A busy month: two forgettable coffees, one Portland favorite, and a cold brew revelation.
Huckleberry + Never Coffee
Blue Orchid & Boomerang · ★★☆☆☆
July 15, 2025
These are two forgettable coffees for me. Both are so similar I'm putting them together in a single entry. I've never been able to get a Huck roast to grind right. The beans are bigger than normal.
This Blue Orchid has good Reddit recommendations. But they are too dark—too over-roasted for me. Not even going to spend much time reviewing. Both roasters are excellent and highly regarded. But for me, just too dark. Glad so many other people like it. Going to go back to the board to find other roasts for my line up.
Two stars. Sometimes a coffee just isn't for you, even when everyone else loves it.
West End Blues
Tandem Roasters · Portland, Maine · ★★☆☆☆
July 31, 2025
| Brew Method | Grind Setting |
|---|---|
| Espresso | #9-8 |
Traditional Espresso - Original based on Seven. Blueberry hill, sugarfoot stomp, Herbie Srebles.
Great espresso. Comes out bold and smooth. Maybe a little too much. There are some fruit notes and don't love. This is my second bag, the first I absolutely loved.
Switched to primarily espresso recently. Feeling like milk has been leaving me feel bloated. I miss cortados but figuring out eating is top priority.
Drinking this after two weeks after the roast date. Roaster once told me this was the sweet spot.
Refactored the machine for a new grind size. Setting 9 returns at 30 sec. Dropping to 8 extended pull to 37 sec.
Two stars. The first bag was great; this one missed the mark. Could be the roast date, could be my palate changing. Either way, not reordering.
El Casino ⭐
Sey Coffee · NYC · Pink Bourbon, Colombia · ★★★★☆
July 31, 2025
| Brew Method | Grind Setting |
|---|---|
| Cold Brew | Max coarse (Baratza Encore) |
Red fruit, lemon zest, fresh blueberry.
Highest grind on my Baratza Encore. Proper 5oz into 32oz jar of water. Let sit for 16 hours.
Absolute banger of a cold brew. Sey does a lot of fruity coffees for me, they make really good cold brew. Not getting the lemon taste, but definitely the blueberry.
Wonder if my taste buds will evolve? Or have they diminished with time? Stopped cutting the concentrate as it was taking the taste away and found I really like the taste of full power—though my body can't handle all that power.
Adding ice also helps tone down the caffeine power. But I could drink this coffee all day. Another problem? With at-home cold brew is we cook a whole bag in a couple days.
Four stars, but honestly could be five. The best cold brew of the year so far. Sey knows what they're doing.
Next up: September 2025—the worst cortado of 2025 and a dark roast that surprised me.