54 replies to this topic

[dolcezza]

Hey folks - Just wanted to let you know that we received our first couple of flats today of Black Mission Figs. We will be spinning up a couple of flavors this weekend - Black Mission Fig sorbetto and Mascarpone gelato with a Black Mission Fig swirl. I spun up a test batch today of the sorbetto and it was AMAZING!!...not to be modest or anything, but you know. Also, I already posted this on another thread but we will be spinning 1 small batch of Olive Oil gelato...we plan on putting this one out on Friday. Check out our blog for more details. see ya!

http://www.gelato-ology.blogspot.com/

[TheCacaoTree]

Just wanted to give everyone the heads up that Dolcezza is now carrying alfajores from chocolatier Sandra Escobar's The Cacao Tree (www.thecacaotree.com) For those who don't know, alphajores (al-pha-hor-es) are South American shortbread sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche made from scratch and they are delicious!

Also, if you're curious about Sandra's chocolate truffles and other confections, they are available on the website www.thecacaotree.com

Thanks!

Michael. (cross posted in The Cacao Tree thread)

[Anna Blume]

Saw the blog entry on Bronte pistachios. Are you buying the paste or importing the nuts? I've seen little expensive jars of poor-to-high quality pistachio paste made from Bronte nuts; Whole Foods inadvertantly received a single jar (incredible!!!!) when ordering other nut pastes from the same Sicilian company. I've never seen the nuts sold here, at least in small quantities to non-professional consumers.

[dolcezza]

Hey Anne - We are importing our nut pastes from different regions of Italy. Our Pistacchio comes in from Bronte, Sicily, our Nocciola comes from the Piedmont region in Italy and our Noce comes from Sorrento, Italy. We experimented with lots of producers and chose a couple that stood out, hands down from the rest. We will be spinning our Pistacchio di Bronte and Nocciola di Piemonte year round. Definately come by and check them out, they pair beautifully with either the Chocolate Amargo gelato or the Sicilian Blood Orange sorbetto. Interestingly, we recently started spinning the Sicilian Blood orange, as opposed to the California Blood orange, and the Sicilian oranges are FAR superior to the California oranges, mirroring exactly what we discovered with our adventures of the pistacchio.

take care. robb

[SVT]

Gelato on Sunday at Dolcezza was very good. My lemon opal basil was, as advertised, very lemony, with just a mild undercurrent of sweetness. The basil was there, but not a big player in the overall flavor (it's subtle, obviously, when compared to the citrus). The gelato was just a bit more frozen than I've recently had at Dolcezza, but good nonetheless. I also had the Noce di Sorrento, a walnut gelato that was really great--creamy and reminiscent of the better nocino that I've had in the past (though I don't think that it was flavored with nocino).

I've always liked it, but I think that this place is getting better over time.

[Al Dente]

I just got word from a friend that the Bethesda location opens tonight with a free 300 gallon gelato tasting after 6pm.

Dolcezza Gelato

Opening Notice

I'm not sure I can eat 300 gallons myself. Brain freeze...

[hillvalley]

They've actually been open for over a week. I had a mango milkshake last week that tasted fabulous but at over $6 for a shake that isn't that big I won't be a regular.

[Anna Blume]

I'm too lazy to find the earlier topic devoted to Dolcezza (Georgetown location), but I just wanted to add a new seasonal note:

Blackberry
Raspberry
Sour Cherry

are flavors new to the farmers markets where the local company sells its wares. At Penn Quarter on Thursday I tried all three, but was particularly taken with the raspberry.

[rkduggins]

I tried avocado, orange and honey and the Grey Goose vodka with cucumber flavors. They were both overpoweringly sweet, obliterating the flavors in the mix and eventually just tasting like cold sugar. I might try again, but it's not going on the hot list.

[goodeats]

It's been awhile since I've been to Bethesda and I really love this location because it reminded me of a town square or local plaza -- very charming and beautiful architecturally.

DS and I visited this afternoon and split a small Champagne Mango & Red Papaya that the boy really, really enjoyed (see pictures). The only downside is that due to the small size, it's not exactly stroller-friendly. It was a little difficult to fit a semi-wide three-wheeler through the 1 open door, but once we're in, it was fine, except for the small, narrow space that was left to walk past us to other free tables (despite the fact that I was taking one of the few back of the store tables).

This visit really made my afternoon.

[DonRocks]

Grapefruit with Campari. It sounds so light and refreshing, especially when paired with Avocado Honey Orange. What better way to cap off a meal?

