Espresso battle 2013 - Gimme Coffee Ann Arbor Leftist Blend vs. Intelligentsia Black Cat Analog Blend

Its been a while since my last post on coffee and espresso but Intelligentsia came out with a new roast called Analog and I decided to go head to head with a staple, Gimme Coffee's Leftist blend from Ithaca, NY. Both are the new smaller 12oz size that seems to have replaced the 16oz bag of the past. Everyone isn't following this because I got some Metropolis Red Line that was still in 1lb bags :) Here are the beans both are very light roasts vs. Starbucks control, Leftist blend is even lighter than Analog Black Cat.

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http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/product/coffee/analog-espresso/hb
http://gimme-coffee.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/leftist-espresso-blend
 Thoughts on Flavor and shot pulls Both Leftist and Analog are light roasts and as such have a strong fruit note and a lot of bitter front if not pulled at the right temp. I was steady at 95C, and the blends got better on the second shot as Brewtus always does, however, either blend never attained the smooth choco nutty flavor of the original Black cat, or Starbucks for that matter. Maybe 96C is in order for these. Also, since I had these only one day after roasting, there was way too much crema and the grind was ultra coarse not to mention the light tamp needed. The pulls were god like, globs of caramel and brown blurbing in a sinuous symmetrical line out of each side of the portafilter. If this was a bottomless filter i'd have seen brown mixing with light golden tones until it finally got blond and uniform at the end. Both were colored in a similar manner. Analog had a woody start and a nice dry red wine finish, Leftist a much more tart fruit start and finish with not much between them. I recommend both, however the packaging and smells coming from the intelligentsia blend had everyone who saw both (and another bag of Metropolis I kept out of the competition) thinking the black cat was from the coffee roasting heavens. Rich said the cat was just too strong for him. Steve and I agreed both were great but the fruit of the Leftist was better than the wine finish of the Analog.... that could all change with the correct extracting temp of the E61 head. 96C may be in order, possibly 97C? let me know. Jeff.

Zune card.. I love Zune

Lighthouse Roasters Espresso (Roasters Blend), the new champ!

Thanks Dr. Evil! your the man.. you cared enough to send this out from Seattle.





Much like a super fresh version of Starbucks, slightly lighter roast. Perfect blend of smooth and spice, no mushroom fungi aftertaste. Simply, perfect. IF I had to say it, this one finally beats Starbucks on taste.

BBQ Showdown Results

Grum's Kobe Flank Steak
Check McPork Butt
Corey's Rib
Wade's Korean Beef Flank Steak








The cook off was astounding. The competition was tough. Take a look at the food.

Winner: Grum - flank (kobe)
Second: Corey - rib
Third: Wade - Korea beef - flank
Last: Check - Pork Butt

Lesson learned, if you are competing do not host. My butt needed 12hrs and only got six at a higher than desired 275F.. :(

Corey's ribs were finally the holy grail he's been trying for.

Wade's beef was a huge surprise, the dark horse

Grum's presentation and professionalism gave us something to behold; and the Kobe flank was great.

All star BBQ showdown

The first ever Dearborn All Star BBQ showdown will take place at Dan's this Saturday (8/19/06).

Grum - Kobe flank
Jeff - Pork But
Corey - Shrimp on Barbie
Wade - Korean Beef

Should be a blast, look for updates and pics after Saturday.

Gimme Coffee Leftist Blend

What can i say, its the most Starbucks like blend I've ever tried. Its like *$ light roast. Very similar in behaviour, down to the thin red extration flows and the balanced, highly drinkable taste.

not as exotic as the others (or even starbucks) but a lighter roast version with mellow notes may be the most drinkable espresso i've ever had.

Adrian and Corey (two frends of mine) have tried every blend in this challenege, both agree Gimme Leftist blend has the best drinkability factor.

Stumptown Roasters.. yummy.

Wow, this is as close to Starbuks i've found so far. Its a lot fresher, and a lighter roast but it clearly beats out all others i've tried so far. its black cat like but w/o the spice. just an even keel pull. I'll update again when i pull a nice ristretto tomorrow morning.

Its the most expensive coffee i've ever purchased! $20 bucks shipped to my house in Michigan, all the way from Portland. Still, its $13.50 / lb and that's three bucks more than the others.

Its missing that 'Malabar' musroom musty taste i found in Dolce and to a lesser extent Paradise.. I'm not to into that.

Paradise Roasters - very very very good

I can't seem to get the updates done with the numerical rating system so its done.

The next challenger for Starbucks was Paradise Roasters - what a surprise.

Everyone loved it - i mean loved it. I even loved it.

Its got a slight bit of Malabar - just enough according to most (too much IMO).

Very drinkable, almost equalled the flavor of starbucks on straight shots - can't relly tell if its better for milk drinks or not, Vita sure did kill for milk drinks.

On to Stumptown Hairbender - is it me or is $14 for a pound of beans a bit much?