I attended the inaugural Dallas Coffee Festival earlier this month and had a good time exploring the booths of many local roasters, about half of which I’d not yet heard of. Novel Coffee Roasters is a Dallas-area roaster I’ve enjoyed many times, and I was intrigued to see they were sharing their booth with a company I wasn’t familiar with, Cherry Coffee Co. The way things were set up, the two roasters were alternating samples; every hour would feature a different roaster. While I was there, Novel was being brewed, and as I couldn’t stay too much longer, I took a chance and bought bags from Cherry without tasting a sample first. I like the retro design!
Once I got home and did a little digging online, I discovered why Novel and Cherry were sharing a space (unlike all the other roasters). Founded by Katherine Morris in 2021, Cherry Coffee Co. acquired Novel Coffee Roasters in 2023. It made me happy to find out that Cherry Coffee Co. is a woman-owned brand – more women in specialty coffee, please!! 🙂
I don’t own an espresso machine anymore since I opted to rehome it, but I had a hunch that these beans would be delicious brewed in all kinds of ways.
Whole bean: As I’d expect from a good espresso blend, these beans were beautifully and evenly roasted, and not oily. The aroma was sweet and creamy, like hot chocolate.
French press: Smooth, plush notes of milk chocolate and marshmallow. Super creamy and decadent!
Clever Dripper: Very nice sweetness – this was a lot like the French press cup but with a lighter body and darker color.
Hario V60: If the immersion methods made the coffee taste like milk chocolate, this was a lot more like an 85% dark chocolate. A bit more complex and bold on the tongue.
Chemex: Less sweetness and more bite in this cup. Still, this is a satisfying cup and something I’d happily serve to anyone who likes medium to medium-dark roasts and wants an elevated coffee bean experience.
Espresso: I went and visited my friend Nathan (the new owner of my old espresso machine) and he pulled me two shots from this bag; he somehow managed to dial in the shot on the first try! The espresso shot was deliciously syrupy and sweet with a long, lingering finish. The cappuccino was a total pleasure to drink and it was gone much too quickly. The next time I’m in Fort Worth, I definitely want to visit Cherry’s cafe to try a milk drink there if these are the house beans!
Summary: These beans might be designed for espresso (and they are outstanding made as such), but they are also excellent brewed as filter coffee. My personal favorite was the French press cup because of its outrageous sweetness and creamy mouthfeel, but if you are a fan of dark chocolate, the pourover methods bring that flavor out. Highly recommended for anyone that appreciates a beautiful medium roast!
From the roaster: chocolate covered caramel, grapefruit, creamy
Cherry Coffee Co. Hang Around Espresso Blend
Review conducted 15 days post-roast.