Smoky and Chocolatey
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 recommended. Contains husk.
General Thoughts:
General feeling about the roast
Hmm. This one's a little tougher than I thought it would be. The french roast definitely has that roasty flavor, but it also has that sweet and sharp pungent flavor that comes through. The light roast replaces the roasty flavor with the buttery flavor, but still has that familiar Ecuador pungency. But which do I like more? I know if I added vanilla almond milk to them, the french roast would win out because that one almost turns into hot chocolate that way. But drinking them black, it's a much closer race. Both roasts are pleasant and nice to drink, and not overpowering like the Choffy version of the french roast. If I think about drinking them black long term, I thought at first the light roast would win out, but they're both really good. I think this one may be a tie!
After some of the differences that have cropped up from Crio Bru's Ghana French roast and Uber Dark, I had to test this one. This is the one I got the really big bag of (1.5 lbs) because in my head it made for a good hot chocolate replacement. I opened the new bag and took a whiff of the dry grounds in comparison to the old one, and it is different. It smells a lot more like the Choffy version, which does not thrill me.
Taking in the aroma while they're cooling, the new batch definitely has a stronger aroma, almost sour smelling, and definitely more pungent. I tasted the new one first, and while it's okay, it's not the "hot chocolate replacement" that felt the old batch was. The old batch definitely has a more chocolatey and less roasted flavor to it. I'm a bit bummed about this. I specifically got the really big bag because I was expecting that it was going to be just like the sample. I mean, the new one is still good, but it's just not the exciting find that the old one was. I'm definitely going to have to redo any comparisons that I've already done up to this point, and I really have a feeling it's going to start losing out to other roasts.
While I was tasting them, it really kind of hit me that while the old batch was better, it still wasn't "hot chocolate replacement" like I had remembered it being. It turns out that's because I only came to that conclusion when I added vanilla almond milk when I was testing it against Choffy's Ecuador French roast! So I added some vanilla almond milk to both the old and new and tried them again, and while yes the old one is nearly a perfect hot chocolate replacement in my opinion, the new one really isn't that far behind it. It pairs very well with the almond milk, goes more chocolatey, with only a tiny bit of the new pungency remaining. I kind of wish I had remembered this when I was ordering and I probably would have stuck with the regular 10 oz bag and gotten the 1.5 lb bag of the caramel instead.
So, it's not quite the loss that I thought it was. That's good. Whew!
I think I'm coming to the point where I pretty much know what to expect from most of the varieties. In this case, the Ecuador is somewhat roasty, a little sweetly pungent, and overall pretty good. The Ghana is lighter (ahem) and fairly earthy. I had almost expected to find some of that buttery flavor that crops up in some of the lighter roasts, but it doesn't appear to be here this time. Anyway, they're both really good. I kind of feel like the Ghana leans slightly more chocolatey than the Ecuador. But as far as preference, I think the Ecuador wins out just slightly over the Ghana.
Taking an initial taste, the roast levels are pretty even between the two. The main difference is just the earthy quality of the Ghana and the sweet pungency of the Ecuador. There's also a bitterness to the Ecuador that I'm picking up. These are both really good roasts, and there are no surprises here, but I think drinking them black, I prefer the Ghana over the Ecuador.
I blended the last sip or two of each, and the aroma seemed to keep some of the earthiness of the Ghana, but the flavor doesn't seem to back it up. It's just decently chocolatey with no real standout qualities of either roast. If I really try, I may be able to pick up a hint of the Ecuador, but it's questionable. But overall it is a good blend!
Starting with the Ecuador, I can pick out the kind of sweet pungency and some roast, and a little bit of chocolate. Going over to the Nicaragua, it's darkly pungentt, earthy, bitter, and quite a bit stronger, and going back to the Ecuador, that sweet "ting" really comes out and most of the roast is gone. It's amazing how the flavors can change based on what is paired up. I pretty strongly prefer the Ecuador in this pairing.
I blended the last little bit of each one, and I think this may be the first one I've had where the blend isn't dominated by the Nicaragua. I can pick it out, but I can also pick out a little bit of the sweetness of the Ecuador. It's ok, but Nicaragua almost clashes with the Ecuador a bit.
