What is a bittersweet chocolate note in coffee?

It is chocolate character with roughly equal bitterness and sweetness, the way bittersweet baking chocolate tastes against milk chocolate. In coffee it comes from a medium-dark roast that develops cocoa depth while keeping caramelized sugar in the cup. It is most common in espresso blends.

Why is bittersweet chocolate common in espresso?

Espresso concentrates flavor, so roasters target the bittersweet middle on purpose. Too light and the shot turns sour, too dark and it turns to ash. The bittersweet window gives an espresso chocolate depth with enough sweetness to stay balanced under pressure.

Bittersweet Chocolate Archives

stumptown

Stumptown Hair Bender

Bittersweet chocolate anchors every cup, and the East Africa component brings enough citrus to keep it from running flat.

Medium Roast Blend Bittersweet Chocolate Caramel

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Stumptown French Roast Organic

Clove and bittersweet chocolate push through the smoke, and what stays on the palate is more specific than most French Roasts manage.

Dark Roast Blend Bittersweet Chocolate Brown Sugar

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Fresh Roasted Coffee Dark Sumatra Mandheling

Dark chocolate and loamy earth from the first sip, syrupy through the finish, with the roast at maximum and the origin compressed to its most durable character.

Dark Roast Sumatra Bittersweet Chocolate Earthy

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Blue Bottle Hayes Valley Espresso

$1.83 per ounce for a dark espresso blend that earns its place in a milk-drink station but struggles to justify the brand premium for anyone taking shots black.

Dark Roast Blend Bittersweet Chocolate Caramel

Bittersweet Chocolate

Bittersweet Chocolate coffees reviewed

Stumptown Hair Bender

Stumptown French Roast Organic

Fresh Roasted Coffee Dark Sumatra Mandheling

Blue Bottle Hayes Valley Espresso