An Accidental Review: Silvertone at City to City+

Whoops! Should have read the label.

Our latest espresso workshop blend is #51 Silvertone, named after the Danelectro-designed amplifiers of the 1960s, which had a gritty, heavy growl to them. (Here’s a demo.) We chose to name the blend Silvertone because, much like the amp, this coffee shines most at the darker, heavier end of the roast spectrum. At the Full City to Full City+ level, we were getting various bittersweets and extra dark chocolate with a heavy, syrupy mouthfeel.

But what if that’s not your jam? Can Silvertone still work at lighter roast levels? Funny enough, we accidentally found out. So much of our catalog have roast recommendations that start at City+, so that when we’re roasting in the office, City+ becomes our default target. That normally works out just fine, but we completely overlooked the narrower Full City to Full City+ recommendation this time. Whoops! Should have read the label.

We roasted Silvertone to City+ on a Behmor and Gene Cafe, and after several rounds of brewed coffee and many shots of espresso, we thought we’d share our alternative review and notes for the light roast lovers out there.

Tasting the City+ roast as espresso

After dialing in our shots, we noted the espresso to have a syrupy texture and a lingering finish of spice. We tasted graham crackers, tamarind, and a dried cherry note that developed into something like fruit leather. Despite these characteristics painting an impressive picture, we thought the overall flavor of the espresso was flat and muddied. It was fine, but we would not advise most espresso drinkers to pursue this roast level on Silvertone. There’s simply much better options available on the site!

Tasting the City+ as brewed coffee

Silvertone at City+ as brewed coffee was more successful. Our brews had good clarity and prominent sweetness with a crisp, bitter and tannic finish. Its aroma brought to mind barley and other toasted grains. We tasted a chocolate note, but it was subdued; it’s under-developed at this roast level and comes off as more of a malt characteristic. There are hints of citrus acidity throughout, with some fruitiness imparted by the dry process coffee. It became more present as the coffee cooled, but there are very little to no berry flavors. We enjoyed it overall and would even recommend that people give it a try, but it definitely lacked a standout element, something that will make you go, “Dang!”

Roast recipe

If you have a Behmor or Gene Cafe and want to replicate our City+ roasts, here are the settings we used.

Comparing it to the Full City+ Roast

After we finished testing the lighter roast, we roasted Silvertone to the recommended Full City+ on the Behmor and Gene Cafe for comparison. As a brewed coffee, it matched Dan’s review to a tee. We don’t have much to add there. As espresso, it had a dense, heavy body with lots of crema. We tasted bittersweet chocolate, black currant and toast; it’s a shot with an old school vibe, and a decade ago we would have called Silvertone a “face-melter.”

If our accidental review appeals to you, give roasting Silvertone outside of its recommended range a shot. The blend is still available on Sweet Maria’s. Grab it while you have the chance!