These two side by side are really good together. The Crio Bru version of Ecuador French isn't as over-the-top roasty as the Choffy counterparts, so both the Venezuela and the Ecuador come across as fairly chocolatey. The Ecuador, not being so dark, the flavor that comes out as "pungent" in Choffy almost comes out as more sweet here. It's that flavor that I have described elsewhere as "sharp", but this lacks the edge that makes it sharp. It's not quite spicy, but... Oh, I figured out what it reminds me of! Cinnamon! Yup, that's it. It's has that flavor that comes across as sweet, and a little sharp or strong or spicy, but without the actual spice. In comparison, the Venezuela is "quieter". It doesn't have anything extra going on, and it's just, well, smooth and chocolatey and lightly bitter. Next to the Ecuador it's also a tiny bit earthy or grainy. It's really hard to pick a favorite between these two, which I'm a bit surprised about. I think I'm going to have to call this one a tie!
I blended the last quarter of each cup just because I'm curious how that will be. The Ecuador, for sure, gets completely lost. No roast, no pungency or "sweet cinnamon" flavor. It's all gone. Likewise, I'm not picking up the earthy flavor from the Venezuela. It's chocolatey, but that's about it. Like with the other blends I've done, it's good, but it just has nothing that stands out about it. But I could see that maybe that could be part of the appeal if you don't like any of the origins on their own.
I was kind of considering this one the battle of the "hot chocolates" because of how I felt they both had a more chocolatey flavor than some of the other roasts.
I think in terms of the chocolate flavor, the Ecuador French actually wins out. I mentioned in another side-by-side that the Uber Dark seems to have a little of the same pungency, and I'm really thinking that there may be some Ecuador origin in the Uber Dark because that pungent flavor is kind of getting lost between the two as I go back and forth. In the end, the roast level comes out as the stronger flavor for the Uber Dark, while the Ecuador roast has more of a pure chocolate flavor. I really like the Uber Dark, but the Ecuador wins out in this case.
Since both the Uber Dark and the Ecuador French are now from new batches and the flavors have changed, I needed to do a rematch. Also, I'm fairly sure that I did the above test without any vanilla almond milk because I'm pretty sure that I would have mentioned it. Considering how Uber Dark has now gotten really dark and, to me, pretty much requires that I add the almond milk to enjoy it.
The aroma of the Uber Dark is just very roasty, while the Ecuador actually has quite a bit of chocolate to it. The same holds true in tasting them side by side. Uber Dark is pretty much all roast, but the Ecuador comes across as almost sweet chocolate in comparison. I'm actually a little surprised given the differences I noticed between the old and new batches of the Ecuador. That means the old batch really must be very chocolatey in comparison. Under this circumstance, I could drink the Ecuador black and be happy with it, so it's a pretty clear winner.
I was going to add vanilla almond milk to the Uber Dark only and compare again, but my hand got ahead of my brain and I put just a tiny bit in the Ecuador. Even that tiny bit made a difference in the flavor of the Ecuador. Feh. Anyway, the almond milk in the Uber Dark is pretty decent. It's kind of starting to remind me of Anakin like this. It definitely has a more pungent and roasty flavor, but there's something about it that is starting to get that sweet toasted marshmallow flavor, but it's not really the same. I think this is where the blend of the origins used is coming out more over the roast. Even with the only that tiny bit of almond milk that got added to the Ecuador, having more of just a pure chocolate flavor, I still like it more.
Adding more of the regular amount of vanilla almond milk to the Ecuador, I'm finding that it's easy to wash out the flavor if I'm not careful. It's still more "pure chocolate" in comparison to the Uber Dark, but it's muddy and indistinct. But even then, I still like it more than the Uber Dark.
