mexico is again tart, bitter, and earthy. I have to say in this pairing that I'm not a huge fan of it. The Nigeria, in spite of the burnt flavor coming out, is otherwise fairly sweet and mild and much nicer in comparison, so the Nigeria wins.
I added a splash of almond milk to the Mexico, and while there's still a bit of earthy, tart, and bitter flavors to it, it's subdued and the chocolate now comes out much stronger. It's definitely much improved, and there is some sort of sweetness coming out, but still doesn't feel quite as exciting as my first encounter with it. The Nigeria, while the aroma is pungent, the flavor is nutty, chocolaty, lightly sweet, and overall pretty good. Going back to the Mexico, it definitely has a bit of stronger bitterness to it, and it's not quite as chocolaty. In spite of the pungency in the aroma, I prefer the Nigeria over the Mexico.
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!
The Ecuador surprised me a little this morning. Often times I find it to be nearly undrinkable without some vanilla almond milk in it, but starting off with it this morning, it's actually not too bad. It's smoky and has the Ecuador pungency to it, and even just the tiniest bit of the sweetness that I find in the lighter Ecuador roasts. It will be interesting to see if that keeps going. Going over to the Nigeria, it's very different this time around. The nuttiness that I normally expect is gone, there's just a hint of fermentation, but there's also an interesting sweetness behind it all that I don't think I have picked up on before. Going back to the Ecuador, it may be just a little more smoky tasting now, and the hint of the sweetness is gone, but it's still not too bad. I wouldn't call it good, though. I definitely like the Nigeria way more than the Ecuador, but that tiny bit of fermented aroma does hold it back just a little.
Adding some vanilla almond milk only to the Ecuador for now, there's still a bit of a smoky flavor to it, but it's lighter, and there's a tiny bit of a chocolaty flavor coming in. Next to it, the Nigeria has a stronger fermented flavor and aroma, but it's still fairly chocolaty, and oddly, still missing the nutty flavor. But I do still like it more than the Ecuador.
With just the tiniest splash of vanilla almond milk in the Nigeria, the fermented flavor goes away and is replaced by being mostly chocolaty and just a hint of nuttiness. The Ecuador, in comparison, still has a lot of smoky flavor to it, and the little bit of chocolaty flavor I was picking up seems to be mostly gone now and is replaced more by the pungency I'm normally familiar with. The Nigeria is, unsurprisingly, the winner here, too.
Starting off with the Ivory Coast, it has the strong grainy flavor. Now when I encounter that flavor, I actually associate it with Godiva because I recently had some of their chocolate and went, "oh! This tastes like the Ivory Coast brewing cocoa!" And because of that, it now seems a little more chocolaty to me than it used to. Going over to the Nigeria, it has more of a smoky flavor and a little more chocolate to it, and a good bit of bitterness. Even after letting sit a bit longer and coming back to it, it's still the same. Going back over to the Ivory Coast, it still has the big grainy flavor, but the chocolate now seems more subdued and is more like I remember. Overall, the Ivory Coast wins.
Adding a little splash of vanilla almond milk to both, I started off with Ivory Coast again, and it really brings the chocolate flavor out quite a bit. I'm not sure if I've ever added almond milk to it before, but it's really good. The Nigeria still has a bit of bitterness to it. It's decent, but the Ivory Coast really wins out very strongly here.
The Ivory Coast is starting off a little dusty and earthy, but surprisingly chocolaty this morning! I'm not sure what's different there, but it's nice. The Nigeria is... not as chocolaty? What's going on here? Did I mix these up or something? The Nigeria has a little bit of a bitter flavor to it, almost smoky, and I'm not picking up on the usual nuttiness. Going back and forth between the two doesn't seem to change anything. Assuming that these are correct, then the Ivory Coast is the winner.
I added a splash of vanilla almond milk to both of them at the same time, hoping that maybe that will help reconcile this. The Nigeria is now more chocolaty and with a bit of the nutty flavor. The Ivory Coast still has a little bit of a dusty earthy flavor to it, and isn't nearly as chocolaty. Huh. I guess I had them correct! The Nigeria wins pretty easily here.
The Ivory Coast has a fairly smoky flavor, but it's still somewhat chocolaty and a decent amount of earthiness to it. There's also a little bit of the light grainy sweetness floating around in the background. The Nigeria has just a hint of fermentation in the aroma, but not in the flavor that I can tell so far. It's just decently chocolaty with just a hint of the nuttiness to it. There's also a sweetness to it, but it's different than the earthy version of the Ivory Coast. I think I like the aroma of the Ivory Coast just a tiny bit more, but the flavor of the Nigeria just a tiny bit more. I think I would say that I like the Nigeria more overall and could see that more as the longer term drink.
With a splash of vanilla almond milk in the Ivory Coast, it gets quite a bit more chocolaty, and the smokiness takes a back seat. It's still there just a tiny bit, but just barely. The earthy flavor is also there a little, too. Drinking the unaltered Nigeria against it, the Nigeria picks up a little bit of the fermentation in the aroma, and is still decently chocolaty, but the nuttiness is mostly gone, I think. Between these two, I think the Ivory Coast wins!
