Lucaffee Exquisit ESE Espresso Pods

One of our readers brought Lucaffe Exquisit ESE pods to our attention a few weeks back, and I was able to get some from Espresso Tiamo. Over the last week or so, I have been tearing into the supply and I have to say that they are pretty darn good. The blend is 90% Arabica and 10% Robusta, which if you have been a long time SingleServeEspresso.com reader, you’ll know that this starts out to be a pretty good blend for me. I like the brightness and acidity that the Arabica coffees bring to the blend, but still want a like body and fullness to the finish that a little bit of robusta brings. I look for a well rounded flavor profile that not only gives you a delicious up front dark roasted espresso flavor, but a syrupy full bodies finish without flavor peaks followed by absences of flavor or thin presentations of flavor that leave you wondering where the blend went wrong.

The Lucaffee Exquisit does all of this flavor presentation pretty well. I would clearly put this blend in the class with the Lavazza Grand Crema ESE pods that I previously thought stood in a class all by themselves. The Exquisit flavors are well rounded, with nice roasted notes and a bit of caramelly goodness wrapped around a solid, but not too pungent finish. Thoroughly enjoyable.

You’ll need to learn what you like, and if you like the 100% Arabica blends with a whisper clean finish after an upfront punch, these may not be for you. If you do like a bit of that backend fullness, the Lucaffe Exquisit gives you that finish without over doing it. Those of you who like the “Classic” type blends, should definitely try this, as it’s a great choice within these genre.

Don’t know what kind of espresso you like? I think the best way to start out is to start out with an Espresso pod sampler that has both of these types. They aren’t a whole lot of money and you get to go exploring. Go check out this post on an espresso sampler that I have enjoyed if you are just starting out.

May 3, 2007

Lucaffee Exquisit ESE Espresso Pods