I still have the Uber Dark vs Anakin rematch to do, but after that, I'm not sure how I'm going to approach future comparisons with it. If I really don't like it black anymore, adding almond milk to it isn't necessarily going to be a fair comparison unless I add it to whatever I'm comparing it to as well. But I don't really want to do that. I have a feeling that Uber Dark is going to be my new "bottom of the barrel" roast that I'm pretty sure everything else will win out against, but I hate that being the case because I know about it's potential when it's not so roasty. But then again, it is called "Uber Dark" for a reason. I guess I should consider this to be its true form and go from there.
Starting off with the Ecuador, it has that familiar sweet and pungent "ting" to it. There's a little bit of roast in the flavor, but not much overall. The level of sweetness in the Ecuador is matched (contrasted?) by the level of bitterness in the Ocumare. It's weird, because at first it almost makes it taste more roasted than the Ecuador. Even going back to the Ecuador after the Ocumare, its flavors aren't really changed as a result of being next to the Ocumare. The Ocumare may have just a slight bit more of a "traditional" dark chocolate flavor to it, but my preference is for the Ecuador, for sure.
The Mexico is starting off just a little on the bitter side this time, but has a good amount of a dark chocolate flavor and only a little bit of tartness. If I were just drinking it on its own this morning, it wouldn't be too bad. The Ecuador, though! That sweetness, and the chocolaty flavor. Wow, next to the Mexico, they're so strong! It also makes the Mexico a bit more tart than it was before. The Ecuador completely blows the Mexico out of the water.
Adding vanilla almond milk only to the Mexico first, it gets that super milk chocolaty flavor, and most of the bitterness and tartness are gone. It's so good like this. Comparing it against the black Ecuador, they're just so different. The rich chocolate of the Mexico and the lighter sweetness of the Ecuador... Mmm. I wish I knew how to describe that flavor better. Would someone else call it more of a licorice flavor? It's a strong flavor, but tough to describe. And in spite of them being so different, the race of preference is so close. I really love them both right now, but I think that the more chocolaty flavor of the Mexico is just barely eeking out a win.
Adding a splash of almond milk to the Ecuador, I'm realizing now that there was also a little bit of a smoky flavor in there before, but only because I notice it missing now. Now it's mostly just that sweetness. It's not that chocolaty, though, which is funny because I had gotten a big bag of it quite some time ago because I had considered it to be the most like hot chocolate when adding almond milk at the time. I don't feel that way anymore, for sure. But here, the flavors are still really different from one another, but honestly, not all that much different from a moment ago before I had added the almond milk to the Ecuador. But the race is much closer now. I think I would have to call it a tie.
Sometimes comparisons bring out the worst from each roast, but this is one of the times where I think they boost each other. I wonder what a 50/50 blend would be like.
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 bit 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.
These should be exactly the same, but are they? No. No, they are not. There is a surprisingly big difference. It all started with taking a whiff of the dry grounds. I could tell right away that the Crio Bru grounds put off a milder and more chocolatey smell. When tasting, the Choffy has that normal strong pungent flavor, but Crio Bru is more chocolatey and less pungent, smoother and milder! The Crio Bru is also slightly lighter in color, both in the dry grounds and in the final brew.
After getting about halfway though each cup, I decided to add a bit of vanilla almond milk. It tames the pungency of Choffy and brings out the chocolate, but still has that coffee-like flavor. But the Crio Bru almost hits "hot chocolate" in flavor! Even more than the Uber Dark did in a previous test.
I definitely like the Crio Bru version of Ecuador French roast more, although it doesn't mean I dislike Choffy. It's going to be interesting to test the Crio Bru version against other things.
I'm doing a rematch on these two because of the changes I noticed with the new batch of Crio Bru being more pungent and closer to the Choffy versions than before.
Most of what I said in the first comparison still holds true. These are not at all the same, and the strong pungency and roast of the Choffy is not to be found in the Crio Bru version. The Crio Bru is quite a bit milder, smoother, and like I noted with the comparison to Choffy Ecuador Dark, it really comes across with a grainy quality not found in the Choffy. The Choffy is, I think, much closer to coffee than the Crio Bru. They're both good, but side by side I prefer the Crio Bru over the Choffy, so that hasn't changed.
