Stumptown - Guatemala Injerto Bourbon - Inverted Aeropress

Another shocker for me: we haven't reviewed any Stumptown on this blog! In response to the severe pickup at work, we are burning through our coffee, and Brent went by our Seattle roasting facility for Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and picked up some Guatemala Injerto Bourbon.

Tasting notes: Nutty nose, crisp and fresh . Chocolate, and light floral flavors rise as the coffee cools. Ultimately, this is a great balance between a sweet, clean coffee, and light subtleties make this enjoyable.

Jay's rating: 7
Brent's rating: 8.5

Intelligencia - Nicaragua - Inverted Aeropress

While visiting Milstead and Co, Brent's source of coffee guidance, he spotted some Intelligentsia out of Chicago. These folks are pretty legendary, and we hadn't had some of their coffee in a while, so Brent picked up the Nicaragua.

Immediately dry/savory flavor, with light touches of cocoa and toasted coconut. A little juicy on the finish. Good stuff, but nothing as impressive as we would have expected from Intelligentsia.

Jay's rating: 6
Brent's rating: 8 

Heart - Guatemala - Inverted aeropress

Jay went on his normal pilgrimage to Tougo, and saw that they had some Heart coffee in stock, roasted in Portland.  I'm shocked that we haven't reviewed their coffee online up to now, as we have got them on some rare occasions, and we consider it a treat, as it is not particularly cheap, and secondly is some pretty great stuff. Reading through the notes on the flavor, I figured it was up Brent's alley, so I picked it up without much further thought.

Amazing how quick they get this stuff up to Seattle from Portland.

Tasting notes: Without being saccharine, a very sweet, clean coffee. Though darker in appearance than would expect, the coffee stays light and chocolately, with a caramel tone. Finishing notes of hot cocoa, or even a zippy tone like a York peppermint patty.

Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 9

Kuma - Carmen Natural, Panama - Aeropress

Brent was out in the middle of the day to get a breath of fresh air and revive himself back at work. Accidentally, while eying different coffee roast dates from packages at a grocery store, he started a conversation with someone, who turned out to be a seller for our perennial Kuma. He looked at the bag of Kuma that Brent had selected, the Carmen Natural, Panama, and stated that he thought it was pretty good stuff. Hey, who are we to argue with Kuma?

Immediate nose of fig, some notes of peach strawberry on the finish, but the coffee is more balanced than expected with the notes. Pretty rounded body. Really smooth and more nuttyness, typical of a Central American coffee than they noted on the tasting notes. Tastes like a great breakfast coffee.

Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 8.5

Sightglass - Ethiopia Guji - Aeropress

Jay's brother's girlfriend decided to trek down to San Francisco. An ardent supporter of our coffee snobbery, and our blog (she gave us some start up funds, in the form of a $5 bill), she generously sought out some good coffee for us while she was down there, which turned out to be Sightglass, which has turned out consistently solid coffee in our past reviews. Not only that, but the roast date was also Jay's mother's birthday, so we figured we were in for a treat! Thanks, Tori!

It had a good amount of bloom, as you can see below.

Tasting notes: Super-bright tangy citrus, grapefruit tones, while amazingly light body and juicy, rounding out with some black current fruit on the end. Further cooling reveals chocolate, candy tones and more sweetness. Real enjoyable and not too rich, as can occur with some African or Indonesian coffees.

Jay's rating: 8.5
Brent's rating: 8

Red E - Guatemala La Esperanza - Inverted Aeropress

After chatting with Jesse at Conduit, Brent was recommended to check out a small coffee bar in Ballard, which serves some Portland- roasted coffee, Red E. He decided to swing by and pick up some of this coffee, which turned to be the Guatemala La Esperanza.


It had a mild bloom, and light chocolate nose, on the Aeropress.

Tastes really nutty, bright and clean. There's a little bit of earthy mineral as well. Overall, a good coffee, pretty light, but nothing that puts it in the forefront.

Jay's rating: 6
Brent's rating: 7

Slate - Finca Cerra Negro, El Playon Honduras - Inverted Aeropress

Jay's great friends got hitched, and honored him by inviting him to officiate their wedding. The day prior to the wedding, they surprised him out of their thoughtfulness, by buying him a year-long subscription to Slate Coffees, and a bottle of gin. So he wouldn't have to wait for the first bag, they already gave him some of their Finca Cerra Negro, El Playon Honduras which is a honey-processed coffee that they made for the Volunteer Park Café, here in Seattle.

As Jay couldn't wait to try it in the office, he used his french press at home, but it did the coffee little justice on its complexity, giving it an intense, smokey taste.

