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.

Kuma Coffee Hunapu Guatemala - Aeropress

Brent ventured and brought some Kuma Coffee Hunapu Guatemala for our afternoon coffee, which he picked up at Central Market in Shoreline. It was roasted pretty recently (on the 23rd), and produced quite the crema (see photo below). 

Brent's notes:  The aeropress brings out the brightness, quite juicy at that.  Melon notes are present, with a hint of chocolate.  I prepared this on the Clever at home and got more chocolate flavor with a fuller body.  I might prefer the Clever for this one.

Notes:

Brent's Rating : 8

Jay's Rating: 7

Current Ranking: 26th of 55 Coffees Scored since October 2013

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

PassionHouse Guatemala La Bolsa Mirador - Clever preparation

No, this isn't a repost! We decided to see if the PassionHouse Guatemala La Bolsa Mirador had more subtlety on the Clever coffee dripper. We steeped it for three minutes, and used a courser grind. Compared to this morning's aero press, this had more crisp acidity and juiciness, lighter and a little less chocolately. 

We had different ideas on which preparation mode was better; I figured that the lighter  clever version was better, Brent preferred the aero press. No change in rating.

Brent's Rating : 8

Jay's Rating: 8

Current Ranking: 25th of 52 Coffees Scored since October 2013

Modes of preparation

Here at the office, we have two modes of preparation for our coffee: clever coffee dripper (a combination of elements from a French press and pour over) and an aero press. In the past, we have observed that some coffees work well on one method over another; so just for geek's sake, we will start to track this, and lets see if it correlates to either a geography or roast (knowing quite well that taste values do not exhibit external validity). 

Afternoon's Brew - PassionHouse Guatemala La Bolsa Mirador

Another mid-western roasted coffee, from Chicago from PassionHouse. This one was procured from the Tougo Coffee Co., which are a great source, with shifting micro-roasts.

PassionHouse Guatemala La Bolsa Mirador.  Preparation method was Aeropress.
Not brassy, like the band, rather smooth and sweet. Notes infer that we should taste some cherry, which was observed to be almost floral.

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

Current Ranking: 25th of 52 Coffees Scored since October 2013

Today's Brew - Ruby Colorful Coffees Colombia Aguacate

Delicious recommendation from Andrew Milstead at Milstead Coffee:

Ruby Colorful Coffees (straight outta Wisconsin) Colombia Aguacate.  Preparation method was Aeropress.
Smooth, with a slight tartness - hinted of apple.  Great example of a sweet Colombian.

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

Current Ranking: 8th of 52 Coffees Scored since October 2013