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