Espresso number two from Klatch Coffee is their WBC World's Best Espresso.  "Named best espresso in the world at the World Barista Championships, this espresso packs a sweet and bright fusion of orange and chocolate notes with a lingering caramel and wine-like berry finish."  Featuring a Brazil Yellow Bourbon, Sumatra Lake Tawar, and a natural Ethiopian each coffee is roasted separately and blended post roast to better control development.

Similar to the America's Best Espresso, I have found this coffee to also be a little darker and more roasty, for my palette.  Perhaps if I had a big flat burr grinder, like with the best shots I had of America's Best it would have brought out more fruit.  Maybe it's the Sumatra element, but it just has some of that roasty element that I'm just not used to in my typical third-wave high acidity drinkings.  The coffee is certainly not charred or ashy, but much more akin to traditional Italian espresso.  I did find this one to have a bit of orange spice, similar to the Bigelow Sweet Spice Green Tea, which has orange rind and sweet spices in it.  The finish has a hint of a very dry Merlot like fruit sweetness, so I do suppose it lives up to its description.  

Klatch recommends pulling this coffee at:

• 20 grams in to 1.7 - 2.0 ounces out
• In 24-26 seconds at 201*F

So, normale range extraction on the slightly faster side, is how I read that.  The coffee is forgiving and easy to work with, and would certainly serve someone new to espresso trying to craft their skills.  I followed these parameters, dosing a little lower; 18 grams in an 18 gram VST basket, keeping the time under 30 seconds.

I played around a bit with over and under dosing, pulling short ristrettos, and using cooler temperatures in an attempt to coax a bit more sweetness out of this coffee.  I think dosing to the basket recommendation or slightly under, pulled a little more on the ristretto side, and cooler did help that effort.  This recipe was:

• 17.8 - 18.0 grams in to 30-33 grams out
• 28 second shot time, cutting the pump out around 24 or 25 seconds to let it run out the last few seconds.
• 197*F brew temperature.

The coffee has a lot of crema and good body, filling out a cup to make it appear like more coffee than the yielded weight.  It holds up nicely in milk, again working that classic Italian espresso flavor to make a nice, sweet and tasty cappuccino or latte.  

I would definitely recommend this coffee to someone who prefers traditional Italian style espresso looking to try something a little different, or a new barista looking for a consistent blend to learn their skills on.

Added on to the "Championship Duo" for $13.95 for a 12 ounce bag, or available for $15.95 for 12 ounces on its own.