How about with a sword fight? Or at least a duel with plastic spoons, which is what happened when I tried to get a bite of my young dining companion's Dulce de Leche. I need to accept the fact that I'm not going to out-think the Dulce de Leche - I should just order a medium cup of that and the Pistachio every time I go, and dispense with the exploration.

Cheers,
Rocks.

[squidsdc]

Grapefruit with Campari. It sounds so light and refreshing, especially when paired with Avocado Honey Orange. What better way to cap off a meal?

How about with a sword fight? Or at least a duel with plastic spoons, which is what happened when I tried to get a bite of my young dining companion's Dulce de Leche. I need to accept the fact that I'm not going to out-think the Dulce de Leche - I should just order a medium cup of that and the Pistachio every time I go, and dispense with the exploration.

Cheers,
Rocks.

I hadn't read this thread before I stopped by Dolcezza, and I had a real difficult time deciding which flavor to get. I went for the Dulce de Leche and I would order it again without hesitation. Now that I see Don's post, I may never try another flavor!

[dolcezza]

Try and pop by the shop or the farmers' markets in the next 4 or 5 weeks to check out the strawberries in all their fine ephemeral glory. We are spinning STRAWBERRY PERNOD, STRAWBERRY TARRAGON, STRAWBERRY TEQUILA, STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM, etc... Also, not to miss is the Black Mint that Cinda Sebastian is growing and selling at Dupont market, we are spinning MOJITO, MINT JULEP & BLACK MINT GRANIZADO (black mint steeped in our milk and cream base with a little dark chocolate folded throughout). tis the season, to go completely mad, in a very good way.

[dolcezza]

Just wanted to let everyone know about the special little window that is open here in our 2 shops, in georgeown & bethesda. it is that special time of year when the PA strawberries are in their last week and the VA blackberries, blueberries, red raspberries, black raspberries, purple raspberries and opal basil are in their first couple of weeks, giving us an amazing variety of sweet, acidic, bursting fruit to spin up in our shop. it will only be like this for the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend, and then the strawberries retreat back to the ground until next May. In both georgetown and bethesda we will have the following in our freezer case everyday, just to make the most of this alignment of fruit: STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM, STRAWBERRY TARRAGON, BLACKBERRIES AND CREAM, RED RASPBERRY, BLACK RASPBERRY, PURPLE RASPBERRY, BLUEBERRY LEMON THYME & LEMON OPAL BASIL. Everything is a sorbetto except for the 2 that say "AND CREAM". If you have come by in the past or maybe you have never come by at all, do yourself & your stomach a favor and come by this week or weekend, just to try these fruits that i mention, they are really special.

[MBK]

Just wanted to let everyone know about the special little window that is open here in our 2 shops, in georgeown & bethesda. it is that special time of year when the PA strawberries are in their last week and the VA blackberries, blueberries, red raspberries, black raspberries, purple raspberries and opal basil are in their first couple of weeks, giving us an amazing variety of sweet, acidic, bursting fruit to spin up in our shop. it will only be like this for the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend, and then the strawberries retreat back to the ground until next May. In both georgetown and bethesda we will have the following in our freezer case everyday, just to make the most of this alignment of fruit: STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM, STRAWBERRY TARRAGON, BLACKBERRIES AND CREAM, RED RASPBERRY, BLACK RASPBERRY, PURPLE RASPBERRY, BLUEBERRY LEMON THYME & LEMON OPAL BASIL. Everything is a sorbetto except for the 2 that say "AND CREAM". If you have come by in the past or maybe you have never come by at all, do yourself & your stomach a favor and come by this week or weekend, just to try these fruits that i mention, they are really special.

I have to say, I have tried the strawberries and cream, strawberry tarragon, and blueberry lemon thyme, and ... WHOA. Y'all need to go try this stuff. Right now.

[Arcturus]

Another vote for trying this stuff. Robb's products are amazing.

[sacrilicious]

I recently tried the Bethesda location and have a mixed review. Tahitian vanilla was somehow flat and lacked vanilla flavor and aroma. I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong, but it was completely different from the incredible gelato I've enjoyed many times at the Georgetown location. It was relatively late on a Friday night, I don't know if it had been sitting around picking up off flavors or what. The dulce de leche and black mint were quite good though.

