Sweet Shop Espresso From Square Mile Coffee Roasters Review




  • I don’t make very much espresso so when it comes to espresso blends I tend to avoid them, but when Square Mile Coffee Roasters announced a limited edition espresso blend called Sweet Shop, I just had to find out more.

    Sweet Shop is

    1 part Kangocho AA (Kenya)

    1 part Tegu AA (Kenya)

    1 part Yirgacheffe (Ethiopia)

    And has notes of:

    Refreshers, pear drops, cola cubes, blackcurrant fruitella, cherry lips and sherbert lemons. This is an intensely fruity espresso blend, very sweet and with a balanced and pleasing acidity.

    Sweet Shop was a limited run that was roasted on August 31st for one day only. If you were able to grab some of this, you are very lucky.

    I couldn’t wait to brew this in the French Press and to make some espresso shots as well.

    First up, the french press carried a quite mellow aroma. I did notice hints of sweet berries, and a sweetness. It smells like there is a hint of chocolate. The berry note smells more like a berry jam, but I cannot for the life of me figure what it reminds me of.

    In the first sip, the coffee carries some decent acidity. I notice more berry notes that I detected in the aroma. Again, I still can’t pinpoint what it is exactly. The coffee has a dry finish with dried fruit like notes as well as a sweetness.

    Next, I made some espresso shots.

    I do not know what “good” espresso tastes like so I can only go by what my taste buds think. So far, every espresso shot I’ve made using my Presso has tasted over extracted and very bitter. Using the Presso takes time to figure out the right amount of beans, and water. It’s a learning curve.

    I ended up with 20 grams of beans. After grinding, I packed the grinds into the portafilter. I added the water, waited a few seconds, and began to press the levers down on the Presso and watched as it dribbled through the portafilter.

    When it was done, I gulped it downed. I was surprised by the results. An intense fruitiness hit my tongue, and the acidity was like a rocketship. Better yet, it was like a fruit bomb in my mouth. The term “intense” may have been an understatement. I was very impressed with how great the shot tasted that I had to make another. Again, wow.

    I saw a tweet from @TimStyles that really summed up the espresso shots. He said:

    @JimSeven just nearly choked. To death. On a shot of Sweet Shop…. “The Delicious Killer”. Now he’s talking funny.

    Sweet Shop is really a “Delicious Killer.”

    Overall, this coffee was very good in the french press, but the espresso shots shined more.

    I’d give this coffee a very solid 4 out of 5 cups.



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    September 18th, 2010 | Jamie | 4 Comments | Tags: , , ,

About The Author

Jamie Ferguson

From sunny Sarasota Florida, Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since a very young age. Jamie is just your average jane who has a serious addiction to coffee, but more so has a bigger love for the heart, and the dedication that is put into growing, processing and roasting coffee. Come and join the adventures...

  • http://www.dailyshotofcoffee.com Mike @DailyShotOfCoffee

    Sounds like a winning combo of coffees. Hopefully they do it again sometime in the future.

    • Jamie

      I saw that last year they had another espresso that they did. It looks like every year is a new one.

  • http://coffeeforums.co.uk Glenn

    This was indeed a lovely coffee

    Only 1 roast of this blend (31 August 2010)

    I got lots of tangerine and blackberry from this coffee. Some red fruit action too.

    Last year there was ‘Juice’ – roasted on 01 September 2009

    The review is here
    http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?1362-Review-Juice-from-SquareMile-Coffee-Roasters&highlight=juice

    • Jamie

      Thanks Glenn. I was wondering what the Juice one was like. I am sad I missed it, but look forward to seeing what they bring out next year.