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

Ritual Coffee, Organic Quilanga, Ecuador - Inverted Aeropress preparation (2nd aeropress)

For a slightly alternative take, we chose the "inverted" method of the aeropress (google it, you'll find a whole bunch of different tutorials). The change we implemented was as follows: Rather than stand up the press on our pot to be diluted, with the filter side down, you position it with the opening pointed upwards. Additionally, rather than a 40 second exposure, we used 2 minutes of time, before positioning the press above the pot, pressing slowly out the coffee, and diluting up to our normal 3 cups.

The Ritual Coffee Co, Organic Quilanga, had a more tangy, syrupy tone to it than with less exposure. Probably a good intermediate method to satisfy those who like the flavor of darker roasts, even with a lighter roasted coffee.

Ratings are maintained:
Brent's Rating : 9

Jay's Rating: 9

Current Ranking: 8th of 54 Coffees Scored since October 2013. Get it while you can.

Ritual Coffee, Organic Quilanga, Ecuador - Aeropress preparation

2nd try of the Ritual Coffee Co, Organic Quilanga, from Quilanga, Loja, Ecuador. This time, I think the subtleties came out. Immediate tang of lime, with toasted coconut. Maybe some peppery tones as well. Jury is still out on whether the Clever or Aeropress works best for this one. 

Aeropress method: grind two scoops as fine as possible, fill and stir to saturation til crema is on top of 2 measurement, cover and wait 40 seconds, then dilute with two cups of hot water.

I'm definitely blaming the first try on the Clever to my grinding error. This is the equivalent to a session beer, I feel like I could sip on this all day.

Brent's Rating : 9

Jay's Rating: 9

Current Ranking: 8th of 54 Coffees Scored since October 2013. Get it while you can.

Ritual Coffee, Organic Quilanga, Ecuador - Clever preparation

Again, we perused the Tougo Coffee Co for their offerings and stumbled across a Ritual Coffee Co, from San Francisco, the Organic Quilanga, from Quilanga, Loja, Ecuador. This one caught my eye due to the flavor notes of "Dried Mango, Limeade and Cola." My father was thirsty, so I ordered the only Ritual on a pour-over that Tougo had, the El Manzano Bourbon, which was spectacularly subtle and fruity. Even my father had it without cream or sugar, his normal vices. 

We prepared the Quilanga on the Clever for our first trial this morning, but I unfortunately ground it too fine. This being said, it ended up unsubtle, but sweet. I fear my misstep on the grind may be the culprit of the said blandness, so we'll have to try this on aeropress shortly (heck, it is Monday anyhow).

Brent's Rating : 8 (he said high 8, but we are not rounding up here)

Jay's Rating: 7

Current Ranking: 26th of 53 Coffees Scored since October 2013