Tasting notes: Now, Monday morning in the office, the aeropress gives it some three dimensionality: The citrus notes come forth, and it is much sweeter and much less smokey than the French press at home. Overall, a little darker than we would have expected due to the Region and the roaster, but from my taste at Volunteer Park Café, they tend to like a little more intensity.

Jay's rating: 7
Brent's rating: 8.5

Conduit Coffee Company - Tabletop Yirgacheffe Ethiopia - Inverted Aeropress and Clever

Brent had heard of Conduit, a small roasting company here in Seattle, and heard about the potential to visit for an open house. We finally had the opportunity this week, and were greeted by Alex and  David, who escorted us through a few of their coffees, after showing off their incredibly fancy, expensive and super accurate new grinder. These guys know their stuff, and directed us to their Ethiopia Guji and Guatemala on a quickly pulled espresso shot. The Guji was amazingly tart, citric and full of a spectrum of flavor, something you wouldn't expect from espresso, and probably will be the most unique espresso I've ever tasted. It almost had tones of a sour beer.

Presently, Jesse, the owner, dropped by and we were treated to a tour of the roasting machine,  discussions on roasting methodology, which blended to a broad discussion of business models,  philosophy, all around some exceptional coffee. I took up Alex and David's opinion to try the  Tabletop Yirgacheffe Ethiopia, which they held to be the best that they had, and we waited patiently for the following day (as it had been roasted the day prior, and they suggested we wait til 2 days after the roasting).

Inverted Aeropress

As suggested by David, had ground the coffee coarser than we normally do, stuck to a 30 second brew time, half of what we normally have. Obviously, the bloom was HUGE.

Jay's notes:  Really bright notes, with a tangy cherry, vanilla, rounded out with a touch of earth and roast. Really light bodied, juicy coffee. The floral and fruit comes to the forefront as the coffee cools slightly.

Brent's notes: Really, really nice.  So smooth.  Got a nice juicy-ness, the dark cherry with a little cocoa tone.  This is the way African coffee should always be.  Gets better as it cools.


Jay's rating: 9
Brent's rating: 9.5

Clever Coffee Dripper

Jay's notes: Sweeter, fruit tones; however less contrast. Perhaps from our disuse recently of this method. Ground coarser, and had a 3 minute exposure.
Brent's notes: Didn't like this as much as the aeropress, still good but a tad harsher.  On the clever I'd give it a high 8 or low 9- still quality but the aeropress really makes this shine.

Ritual - La Folie, Antigua, Guatemala - Inverted Aeropress

Well. We blew through multiple coffees last week, and once again, I found my way to Tougo, to seek a new coffee for the upcoming week. There, they had their normal stock of Kuma, Velton's, and had some Ritual back in stock. I took the leap for the Ritual La Folie, Antigua, Guatemala, as we had an exceptional experience with their Ecuador Quilanga back in April (ahhh, how has the year ticked away so quickly?). Outside of Tougo's recommendation towards the Guatemala from Ritual, I liked the sound of Green Apple candy, and the curious name of "La Folie" grown by "The Penny Sisters." French name of coffee, and English name of growers in Guatemala. Curious. 

Soft clean nose, and a mild bloom, as this was roasted 10 days ago.

Really crisp, citrus notes up front, which drop back to reveal a touch of roast, chocolate, and almond tones, with some floral notes. Nice nuances.

Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 8.5

Counter Culture - Guatemala Concepción Huista - Inverted Aeropress

Brent had heard of the distinction of Counter Culture out in Durham, NC as one of the best roasters in the US. So, he took the liberty of ordering some for us to try. Guatemala Concepción Huista was one of the two that he ordered. Perusing their website, it looks like they pride themselves on direct trade coffees, and also work with training and professional development in the coffee biz.

The unground beans smell quite sweet, with a bit of roast to them.

Very healthy bloom, considering that it was roasted 12 days prior.

Cherry - currant notes, with a touch of smoke. Tasting notes to be some caramel tones, however I didn't get it, outside of the fruit. Verdict: enjoyable, but the fruit forwardness and sweetness overcame the other flavors for me. A good Guatemalan, but I'd take today's Ritual over this one.

Jay's rating: 7
Brent's rating: 8

Timbertrain Coffee Roasters - Guatemala, Antigua Juaja - Inverted Aeropress

Brent was doing some research to find some new roasting companies in the area, and somehow stumbled across Timbertrain Coffee Roasters in Vancouver, Canada. Speaking with the Jeff Shin, one of the owners, we learned that their master coffee roaster came to them via 49th Parallel, a company that we deeply admire and indeed have sampled some of their coffees in the past. They kindly sent us some of their coffee to sample. The first one we got to was the Antigua Juaja.

