Bold and deep.

Okay, okay: I'm officially back to bag of beans! Yay! After a couple of months downing mediocre coffee (sorry not sorry lol) I feel like I should probably go back to yummy, multi-dimensional coffee. While browsing for coffee beans in Shopee, I actually didn't have anything in mind. I wanted to try something different but still reasonably priced and after a few searching and scrolling, I finally settled on a bag of beans from Rations Coffee Supplies.

 Rations CS offers seven kinds of coffee bags and I opted for their Italian Espresso beans. Though I don't know much about the flavor profile of an Italian espresso, it's described as having a smoky, almost burnt taste to it. Apparently the Italian Espresso beans is one of Rations' bestsellers alongside their Arabica blend so that's also one factor why I ultimately got it. I wanted to somewhat have an idea what an Italian Espresso tastes like. 

I think it's only apt that I use my beloved Moka pot to try this beans. Before I describe the taste, I just want to briefly touch up on the beans. Visually, the beans look evenly roasted. I didn't find any burnt ones in my bag and they also don't look overly roasted (or toasted lol). But I think what stood out to me is that the beans are actually so easy to grind. Some of the beans I've had before were pretty hard and takes a while to get to the grind level I want but these beans ground so easily and got me to a grind that's in between a medium and a fine, slightly leaning more to a fine. Pretty much perfect for my Moka pot!

The espresso I got from my Moka pot was quite intense in flavor- it was deep, almost burnt but not really, and quite rich. This kind of flavor profile is actually right up my alley. However, it also had an acidic taste to it. And you know me, if my coffee's sour, I dump milk and sugar in it. So that's what I did. I poured some milk, added a bit of muscovado sugar, topped it off with some more hot water, and OMG that created such a nice cup of coffee. I think what I like about this coffee is that even though I added more things to it, its taste didn't dilute that much. I can still taste its deep rich flavor, sans the acidity. I really thought it'd end up tasting like milky coffee but what I had was coffee enhanced by milk. In this form, I really love it.

I also had it in cold brew form and it was so also really good! It had a bold taste to it without the acidity and I can say that I can take this coffee in this form just black and iced. Even though I had mine with milk (as usual) the coffee taste is still there, just complemented nicely with my milk. Yum!

You know what? I like this. I can't say for certain that this is legit an Italian Espresso taste but the flavor I was able to taste is pretty good. I mean, it's not perfect since it has acidity to it, but it's definitely leagues better than some I've tried before. A 250g bag of beans of the Italian Espresso costs Php180 but I got it for less during a sale day in Shopee so it's a good buy with or without discount. I do recommend this to those who like putting milk and sugar on their coffees because its taste doesn't dilute easily. Daaaamn, this would make such a great iced latte too! Gotta try that next time (when I'm not busy making batches of cold brew lol).