From Suehyb A. of Richmond, VA, 10 Apr. 2011 Hi Tony, I just had my first espresso (latte really) with your Peru COCLA bean, and I just wanted to say: You're genius! I absolutely love it! It's like you brought me back to tasting my first proper cup of coffee again. Thanks! From Linda J. of Milwaekee, WI, 8 Apr. 2011 I'm in love with an espresso! Can that be? YES! It is Red Star. It is the best espresso I have ever had, and anyone who knows me is well aware that I've tried a ton of different beans from many roasters. Yours is #1. Keep up the excellent work, and dont' ever leave us! From Kimberly G. of Des Moines, IA, 4 Apr. 2011 Attention People Who Must Drink Decaf: Don’t mess around, just buy Tony’s Luna Nuova Decaf. Espresso. I’ve been limited to decaf. for 12 years and I adore espresso drinks. I’ve tasted dozens of decafs, from local artisan roasters to mail order artisan roasters to large chains. I’ll save you a lot of time: There is no decaf better tasting than Luna Nuova. None! Thanks Tony, for roasting a decaf that does NOT taste like one. xoxo! From Bruce T. of Wyoming, PA, 3 Mar. 2010 Tony, Just tried the Colombian Don Telmo, "incredible" and the Daterra Reserve. -- An absolute pleasure! From Darlene W. of Atlanta, GA, 13 Jan. 2010 As I mentioned before, I may be a coffee novice without a top of the line brewer and a expensive burr grinder; however, my taste buds don't lie. Your Ambrosia Espresso is the best coffee I have EVER tasted. I have reordered. From Ian of Woodland Hills, CA, 4 Nov. 2009 Caffe Fresco Speciatly Coffee Roaster's coffees never cease to exceed expectations. A recent purchase of the Black Hand Blend puts this Signature Blend very near the top of my short list. I'd shied from the blend due to the Sicily reference thinking the roast degree would be quite dark, but the roast is perfect. The Black Hand Blend as an espresso (8.5g, ~200F, ~8.5bar, ~25ml, ~35s) is astounding with flavor notes of cinnamon, citrus, with a long lingering not-quite-milk-chocolate mocha after taste. It's also one of the best drip coffees we've sampled in very long time. I think the next Mamma Mia Value Package will be 6, 16oz. bags of Black Hand Blend! From Maurice of Tucsan, AZ, 15 June 2009 Luna Nuova is superb - rich, chocolaty, buttery, lightly nutty, beautiful deep brown crema. I'm pulling doubles on a Spaziale Vivaldi II and they are a work of art. Keep up the great blending & roasting. Have a bag of Ambrosia, but haven't tried it yet. From Jennifer K. of Lima, OH, 20 April 2009 I am hooked! My husband bought the Papua New Guinea Brown Brindle Blend for himself and I alone have almost finished the bag! I LOVE IT!! Just re-ordered more and referred my friends to Caffe Fresco Specialty Coffee Roaster! From Joe K. of Berwick, PA, 26 Feburary 2009 Hi Tony, Just wanted to drop a line to say WOW very well done. Your Ambrosia Espresso Blend was amazing as was your Brazil Daterra Espresso Reserve. My wife even had a shot or 2 every day. It's so nice to have a local roaster who knows what he's doing . I ordered 2 other offerings, the La Minita and Black Hand Blend, today as I would like to try them all. I'm sure they are just as great and looking forward to my first shot. Thanks, Joe K. From Gerald G. of Fredonia, NY, 4 Feburary 2009 Tony: Welcome back to our household! Your Daterra is the best espresso roast I have ever had, and I have a tried a few more during your one-year hiatus. This was the best shot I have had since your last bag of Daterra Espresso Reserve was in my kitchen. This might be the best ever. Thanks! From Randy E. of Austin, TX, 10 September 2006 Tony, Wow, where do I start? Discovering your roast-and-post coffee is right up there with my first real cup of espresso at a cafe. No it's closer to the first god shot I pulled at home in my own kitchen! The freshness, quality and value cannot be beat. I absolutely love your Daterra Reserve and Ambrosia blend. I just placed an order for a three-bagger with the La Minita. Thanks for the brochure on Hacienda La Minita. It was very informative and drove me to sample some right away. Keep on roasting. From Lou M. of Dallas, PA, 8 June 2006 Tony, My wife and I met you at Forks Farm last weekend. We just wanted to let you know that we opened La Florida this morning and are drinking it right now. We love it. I suppose we will see you again at Forks Farm in July. From Gerald G. of Fredonia, NY, 13 January 2006 I have been a fan and loyal customer of Tony's for about a year now. The roasts I use for high-end home espresso are Ambrosia and Datera Riserve. I loved Ambrosia from the start, but was skeptical of Datera Riserve as it is a single origin roast. Tony nudged me toward it and my god... it is also GREAT. Both roasts have produced the best espresso I have had ANYWHERE... period. The chocolate, a slight hint of butter, a trace of earth, slight petrol