Adding a splash of almond milk to the Nigeria, it's now just more straight up chocolaty. The fermentation in the aroma is gone, and there's not really much in the way of nuttiness, either. The Ivory Coast still has a good bit of earthiness to it, and the chocolaty flavor seems more subdued against the Nigeria now. They're both really good, but the Nigeria wins.
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 off with the Volta first. It's decently chocolaty with a little bit of earthiness. I don't think there's anything surprising there at the moment. The Nigeria is chocolaty and nutty, but it's also coming up with a tiny bit of bitterness as well as that light sweetness that I get sometimes from the Ghana roasts. That's happened a few times before, and I was a bit surprised because for some reason I thought that Nigeria was much farther east than it is. It turns out it's really not that far from Ivory Coast and Ghana, and in spite of that light sweetness coming out, the flavors seem like they would be very different otherwise. I have yet to compare Nigeria against the Crio Bru Ghana roasts, though, and oddly enough, I usually don't pick up on that sweetness in the Volta roasts even though it's from the same spot. That's really interesting. Going back to the Volta, it's almost like it has a tiny bit of fermentation in the flavor now that I'm drinking it after the Nigeria. The Nigeria wins this round.
Adding a splash of vanilla almond milk to both and going again, the Volta has a much stronger chocolate flavor and aroma, and the earthiness is coming across more as slightly nutty. The Nigeria still has a bit of the bitterness in it. The light sweetness is still in the background, but it's overpowered by the other flavors. If I put a bit of time between sips, it comes up as less bitter and more chocolaty and nutty. Going back over to the Volta, the chocolate flavor is stronger, I think, and it has just a hint of the grainy or earthy flavor. They're really close, but in the end, I think I have to give it to Volta.
The Volta is starting off with a pretty decent chocolate aroma with a smidge of smoke and earthiness, but the flavor seems a little weak overall. The Nigeria has a little bit of a bready aroma, but the flavor has a light sweetness to it that reminds me of what I get in the Ecuador or Ghana roasts sometimes. There's also some ok chocolate there, and a hint of nuttiness. This one, too, seems a little weak at the moment. Weird. As I go back and forth, the Volta has a little more of a grainy earthiness that's coming out. These two are really close right now. It's hard to pick a favorite. The slightly stronger chocolate flavor draws me towards the Nigeria, but the slight bready flavor pushes me away. I think I have to call this one a tie.
I don't have a whole lot left, so I'm jumping right into a splash of vanilla almond milk in both. The Volta gets a really good chocolate flavor, more so than I thought it would. The Nigeria is honestly a little lack-luster next to the Volta, which I'm really surprised about. Even going back and forth between the two for a bit, it doesn't seem to change them much, and Volta is the winner.
Starting off with the Volta, it's very smoky with a little bit of earthy chocolate in there. I'm not sure that I usually pick up on the chocolate in it, but it's been a while since I've had it, and it's the very first one I've started off with this morning. It's not a favorite, but it's definitely not bad at the moment. Going over to the Nigeria, it's both chocolaty and nutty in aroma and flavor. The nuttiness doesn't taste or smell like any particular nut variety to me. There's a tiny bit of bitterness in there, too, but I have to think about it for it to show up. Going back to the Volta, the earthy flavor is stronger now, and the smokiness is less pronounced, which is interesting. Usually it goes the other way around with the smokiness getting stronger. Between the two, I prefer the Nigeria, but not by as much as I thought I would considering how I'm usually really not a fan of the Volta French roast.
I decided to do the vanilla almond milk only in the Volta at first to see how that does against the unadjusted Nigeria. There's definitely more of a earthy chocolate flavor in the Volta now, and the smokiness has really taken a back seat. The Nigeria next to it almost has a little bit of a sweeter flavor with less of the nuttiness in it now. And strangely, as I go back to the Volta, there's actually more of a nutty flavor to it now than there is in the Nigeria. Huh. This is a really close call! I think I prefer the Nigeria, but just by a hair.
With just the tiniest splash of almond milk in the Nigeria now, because there's not much left at this point, the nuttiness is now stronger, but it's also just slightly more chocolaty. But even with that, it's still a really close call with the Volta. I think the Nigeria still wins by just a hair and maybe a half. I don't think it's enough to move the score ahead, but it's still pretty good.
The Nigeria is starting off on the nutty and slightly burnt flavor of things. There's some chocolate hanging out there, and while the aroma has some bitterness, the flavor doesn't right now. Going over to Anakin, it's very smoky and has that almost "meaty" flavor to it. It's ok, but not great. Going back over to the Nigeria, it almost tastes bland now in comparison. Anakin is just such an onslaught of flavor and aroma that others cower at its approach. Maybe that's part of the reason why it has the name... Hmmmm. :-p Even though the Nigeria is weaker, and neither seem very good like this, I think I like the flavor and aroma better than the Anakin.
