June 21, 2006

ESE Review: Gimoka Espresso Pods

Gimoka pods come to us courtesy of Miami Espresso an importer of great Italian ESE espresso coffee pods, and ESE machines. The Gimoka roasters are located in the heart of Sondrio province near the gateway to the Alps in northern Italy where they blend and roast great coffees from around the world. Their pods are nitrogen flushed for packing and to eliminate oxidation of the precious coffee flavors.

These ESE Espresso pods are made to be used in popular makers like the Breville Café Roma, the Krups XP4050 and the Hamilton Beach 40729 espresso machines; all have the ability to use ESE Espresso pods.

The Cafe Gimoka ESE pods have a definite smoky aroma upon opening the pod that jumps out at you to announce that a great espresso is coming. Drinking the espresso gives you a mild up front flavor with a clean finish that’s not too bitter. The espresso has a nice balance of acidity and a low espresso note in the end that allows some of the toasted notes to come through. It’s not as viscous and earth shaking as some of the cups I have had, and definitely on the lighter and cleaner side of things. If you need a strong base espresso flavor in your cup that kicks in the end, this isn’t for you. But, if you like a lighter cleaner cup of espresso that has some delicate flavor nuances, this is a pretty good cup that will have you coming back for more. Cafe Gimoka comes in bundles of 50 ESE pods, or in boxes of 150 ESE Pods.