For the last half of each cup, I decided to blend them just to see what that's like. It's interesting. The grainy quality of the Crio Bru and the strong pungent quality of the Choffy seem to cancel each other out, which I wouldn't have expected at all. I figured the stronger flavors of the Choffy would have won out, but in the end, I have something where I can pick up on the grainy aroma, but it seems to be missing in the actual flavor. Weird. What I'm left with is a little roasted and somewhat chocolatey. It's not bad at all, but it's really weird to me to not be able to identify this as an Ecuador roast after drinking the separate versions. It's truly bizarre. I may want to consider blending the dry grounds in the french press before adding the water and see if it does the same thing.
The Ivory Coast is coming in strong this time, and the aroma is quite earthy. The flavor is both grainy and earthy, but unsurprisingly I'm not really picking up much chocolate. The Ecuador is smoky, pungent, and a little chocolatey, and also seems quite strong this time. (So I wonder if my senses are just extra sensitive today) Other than the strength of everything, there are no surprises here. I like the mildness of the Ivory Coast, but I also like the sweet pungency of the Ecuador. Even though the flavors are so different, the race is really close, but I think I'd have to go with the Ecuador for this one.
I blended the last few sips of each one, and this is one of those where all the flavors snap to the middle and there's nothing that stands out about it. It's ok, but there's nothing great about it.
I felt like there's a grainy quality I've been having with the Ecuador French, and I wanted to see how it compares against Ivory Coast. I opted for the Dark roast because I think the roast level matches more.
I have to say that these two are surprisingly similar. I think the roast level is spot on, which is making me think more that Crio Bru's roasts are lighter compared to their Choffy counterparts. The Ivory Coast definitely has that earthiness to it, but the pungency that I've come to expect with the Ecuador roasts is hardly found at all here. I can pick it up if I really try, and it's in the smell more than the flavor, but the grainy and earthy qualities seem to be coming out more to pair up with the Ivory Coast.
Between the two, I like the Ecuador French roast just a tiny bit more. It's the stronger chocolatey flavor that comes out due to the slight pungency that does it for me.
This needed a rematch because of the changes in the new batch of the Ecuador French.
That grainy quality I thought was in the Ecuador roast originally is nowhere to be found in this new batch. Now it just seems to be a basic Ivory Coast vs Ecuador comparison. The Ivory Coast Dark is pretty mild, a little chocolatey, and has that grainy and earthy flavor that lingers about. The Ecuador is stronger and sharper, but it doesn't seem to have that much darker of a roast to it, so they're still close in that respect. The chocolate flavor in the Ecuador seems to be closer to dark chocolate than the Ivory Coast.
Since it's the weekend, I added vanilla almond milk to both. For the Ivory Coast, it strengthens both the grainy and chocolate flavors, with the grainy flavor getting particularly strong. That was interesting, but it's pretty decent. The Ecuador, on the other hand, gets that "closer to hot chocolate" flavor. I think it has to do with what I said earlier about the quality of the Ecuador's chocolate flavor seeming to be more like dark chocolate.
It's still a close race between the two, but I think I still prefer the Ecuador over the Ivory Coast, regardless of the addition of the almond milk.
True to the description, the Ivory Coast is both earthy and smoky. The Ecuador is smoky and sweetly pungent. They're both a little chocolatey, but in different ways. They're both really good, but I think I prefer the Ecuador over the Ivory Coast.
I blended the last little bit of each, and the result is unremarkable. The aroma has both the sweet pungency and the earthiness, but the flavor seems to have neither. It's kind of chocolatey, a little smoky, but kind of bitter. Not one of my favorites.
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 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!
Starting with the Volta, it's chocolatey, mild, and a little earthy. The Ecuador has the normal pungency and "tang", but being the french roast, it also has a good bit of roast to it. But it's not the same as the darker roasts from Choffy. Those are more harsh, whereas this mingles quite well with the Ecuador flavor creating a nice chocolatey treat. I like both of these quite a bit, but when I think about drinking them both long term, something about the flavors side-by-side like this while drinking them black that makes me almost want to say it's a tie. I know I prefer the Ecuador with a little bit of vanilla almond milk in it to really bring out that chocolatey flavor, and that would win over the Volta, both with and without the almond milk. But like this... Hmmm.... this is really tough. It's SO close, but I think drinking them black, I actually like the Volta just the tiniest bit more than the Ecuador!
