/ck/ - Food & Cooking

So I got Monarch and Eclipse from Onyx, their two offerings suitable for espresso. Cool packaging. Along with the size and price, these guys are definitely presenting themselves as luxury coffee.

Eclipse is crap. Sorry. It's on the dark side of medium, just before oils showing. Not much taste or body. Not worth buying. You'll forget it even while you're drinking it.

Monarch, on the other hand, is definitely worth a try. Natural ethiopian + washed latin american blend. It's a medium roast, and so far the lightest one I've enjoyed as a straight shot. The acidity is pleasant, and seems "right" with the spicy flavors. Good blend.

But Onyx says this:
>Monarch is our house espresso for beverages 12 ounces and larger.
>Monarch is bold and defiant and tends to stand out in beverages of milk that have a volume of 12oz or more.
My ass. I guess this counts as bold to hipsters who have never tasted a dark roast, but this is buried eight feet deep in even eight ounces of milk. In anything starbucks-size it's gonna be undetectable.
Still good light-bodied blend though. Enjoyable as straight espresso, lungo, probably cappucino, even in a latte it added a vague long-lingering sense of cherry compot. Nice.