u/denizenofmediocrity

Roaster: Excelsa Coffee Company

Bean Name: Excelsa Vietnam

Single Origin / Blend: Single Origin

Origin: Vietnam

Roast Date: 03/17/2026

Process: Unknown

Brew Method: Espresso

My long overdue review of the coffee I picked up in March after the post here on/by Excelsa.

I stopped by their cafe in Ocean Beach and tried a pour-over (done with a Chemex), and an espresso. I thought the pour-over was fine; very smooth and mild. Their espresso for me was better. Definitely a unique flavor and one I'm having a hard time putting into tasting notes. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was never able to replicate it at home, but did get something tasty.

I won't go through all my attempts, as it took many tries to get to a cup I was happy with. I think my mistake was thinking my first attempts were over-extracted, as they were quite bitter. Once I corrected the other way, grinding coarser, and pulling a longer ratio, I got something I liked very much. I think this might be the sweetest coffee I've ever had. Something akin to toasted marshmallow and graham crackers.

18g in, 60g out in ~1 min, at as much of a straight 9 bar pull as I can get with my Argos lever in manual mode, and using a fellini move.

I also had some good cups made in an aeropress.