Vittoria Espresso Supreme Specialty Coffee Beans Review: Balanced, Café-Familiar and Better with Milk
Vittoria Espresso Supreme sits within the brand’s Specialty Beans range, combining Arabica coffee from Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia and Brazil in a medium-roast blend. Vittoria describes it as sweet and medium-bodied, with tasting notes of honey, chocolate and strawberry. We wanted to see whether those more distinctive flavours would emerge in the cup, or whether it would lean towards the approachable café-style coffee associated with the Vittoria name.
|
Origin: |
Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia and Brazil |
|
Roast Level: |
Medium Roast |
|
Tasting Notes (Vittoria): |
Honey, chocolate, strawberry |
|
Brew Methods Tested: |
Espresso; espresso with milk; espresso with milk and Equal |
|
RRP: |
~$38 AUD / 500g |
Appearance & Beans
The beans are medium brown with some natural variation in colour, size and shape across the four-origin blend. Their surfaces are dry with no visible oiliness, fitting comfortably with the stated medium roast rather than suggesting something pushed towards a darker roast style.
Aroma
Aromatically, there was nothing particularly distinctive that stayed with us beyond a pleasant, familiar roasted-coffee smell. It wasn’t a coffee whose aroma became a defining part of the experience, with our stronger impressions developing once we began tasting it.
Taste – Black
As a black espresso, the blend shows more of its bitterness and acidity without milk to soften the cup. Both are clearly present, giving the coffee a sharper profile, but neither becomes excessive or takes control.
The listed strawberry and honey weren’t distinct flavours for us, while the chocolate was also less obvious here. There is, however, a gentle fruit lift towards the end of the sip. It adds some freshness without resolving into a specific strawberry character. Overall, the black espresso feels balanced rather than particularly fruit-led, with enough bitterness and acidity to give it definition.
Taste – With Milk
Milk moves Espresso Supreme into familiar café territory. Without sweetener, the bitterness remains noticeable, but it sits comfortably against the milk rather than dominating it. The result reminded us of a café latte without sugar: recognisably coffee-forward, slightly bitter and easy to drink, without excessive acidity or sharpness.
The cocoa character is less apparent in this preparation, and again we couldn’t identify the strawberry note. What remains is a balanced medium-roast profile that works naturally with milk without becoming lost in it.
Adding the sweetener Equal rounds the cup further, making the bitterness and acidity less prominent. This was also where its chocolate character became considerably easier to recognise. The chocolate note is closer to cocoa powder than confectionery chocolate, adding depth rather than sweetness. A faint cocoa-like dryness lingers after the sip. There was still no obvious strawberry, but this combination gave us one of the most enjoyable expressions of the blend.
Finish & Drinkability
By the time we finished the bag, easy drinkability had become one of Espresso Supreme’s strongest qualities. Black is the sharper expression, while milk gives it the more familiar café character we preferred. Most importantly, it remained easy to return to. Nothing became tiring across repeated cups, and the coffee retained enough character with milk to avoid disappearing into it.
ATC Verdict: Is It Worth the Splurge?
Yes. Vittoria Espresso Supreme is one we’d happily buy again.
It didn’t deliver the distinct honey, strawberry and chocolate profile suggested by the tasting notes on the bag. Strawberry in particular never really appeared for us, even when drinking the coffee black. Instead, Espresso Supreme won us over through its balance and how comfortably it moved between black and milk-based preparations.
We particularly enjoyed it with milk, where it takes on the familiar character of a café latte, while adding a little sweetness brings forward a convincing unsweetened cocoa note. We enjoyed the bag enough that we’d buy it again. If anything, finishing it left us wishing we’d tried it as an iced coffee.
More convincing for its balance and drinkability than its listed tasting notes.
Editor’s Note
This review reflects our experience across the full bag, prepared over multiple sessions using a De’Longhi Magnifica S. We drank it as a black espresso, with milk, and with milk and Equal to see how its character changed across each preparation.
Adrian, Editor at All That Is Cool