and a tiny hint of berries on certain days are magnificent. Basically the rich, full smoothness of the roast is incredible. I make triple ristretti with a bottomless Portafilter and, since I have learned to control brew temp on my E61 heat exchange machine, I am getting a consistently dark crema that is unbelievably full. Cheers to an artisan at the top of his craft. Bravo Tony! From Jon V. of New York, NY, 17 August 2005 Tony - I had a lot of unexpected things come up after I received your last shipment (early May) The Daterra Estate was absolutely marvelous as espresso. I tried a bit as drip and press, and no luck. I finished off about 1/2 a pound that I couldn't get to as cold brew, which didn't work either. The ambrosia never made it to the espresso machine -- about 8days in I realized I wouldn't get to open the bag, so I tossed it in the back of the freezer. It came out yesterday and the contents made it into a 14hr cold brew in a Toddy bucket. The result is the single handed BEST (cold brew) iced coffee that I have ever had. I don't know what your opinion of cold brewing is -- but in the NY summer heat this is simply perfect. Thanks for the great roasting! /Jonathan V. From Ken K. of Fresno, CA, 4 August 2005 I received my first order of the Daterra Reserve Espresso in what appeared record time, considering it was sent cross-country. When I opened the bag, I was a bit concerned that there was a bit of oil on the surface of many of the beans, worried that the roast was too hot. I must say after our first 12oz that we are absolutely delighted with your product--it is very much to our taste of a more Northern Italian style despite the slightly darker (full city) roast. We are looking forward to seeing how the next 12 oz ages over the next 5-6 days before it is fully consumed. From David P. of Tucson, AZ, 9 July 2005 "I arrived home from Africa a bit sooner than I expected and there was no coffee. I had no choice other than to bite the bullet and go to local outlet of "corporate giant" coffee right down the street for some Sumatra beans. (Slightly better than no coffee at all.) Your coffee arrived the next day and I remembered what you said about the degassing period so I just finished up the Sumatra over about four days. I tried your Ambrosia first. Wow! wonderful stuff, so smooth and flavorful with perfect balance and massive crema, incredibly thick and rich! What a difference between the Sumatra and the Ambrosia; like comparing my in-laws homemade red to Haut Brion. I've been drinking it for a few days now and it may be the best coffee I've ever tried. I just cannot make enough favorable comments about it. Great stuff!" From Ben C. of Cambridge, MA, 3 June 2005 "You know, I was unfortunate to be born with not as many taste buds as those super-tasters. Combined with my persistent allergy, it's hard for me to distinguish many of the subtle notes in your Daterra Estate Reserve Espresso (as described on the webpage). But what I can taste is pure heaven! The heavy, syrupy, caramel-sweetness and the hint of fruity acidity has replaced a well-known blend from another “deep roast” style roaster as my current favorite. Major kudos to you!!! From Tom Y. of Forty Fort, PA, 22 July 2004 "I've been spoiled by Caffè Fresco coffee. For years I got by on Green Mountain, discounted Starbucks, even an occasional bag of pre-ground Mako espresso roast. Then I sampled some of the roasts available from Caffè Fresco, and it's CF coffee or nothing. Each bag is a fresh adventure in caffeinated bliss. Every roast is unique, and tastes carefully roasted to bring out flavors both strong and subtle which I haven't found anywhere else. So far the Sumatra's my favorite and I love the Daterra and Red Star for my morning espresso, but I haven't had a roast I didn't like, and I've got to try them all. Tony at Caffè Fresco loves to talk coffee, loves feedback, and he'll even adjust a roast to meet requests! And, of course, the coffee's as fresh as can be." From Tim D. of Jacksonville, FL, 19 July 2004 "Ok. Here's my (totally unqualified) review of "Red Star Blend". I wanted to try it completely unadorned with milk, sugar, or anything, so I pulled 2 oz. Great crema! It was a full quarter of the volumne of the cup. The initial instantaneous flavor to hit my tongue was a very sharp acidic taste which rapidly changed into a dryer, more bitter flavor (a plus in my book). Even that taste, though less quickly, dissolved into a mellow deeply roasted flavor that tasted like the coffee smelled. It was wonderful. I then made a cup with hot milk, the way I normally do before work. The milk kills the initial sharpness but leaves the rest. I like it either way. You know how some coffees are not fit to drink as pure espresso? This is certainly not one of those. From Laura S. of Redwood City, CA, 19 July 2004 "I just wanted to give you the rest