{"id":2474,"date":"2017-01-22T13:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-01-22T19:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2474"},"modified":"2017-01-20T23:17:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T05:17:20","slug":"review-ritual-coffee-roasters-day-drinker-seasonal-espresso-san-francisco-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2474","title":{"rendered":"Review: Ritual Coffee Roasters Day Drinker Seasonal Espresso (San Francisco, California)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had my first experience with Ritual Coffee Roasters<\/a> while visiting Cognoscenti Coffee in the Los Angeles area, and I was really impressed with the quality of the beans and the flavor that I received in that cup (chocolate, plum, spice). However, I have yet to order online directly from Ritual because 1) their coffee is on the pricey side and 2) their shipping is also on the pricey side. I’m not averse to paying a premium for great-quality beans, but with so many great roasters out there (many of whom offer free or significantly lower shipping costs), ordering from Ritual had fallen lower on the priority list. No roasters local to me carry Ritual, but while in Scottsdale, Arizona, I happened to walk into Maverick Coffee<\/a> and they were carrying Ritual’s Day Drinker seasonal espresso. When I asked about buying beans, they kindly broke open a 5 lb bag of this stuff and put it into an unmarked 12 oz bag for me. We had a nice chat about brewing methods and tasting notes. I think the staff was kidding, but thanks for the job offer…! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Here’s the espresso I was served in their shop. It took me a little longer than I would have liked to get the photo taken, so you can see that the crema on the espresso is starting to dissipate. Still tasted lovely, like milk chocolate and oranges with a slightly spicy bite to it. I couldn’t wait to experiment more with it at home, as I had a hunch that there would be even more flavors awaiting me. I was right.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whole bean: Fresh and sweet. I was reminded of the smell of clean laundry. Dryer sheets. Sunshine. Odd but pleasant scent for a coffee!<\/p>\n

Espresso: Lots of brightness to this blend at lower temperatures – I got a lot of orange pith in the cup until I cranked my machine up to 204 degrees Fahrenheit. Once I did that, the flavor in the cup smoothed out but still remained wonderfully complex. Sweet, chocolaty, floral, with that same note of laundered freshness that filled up my nose when I smelled the whole beans. I’ve rarely experienced an espresso like this – it reminded me quite a bit actually of Klatch Coffee’s Golden Bean Espresso<\/a> that was a winner in my “best of 2015”<\/a> list. This isn’t a normal espresso – I’m actually pretty impressed that Maverick was pulling this as their espresso that day since it isn’t what I would consider to be a “workhorse” sort of espresso. It’s quite special!<\/p>\n

Favorite parameters for this blend: 204 degrees F, 17 grams in, 32 grams out, 26 second extraction.<\/p>\n

With milk: I don’t typically have espresso with milk anyway, but I was especially averse to adding milk to this espresso. Something this complex needs to be enjoyed on its own! But, I did make a couple of lattes for Shutterbug with this stuff. His comment was that it didn’t taste like coffee. Good flavor, but definitely not a “normal” latte.<\/p>\n

AeroPress: This was a surprise. I had expected this cup to taste like a muted version of the espresso, but the main flavor I got in the cup was of toasted marshmallow. The finish was of sweet orange, but the overall taste took me to a campfire. Not what I expected at all but hugely enjoyable!<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong>: Lots of surprises in this cup for adventurous palates. If you’re used to nutty, dark, moody espresso, this brew will be perplexing to you, but don’t knock it ’til you try it! I don’t think this is an espresso you can quaff mindlessly – it’ll make you think. And I sure enjoy thinking. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

From the roaster: Rum-soaked pears, candied ginger, star anise, chocolate covered oranges<\/p>\n

(Damn, I need to up my game in the tasting department!! I can definitely see the pear and candied ginger now that they mention it.)<\/p>\n

Ritual Coffee Roasters Day Drinker Seasonal Espresso<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had my first experience with Ritual Coffee Roasters while visiting Cognoscenti Coffee in the Los Angeles area, and I was really impressed with the quality of the beans and the flavor that I received in that cup (chocolate, plum, spice). However, I have yet to order online directly from Ritual because 1) their coffee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"I've never had an espresso that smells like sunshine and clean laundry before. Not a typical blend - this is really something special!","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[158,157,8,3,154],"tags":[281,18,100,288,61,30,101,73,214,283],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/tn_IMG_5306.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2894,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2894","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":0},"title":"The best of 2017","date":"December 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It's always nice to look back at the end of the year and to take stock of all the great coffees I got to try throughout the last twelve months. This was a good year - I was really pleased to discover quite a few new (to me) roasters that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Advice"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/tn_IMG-0770.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2504,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2504","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":1},"title":"Review: Eiland Coffee Roasters Espresso X (Richardson, Texas)","date":"February 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\"How do you decide what coffee to buy?\" I wish I could say that I have a system for this, but I really don't! 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I quite like the beans I've tried from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AeroPress"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/IMG-2732-e1531755390299.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6670,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=6670","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":4},"title":"Review: Cherry Coffee Co. Hang Around Espresso Blend (Fort Worth, Texas)","date":"April 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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. 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