Immediate nose is lightly roasted walnut, with some cocoa.

Tasting notes: On first taste, without waiting. Reminds me of a sandalwood, with dark chocolate, with both a nutty and crisp finish. Upon cooling, plum comes forth in the mix.

Jay's rating: 9
Brent's rating: 9

Timbertrain Coffee Roasters - Panama - Ojo de Agua Natural - Inverted Aeropress

The second coffee we were sent from Timbertrain was a Panama. I don't see much Panamanian coffee on the market, so I was curious on how this would taste. Breaking from the often profile of Central American coffee, this was natural processed, thus yielding an immediately fruity nose from the get go. Interesting choice for the roaster, as many African coffees have this processing and typically have these fruit notes, but we have had very few Central American coffee made in this manner.

Tasting notes: Immediately, a zippy currant taste, rounding out on the end, smoother than their Guatemalan coffee. Per Brent, this is the best natural processed coffee he has ever had. I tried this on the French press at home an got similarly glowing reviews from my wife and mother in law.

These Timbertrain folks have got some heavyweight chops for such a new roasting company, and we will make sure we order some more of their coffee soon!  

Jay's rating: 9.5
Brent's rating: 9.5

Velton's - Mexico Chiapas Grapos - Inverted Aeropress

I procured another coffee from our standard Tougo Coffee, where apparently there were two Guatemalan coffees from Kuma Coffee and a Mexican from Veltons. I had to go with the Velton's Mexico Chiapas Grapos, as we tend to pick up Kuma Coffees recently. Additionally, the lore and history of the Chiapas region in Mexico, heavily indigenous, with some challenges to the Mexican government via the Zapatista rebels, was a factor in my decision. Now, it is worth the point that we had spoken to folks at Slate Coffee, who had spoken highly of Velton's, that reassure our choice of this roaster as a great consistent choice.

Nice medium roast of coffee, looks very consistent.

Bloomed well, at one week after roasting.

Tasting notes: opens with a bright berry / nutty tone, which finishes out as a non-sweetened caramel/chocolate flavor. This is a very "clean" tasting coffee, not to heavily smokey.

Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 8

Spotted Cow Gelato and Espresso - Huila, Colombia -Inverted Aeropress

Brent had been raving about the Spotted Cow Gelato and Espresso for a bit prior, which intrigued me after my visit to Hawai'i and the surprising quality of the coffee from a gelato place there. So, he surprised me by bringing a bag roasted on the prior day, in a spectacularly unlabelled bag, as you can see below. This was from the Huila region in Colombia, a region which apparently wasn't traditionally known for coffee (as a colleague from Colombia tells me), but it seems to be getting increasingly more popular, as we have tried multiple coffees from there.

There is no substitute for fresh coffee, and you can see the massive bloom on this one, that let us know that we were in for a treat.

Crisp bite nice balance to the nutty, midlevel, rounding out in the end to a floral or fruity tone. For a gelato place, this is some pretty serious coffee.

Jay's Rating: 8
Brent's Rating: 8

Ono Gelato & Espresso Co. - Maui, Hawaii - 100% Maui Yellow Caturra -Inverted Aeropress

Stepping off the plane in Hawai'i, and driving into Lahaina, my wife and I walked into a small Gelato Shop, Ono Gelato, the first place we'd entered outside of where we were staying. On a whim, by the design and coffee type, I pulled the 100% Maui Yellow Caturra, after I was informed that this was a medium roast. Never you mind that there was no clue on the roast date.

Notes: Looks like quite a bit of quakers, and smells rather like peanut butter and nutty. Didn't have much bloom, so I would conclude that it had been a whole since it was roasted.

Taste: Shockingly, this brighter than I would have expected. Citrus zap to it, nutty, with a bit of smoke. I'd liken it closer to the tang of a black tea, and some notes of stone fruit.

Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 8.5

Kuma Coffee - Santa Rita, Guatemala - Inverted Aeropress

Brent procured the classic Kuma, going for the Guatamala, but in a different producer than the Hunapu which we have covered in past times. This is the Santa Rita. Brent warned me that he had stumbled across an imprecise, but amazing aeropress of this yesterday, and so we modified the method to wait 2 minutes rather than the 1 that we had stuck to recently with the inverted Aeropress. I'm crossing my fingers that this holds up similarly.

The bloom on this stuff knocked it out of the park on freshness, definitely does not disappoint.

