A new coffee today. Cuvee Coffee's Laguna Las Ranas from El Salvador. This coffee has a special place in the Austin coffee community's heart because its producer, Jose Antonio has a deep relationship with Cuvee and is sending his son to college here at St Eds. But to the coffee. We cupped this last night, using the formula that we'll continue to use going forward 8.4g of coffee 4.5 oz water, in rocks glass. As a cupped coffee, (and I confess I've only cupped this one selection of this one roast) the primary notes are ashiness and a bit of toasted caramel. It was not the floral bomb that the Geisha presented. As it cooled it became more caramel, but mostly distinguished itself with tremendous body and smoothness. No citrus.
This morning I brewed up 2 pour-overs of the Laguna, both slightly different. The first was 20g of coffee to 10oz water, the second 19g coffee to 10oz water, with a slightly finer grind. Overall, this coffee came to life as a pourover. I was still bothered by a slight ashy taste at the very first sip, but as it cooled slightly, its tremendously thick body became more apparent. Mike and the boys suggest honeydew. I don't think honeydew is appropriate, because that flavor is very particular and recognizable, but the creaminess certainly has a smooth semi-sweet hollow flavor that is reminiscent of melon. This coffee really draws out again the brilliance of a coffee which presented me with very little to go on in the cupping process with a tremendously satisfying cup of coffee. Is it ok to say here that it has a very thick and enjoyable "coffee" taste? I'm not sure coffee is on the "Le Nez Du Cafe" chart, but certainly I think its appropriate. Tomorrow we siphon, and I'll report back.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Geisha: A first, a let-down, an exciting new frontier
I had the opportunity over the last week to sample and enjoy one of the world's most coveted and exclusive coffees: 8 oz of Hacienda Esmerlda's Geisha Varietal "Mario San Jose microlot" from Boquete, Panama, roasted by Counter Culture Coffee. This coffee is famous for revolutionizing the wholesale value of coffee, and is the first coffee of all time to sell for over $100 a pound, unroasted. As such, it commands the full attention and respect of the entire coffee community.
Local Austin coffeehome Houndstooth Coffee invited their customers to sign up for an exclusive candlelight cupping of the Geisha along with eight freshly roasted ounces of the prized coffee. Thus began a week-long adventure of careful conservation and experimentation with the Geisha. In the process, I started using brewing tools long relegated to my display shelf: a 5-cup Yama siphon brewer, a vintage hand grinder, a vintage Melitta ceramic 1-cup pour-over brewer, and my rarely used Bodum french press. I kept TRYING to find the best way to enjoy this coffee, and in the process, opened my eyes to a new plan: I'm going to cup and prepare each and every coffee I purchase/roast/get in as many ways as possible and catalogue the experience here. And so it begins. Thank you for reading.
The initial impression of the Geisha is that it is a peculiar looking roasted bean, its large and has a distinct caramel color. It retains a tremendous amount of its pulp/skin in the center of the bean, which shows up like large flakes of skin in the ground coffee. My suspicion is that to the more refined and trained palate, this coffee is a blissful change from the expected. I understand the coffee to be a cupper's delight. We cupped the Geisha against another Counter Culture specialty "El Puente" with the goal of referencing against a very different coffee. Our reference coffee was standard coffee fare for the aficionado: berries, chocolates, almond, fresh bread. Not to poo-poo, as a matter of fact, this is exactly what we're often looking for in an exciting coffee. The Geisha on the other hand is totally different. We get lemon zest, but not lemon. Honeysuckle, but NOT honey. Jasmine. These are simply not flavors common to coffee.
And herein lies the rub my friends: does a coffee which is utterly unique in its taste palate deserve a special place in our hearts if it doesn't bear itself in the cup as something we'd want to drink? This became the quintessential nature of my exploration of the Geisha. This is something special, but nothing I can bring myself to care about. Without question, there is a moment as the coffee cools where it begins to sweeten and will fill your mouth with a taste that is only possible to describe as honeysuckle. If you've ever plucked a bright white honeysuckle flower from the vine, and tasted it's nectar, then you'll know that semi-sweet, cloying taste that is honeysuckle dew. Special, unique, sweet, but not exactly good, just different. Moments later it becomes intensely floral, and fills your nose with the taste of full bloom jasmine flowers. It is beautiful. But does it taste good?
At home I prepared the Geisha first as a siphon. Hand ground to slightly finer than drip, 38g for 20 fluid oz of water, 90second infusion before drawdown, semi-continual agitation. The resulting cup was certainly clean. Cleaner than any coffee I have ever tasted. A very very slight hint of lemon, and a very clean back of the mouth taste. I drank and savored every sip. To no end. The only truly enjoyable part was a Despicable Me like "clink" of my and my wife's demitasse cup, the rest was a confused look on my face.
Next, French press. 32g for 15oz of water just off a boil (thermocouple says 206, I'd say its 200 once its gone the 3 inches from kettle to coffee). This time the jasmine and lemon peel appear earlier, accompanied by a mild jam taste. Coffee remains remarkably clean, considering the french press brewing method. The Honeysuckle effect shows back up, and we still keep asking, but will it taste "good"?
Next, a french press 41.7 g for 21 fl oz of water, agitate immediately, again at 1min, total brew time 4 mins. More body this time, more floral, slight berry flavor joins the lemon flavor, and the cup becomes decidedly more "citrus" like as it cools. It is this brewing method that shows the moste dramatic honeysuckle and honey and jasmine flavor. The experience about 5-8 minutes into cooling is like a walk in a garden outside a south Indian temple in the early morning at the beginning of the monsoon. But again. I just don't enjoy the flavor. Special. But I just don't get it.
