I happened to be in Waldo on Saturday morning checking out another new roaster/coffee shop in the neighborhood and decided to stop in and have a Gibraltar at Second Best Coffee. The Gibraltar is another name for a cortado, which is basically a 4.5 ounce cappuccino. It’s pretty much the perfect size when you want something milky but not a giant cup of it (venti latte, anybody?).
I posted a review of Second Best’s Gibraltar not too long ago and I liked it, but I was a little challenged by the Dogwood Neon espresso, which I found to bring out a little sourness in the milk. It was FAR, FAR from unappealing or gross and I adjusted to it just fine and enjoyed the drink.
I knew on my first sip of this one, however, that the espresso was different and I presumed Second Best was using their own roasted beans since they just recently started roasting and selling their own coffee. This was confirmed and I was told that they would resume using guest roasters’ espressos for a while until they settled on their own blend and roasting profile at the shop.
I found both drinks to be good, but I was definitely a bigger fan of the one that used Second Best’s own roast. It didn’t have the slightly sour bite of the other one and it was right up my alley!