Dragonfly Crema Dolce discussion

#1: Post by **HotLava** » July 7th, 2020, 9:00 am

Good morning HB,

After the 2020 list of best coffees came out I realized I was not familiar with many of the roasters or their products. One coffee that kept coming up in a few threads was Dragonfly Crema Dolce. I decided to pick up a kg. It's now 7 days old. I have been pulling 18/34 25-30 seconds with 6 second pre infusion via 18 g VST basket At 199 degrees.

My first impression is that it is "OK". Light color with thick body. My Shots are decent and balanced with a hint of bitterness up front, followed by slight cinnamon and mild sweetness and the finish has a slight Lemmon zest to it. I'm not sure if this is the typical experience or not. I'm not sure how to tweak this blend from here. Usually I can pin point a taste defect but there is not an obvious defect. If anything it's a little on the bland side. So I'm considering updosing to the roasters 21 g recommended dose and pulling 38g in 30 seconds to see if there is a difference.

I am by no means giving a bad review but this blend is not exciting me.

Any comments concerns or advice would be appreciated.

#2: Post by **Nate42** » July 7th, 2020, 10:10 am

I tend to pull it at a 2:1 ratio myself. Not that you are super far off from that, but worth a shot. Little longer shot time maybe too. And as you said you should definitley updose if you are finding it bland.

That said, this isn't a knocks you out with crazy flavors kinda coffee. Its firmly in the forgiving "comfort" category.

#3: Post by **JohnB.** » July 7th, 2020, 10:29 am

HotLava wrote:
My first impression is that it is "OK". Light color with thick body. My Shots are decent and balanced with a hint of bitterness up front, followed by slight cinnamon and mild sweetness and the finish has a slight Lemmon zest to it. I'm not sure if this is the typical experience or not. I'm not sure how to tweak this blend from here. Usually I can pin point a taste defect but there is not an obvious defect. If anything it's a little on the bland side. So I'm considering updosing to the roasters 21 g recommended dose and pulling 38g in 30 seconds to see if there is a difference..

While I wouldn't consider the shots I'm getting from the latest batch to be bland I'd say that your tasting notes are pretty close. I've bought Crema Dolce 4 times over the past few years & I'd say the first batch was my favorite. With that one the cinnamon spice was much more noticeable then in any batch since.
Truth be told I was a little disappointed with the current bag but it still produces a tasty shot.

I'm using 17g doses with a yield in the 28g-30g range. Pulling it anywhere between 198*F-201*F. Best shots have been on the cooler end of that range.

July 7th, 2020, 5:42 pm

After my first 2 doubles I did jack it up to 200 which toned down the sour lemon peel flavor but brought the bitterness up a little. At 199 it seems more balanced. Dragonfly recommends 21 grams in 38 grams out which is a 1:1.8 ratio. So I have been using 18/33g as a target which is also 1:1.8. Seems most like it at a 1:2.

It's not bad but usually I know when I'm not getting all I can from a new coffee. But with this I think it's as good as I can get it.

I'm going to use my 20g basket and try 21/38 by comparison.

#5: Post by **tv79** » July 7th, 2020, 7:26 pm

I'm in the same boat. By no means would I consider it bad, just wasn't quite what I'd expected.

Out of curiosity, anyone brewed it as filter? I still have almost a bag left and have since switched to Nicoletti for espresso, so I was hoping to find another use for it.

July 7th, 2020, 8:07 pm

The coloring is good. It's on the light side. As it cools it does get more reddish brown. Looks similar to some of the other pics I have seen on the forum.

The color on the Dragonfly website looks like a pale crembrule. That looks more like marketing than reality.

#7: Post by **JohnB.** » July 7th, 2020, 8:28 pm

tv79 wrote:Out of curiosity, anyone brewed it as filter? I still have almost a bag left and have since switched to Nicoletti for espresso, so I was hoping to find another use for it.

I haven't but don't see why it wouldn't be good brewed. In the interest of further research I'll try it as an Americano in the morning & report back.

#8: Post by **slybarman** » July 7th, 2020, 9:21 pm

I had it a few weeks ago as lattes and I enjoyed it very much. It had a smooth but chocolately flavor. The flavor was more muted than Lusso GMC, but quite pleasant. Sorry, to hear it wasn't as good as straight espresso.

#9: Post by **belegnole** » July 7th, 2020, 9:42 pm

I'm going through some right now and I like it. However I seem o be having more spritzers with it than I've had with anything in quite some time. In a effort to get rid of them I stretched out the preinfusion based on a post somewhere on these forums. For the most part it has worked out well and I've had a few great shots along with quite a few very nice lattes.

my shots dialed in around 18:36 with a 15 second preinfusion and 40 seconds total.

I did have one latte in particular that fit a common description that I have never tasted quite so perfectly before..."tastes like a snickers bar". Never in all the time I've been making coffees have a had a cup that so perfectly fit the description.

#10: Post by **TangyWasabi** » July 7th, 2020, 9:54 pm

tv79 wrote:I'm in the same boat. By no means would I consider it bad, just wasn't quite what I'd expected.

Out of curiosity, anyone brewed it as filter? I still have almost a bag left and have since switched to Nicoletti for espresso, so I was hoping to find another use for it.

I bought a bag recently too and am also fairly disappointed with it as espresso, I actually enjoy it much more as filter.