Café Bravo

Rating: 6/23 Nose: Rich and syrupy, but with a bitter herbal note, mushrooms, and chemicals. There's a hint of roastiness and spices, but they are difficult to discern. It's a rich, but somewhat bland nose with many issues. It contains more chemicals than Café Granita does, as well as less richness and spiciness. Palate: Very viscous, almost like maple syrup. The palate is super rich with a flavor that isn't entirely like coffee and is hard to pinpoint, but is nonetheless enjoyable. There's a hint of black licorice in here mixed with some chocolate, grade B maple syrup, some hogo, rum richness. It's rich, but unfortunately not very complex. There's even a faint suggestion of root beer, though. There's unfortunately some bitter chemical flavor in it. I wouldn't say that this tastes strongly like a coffee liqueur, but it doesn't taste too bad. There is the slightest bit of artificial flavor, but it isn't too bad. Finish: Some confectioner's sugar chalkiness emerges and the sweetness increases with more of the root beer flavor appearing. It's not awful, but it doesn't taste clearly like coffee and it's a bit off. The chemicals are present to a small degree, but less noticeable. It's not drinkable. It's not obviously a coffee liqueur, but it's not completely awful. This is better than Vita Divine Coffee, but not by much. Makaio is substantially better and Café Granita is also a bit better. I think this falls in the 5 to 7 range and a 6 seems most suitable.

Aromas of bitter chocolate and coffee. Little sign of the sweetness I anticipate. Some anise. However, some overpowering chemical scents too. The flavor is purely sweet. Almost pure sugar. Just hints of the coffee and chocolate from the nose. Fortunately, not much of the chemicals either. Yet, it somehow tastes artificial. An odd duality to this one.