I decided to add vanilla almond milk only to the Anakin first and see how that goes. As is expected, it now has that slightly smoky and toasted marshmallow flavor that I've come to love about it. In comparison, the Nigeria now has some of that sweeter flavor like the Ghana roasts and the burnt or bitter flavors are mostly gone, even in spite of the fact that nothing was done to it! Going back to the Anakin after the Nigeria, now I'm picking up on a tiny bit of that meaty flavor again, and the toasted marshmallow flavor has been quieted. It's still there, but just not like it was at first. Man, I hate to say it, but I think I like the Nigeria more here, too. But it's close! Nooooooooooooo!
Adding a tiny splash of almond milk to the Nigeria, now it's very chocolaty and a little nutty and overall very good. But! The toasted marshmallow flavor in the Anakin is now stronger! I'm still picking up on the sweetness in the Nigeria as I go back and forth. It's a super close race. I think that they actually tie.
This is my first comparison using the Nigeria, so I started by just taking in the aroma of both roasts. The Shadow's Silhouette has that baking brownies smell, but the Nigeria, which chocolaty, definitely also has a nutty smell to it. I know once upon a time I started describing Ivory Coast Medium as being nutty, but switched over to grainy because that fit better. But in this case, I really feel like the aroma and flavor are closer to some sort of nut.
As far as flavor, Shadow's Silhouette starts off decently chocolaty, but just a little tart. The Nigeria, in comparison, isn't nearly as chocolaty, but definitely has a strong nutty component to it. Going back to the Shadow's Silhouette, there's less tartness than there was before trying the Nigeria, and it is closer to a brownie flavor. Overall Nigeria is pretty good, and in spite of the brownie flavor of Shadow's Silhouette, I think Nigeria just eeks out a win.
With a little bit of vanilla almond milk in both, the Shadow's Silhouette does the usual super chocolaty thing, and it's soooooo goooooood. The Nigeria seems to be doing something similar, although the first sip is a bit washed out, which is weird because I really didn't put that much in. But there's a pretty good chocolate flavor there, and while the nutty flavor can still be detected, it takes a back seat. But that nutty flavor is just enough for the Nigeria to carve out a spot of distinction between the two roasts. Also, the nuttiness is somewhat prominent in the aroma, and with that, it almost reminds me a little bit of the sweetness I pick out of some of the Ecuador roasts. When going back to the Shadow's Silhouette after the Nigeria, the tartness comes back through a little bit, but goes away fairly quickly. This is a pretty close and tough call. I think the tartness is hurting Shadow's Silhouette just a little bit here, and the Nigeria is actually scraping out a win!
Since I've experienced both of these to be fairly chocolaty in their own way, I thought I'd pair them up and see how it goes. I will say that as they have been here cooling, the Foglifter is smelling absolutely fudgy! It really does smell like a warm brownie sitting on my desk. But it's hard to know which one to start with, because I know the flavor of one will affect the other. But considering that at this point I've only had Foglifter twice, but I've done my full comparison gamut with Nigeria, I'll go with the Foglifter.
The aroma really is heavenly. Just the aroma is slightly tart but has a great dark chocolate scent to it, too. Again, I'm not 100% sure what people mean when they say that a cocoa is "fruity", but this strikes me as something that would be fruity. The flavor does have a bit of tartness to it, but it's also very chocolaty. But not just chocolaty... like I said with the aroma, it's like a fudgy brownie. The tartness is a little strong, but it's otherwise great. The Nigeria, on the other hand, has a nutty flavor that is just the tiniest bit burnt. That's something I was picking up towards the end of my comparison streak with it, which seemed weird because it's the medium roast. The dark and french roasts were the ones that originally had strong "burnt" qualities to them, but I do pick it up in the medium a little bit. It's also a little bitter, and the chocolate flavor is very different. It's definitely not fudgy at all, but it's there, reminding me a tiny bit of a milk chocolate bar. Going back to the Foglifter, the tartness is powerful. It's the type of tartness you feel in your jowls by your years, and your mouth immediately waters, almost painfully. The very first sip had me thinking it was the definite winner, but going back to it after the Nigeria, unfortunately it's not. And actually, drinking them both black, this is one of those comparisons where I think they cause each other to highlight their worst traits. I prefer the Nigeria just a little bit over the Foglifter for now, so I'm calling it the winner, but I think if I weren't doing a comparison and drinking them separately, the Foglifter would be my preference.
I'm curious what a doctored version of the Nigeria will do to Foglifter, so I added vanilla almond milk only to the Nigeria first. It gets a lot more nutty and a lot more chocolaty, as in a nearly milk chocolate flavor, but there's still just the tiniest hint of the burnt nut flavor hanging out way in the background as a kind of bitterness. Trying the Foglifter again, oof... it didn't help it in this case. It's still super tart. The aroma is still very fudgy, and the flavor has it just a little bit, but it's so overpowered by the tartness that it's hard to pick it out. The Nigeria still wins.
Even after giving Foglifter a splash of almond milk, it's still super tart. The aroma is amazing, but it's really hard to drink because the tartness almost makes my cheeks ache. Even though the Nigeria has this weird flavor that reminds me "of the 1970s" (Wut!?) it still comes out as the winner.
Update: Even an hour later, I'm still feel like I'm feeling a little bit of the tartness from the Foglifter. It's to the point where I don't even think I can do a second comparison of anything today. :-(