What is the best coffee you have used for Espresso? - Barista at Home Enthusiast - Coffee Forum

I echo Dan's vote for the dependable Black Cat from Intelly – it has been even better the past 6 – 12 months than the preceding 2 or 3 years, where it had times of hit & miss.

In my part of the world (Vancouver), the local rockstar roasters are 49th Parallel.  Their Epic Espresso was designed for lattes (a Pac NW thing?), but takes some getting used to as a straight espresso.  49th roasts for local cafes, as well as running their own shop.  The Espresso Reserve served at Cafe Artigiano is theirs, though runs slightly darker than I'd prefer.  Hearty in milk, but a touch too bold as a straight drink.  49th's other cafe project is a blend done post-roast by Alistair at the Elysian Room.  This is my current fave, though if I can source a bag of Black Cat under 5 days old, I'll get it every time.

When I want to "order out," Liquid Amber from Sweet Maria's is it.  Read about it here.

Along with Roast_De-gas_Drink_Repeat (RDDR) I liked the Epic from 49th.  If you want to get a very stable and traditional Italian roasted espresso I rocked the Gusto Crema from Caffe Umbria for a while.  Switching espresso as my "house" espresso take a while, need to adjust the palette.  I enjoy tasting espresso all the time but for one to settle in as my "house" espresso it has to blow me away and have a stable roaster for consistency.

@DanLacher / DanLacher.COM