[dolcezza]

I recently tried the Bethesda location and have a mixed review. Tahitian vanilla was somehow flat and lacked vanilla flavor and aroma. I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong, but it was completely different from the incredible gelato I've enjoyed many times at the Georgetown location. It was relatively late on a Friday night, I don't know if it had been sitting around picking up off flavors or what. The dulce de leche and black mint were quite good though.

Hey Sacrilicious. We recently tweaked our recipe for the Tahitian Vanilla Bean, which we spin for both Georgetown & Bethesda locations. Basically, we reduced the vanilla beans that we soak in our base overnight, feeling that it was getting a little too fruity/floral. We also reduced the amount of sugar in our base, which we have done many times, always trying to keep the sweetness in balance. The result is a vanilla that is a bit more subtle and less sweet. As far as the difference between Georgetown & Bethesda, I don't know why? We spin 20 pans for Bethesda in the morning and deliver it with our own freezer van. We also spin 20 pans for Georgetown in the morning for that same location. So, thanks for your feedback and you may want to get your black mint fix while you can, it is on its way out, as soon as the first frost shows up, she is a goner til next year.

[alan7147]

Hey Sacrilicious. We recently tweaked our recipe for the Tahitian Vanilla Bean, which we spin for both Georgetown & Bethesda locations. Basically, we reduced the vanilla beans that we soak in our base overnight, feeling that it was getting a little too fruity/floral. We also reduced the amount of sugar in our base, which we have done many times, always trying to keep the sweetness in balance. The result is a vanilla that is a bit more subtle and less sweet. As far as the difference between Georgetown & Bethesda, I don't know why? We spin 20 pans for Bethesda in the morning and deliver it with our own freezer van. We also spin 20 pans for Georgetown in the morning for that same location. So, thanks for your feedback and you may want to get your black mint fix while you can, it is on its way out, as soon as the first frost shows up, she is a goner til next year.

Your pumpkin (forgot the specific type) was killer last night.

[DonRocks]

The Dupont Circle location has a sign up saying that they're opening on April 15th (give or take a couple of days).

[mdt]

Pork and gelato? Check out the flyer.

Attached Thumbnails

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[nick]

Dupont opens tomorrow (Friday)!

[dolcezza]

a 330lb red wattle pig is being smoked right now and through the night next to our dupont store. bev eggleston, eric buxton and i will be there tending the fire and the pig through the night and we will be getting down with FREE GELATO, FREE PORK & BLUEGRASS MUSIC tomorrow, Sunday the 9th from noon til 6pm. Hope to see ya there.

[Anna Blume]

It was so, so yummy! thanks to mbk, too, for excellent service. loved the chocolate rocher and the cool copper coffee contraptions, bright against rugged white brick walls.

[MollyAP]

Hello All. I am an employee at Dolcezza in their new location. For this location, Robb and Violeta (the owners and founder of the company), decided on a new concept. Not only are we serving daily made gelatos and sorbets that have been our staple, but we are now working with some kick ass local baristas to do outrageous espresso drinks and single serving, pour -over coffees. So far we've had a great reception, but always welcoming new customers with new opinions.
So please, everyone, come by our new shop anytime, we keep ridiculous hours (7am to 11pm Mon-Thurs, 7am to Midnight Friday, 8am to Midnight Saturday, and 8am to 10pm on Sunday) and send me some feedback here!!! Thanks a bunch guys...
1704 Connecticut Ave, NW
Washington, DC
202 299 9116

[weinoo]

Stopped by for a quick gelato fix the other day, and have to say the flavors I tried were exceptional. Coffee and one of the chocolates. Tasted the gin/tarragon/something sorbet and it was mighty good, too. Went back last night and had more gelato - this time yellow peaches and cream along with Tahitian vanilla - once again, mighty impressive.

So good to know that they carry Intellegentsia and Counter Culture coffees, among others. Good work.

What's the secret of your gin sorbet? I've tried making a few different gin sorbets at home (aviation, rickey) and always have trouble getting a gin-ny enough flavor and of course too much gin and it won''t freeze. Whereas anything I make with Campari is usually great because you need so little of it for the flavor to come through. Care to share?

[jigones]

Love this place. My wife is addicted to the alfajores. While it is overpriced, their dulce de leche is also good.

[dolcezza]

Our dirty little alcoholic secret is......to burn off between 65% - 80% of whatever alcohol it is. We just light it on fire and let it go. It lets you control the flavor of the liqueur without ruining the texture. & we use Hendrick's gin with the persian cukes. They go oh-so-well together. Hope this helps.

