Verve Espresso Review

Awhile back I promised you that I would let you know how the Verve espresso turned out on my Rancilio machine at home. I was really impressed with this espresso in the Verve shop in Santa Cruz, CA. It was fantastic, and I even dreamed about it and woke up the next morning and all I could think of was how much I wanted to buy the 6 month (subscription?) for it.

So I bit the bullet and paid the whopping $20 for a pound to try it at home before making any major commitments.

And the results?! . . . . Definitely less than steller at home. It was missing the wow factor and the flavor was a little flat. Don't get me wrong, it was still a pretty solid tasting espresso, but not nearly as delicious as other espressos have been in my Rancilio (my favorite home espresso is still "World's Best Espresso" from Klatch). Over the course of the next week or two, the flavor suffered even more. I've come to the conclusion that fancy espressos are much more temperamental and their flavors change quicker than mid-level espressos.

Final thoughts: Go try Verve in their official store, it's awesome. But don't waste the money on it at home unless you've got money to burn, or want to drink the entire pound in a day.

It's Been Awhile . . .

Sorry readers . . . life has been crazy busy lately and the fun things like blogging are the first that get left behind. So I'm going to quickly catch up on a few posts.

Here's the first. I haven't shown you any of my recent latte art, so here's one of the better ones from this week.

Improving . . .

Here's a few of my recent coffee drinks. I think my latte art is getting better! At least it's beginning to be more consistent. I should probably start adding some other designs to my repertoire though. You don't want to see a hundred pictures of leaves from me. Anyone know how to make anything else?

Cinnamon Honey Cappuccino

Today this home barista tried something new. This was my version of a cappuccino made with cinnamon and honey. The honey was placed in the bottom of the cup so that the espresso melted it. And the cinnamon was just on top . . . then I gave it all a little stir to get the nice swirly pattern. I think this one's a keeper!

Ikea Cappuccino Cups

It's been a little over a month since I got my espresso machine and I finally got a set of cappuccino mugs so I could work on my latte art at home. I found these great plain 9 oz ceramic cups at Ikea for $4 for a cup and saucer set. Here's a picture of my first attempt at latte art with my own machine and cups. Soy milk, D'arte espresso and an Ikea mug . . . what a good combo.