Rombouts

This is everything you expect from an Italian espresso - dark, strong and a punch to the throat. To start with, this is a super fine grind, which means we're not just drinking infused coffee, but actual coffee grinds that have slipped through our caffetiere net. While this makes it strong, it does give it that slightly dry and grainy taste. The flavour though is pure Italian - like drinking a cup of charcoal from a forest fire at Lake Garda. However, if this is putting you off, don't let it. This stuff tastes fabulous. Strong and dusty it might be, but it slides down like oil on velvet. We should really try it in a machine rather than a plunger. But we cant - because we've already had the bleedin' lot. Don't know what it costs as Rombouts sent it to us a a little pressie - but it must be the cheaper end, as it's an industrial looking tin. 8/10

The first few cups we had out of this tin didn't really go down too well. It just felt very harsh and over roasted - and more like a cheap Robusta type coffee. But then we realised our mistake - in our slapdash behaviour of getting the thing made, we weren't really brewing it up for long enough. When we finally had time to leave one soaking for a full three minutes the difference was notable - the tough-on-the-throat ashtray taste was replaces by a mellow - but still thumpingly strong - brew that looked great in the cup too. We really gulped it down and wanted another, it was that smooth to the taste. And with no tacky aftertaste on the finish this one is a real winner. 8/10

After the sophistication of our last Rombouts taster, this one felt cheap because the tin was more agricultural and it only had a cheapo plastic lid. However we should not have been so quick to judge - this is a balls-out face smasher of a coffee. It's a dark roast and it's a super fine grind, the combination of which means we get something that could raise the dead. But don't let that frighten you - this is a very drinkable cup that despite its fine grind is easy to brew and delivered every time down to the bottom of the tin. We like it a lot. 9/10

This one claims to be the Champagne of the coffee world... a big bold claim. Well, the tin certainly looks the part, it's a golden precision engineered piece of tin that puts your average Europe foil block packaging to shame. Even the way the lid fits so perfectly is slightly erotic. It's a heavy tin too, seeming like there's more packed into this than normal. The coffee itself is pre-ground and it's of a super fine grind - which means you do have to treat it with a little respect when spooning it up as it's easy to pile it 6 inches high on even a teaspoon. The smell from the tin is pretty good too - we accidently left the lid off and walked out of the kitchen to pick up some cups and when we came back the whole room was flooded with gorgeousness. So onto the tasting - it doesn't disappoint - it looks appealing with a fine head and kicks as hard as a mule who's just missed his tax return deadline and been fined a bag of oats.  There's no fancy flavours in there - just a good nutty punch to the tonsils. We'll take some more of these. Its a 9/10

Rombouts have really raised their game lately. From just have one pack on the shelves they've gone all Illy-cool and started producing these tins which started out at a fiver a pop (f*ck OFF!) but you can now pick them up at 2 for a fiver, which is a bargain - being that they are 250g extra large size too. Shame you don't get the Illy woosh when you open the tin - but it's still classy none the less. More importantly though, the taste - and what a cracker this is. It's got the East African zesty twang that we love so much and it still packs a punch on strength. Not in a face-smashing way - but still good enough for us hard-as-nails Judges. You can't over cook it either - it's super-forgiving. You could just shake some by eye out of the tin into your machine with one hand whilst knocking one out with the other hand and you'd end up with something to be proud of (in the Coffee hand as least). Well done Rombouts - we'll be knocking out more of this. (9/10)

This looks much more sophisticated than its humble origins (Sainsburys). The packet oozes continental style - you can smell the oil from the 2-stroke Vespa and the hand crafted Italian leather shoes just on the packet. It must be quite finely ground as we had quite a few floaters on the top - but they couldn't take away from the rich classy taste. Not a coffee for wimps or the Latte Brigade. A great mid-afternoon 8/10