Tasting notes: Nutty, bright, and chocolate. Delicate flavor, good for drinking in the heat. I think it is similarly light to the Ono from today.

Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 8.5

Cafe Cafe - Maui, Hawaii - Whales Tales (50% Maui Mokka) - Inverted Aeropress

Found a little coffee shop, Cafe Cafe, in Lahaina in Maui, Hawaii, and after reading the descriptions of their coffees, was really looking forward to trying some local coffee. Even though they didn't have the 100% Maui Mokka on drip at the time, or means to make a pourover, they were awesome enough to grind me some and make me it. It was worth the wait, and the coffee was more interesting than I had suspected. So, needless to say, I was looking forward to taking a bag back, and our analysis for this blog (and for the caffeine buzz to drive us at work). Cafe Cafe prides itself on roasting 2x per week, so they assured me that they would be fresh, however, didn't have any 100% Maui Mokka bag, so I took the blend with me.





After these good first impressions, at work I opened the bag to see a markedly darker roast than I anticipated. But, I guess this is the mark of Hawaiian coffee, a slightly darker roast, according to Brent. The bloom was good, and definitely spoke to the freshness of the beans.

Smokey, chocolate tones, but a lack of subtleties. Gotta say that the overroasting bummed me out on this one, had higher expectations after my drip of this.

Jay's rating: 6
Brent's rating: 6.5

Sight Glass, El Salvador Finca Santa Leticia, Valdivieso Family- "Standard" Aeropress

This one was procured by Brent via our standard Milstead & Co. , Errr.. Sorry, it was at Broadcast. He chose an El Salvador Finca Santa Leticia, Valdivieso Family, from San Francisco's Sight Glass, our second venture into their coffees. We had tasted some in early June, compared to Seattle's own Kuma, and it was deemed slightly superior, although not a standout. Let's see how their roasting, with a Centroamerican Coffee fares today.

We have been leaning heavily on one aeropress method, the inverted one, and I decided to switch it up today. Thus I followed a "standard" aeropress method, as found on the world aeropress championship website by first place winning Shuichi Sasaki (recipes) in 2014. This method is in the upright or standard position, first "blooming" the coffee with a small amount of water, stirring, and then adding more water and pressing very slowly. We really need to get a scale and a temperature gauge here, I had the water just off boil, rather than at the suggested 78 degree temperature.

There wasn't much bloom this time, which was surprising as the coffee was only roasted 7 days ago.

Notes:
Brent: Toasted nutty-ness -  very pleasant.  The aeropress treated this quite suitably.
Jay: Immediately has a bright tone to it, floral, hybiscus-y. The flavor then rounds out to a hazelnut, or light chocolate tone with a touch of smoke for a finish. Has a nice, light body, and citrus crisp notes. Again, solid (could drink all day) choice.


Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 8.5

Ruby Colorful Coffees, Brazil, Carmo de Minas - Inverted Aeropress

Continuing our quest in the World Cup quarterfinals for a Brazil coffee, we schlepped down to Milstead & Co., where we found not one, but TWO Brazilian beans, one from Coava in Portland, and another from Ruby Colorful Coffees, from Wisconsin, which we had tried back in February, with a Colombian coffee. When posing the question of what the difference would be, we were informed that the Ruby would be a little lighter, and the Coava a little more peanut buttery. The peanut butter we would pass on, so went with the Ruby, Brazil, Carmo de Minas.

On immediate inspection, these were much lighter in color, producing an orange-ochre hue, and got a really healthy amount of bloom:

Notes -
Brent:  This coffee performed well in both the aeropress and in the drip coffee maker.  My impression was a smooth well-rounded flavor, slight sweet notes.  A great morning coffee.

Jay: Roastful flavor, despite lighter roasted than typical Brazilian beans we have had in the past. Opens up to a carmelly-chocolate tone, with floral undertones. I find it by far, to be the best Brazilian coffee I have had yet, as its less roasted tones allow for a much more complex flavor. Worked well on a French press at home, also.



Jay's rating: 8
Brent's rating: 8.5

Slate Coffee Roasters, Sidama, Ethiopia Kilenso - Inverted Aeropress

One mid-day break on the way to the quarter finals of the world cup, Brent had let me know that Slate Coffee Roasters had some Brazilian beans. Anxious to get these to properly root for a Brazilian victory (post-script, the game against Colombia was a bitter, Pyrrhic victory). At Slate, the fellow working noted that they were not only out of the Brazil, but also all the South or Central American stuff (our recent jam). Reluctantly, we asked what was recommended, and he immediately suggested their Sidama, Ethiopia Kilenso.