of my comments after sampling the rest of the beans in my variety pak. Trio: You know my deep feelings for this coffee - I'm still in love with how smooth & rich this coffee is. I was swept off of my feet with the first sip Brazil Daterra: Very smooth & almost sweet. This is a relaxing brew to enjoy on a Sunday morning." From Ned H. of Redmond, WA, 21 July 2004 "Took a shipment of CF's Ambrosia and Black Hand... Whoo Johnny I tell you I could smell it a block away as it went from the mail truck into the mailbox (to the tune of the brown light going on and dashing to the porcelain...) I spun me up a pint of Ambrosia in my handy dandy stainless stovetop espresso maker on nice and low and then slammed back a good pint or so, and I must say it is indeed a rich and stinky cup of bean. Hopped on the style king Itai road bike shortly thereafter and I must say I was impressed with the kick in the pants the bean delivered. Will drag the beans and machine up to the road race on the weekend to get me and the boys whipped up to full jacked freak status. We’ll give the Black Hand a go here shortly. Nice product T, nice product! From Doug M. of Huntsville, AL, 22 July 2004 "I have never been a big coffee drinker but have always like the taste of coffee ice cream and chocolate covered coffee beans. But I am an occasional coffee drinker, therefore, when I do drink coffee, I make sure it is the best. When Tony told me what he was doing, I wanted to give his coffee a taste. I was bowled over!! It is so fresh and refreshing!! My wife loved it as much as I did. So much so that my anniversary present this year was a new coffee maker with a timer so that we could have Caffè Fresco's Coffee each morning when we get up. It really is a great way to wake up and smell the aroma. " From Mike L. of Greenwood Village, CO, 12 July 2004 " that Ambrosia is ! " From Greg S. of Valparaiso, IN, 29 June 2004 "I'm really sorry about not getting back to you sooner about the coffee. We enjoyed the coffee quite a bit. I thought Sumatra was particularly good. It had a nice body and a full finish. the Ethiopian Harrar was also good. The body was excellent with a nice syrupy mouth feel and fruitiness. The only minor negative was that I thought the Ethiopian lacked a little depth in its finish. The finish wasn't bitter or bad in anyway. It just didn't have the full finish I expect from that coffee. But, overall we were very pleased with the coffee." UPDATE, 11/30/04: "Tony, The recent roast of the Ethiopian you sent was spectacular. We've really enjoyed the coffee done with our french press. It is full bodied with just the right amount of fruitiness and a nice full wine-like finish. You are a true master." From Jonathan O. of Loganville, GA, 28 July 2004 "When I walked into the house last night, I could smell both the Sumatra and the Brazilian as soon as I opened the door. I’m just glad the neighbors didn’t steal it out of the mailbox it smelled so good. I ground up some Sumatra this morning for my very first cup of your finest. DAMN!!!! D-freakin’ lish us!! The aroma matches the flavor……WONDERFUL!!! The Sumatra has a very smooth flavor, definitely “herby” and tasty. I’m kicking the Starbucks bean habit I was accustomed too. It’s time to move to some real stuff." From Grace R. of Huntsville, Al, 24 July 2004 "... The Trio. Oh my God, I'm telling you your coffee is terrific. Smooth, tasty and no cruel after bite/taste. I am lovin it, and I am lovin you for doing this. Thanks Tony!" From Tom P. of DuPont, PA, 5 August 2004 " The bean meister has done it again. The Brown Brindle Blend is excellent. Probably my favorite out of the line-up. The only problem is, You've ruined my life. I can't drink coffee at work anymore. Once I've had a fresh cup of Caffè Fresco in the morning, work dirt doesn't cut it anymore. I hope your happy with yourself! P.S. Can you brew beer also?" From Dwayne E. of Dallas, GA, 5 September 2004 "Hello My name is Dwayne and I am a coffee drinker. I have been "javaed-up" for the past 10 to 12 years. I worked with a very prominent coffee corporation and became hooked on their coffee. This company is very well know and has a very big monopoly on the coffee industry. After being on that coffee for about three years, I was lacking in "decent" coffee. My father sent me some of your coffee, and I must say. . . EXCELLENT COFFEE!! I was very impressed with the speed and the freshness of the coffee. I am currently hooked on the Primo Blend, which is a very lively, coffee with berry undertones. I was also sent the Sumatra Blend. The Sumatra has some smoky undertones but without the bitterness of some stronger coffees. I would like to commend you on your roasting and delivering the coffee. I have to say that I am a customer that will be sticking around for sometime. Congrats on the start of your new company and I wish you the best. Dwayne"