There are a few things that really make you stop and appreciate life. The first blooming tulips in spring, taking a quiet evening walk, etc. To this, I will add the aroma of freshly roasted, quality Kenya coffee. A lot of people like to talk about resting coffee after roasting for a day or more, but to me this is just staling it. If you want to try something special, brew a vacuum pot of a really good Kenya coffee about 12 hours after you roast it. The aromas are so piercing, so floral, so sweet that there is almost nothing else like it.
Coffee is a seasonal crop, and I went some time without Kenyas in my stash. This coffee reminded me how much I missed it. Word on the street is that 2009 is going to be a great year for coffees from this origin, and I am looking forward to it in a big way.
After roasting a lot of coffees darker than I otherwise might have, working on the blend I previously talked about, I wanted to get a nice, crisp, light roast on this one:
The aromas of the grounds, and in the cup, are pure muesli: sweet toasted grains, brown sugar, and dried fruits. It is a heady aroma, almost intoxicating in its sweetness. The taste follows, with refreshing acidity, some green grape, and a chocolate note that gets more prevalent as the coffee ages a bit. For me Kenyas change very rapidly after roasting. Capturing that initial burst of aroma and fruit before the roast and chocolate notes take over is one of the purest pleasures of roasting your own, and something you can't get in storebought coffee. What a great cup.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Mod Blend
Normally I eschew blending of any sort, with the exception of espresso. Part of the allure of specialty coffee for me is that uniqueness of each coffee, how it represents the terroir of where it is from, etc. That being said, there are some cases where coffees aren't complete, so to speak, and benefit from some supporting characters.
Yesterday I went to a BBQ with some good friends. A few weeks before, I set out to put together a blend from things I had on hand in order to give away the coffee as a goodie bag to the attendees. It was surprisingly challenging.
I decided that this was to be a rich blend with the majority of coffees near the Full City regime in order to have a "crowd pleaser" quality, with some interesting twists. I roasted up some Tanzania and some Sumatra I had, and first tasted them individually. The Tanzania was funky and rustic with some melon notes, and the Sumatra was super sweet molasses. My expectation was that the Sumatra would win as the heart of the blend.
Interestingly, when combined 50:50, I didn't like it. The coffees clashed way too much. I gradually started to play around with ratios, and finally found something really nice at 4 parts Tanzania to every 2 of Sumatra. The sweetness of the Sumatra was just too powerful, and had to be toned down.
At this point, I had a decent base blend, but I wasn't happy with the aroma, the body, or the quality of the cup as it cooled. Looking through my coffee stashed, I came across some nice Mexican Chiapas, which has great body and a fruity taste. Adding a small amount (1/4 the amount of the Tanzania) provided a really nice fruity background without being overbearing, and helped the body quite a bit as the cup cooled. Finally, I played around with some intense Ethiopian dry processed coffee as a spice, and found that a minuscule amount was enough to really show in the aroma without being detectable in the taste.
So, the finally tally? 4:2:1:0.5 Tanzania:Sumatra:Chiapas:Ethiopia. The Tanzania and Sumatra were roasted to the verge of second crack (or just into it), and the other coffees lightly roasted to a City+ roast. The "Mod Blend" is aromatic berries in the aroma, rich, unctuous body with some funkiness, and a really interesting interplay of melons and berries as the cup cools. I am quite pleased indeed.
______________________________________
Note: I am playing around with a cooking blog. We'll see if it lasts. You can check out my trials of recipes from Cook's Illustrated magazine here.
Yesterday I went to a BBQ with some good friends. A few weeks before, I set out to put together a blend from things I had on hand in order to give away the coffee as a goodie bag to the attendees. It was surprisingly challenging.
I decided that this was to be a rich blend with the majority of coffees near the Full City regime in order to have a "crowd pleaser" quality, with some interesting twists. I roasted up some Tanzania and some Sumatra I had, and first tasted them individually. The Tanzania was funky and rustic with some melon notes, and the Sumatra was super sweet molasses. My expectation was that the Sumatra would win as the heart of the blend.
Interestingly, when combined 50:50, I didn't like it. The coffees clashed way too much. I gradually started to play around with ratios, and finally found something really nice at 4 parts Tanzania to every 2 of Sumatra. The sweetness of the Sumatra was just too powerful, and had to be toned down.
At this point, I had a decent base blend, but I wasn't happy with the aroma, the body, or the quality of the cup as it cooled. Looking through my coffee stashed, I came across some nice Mexican Chiapas, which has great body and a fruity taste. Adding a small amount (1/4 the amount of the Tanzania) provided a really nice fruity background without being overbearing, and helped the body quite a bit as the cup cooled. Finally, I played around with some intense Ethiopian dry processed coffee as a spice, and found that a minuscule amount was enough to really show in the aroma without being detectable in the taste.
So, the finally tally? 4:2:1:0.5 Tanzania:Sumatra:Chiapas:Ethiopia. The Tanzania and Sumatra were roasted to the verge of second crack (or just into it), and the other coffees lightly roasted to a City+ roast. The "Mod Blend" is aromatic berries in the aroma, rich, unctuous body with some funkiness, and a really interesting interplay of melons and berries as the cup cools. I am quite pleased indeed.
______________________________________
Note: I am playing around with a cooking blog. We'll see if it lasts. You can check out my trials of recipes from Cook's Illustrated magazine here.
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