Cornell & Diehl Espresso

By coincidence, this week’s entry just so happens to be one from an abundant cast of coffee-flavored pipe tobaccos available for your tempting smoking indulgence. Ah-ha. Seeing that coffee is one of my base functional inputs in life, and further compounded by the fact that I am genuinely an incurably curious pipe smoker at that, I thought I would teem myself with a hearty cup or rather bowlful on this fine August day. And with that intent, pouring forth for your caffeine-loving consideration is Cornell & Diehl’s very own complement of Espresso.
This mild to medium flavored Cornell & Diehl tobacco features a mixture of unsweetened Black Cavendish and a portion of their Green River Vanilla blend which contributes the significance of fire cured Burley. To solidify this stodgy recipe’s premier flavor, a distinctive top-note of brazenfaced coffee has been generously infused, and then modishly joined by the augmentation of quieting soothful cream. Designed for those discreet pipers who selectively fancy the unique experience of a coffee-centric aromatic, Espresso is served up to render a concentrated shot of brewed smoking delight.
At a glance, you will discover the immense shadowy image cast by this profusely coarse-cut mixture. Sold both as a bulk and tinned offering, Espresso projects a staunch visage of exceedingly brown/black strands and irregular pieces piled shamelessly in a thickened nesting. In showing every part of what would appear to be the murk and umbra of wet coffee grounds, the tobacco comes fairly dense and jaggedly pillowed. What is more, this concoction carries a significant degree of moisture and fastening tackiness, which is duly noted upon the simple touch of one’s finger. As such, it is advisable to expose the subject bowl pickings to an extended set up time for optimum burning. Yet even with executing that preparatory measure, you still might find Espresso to be a bit logged with respect to exaggerated dampness.
Sampling the air of the bulked pouch, immediately a detectable commenting of compact roasted coffee greets with uninhibited introduction. Presumably, it is as if your face has been fully immersed into a fresh bag of Starbuck’s Pike Place savory dried grounds. Well, maybe not exactly but you get the gist of my enthusiasm.
Surrounding this spicy dark notation, you can easily register a strapping buttery essence that, when combined with the applied sweet cream and delicate vanilla, borders upon the decorative appeal of sugary butterscotch. With extended probing, witness of a residing flash of relaxing cocoa comes to record as a further tinge of suggestive succor. At the bottom of this pleasant top essence, the nose reveals a bit of weaker nuttiness, faded wood, some common sourness, and a hidden acrid funk that totally permeates the nasal sense once properly uncovered. On the latter element, this classifiable scent is the very same malodorous pong that I encountered with C&D’s Apples & Cream, which stands to reason given the common base recipe.
Upon striking the initial flame, the palate is immediately greeted with a forceful wave of, you guess it, energetic dark espresso. This forward affluence brings the delicious sharpness of a fully concentrated roasting that is standardly robust, gourmet-like, and exceptionally chocolatey in undertone. Classic in its flavorsomeness, Espresso secures further development by an evocation of standing bitterness and what I perceived to be a minor twist of a stone-fruit ambience much like the character of a basic plum. Riding the peripheral edging is the softening influence of the vanilla creaminess that comfortably frames the profile with a cheerful gentling effect. Not too shabby in terms of impact, as the tobacco’s leading flavor re-fueled my lethargic and woefully craggy spirit if the truth were to be known.
Although the blend is unquestionably dominated by the mentioned flavorings, which by the way exhibit fine performance in lasting presence, with the smoking, you will experience evidence of a modest sugary walnut base tone gathered with seasoned wood and a shied tangy sourness. Additionally, there is an abiding buttery quality the comes into play for the entire course of the bowl and some degree of earthen funk, but nothing as pretentiously tainted as I found within the extreme depth of the pouched aroma. Finally, the profile discloses an occasional glimmer of herbaceous spice that materialized with a wispy mint-like complexion.
With its expenditure, Espresso endows cultured plumes of dense grayed smoke that project a real magnitude that is especially heavier and brooding. Standardly the ensuing fragrance ideally models this simple recipe’s base constituents. Foremost, the circulating aroma is colorized by the prevailing goodness of toasty, unambiguous coffee that is tactfully sweetened by tapering droplets of creamed vanilla.
Still, you can undeniably register the heavy representation of the cloying native nut-woodiness of the essential Burley. And with that base essence, there is stoked smokiness and a minor tint of classic sourness that resonate freely. This bundling is further painted with a general earthen zest which practically demonstrates the inclusive contribution of the naked Cavendish. Perceivably, I could assign a tolerable to pleasant room presence rating depending upon the subject onlooker’s stomach-able permissiveness.
Coming to the final assessment criterion of mechanical performance, Espresso does in fact demonstrate smoothness in texture and a proper balancing in the flow of assorted taste streams. Subsequently the whole smoking exercise charts as pleasantly enjoyable and truly mellow in its course. By default, the series of sampling pipes that were used supports the choice of a simple hardwood cob as the best relatable experience. Even so, I should state that the tobacco itself seemed to burn with an accelerated pace yet maintained coolness in experienced temperatures. Also, one physical detraction worth mentioning, when all is said and done, this blend does indeed deposit an earnest amount of goopy tar-like dottle in the cavity of the bowl, so be advised on that one.
Given the actual varietals contained within the mixture, there are mild to medium residual effects that surface in regard to felt nicotine impressions. And of course there is that delicate seedy funk resident to its raw state that one must contend with during the pre-smoking activities. Short of that, Espresso’s potential for an all-day smoker is genuinely feasible based upon my measured study.