Stopped by for a quick gelato fix the other day, and have to say the flavors I tried were exceptional. Coffee and one of the chocolates. Tasted the gin/tarragon/something sorbet and it was mighty good, too. Went back last night and had more gelato - this time yellow peaches and cream along with Tahitian vanilla - once again, mighty impressive.

So good to know that they carry Intellegentsia and Counter Culture coffees, among others. Good work.

What's the secret of your gin sorbet? I've tried making a few different gin sorbets at home (aviation, rickey) and always have trouble getting a gin-ny enough flavor and of course too much gin and it won''t freeze. Whereas anything I make with Campari is usually great because you need so little of it for the flavor to come through. Care to share?

[weinoo]

Yes, it does. And thanks so much for the tip. Of course, at $35 or so for a bottle of Hendrick's, I don't know how much of this sorbet I can afford to make.

[LauraB]

Stopped by Dolcezza in Bethesda yesterday afternoon and gourged on gelato. Started out with 2 scoops and they were so good, I had to go back for 2 more flavors. The 3 standout flavors were: Thai Coconut, White Peach Prosecco, and Lime. Honestly, if we didn't have a movie to get to, I probably would have gone back for 2 more scoops! At $4.75 for 2 small scoops, it's definitely expensive, but the quality is outstanding.

[Anna Blume]

Robb Duncan's way too modest to boast, so I'll do it for him. Better than The New York Times is the opinion of Alberto Adria (El Bulli) who says his is the best gelato he's ever tasted.

[dolcezza]

"I have passed the test. I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel."

i know, i know. i just couldn't refuse. i am such a nerd.

Robb Duncan's way too modest to boast, so I'll do it for him. Better than The New York Times is the opinion of Alberto Adria (El Bulli) who says his is the best gelato he's ever tasted.

[Loire Lover]

"I have passed the test. I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel."

i know, i know. i just couldn't refuse. i am such a nerd.

You may be a nerd, but you make damn good gelato. Congratulations on the compliments. You deserve them!

[rockcreek]

You may be a nerd, but you make damn good gelato. Congratulations on the compliments. You deserve them!

Hell yeah, you do. My 4-year old ran off with my dish of cardamom gelato. I'm not sure what surprised me more: that a picky 4 year old liked it, or that I let him take it.

[mame11]

While I may not be a (huge) fan of their gelatos and sorbets (I prefer Pitango and Dairy Godmother respectively), they may make the best coffee in town. The cappuccino I had Sunday morning was perfect in every way.

[ktmoomau]

Had the nectarine mixed with the thai coconut milk the other night. Very refreshing and mildly sweet. I wish I was closer to a location.

[darkstar965]

While I may not be a (huge) fan of their gelatos and sorbets (I prefer Pitango and Dairy Godmother respectively), they may make the best coffee in town. The cappuccino I had Sunday morning was perfect in every way.

Which location were you at? I"m guessing north Dupont on Conn Ave? They have a great coffee program. Less extensive in north georgetown and bethesda. Ah, and Dolcezza gets my vote for best milkshakes but that's a separate thread

[darkstar965]

So, since we've been posting a lot about ice cream and gelato this week, I reached out to Robb (whom I don't know) to ask about what, exactly is in the awesome tasting gelato he makes and which I often enjoy in my fave DC-area milkshakes. In response to my request, he gave me permission to share the following which he'd sent to me. And, following that, I'm including a link to a pretty cool series of photos and a Wall St Journal writeup done on Robb/Dolcezza from a few weeks ago that I really enjoyed. The photography is great and that and the writing really shed nice light on what's behind and in the Dolcezza product from both ingredient and philosophy perspectives. Absolutely, positively NO HFCS here, Rocks.

GELATI
cream base - for all cream based gelati like pistacchio, mascarpone, cinnamon, vanilla, coconut, etc...
- ingredients are milk, cream, sugar + the ingredient. so, we cook the milk, cream & sugar and then chill it to around 40F. From that cream base, we produce flavor by flavor, so, pistacchio would be pouring 10 kg of the cream base and then mixing 150 grams of pistacchio with the immersion blender, a touch of salt and then pouring this into the batch freezer, which is the machine that spins and freezes the liquid mix to make the gelato.

chocolate base - ingredients are milk, cream, sugar, guittard cacao powder and guittard choccolate couverture. we cook all these ingredients together and then chill it to 40F and pour out the chilled base to spin batch by batch

valrhona chocolate base - ingredients are milk, cream, sugar, valrhona cacao powder and valrhona 70% chocolate couverture (Guanaja). we cook all these ingredients and then chill it to 40F and pour out the chilled base to spin batch by batch

dulce de leche base - ingredients are milk, cream, sugar and dulce de leche. the same process as above: cook, chill and then spin batch by batch.

