I'm impressed: Vittoria Riserva Black Valley

• Vittoria Black Valley Nespresso Compatible Coffee Capsules Pack 10
• Intensity: 15
• Usually $7 for a 10 pack (but there's a special 'any 4 for $16' deal going on at Coles right now, and Vittoria's own website lists it on sale for $4.90)

Before I get into it, a bit of context. I actually don't like Vittoria's typical barista house blend – I find it leaves a certain aftertaste that I'm not a fan of. It's kind of nutty (??) but not in a way that I enjoy, so I generally tend to steer clear of Vittoria.

But this isn't their regular blend, I was seduced by their powerful bold red and black colours and the promise of 15 intensity, so I picked this up on my Big Binge.

For all my hesitations, I was pleasantly surprised. The crema was really lovely, smooth and rich and silky, and the smell and the taste is distinctly sweet, which is totally in line with the tasting notes that Vittoria describes as "dark chocolate, syrup, toast, smokey".

The one thing I will say is that it really doesn't taste '15'-intensity strong. Because I was overall very much enjoying the taste in and of itself, I'm happy to forgive this, but it didn't deliver on the intensity that it promises. Nespresso really was the pioneer of the intensity system to begin with, though, so I don't know what process other brands have to assign intensity levels. I would personally estimate that the actual intensity of this is somewhere around a 9 or 10.

Either way, I enjoyed it a lot. I also read that great coffee should actually still taste great even as it cools down, and it was still tasting great when my cup cooled down. It really does have sweet notes though, so if you don't like that, this might not be for you.

Another thing I do like about this is that they're partnered with OzHarvest:

For every kilo of coffee prepared for these packs, we donate $1 to OzHarvest which enables them to deliver two meals to people in need. Your purchase and others like it have helped deliver millions of meals to Australians. 

Love to drink coffee and save the world.

Would I buy it again? I reckon so, yes! I'm a happy customer. I'll be picking up their Inca Peru (also intensity 15) one day.

Jess x