Upon brewing this in our now usual inverted aeropress fashion, there was a mighty bloom found:

Notes -
Brent: As always, Slate delivers in the African coffee category.  They seem to have an exceptional way of roasting these coffees - full flavor, nice complexity.   This kind of coffee does not perform well in a traditional coffee maker, and will surprise a casual drinker as the flavor profile is quite strong.  My wife personally does not prefer the natural process, she finds the flavors too strong.   I think the aeropress brings out the best of this one, the strawberry is quite apparent.

Jay:
This coffee, despite the light roast, retains the full power that African coffees are able to have, without the monolithic punch of smoke. It was all about nuance, and is some of the best coffee from Ethiopia I've ever had. Amazingly powerful smell of strawberries, tangy, light with an ending of unsweetened cocoa nibs.



Jay's Rating: 10
Brent's Rating: 9

Forty Ninth Parallel - Colombia El Descanso - Inverted Aeropress

We have tried a few Forty Ninth Parallel coffees over time, but I believe this is the first one we have posted online. They roast near Vancouver, BC, and we have found them to have consistently good coffee. Now, we are rating the Colombia El Descanso that they offer, and I will be first to note that my preference for Colombian coffee here has no negative vibes against my World Cup favorite, Brasil this year (GO BRASIL!). However, here we go.

Upon grinding and starting up the inverted aeropress, there was a formidable amount of bloom, indicating the freshness. (We got it five days after roasting). The beans were roasted on the medium - light side, with tasting notes on the bag as follows: "Madagascar vanilla and stewed plum aromatics. Velvety texture, wild strawberries and plum up front, with a clean dynamic finish."

I would concur with some of the notes, but I thought this was an interesting blend of smoke to subtleties, a more earthy ending than one would expect by the color of the roast. But this being said, that's not a bad thing! My notes here: Immediately, smell of vanilla, tasting fades past the floral into a fruity tone, finished by a little bit of smokey s'mores tones. Very complex stuff, goes right along with what  we would suspect from this roaster.

Jay's Rating: 9
Brent's Rating: 9.5

Big Island Coffee Roasters - Puna Kazumura, Hawai'i - Inverted Aeropress

We are stuck in a west rut. First, with the Papua New Guinea, now with some Hawai'i. I guess we'd actually need a third to have a trend.

Brent brought this one, as one of three coffees from Hawai'i by Big Island Coffee Roasters. The label and description caught my eye immediately: tasting notes of sandalwood?? We generally get stuff with sweet, citrus, nutty, or otherwise, but this is probably the first herbal coffee we have tried. I also noted the javalina on the cover, with the quote: "Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it." attributed to George Bernard Shaw. As someone who holds a bottle opener made from a boar tusk, it made me hungry.

The foam on this was great, though not as thick as with the New Guinea.

The flavor was amazingly different, not too darkly roasted. I definitely agree with the sandalwood reference, though it smelled strongly of chocolate when ground, but this wasn't an really sweet or juicy coffee. I'd say nutty and herbal, but light enough to drink consistently without getting burned out. As it cooled, it shifted from having one strong flavor to three-dimensional. If we've got any cologne nerds out there (again, on the sandalwood reference), you may love this stuff.

Jay's Rating: 8.5
Brent's Rating: 9

As Brent pointed out, we've been drinking too good of coffees recently. Perhaps we will need worse coffee or to add elements of new measurement to distinguish these better. Or maybe you should just drink what we do.

PT's Coffee, Sihereni, Papua New Guinea - Inverted Aeropress

My amazing wife decided to make me a special Father's Day breakfast, and went all out, heading to the good ol' Tougo. She spotted a bag of the Sihereni, Papua New Guinea by PT's Coffee Co, and upon verifying its quality with the proprietor, promptly brought it back home. I prepared it initially on the French Press, which shocked me due to the lightness, crispness and acidity that it had for this region (normally it's charred up, earthy-smokey-herby monolith for my taste). So, I could only hope that the Aeropress would bring out further subtleties. This morning, we had that chance.

The foam on this was probably about a 1/2 inch thick, although I couldn't find a roast date on the bag for the life of me. But oh yes, it is fresh.

The black tea notes were forefront, followed by some fruit (you could call it peach, or cantaloupe), and the flavor rapidly evolved as the coffee cooled. This stuff definitely redeems any shortcomings within the Fazenda Rainha from Brazil which we weren't too keen on. Note to self: my wife has excellent taste in coffee.

Jay's rating: 9
Brent's rating: 9