sorbetti - all sorbet is essentially water, sugar and the fruit. we always use whole fruit, no purees, powders, pastes, pre-squeezed crap, etc.. and anything that grows here that we can get in the farmers' markets, we only use that fruit while it is in season. so, strawberry we only produce in may and june and that's it for the year. fruit comprises roughly 60 - 70% of all recipes, so that is why it is so intense and so much like eating the fruit itself. and then with many combinations, the herbs, spices, honey and liqueurs are added for many different flavors.

* one more note about the gelati, we drive to PERRYDELL FARM (http://www.perrydell....com/index.html) every week to pick up our milk, cream and butter. they milk and bottle the same day we drive up there and needless to say this is the largest component of the gelato and their milk is amazing and done very conscientiously by good folks. this is the milk we use for our coffee drinks in all 3 shops.

WSJ story and photos here

[Beto]

Now that's transparency. Bravo!

[weinoo]

When you say you "cook the milk," by that I'm assuming that you scorch it, as opposed to bringing it to a boil and letting it boil for a while?

[dolcezza]

When you say you "cook the milk," by that I'm assuming that you scorch it, as opposed to bringing it to a boil and letting it boil for a while?

we bring the milk, cream and sugar up to about 65C, or 150 F, this is to dissolve the sugar & bring everything together in the double boiler, then we chill the base before spinning flavor by flavor

[Arcturus]

I love how Dolcezza is the Rogue Brewery of Gelato. They make stuff that's so awesome that they can tell you exactly how to do it without worrying about someone making a product that's even close, let alone equal. That's some serious swag!

[DonRocks]

I love how Dolcezza is the Rogue Brewery of Gelato. They make stuff that's so awesome that they can tell you exactly how to do it without worrying about someone making a product that's even close, let alone equal. That's some serious swag!

I love this post, and it's what a lot of people are thinking.

[dolcezza]

we prefer 'kind' to 'swag' any day lol

I love how Dolcezza is the Rogue Brewery of Gelato. They make stuff that's so awesome that they can tell you exactly how to do it without worrying about someone making a product that's even close, let alone equal. That's some serious swag!

[weinoo]

It really seems as if Dolcezza, at least the one we frequent at Dupont Circle, has minimized their coffee operation, at least what they are offereing at retail. A quick stop in last night showed some decaf beans for sale along with maybe one varietal from Ritual (which wasn't that recently roasted). I imagine this means the pour-over and espresso are not being made with the freshest beans either.

While disappointed that I couldn't bring some freshly roasted Intellegentsia beans back to NYC with me, it was nice to see my little local shop had just gotten one of their twice weekly deliveries of Stumptown beans, and I picked up a bag of organic Ethiopian Mordecofe that had been roasted on Sunday.

[darkstar965]

It really seems as if Dolcezza, at least the one we frequent at Dupont Circle, has minimized their coffee operation, at least what they are offereing at retail. A quick stop in last night showed some decaf beans for sale along with maybe one varietal from Ritual (which wasn't that recently roasted). I imagine this means the pour-over and espresso are not being made with the freshest beans either.

While disappointed that I couldn't bring some freshly roasted Intellegentsia beans back to NYC with me, it was nice to see my little local shop had just gotten one of their twice weekly deliveries of Stumptown beans, and I picked up a bag of organic Ethiopian Mordecofe that had been roasted on Sunday.

Maybe next time ask the folks there about this just to be fair to them? It's one thing for a retailer/restaurant to make a major change/reduction in its offerings or quality as speculated above. It's quite another to simply run out of something. Like any retailer, Dolcezza will occasionally have spikes in demand and temporarily run out of things though I've found them to be pretty good at managing inventory. Helps to have the three locations and several years of experience as they now have.

I was at the Dupont location today and they had plenty of freshly roasted Intelligentsia, along with Verve and at least two other bean providers. No sign at all that anything has been "minimized.".

Dolcezza Dupont and Filter are still the best two coffee spots in NW IMHO.

[dolcezza]

It really seems as if Dolcezza, at least the one we frequent at Dupont Circle, has minimized their coffee operation, at least what they are offereing at retail. A quick stop in last night showed some decaf beans for sale along with maybe one varietal from Ritual (which wasn't that recently roasted). I imagine this means the pour-over and espresso are not being made with the freshest beans either.

