Have you ever said you would do something, then when faced with it, you really don't want to go through with it? Well, I had a brief moment thinking 'Can I really put that in my mouth and swallow?' You will be glad to know I did it so you don't have to. The aroma is extremely unpleasant, no real coffee scent at all. Burnt tyres is the obvious comparison. Acrid, chemical, medicinal hints buried in there. Visually, the beans look fine, nice medium roast, no oil spotting Firstly, I made an aeropress long black. Again, that smell! Apart from that, the taste was only slightly revolting with notes of sharp turpentine and the rubber was much less evident. What surprised me was how long the bitterness and medicinal aftertaste lingered. Normally a long black is dilute enough that flavours don't linger long, but I could still taste this an hour later (psychological effect possibly). The next days experiment was an espresso. I gave Mac a good hour to get hot and at first attempt managed to get a shot that was actually rather impressive. With a slight adjustment to my grinding, the second shot had less volume but looked just about perfect as it started to drip, then settled into a steady stream oozing out the spout with lovely striping. This one was seriously nice looking - short, tight, dark fine crema (didn't get a photo unfortunately as out of memory). Good balance of sweetness and acidity. Far less offensive odours than the long black. I have been served far worse in cafes. Regrettably there was still a slight lingering bitterness, but it was not as objectionable as the aeropress. Milk drinkers might find these quite acceptable. Beans are definitely not stale. I suspect a poor blend and/or badly roasted Result? Remaining beans returning to Aldi for refund as I am not 100% satisfied.
