Not necessarily surprising that someone who only likes tame coffees likes more distinct tasting coffees espresso extracted with milk added. Properly steamed milk smoothes, mellows and transforms espresso extracted coffee into a beverage that is totally different from espresso.

I would be highly surprised if someone who preferred tame coffees actually liked espresso, especially espresso from beans with more distinct flavor characteristics. FWIW espresso extracted coffee is the beverage espresso. Properly pulled espresso can be a smooth, rich, creamy, deep, and often
intense coffee magnifying experience that will linger for hours. Add milk or other additives and it's no longer the beverage espresso but rather some other beverage with espresso in it. IE a latte is not espresso and the word latte itself says that meaning milk, derived from Italian caffe e latte meaning coffee and milk.

Yes indeed, it's a(nother) pet peeve of mine people calling all kinds of beverages "espresso" that are not the beverage espresso. Hell it's not the laymen's fault. Take the new McCafe for instance advertising now offering espresso. The hell they do. They sell beverages with milk, other stuff and espresso. Even their so call "Iced Coffee" by default comes with over half cream so is more accurately an iced Cafe au Lait. Coffee iced or other wise doesn't come with half cream by default!

Ask me for an "espresso" and that's exactly what you'll get, a straight shot of espresso. If you expect something else best call it something elsebecause it is something else.

End Rant:-)

Typed while drinking a quite delicious after dinner watered down doppio aka double shot Americano of 3 parts City IMV 2 parts my City+ McLoughlin House Blend (which is a 1:1:1:1 pre-roast blend of specific Guat,CR,ElSal PN & Brazil SDP) Didn't have enough IMV for both Debi and I so mixed it, turned
out even better than expected...

(originally posted last night on private homeroast email chat list stemming from someone saying they only liked mellow chocolaty "coffees" but did like "espresso" made with coffees with pronoucned fruit or citrus or florals etc. When what he meant was he liked lattes of these types of coffees.)