{"id":391,"date":"2015-05-21T17:30:41","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T22:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=391"},"modified":"2015-10-15T21:57:51","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T02:57:51","slug":"review-red-bird-espresso-bozeman-mt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=391","title":{"rendered":"Review: Red Bird Espresso (Bozeman, Montana)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is a tasting that\u00a0I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while. This is the espresso blend I mentioned previously that has a reputation for tasting like Snickers (peanut, chocolate, and caramel). I have ordered these beans several times previously and enjoyed them, but this will be my first time pulling the shots on a machine that will give me more control over variables like temperature, etc.<\/p>\n

First impressions: The USPS Priority box that these beans came in was releasing maddening smells of peanuts and chocolate and caramel. Now, to be honest, I have never cared for peanuts, and after a bad experience with a rotten peanut inside a Snickers bar when I was about 12, I have sworn off Snickers for life, but I was very much looking forward to seeing how these beans would taste in the cup. The beans are smaller than I see usually, and they are roasted to a “Northern Italian roast,” which looks on the dark side of medium. It has not been roasted long enough to make oil come to the surface of the beans, though.<\/p>\n

Favorite brew parameters: 16g\/double basket, 198 F, 25 sec pour<\/p>\n

I experimented with this blend between 6-15 days post roast. Day 6, the above brew parameter yielded a lively shot that tasted like cola and brandy. Very sweet! By day 10, the same parameters yielded a shot that was much more muted and rounded. Amazingly, this bean kept getting better with age. On day 15, I got the Snickers flavor! This blend does not taste fruity or spiky to me at all – it’s definitely more on the “comfort food” side of espresso with a nice sweet finish. Even the less-than-ideal pours from my experimentation had lots of wonderful rich, flecked, reddish-brown crema. These beans stood up VERY well in milk. I actually found my lattes that I made with this to be a bit more intense in coffee flavor that I am used to!<\/p>\n

AeroPress: Brewing this coffee in the AeroPress brought out the dark chocolate and roasted peanut flavors. I think this coffee is roasted dark enough that I more taste\u00a0the flavor of the roasting process vs. the flavor of the bean origin. I do taste a little acidity on the finish, but I can’t say I taste fruit flavors – just a little brightness.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong>: This is a very forgiving espresso blend which tastes delicious at a variety of parameters, and it’s got plenty of strength to stand up well in milk. Great for those looking for a more\u00a0chocolaty\/nutty flavor profile vs. fruity\/acidic. The price is also very reasonable – less than $13\/lb.!<\/p>\n

From the roaster:\u00a0Rich, balanced and aromatic, this espresso starts with a distinct hazelnut-chocolate aroma and progresses to sweet chocolate, toasted nut and caramel flavors in the cup, with subtle citric acidity. It finishes with a rich and lingering aftertaste. When used in other brewing methods, citrus and dried fruit notes add to the complexity and depth.<\/p>\n

Red Bird Espresso<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is a tasting that\u00a0I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while. This is the espresso blend I mentioned previously that has a reputation for tasting like Snickers (peanut, chocolate, and caramel). I have ordered these beans several times previously and enjoyed them, but this will be my first time pulling the shots on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"One of the best bang-for-your-buck espressos out there, especially if you're into Snickers bars.","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[158,157,8,3,154],"tags":[26,18,195,53,84],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG_0970-e1431289979244.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":389,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=389","url_meta":{"origin":391,"position":0},"title":"Review: Red Bird Sumatra Permata Gayo (Bozeman, Montana)","date":"May 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I used to drink a fair amount of Sumatran coffee, before I started branching out to explore other flavors and lighter roasts. I haven't had a cup of Sumatra in at least a year (probably longer), so I thought\u00a0it might be nice to revisit it\u00a0with a new\u00a0roaster. Red Bird Coffee,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asia\/Pacific"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG_0969-e1431004191902.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1516,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=1516","url_meta":{"origin":391,"position":1},"title":"Review: Sterling Coffee Roasters Blendo Stupendo Espresso Blend (Portland, Oregon)","date":"October 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If you read my Sterling Coffee Roasters Kenya Gachatha AA review, you'll recall that I was a babbling neurotic mess at the coffee shop and the roaster himself took pity on me and gave me a bag for free, with the suggestion that if I liked what I tasted, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tn_IMG_1655.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1800,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=1800","url_meta":{"origin":391,"position":2},"title":"Review: Commonwealth Ontology Espresso (Denver, Colorado)","date":"February 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Along with Houndstooth Coffee, Oak Lawn Coffee is one of my go-to places in Dallas for picking up high-quality, FRESH coffee beans. It's a pity I live so far from both of these shops (30-40 minutes on a good day!). Thankfully, I was in the area for work and was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Espresso"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tn_IMG_3205.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2967,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=2967","url_meta":{"origin":391,"position":3},"title":"Review: LAMILL Coffee Bliss Espresso (Alhambra, California)","date":"March 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"For anyone that read about my incredible water drama with LAMILL's Ethiopia Wote Konga beans, rest assured that for espresso tastings, I only use bottled water with a maximum of 3 grains hardness... this water has never seen a cremini mushroom. ;-) As I noted in my previous LAMILL review,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/tn_IMG-0873-e1517675602968.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6341,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=6341","url_meta":{"origin":391,"position":4},"title":"Review: Simple Beans Guatemala Jovenes (La Jolla, California)","date":"August 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Chocolate lovers, you're gonna want to check this out! I will sometimes get asked by friends for help with finding a new coffee. For those people that really enjoy chocolaty, nutty, sweet black coffees, I usually think that grabbing a medium-roasted Guatemalan, Brazilian, or Mexican coffee is a good place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AeroPress"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coffeecantata.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG-2245.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6670,"url":"https:\/\/coffeecantata.co\/?p=6670","url_meta":{"origin":391,"position":5},"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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