While disappointed that I couldn't bring some freshly roasted Intellegentsia beans back to NYC with me, it was nice to see my little local shop had just gotten one of their twice weekly deliveries of Stumptown beans, and I picked up a bag of organic Ethiopian Mordecofe that had been roasted on Sunday.

Mitch - It's the opposite from what you suppose up above. With the weather getting cooler, our coffee sales, thus our coffee offering begins to increase right about now. We currently offer beans from 5 different roasters, RITUAL, MADCAP, COUNTER CULTURE, INTELLIGENTSIA & VERVE. Our current espresso is from VERVE COFFEE ROASTERS and it is their StreetLevel blend. Our espresso changes every 2 - 4 months, more or less. We order our coffee beans every week and they get turned over within the same time frame, meaning that we should never sell retail bags more than 1 week after their roast date OR prepare a V60 pour-over coffee with beans more than 1 week after their roast date. What I suspect happened is that the folks in Dupont hadn't stocked the shelves. I just forwarded them this comment you made and asked them to ALWAYS have the shelves stocked. In my opinion, we have the most varied and richest coffee offering in the DMV area, but it will not be known if they are not on the shelf. So, thanks for the heads up, hopefully coffee will be on the shelf the next time you are around.

[weinoo]

I certainly don't mean to disparage the operation; I'm always stopping in for some gelato. But I have actually noticed the shelf-stocking situation a couple of times. And when I've asked the people behind the counter if any other beans were available, I've been told "that's all we have" on more than one occasion. Maybe all that was needed was for you to talk to your employees - I'll check again the next time I'm down south. Thanks.

[darkstar965]

A quick post here since has been several months since a last report. I'm a regular at all of Dolcezza's locations. Best gelato (and milkshakes!) in town but, increasingly, one of our best coffee spots too.

In the last couple of weeks, Dolcezza has been serving a new roaster's product that I've really enjoyed. They've usually had fine Counter Culture and Intelligentsia in the past along with others. Excellent coffee but not so different from the other top-tier spots.

Then, I saw an interesting bag on the shelf from a Grand Rapids roaster called Mad Cap. I know Robb mentioned he had MadCap last October (upthread) but, for whatever reason, I hadn't noticed it in the stores until earlier this year. Dolcezza is serving MadCap Porvenir from El Salvador and I'll go on record saying this may be the best coffee I've yet had there and one of the best currently in the city. Nuanced. rich, robust with wonderful aroma and finish. Wow! After only seeing this marque at Dolcezza, I also saw and tried the MadCap Guatemalan Finca de Dios at Evening Star last night. That one, while very good, didn't stand out as much to me as the Porvenir but, in any event, I'd strongly recommend coffee lovers give this a try. Just in Bethesda and Dupont since Georgetown doesn't yet have the full Dolcezza coffee program (heard a rumor they may be looking for bigger digs where they can spread out and do everything they're doing north and east).

[darkstar965]

Sticking with Caii, Dolcezza just changed its espresso from Four Barrel to Verve. You really need a scorecard to keep track of all the great coffee coming into the city. Both of these roasters are very good but, since left coast, less often seen than some others.

One might argue better or preferred for a local retailer like Dolcezza to prioritize local roasters but I wouldn't be among them. I love how Dolcezza manages it's coffee suppliers. They rotate among quality providers including the locals like Ceremony. Not so frequently as to be a blur but purposefully with more popular/better ones sticking around or reappearing from time to time. On a pure coffee/product basis, I like that approach better than others who are exclusive to one roaster* (usually because the roaster makes it attractive for them to do so with provision of equipment, training the like). All good, just what it is.

Personally, I really like the Verve espresso. Better than the Four Barrel to my taste, the caramel and depth come out vibrantly in a cappuccino or macchiato. I only get espresso drinks maybe 25% of the time but, if you're an espresso person, Verve is an excellent one to try.

And, of course, if game to try another of Dolcezza's great coffee providers, MadCap, with the roasters/owners themselves, please take a look here and raise a hand.

* By "one roaster," I mean retailers who do not roast beans themselves and sell just one roaster's products. That's different from a retailer who is also a roaster, typically roasting beans onsite or nearby. In those cases, of course, expected and great to be exclusive to their own product. Local roaster retailers like Qualia, Sidamo and Amouri (Vienna) fall into that category. At some point in the near (?) future, MadCap may also be a local roaster/retailer.