This morning 22g are placed CAREFULLY into my La Marzocco's portafilter, and extracted at 201f. Slightly too fast. But without question, this espresso is completely unlike anything i've ever had. Sort of like a lemon tart. Not like any espresso, at all. Don't like it, but I'm sure I couldn't recreate it. And this is the 4th SOE (single origin espresso) from Boquete that has been in my machine.
I have 16.2g left. What to do? POUR OVER! I have a mid 40's ceramic Mellita that I purchased long before the Hario V60 took over the counters of every third-wave coffee bar in the US. After a positive experience with some Kenya Karamekui in the pourover this morning, I decided that this last 16g had a home in the paper filter. WOW. How completely different. Chocolate, lots of it. Cream. Cookies. FULL BODY. And no citrus. Perhaps that lemon peel that was so forward before was stripped away by my bleached paper filter, and left behind the coffee that had always been hiding. I suppose we'll never really know, because that is truly the end of the Geisha. But perhaps the beginning of our new adventure together. Welcome!
Local Austin coffeehome Houndstooth Coffee invited their customers to sign up for an exclusive candlelight cupping of the Geisha along with eight freshly roasted ounces of the prized coffee. Thus began a week-long adventure of careful conservation and experimentation with the Geisha. In the process, I started using brewing tools long relegated to my display shelf: a 5-cup Yama siphon brewer, a vintage hand grinder, a vintage Melitta ceramic 1-cup pour-over brewer, and my rarely used Bodum french press. I kept TRYING to find the best way to enjoy this coffee, and in the process, opened my eyes to a new plan: I'm going to cup and prepare each and every coffee I purchase/roast/get in as many ways as possible and catalogue the experience here. And so it begins. Thank you for reading.
The initial impression of the Geisha is that it is a peculiar looking roasted bean, its large and has a distinct caramel color. It retains a tremendous amount of its pulp/skin in the center of the bean, which shows up like large flakes of skin in the ground coffee. My suspicion is that to the more refined and trained palate, this coffee is a blissful change from the expected. I understand the coffee to be a cupper's delight. We cupped the Geisha against another Counter Culture specialty "El Puente" with the goal of referencing against a very different coffee. Our reference coffee was standard coffee fare for the aficionado: berries, chocolates, almond, fresh bread. Not to poo-poo, as a matter of fact, this is exactly what we're often looking for in an exciting coffee. The Geisha on the other hand is totally different. We get lemon zest, but not lemon. Honeysuckle, but NOT honey. Jasmine. These are simply not flavors common to coffee.
And herein lies the rub my friends: does a coffee which is utterly unique in its taste palate deserve a special place in our hearts if it doesn't bear itself in the cup as something we'd want to drink? This became the quintessential nature of my exploration of the Geisha. This is something special, but nothing I can bring myself to care about. Without question, there is a moment as the coffee cools where it begins to sweeten and will fill your mouth with a taste that is only possible to describe as honeysuckle. If you've ever plucked a bright white honeysuckle flower from the vine, and tasted it's nectar, then you'll know that semi-sweet, cloying taste that is honeysuckle dew. Special, unique, sweet, but not exactly good, just different. Moments later it becomes intensely floral, and fills your nose with the taste of full bloom jasmine flowers. It is beautiful. But does it taste good?
At home I prepared the Geisha first as a siphon. Hand ground to slightly finer than drip, 38g for 20 fluid oz of water, 90second infusion before drawdown, semi-continual agitation. The resulting cup was certainly clean. Cleaner than any coffee I have ever tasted. A very very slight hint of lemon, and a very clean back of the mouth taste. I drank and savored every sip. To no end. The only truly enjoyable part was a Despicable Me like "clink" of my and my wife's demitasse cup, the rest was a confused look on my face.
Next, French press. 32g for 15oz of water just off a boil (thermocouple says 206, I'd say its 200 once its gone the 3 inches from kettle to coffee). This time the jasmine and lemon peel appear earlier, accompanied by a mild jam taste. Coffee remains remarkably clean, considering the french press brewing method. The Honeysuckle effect shows back up, and we still keep asking, but will it taste "good"?
Next, a french press 41.7 g for 21 fl oz of water, agitate immediately, again at 1min, total brew time 4 mins. More body this time, more floral, slight berry flavor joins the lemon flavor, and the cup becomes decidedly more "citrus" like as it cools. It is this brewing method that shows the moste dramatic honeysuckle and honey and jasmine flavor. The experience about 5-8 minutes into cooling is like a walk in a garden outside a south Indian temple in the early morning at the beginning of the monsoon. But again. I just don't enjoy the flavor. Special. But I just don't get it.
This morning 22g are placed CAREFULLY into my La Marzocco's portafilter, and extracted at 201f. Slightly too fast. But without question, this espresso is completely unlike anything i've ever had. Sort of like a lemon tart. Not like any espresso, at all. Don't like it, but I'm sure I couldn't recreate it. And this is the 4th SOE (single origin espresso) from Boquete that has been in my machine.
I have 16.2g left. What to do? POUR OVER! I have a mid 40's ceramic Mellita that I purchased long before the Hario V60 took over the counters of every third-wave coffee bar in the US. After a positive experience with some Kenya Karamekui in the pourover this morning, I decided that this last 16g had a home in the paper filter. WOW. How completely different. Chocolate, lots of it. Cream. Cookies. FULL BODY. And no citrus. Perhaps that lemon peel that was so forward before was stripped away by my bleached paper filter, and left behind the coffee that had always been hiding. I suppose we'll never really know, because that is truly the end of the Geisha. But perhaps the beginning of our new adventure together. Welcome!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)