I find this to be true. The "Butkus" I mentioned is earthy done right. If you go to Peet's and get their version of earthy in "Major Dickason's", you'll find that it's very muddy in comparison. Not saying that's bad, just not what I prefer.
I like a bit of complexity to the coffee bean, just not too much where it's bright with fruit and citrusy notes making the coffee seem sour.
I'm thinking I'll try that for espresso once I go through the current beans.
The Major Dickason is only muddy if it's stale, unless I'm missing something. It's rather velvety if you go to a location that gets roasts in quickly. We have a business contract with them and they ship us coffee 2-3 a week provided we give 24 hour notice. Roasted within 2-3 days of it arriving. We tried a local roaster but no one at our offices liked it. Intelligentsia and Stumptown were so and so. We'll be trying Blue Bottle in the fall or winter. So far they're willing to match Peet's in terms of function and price, to an extent. Also willing to blend up customs for our business.
The biggest concern I had was waste. Buying high grade metal filters for our drip machines, and having an espresso puck bin so those can be disposed of separately or recycled. Ideally, I'd love to get rid of all our semi-automatics and replace them with super automatics that can run off an RO line.
Home wise, I'm fairly happy with what I've got. I'd love to own a 3 GH commercial unit, but I don't really need it. I simply think it's beautiful. Fancy coffee is nice, but I'll admit and I've posted this before, the best cup of drip I've ever had in my life was a French roast of Starbucks in 2003 as a hotel guest. Likely specially roasted for them, as I'd drank Starbucks then but it was never remotely that good. I had four or five pots that morning through afternoon. Time spent racing to the bathroom was worth it. It, the coffee, was light and floral, had a natural sweetness and a silky finish. I've never had another coffee come close. Though I'll admit Starbucks' current blond is rather good for its price.
If you must use syrups in a blended drink, I recommend Monin and them only. Very high quality. I'm a fan of their lavender syrup. I usually mix a tiny amount with fizzy mineral water to freshen up the palette.