I tried something different this time, and instead of brewing a full mug of each, I did half a mug. That means only one scoop of each, but also only half the amount of water for each. I'm not sure if it's my imagination or if it's something I'm really experiencing, but both of them seem very weak. In my mind, they shouldn't be because I halved everything in terms of volume, but I still kept the brewing time the same. I wonder if the quicker cooling of the water turned into less extraction. All that being said, I may do this one a second time with full mugs to see if there's a difference.
The flavors of these two are very subtle this time around. I started with the Ecuador, but it has a very light aroma and flavor compared to what I was expecting. It has a little bit of that pungency, a little bit of that "not quite spicy sweetness", and a little bit of roast to it. The Volta is definitely more on the earth side, but the roast level seems to match very closely with what's in the Ecuador. That could be one reason why these two seemed so similar at first. As far as a preference, it's really close. Both of these are good, but I think I'm going with the Ecuador.
Also, for what it's worth, by the end of the comparison, both seemed to be at full flavor. Maybe it was just the taste buds waking up first thing in the morning, which has happened a couple of times. I'm a little sad that there wasn't enough to do any blending, though, so maybe I can blend another time.
Starting with the Ecuador, the first thing I will say is that this is miles away from the Choffy version. It's sweet and chocolatey and not nose-crinklingly roasty or pungent. Next to it, the Volta is very smoky, almost ashy. Going back to the Ecuador, there's no real change in the aroma or flavor due to the Volta, so there's not a lot to say here. Ecuador wins, hands down.
Blending the last third of each cup, the result is just kind of "meh", especially compared to the Ecuador that went into it. It's a little roasty from the Volta, but the chocolatey flavor is mostly gone, and it just doesn't taste like much. Booooo.
This is another I'm surprised I haven't done. I figured this is one I would have hit a long time ago. Anywho...
The Ecuador started out a little on the bitter side and not very chocolatey. Maybe the aroma of Anakin was messing with me already. Trying Anakin, it is roasty as usual and not very chocolatey. Going back to the Ecuador, it wasn't as bitter and it's a little sweeter and it's a little easier to drink black, but still not quite what I expected it to be. Drinking them black, I like the Ecuador more.
Adding vanilla almond milk to Anakin, it gets the usually toasty marshmallow flavor, and comparing it with the black Ecuador, the Ecuador finally comes out as more chocolatey. But the amount of toasty flavor in the Anakin is just perfect and I like it more than the Ecuador here.
Adding almond milk to the Ecuador, it just feels weaker in this comparison because the Anakin is still just quite strong comparatively. The chocolate flavor comes out a little more in the Ecuador, but otherwise it's just... yeah, weaker, and Anakin wins again.
The Shadow's Silhouette is starting off a bit on the tart side this time, but it's still decently chocolatey and has a little bit of that brownie flavor. The aroma and flavor the Ecuador, on the other hand, has that slightly sharp sweetness to it, but mostly lacks the chocolatey notes. Going back to the Shadow's Silhouette, the tartness is stronger, and there's now a bit of a fermented flavor coming out. The Ecuador is the winner here by quite a bit.
With vanilla almond milk in both, the Shadow's Silhouette is now pure chocolate. The Ecuador is more chocolatey, but nowhere near the Shadow's Silhouette. There's still just the hint of the sweetness I noted above, but it's definitely less now. It's mostly in the aroma, actually, while the flavor is more chocolatey. It's really good. Going back to the Shadow's Silhouette again, even though it's very chocolatey, the Ecuador once again brings out a little of the tartness a hint of fermentation. If I space these out a bit, Shadow's Silhouette is still the winner, but drinking them close together, the narrows that gap due to the way Ecuador changes the flavor of Shadow's Silhouette. It's a really close race, but I think I have to give it to the Shadow's Silhouette by a hair.