Extracto Coffee’s Eleven of Spades

For the month of October I will be reviewing Extracto Coffee’s Eleven of Spades. I really like this coffee and would like to try some of their other varieties.

According to their website:

Our espresso blend is exactly right for all brewing methods.  Silky Smooth chocolate throughout, sweet dark fruit tones and a lingering German chocolate finish.

There is no origin noted for this variety, but I’d say it’s either South American or a blend. I know it says chocolate, but I don’t get a chocolate taste from this coffee–at least not anymore than every coffee is reminiscent of chocolate.

The packaging was simple. It was a sealed brown paper bag that came with a binder clip to keep it closed. Brilliant! The art looks hand stamped, but I’m not sure that it is.

I first brewed this coffee in the Chemex. I was a bit worried at first because the beans and the bloom smelled burnt. It bloomed well, about a quarter of an inch. Also to note–the burnt smell has gone away the longer the bag has been open.

The brewed coffee smells wonderful. It smells like a feed store. Just hear me out on this one! If you frequent feed stores you should be familiar with the semi sweet grain and molasses smell. I like that smell.

The coffee took cream very well, had no bitterness, but did have some acidity. Overall it is quite enjoyable.

I also brewed this coffee in the French Press. The result was almost completely different.

The resulting coffee had what looked like crema on top. I know it wasn’t, but it looked nice. It still had the molasses smell, but the taste was different. Every time I’d take a drink I’d think, “This tastes like soy sauce.” Not salty though. The taste we associate with soy sauce is called umami. I googled whether coffee can have umami and it can! I enjoyed the French Press brew more for this variety of coffee.

If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area you can visit one of Extracto Coffee’s cafés. If you’re not, they have mail-order coffee that is reasonably priced and shipped quickly from the time it is roasted. If you’re looking for a new coffee I’d definitely recommend this one!