Just did a first cupping of a new Peru coffee – El Guabo… Very impressed. It was what I call a casual cupping, which means I don’t score it and just note my experience with it. It’s something I do with most all the coffees to get to how it strikes me emotionally than, say, the degree of complexity or whatnot.
Anyway, it was quite elegant – hazlenut base, smooth medium-full body with hints of vanilla and apricot (especially in the dry aroma). Great balance. I kept thinking to myself that I could simply drink this all day long and neither get bored of it nor feel that I had to pay attention to it.
Archive for the 'general coffee' Category
From the Cerrado region in Minas Gerais, Brazil comes a wonderfully complex Brazilian coffee. Daterra has long been on the forefront of producer technology, but that isn’t why I am so fond of their coffees. It’s the flavor. A rich, full-bodied chocolate & cocao base that mingle with deeply fruited layers of raisin and black cherry delivers an extraordinarily balanced, structured cup with a long, sweet finish.
This particular coffee is a blend of three varietals, grown and selected from different plots on the farms, and although it has espresso in the name, it is equally suited for press and drip brewing.
And to top it all off, this coffee is certified by Utz Kapeh & The Rainforest Alliance.
Rich like the marbling of Kobe beef. Medium-heavy body. Stone fruits – like apricot and the light starch of a real good, I mean amazingly smooth and even textured, pear – weave complex, layered dolphin patterns through a bed of bittersweet cocao and chocolate.
(this coffee is currently sold out)
Similar to the Koratie Dry-Processes that sold out so quickly, but with more crispness. Lighter fruits are at play – starfruit, citrusy notes. But it’s sweet and aromatic, floral. Complex and delicate. Light in body. This is like the sun the last couple days, crisp, bright, but with a stark clarity to the air that is mesmerizing. Truly, this coffee is an amazing display of skill set to work amid the right environmental conditions. This is a very light roast, gingerly stretched at the right points to bring forward the floral and clear crisp complexity of its fruit flavors.
(this is currently sold out)
The ambiance set by clear morning light and this Kenyan from the Giakanja Cooperative Mill in Nyeri match perfectly.
Light Streaming through Ponderosa Pines along the banks of the Metolius River
This was a casual morning cupping – one where it happens as you wake up… The beauty of this coffee pulled me immediately out of my frozen slumber. Yes, the air was chilled, felt like dry ice, but with bright morning light glinting off the Metolius River as it burbled by the site. I got full round fruits, melons playing in a bed of rich stone fruit (without any hint of starch). Intense flavor mingled with the clear bright yellow, almost white light coming through the tops of majestic Ponderosa Pines along the Green Ridge line.
On a plate in front of me, a slice of pan fried (in butter, of course) sourdough bread topped with Cheddar and slices of real Tomato. The Satisfying tartness of the sour starter, crispy and chewy, the caramelized / browned butters sweetness supports the bright marmalade-like fruitiness of this Nyeri district Kenyan. The fact that I stretched the Millard phase of the roast a tiny bit, giving the fruits a bit less clarity, but more intertwined complexity works well with the acidulous nature of good fresh tomatoes.
I had just a small amount of the that San Ignacio left (~18g, to be exact) and it is hot as a mutha here right now, so I set out to make a delicate, fully satisfying iced coffee. (Vietnamese stye)
Bolivia San Ignacio as it's brewing, icing
Sweet isn’t quite enough of a word for it. The buttery body (mmm) that was in hot cup, completely turned inward, and became more of a perceived sense than actual flavor – like jabbing your finger in the stick of warm butter sitting on the butcher block, maybe even on a slab of Himalayan pink salt, and putting it in your mouth. Warmth. Oily. Yummy.
Then. And then… that delicate flower of sweetness takes off, floats lightly, and clearly above the cool ice and butter. Like finding lost berries and cream. Clear hints of cherry and super ripe raspberries (just like the amazingly juicy ones Christy just brought home from the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island the other day…) ‘Twas beauty. Total beauty. ‘Nother please… If only I had some more.
I still need to post the roast notes from this batch…
This is alertness beautifully balanced with elegant patience. Summery. Well structured. It’s clarity cuts through me like sitting in the sun porch on bright mornings. Bright warmth, eye squinty and attentive.
Beautiful, clean, light and floral sweetness. Grapefruit like undercurrent helps round out structure – especially in the mid range temperatures as the cup cools. It shows a lighter body than most other Brazils – even compared to the more citrusy, nutty sul de Minas region or certain Central American coffees – this tends toward the light side. But don’t take this for thin. It has depth and structure.
Said sample of Brazil Carmo de Minas at a light – city plus – roast in order to preserve the delicateness of the yellow bourbon varietal. You can see that the surface color is still mottled as it hasn’t progressed far enough past first crack to even the surface out… Not a bad thing at this stage of roast. The interior is very even and consistent with the surface color.. and by the way, this is the first roast that I am satisfied with since hooking up the Pinhalense…
Qishr – tea from coffee husks.
A traditional tea in Yemen made from coffee husks. I mean, yeah! okay, I’m gonna try it – purely out of curiosity. So I got a 1/2 pound of qishr from sweetmarias when I saw it available – no expectations of what it was other than Tom’s description (good, not great. Rosehips. Ginger Tea). But what the hell. I’ve paid more for a cup of coffee that was awful, so at worst, I am better informed and out 5 bucks.
Well, i don’t know if I will actually make it through the entire 1/2 pound I bought. Not that it is all bad, actually, and there are some very interesting things going on in the tea, but it left a pretty acrid and biter finish that was not at all to my liking. And it lasted for a long long time.
Unsealing the bag released powerful aroma of apple, clover, the Portland Rose Gardens in full bloom – an intensity like standing under a magnolia tree in full bloom, but not quite the same syrupy depth. It’s actually very beautiful to see – looking to me a lot like a certain cinnamon and honey encrusted pistachio shells.
Them being husks, I fully expected it to be earthy, spicy, and, well, husky – but that was just not there in the aroma. Just intense fruit like I was sticking my nose in a vat of juiced apples. Maybe all the earth was in the brew?
After that… mildly tea-like, but more like mild, thin good coffee – traces from that same aroma, hints of the sweet rose flavor. Overall, nice.. And then I sat and worked for a while, and then it started showing itself. Bitter. Astringency. Acridity. And it went on for a while.
It was pleasant until that. That harsh acrid overtone – pasting itself across my tongue. Rough, harsh and started killing my buzz. I don’t want to go back to that. It was worse than poorly toasted black tea. Worse than
I think I might try putting some in the oil over a tea light and let it fill the room with its smell. Dim the lights & spin some Tosca. I Want Some Honey. Loud.
