Italian Espresso Style - The House of Robert Timms
Welcome to the Espresso Idiot's review of the House of Robert Timms Italian Espresso Style espresso ground coffee. The Espresso Idiot 'took one for the team' in reviewing this coffee, which is widely available across Australia and New Zealand. Most people will be familiar with the vacuum packed coffee blocks that are associated with this product. The air is sucked out of the ground coffee to prolong the shelf life of the ground coffee, giving it the feel of a 'brick' as the powder grind becomes hardened due to the pressure the vacuum creates.
The House of Robert Timms is a long time player in the coffee market, the packing loudly declaring that they have been involved in the art of espresso since 1951. The coffee is said to be 100% arabica, and dark roasted with a rich stong cotninetnal aroma and flavour. This coffee claims to be "perfect for those occaisions when you want a truly full-bodied cup of coffee".
"The only thing I am thankful to this coffee for is confirming my status as a true artist. I sacrificed myself for my art by taste testing this coffee. It ought not be sampled by any self respecting coffee afficionado. This is more likely to be enjoyed by your grandmother who probably remembers when Robert Timms was cutting edge and introduced better coffee to the fledgling antipodean uneducated palate" .
Espresso Idiot, 9 October 2006.
Summary Information
Overall Score: Weak, bland, watery. Below average. Not reccomended. 3 out of 10.
Packaging: Vacuum packed in foil to produce the brick effect. There is information on the packaging about the product (inaccurate) and the producer (accurate). 2 out of 10.
Bean Type: 100% arabica. Quality is questionable. 3 out of 10.
Crema: Thick, foamy, discoloured, unevenly dispersed on the shot. 2 out of 10.
Aroma: The sole strong aspect of this coffee. 5 out of 10.
Taste: Very watery and weak. Nothing remarkable about the coffee, weak enough to have before bed. 3 out of 10.
Web Site: House of Robert Timms
Contact Details: Ph: 1800-888-996 or 0800-263-333 (New Zealand)
Review
The Italian Espresso Style offering from the House of Robert Timms is a relic from the past. Being a long time player in the antipodean market, the House of Robert Timms now seems somewhat antiquated in its approach to coffee. The former high quality espresso provided to the market such as this, are no longer something that the modern espresso aficionado would consider worthy of brewing in a home espresso machine. While the brick vacuum pack may have been cutting edge at the stage Robert Timms adopted it, it is no longer the preferred method of delivering top quality gourmet level coffee. They appear to be trying to be all things to all people, and as a result miss out on delivering to the top end of the market. It seems Robert Timms is targetted to the mass market, and their espresso is widely carried by the major supermarkets. They do, after all, proudly note that they are the only company producing coffee bags in Australia. A dubious honour to be sure.
Any ground coffee is a gamble for the reason that more air can come into contact with the ground coffee (because it has more surface area), and as we all know air is the enemy in storing coffee. At least the vacuum does mitigate the loss of taste to some degree, however it clearly has an effect on the final product. The Espresso Idiot sampled the pre-gound version of this coffee on the basis that the packaging advises that it is suitable for espresso machines. Also according to the Robert Timms web site they are "one of the few remaining companies which roasts and blends fresh coffee in Australia". On this basis it had to be given a go.
This coffee is a little oddly placed in the market, attempting to capture as wide an audience as possible. The rehetoric and marketing babble on the packing attempt to convey a level of sophistcation and taste that is beyond the product. "100% arabica" blares the badge on top of the package. References to "rich strong continetnal style aroma and flavour", seem to add to the impression that the coffee is meant to deliver at a high level. It does not.
Although the espresso blend may be 100% arabica bean as claimed, the espresso shot produced from this coffee is manifestly second rate. The crema is particularly weak, being patchy, foamy, and coloured more like the bubbly froth you might find an a weak poorly flavoured chocolate milkshake, rather than the rich caramel coloured offerings served up on top of premium gourmet espresso. This, and the taste were the weakest aspect of this coffee.
The taste was weak and watery in the extreme. The espresso shot was watery, unevenly coloured and had almost no interesting points for the palate. It tasted like an espresso version of instant coffee. It was hard work making it through the entire 200g packet. When mixed with milk the taste of coffee became so weak that it was almost like drinking a cup of warm milk. In effect, it was difficult to gague on the palate because there was nothing remarkable about it that would set off the taste buds.
The aroma of this espresso blend is the redeeming features for this espreso, and saves it from being the benchmark "zero espresso" that one day the Espresso Idiot will be able to anounce to the world. The aroma of the beans in the packet is good, coming out evenly and strongly once the grind is exposed to the air. From the shot the aroma is strong, and reminds one of dark strong coffees that have previously been sampled. Up until this point the Espresso Idiot was fully prepared to give the coffee the benefit of the doubt and be surprised by the coffee shot produced. However, taste then intervened and destroyed the prospects for this coffee. Below par, not even mediocre. Stay away.