The holiday season brought three Verve coffees, including their seasonal blend. Mixed results, but one clear winner.
San Juan
Verve Coffee · Peru · Light Roast · ★★★☆☆
December 7, 2024
| Brew Method | Grind Setting |
|---|---|
| Espresso | #4 |
| Pour Over | #18-19 (22g dose) |
Single origin. A sweet morning treat. Roast level 2-4.
Peach, lemonbar & fudge. I like this coffee a lot. Katie loves it. Normally would dismiss this as too lemon but it's a total banger.
Can really taste the fudge. A dark chocolaty taste makes for my type of bold coffee for winter.
Three stars, but honestly could have been four. The fudge notes were exactly what I wanted for cold December mornings.
Holiday Blend
Verve · ★★★★☆
December 23, 2024
| Brew Method | Grind Setting |
|---|---|
| Espresso | #5 |
| Pour Over | #20ish |
Primarily drank this as an espresso drink. Makes for really great egg nog latte. Grind size row but consistent.
Makes for a strong/bold pour over and pours fast. Could pour slower or grind finer.
Four stars. Holiday blends can be gimmicky, but this one delivered. Perfect for seasonal lattes.
Esperanza
Verve · Costa Rica · ★★☆☆☆
December 29, 2024
| Brew Method | Grind Setting |
|---|---|
| Espresso | #11 |
Light roast. Rich & caramely. Raisin, candied hazelnut, milk chocolate.
Testing this on Christmas Eve morning. The first espresso pull did nothing—60+ seconds! At 5, went up to 10 with a 19 grind and still pulled at 33 sec.
Next pull was 18g at 11 grind. That came out at 17 seconds?! Weird results on this. Milk steamed too hot to accurately describe the taste. Will update next time.
Two stars. The grind settings made no sense to me. Either my machine was acting up or this roast just didn't want to cooperate. Frustrating way to end the year.
Next up: January 2025—Bella Vista redeems the new year.