{"id":2836,"date":"2017-12-04T16:56:41","date_gmt":"2017-12-04T22:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2836"},"modified":"2017-12-04T16:56:41","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T22:56:41","slug":"review-two-guns-espresso-blend-manhattan-beach-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2836","title":{"rendered":"Review: Two Guns Espresso Blend (Manhattan Beach, California)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit goes to the Yelp app for helping me find the Two Guns Espresso cafe in Manhattan Beach! This coffee shop is located just minutes from LAX airport, and when I read that it is a shop founded by two New Zealanders, I hightailed it over to the shop as fast as I could. I fell in love with New Zealand on my trip to the North Island back in 2016, and the espresso culture there is truly world-class. I wish I had had the opportunity to sample more espresso than I did while I was there, but I was very taken with the coffee I had from Flight Coffee<\/a>, both with the drinks I had in their “hangar” (cafe) and with the beans I brought home. Kiwis know their espresso, that’s for sure.<\/p>\n

Two Guns has three locations sprinkled around the Los Angeles area. I was immediately charmed by their Manhattan Beach location – it was bright and modern with an eclectic vibe. I was particularly pleased that the espresso cups and saucers are this lovely shade of slate blue\/grey… don’t know why I love this color so much, but it made me really happy to see something a little different than the standard white!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The espresso I had in the shop was chocolaty with a nice lively edge to it that definitely perked me up after my three-hour flight.\u00a0I brought a bag home and had fun dialing the blend in for my grinder and machine.<\/p>\n

Whole bean: The beans were a bit oily and smelled like Peet’s Major Dickason blend. It’s a bit darker of a roast than I’m used to but appropriate knowing it came from Washington.<\/p>\n

Espresso: I liked this espresso pulled best as a normale shot. It took me a handful of shots to get the beans dialed in well; some shots came out rather harsh, one tasted like nail polish (!), but when it was good, it was pretty good – nice smoothness and a good amount of crema.<\/p>\n

Favorite parameters: 17 grams in, 33 grams out, 200 degrees F, 29 second pour.<\/p>\n

With milk: I don’t have any notes in my notebook about this espresso with milk, so I must not have made Shutterbug a drink with it. Oops! However, I can only imagine it’s really good with milk, as it’s the espresso used for the flat whites and such in the shops. There were a couple of shots I had during the tasting that I thought were harsh on their own but I think would stand up quite well with milk.<\/p>\n

AeroPress: As a concentrate, this was strong and spicy. It was tasty just on its own but I preferred it with just a touch of additional water added as I felt it tasted more balanced. The coffee gives you a push out the door, instead of a punch in the face.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong>: For straight espresso drinkers, I found this blend to be a bit finicky to get just right in the brewing, but when done right, it’s chocolaty and smooth. It’s a good “workhorse” espresso if your tastes run toward milk drinks.<\/p>\n

From the roaster: Dark chocolate, candied pecan, hint of dried fruit<\/p>\n

Two Guns’ beans are roasted by Dillanos Coffee Roasters (Sumner, Washington)<\/a>. As far as I can tell from poking around both companies’ sites, there’s no way to purchase the Two Guns Espresso Blend online, but you can get them at Two Guns’ shop locations.<\/p>\n

Two Guns Espresso (home page)<\/a><\/p>\n

Review conducted 18 days post-roast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Credit goes to the Yelp app for helping me find the Two Guns Espresso cafe in Manhattan Beach! This coffee shop is located just minutes from LAX airport, and when I read that it is a shop founded by two New Zealanders, I hightailed it over to the shop as fast as I could. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"For when one shot isn't enough to do the job, get two guns... Two Guns Espresso, that is.","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[158,87,8,157,3,154],"tags":[325,36,316,160],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/tn_IMG-1567-e1512425431677.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2834,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2834","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":0},"title":"Review: Two Guns Beach Blend (Manhattan Beach, California)","date":"December 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I picked up this bag from the Two Guns Espresso location in Manhattan Beach at the same time that I got a bag of the Two Guns Espresso Blend. Both of these bags are roasted by Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Washington. I don't think it's possible to buy Two Guns-branded\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AeroPress"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/tn_IMG-1566-e1513010062798.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2504,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2504","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"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 enjoyed it so much, I use the photo of it that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AeroPress"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG-7216-e1562605959648.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=231","url_meta":{"origin":2836,"position":5},"title":"Review: Intelligentsia Black Cat Classic Espresso (Chicago, Illinois)","date":"April 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"(Guest post from David Cooper, principal horn of the Dallas Symphony!) There is nothing better than a good friend showing up at your door at 10 pm with freshly roasted Intelligentsia coffee! 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