One of the presents was a 250g packet of pre-roasted Costa Rica Tarrazu La Minita estate. I was a bit amused at first because all of my colleagues know that I roast my own, am an insufferable coffee snob and so on. The beans were roasted in front of my secretary's eyes on Saturday (3 days ago) in Hamburg Speicherstadt, however, and I thought I'd be polite and give them a fair try.
I was pleased to see the beans were roasted quite darkly, full city+ or so, very even with that matt sheen that beans have when they come out of a 5kg Probat (good secretary, she wrote down the name and model of the roaster).
I ground them and was not impressed with the aroma of the fresh grounds, not unpleasent, just a bit dull.
First I made a double espresso, a 26 sec. shot. The crema was first chocolate brown, but at about 20 sec. it lightened up and became a deep beige (?), not copious, but perhaps 3mm in a demitasse. The aroma was delightful, rich and sweet. My taste impression was:
good acidity
very good balance
full body but still delicate
semi-sweet chocolate
some fruit, perhaps plum
the mouth feel was velvety
fine, long-lasting, delicate finish
It was so good that after an hour I made a ristretto. The crema remained a deep, chocolate brown and all the flavours were intensified. It was definitely not a sledge hammer, but rather refined and delicate.
I think there would be flowery notes to this bean, but it was roasted so darkly that any floweriness was pretty much lost. I think I'll try to get some of these green and try some different roasts.
All-in-all a very pleasant surprise.
You trained your co-workers well 
