November 2018 Newsletter
This month's newsletter is a bit of a mish-mash of topics. First, there's the sad news that Bialetti SRL, inventors and manufacturers of the original moka pot, are on the verge of bankruptcy. Renato Bialetti invented the octagonal aluminium coffee maker in 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression. In the decades before 9-bar espresso was a thing, it enabled thrifty Italians to produce café quality coffee at home.
The increasing use of capsule machines for fast, convenient espresso has decimated the market for the old fashioned moka pots and domestic espresso machines. At a time when coffee consumption is on the rise, sales of roasted coffee for domestic use have dropped precipitously. All the extra consumption is going into cafes and capsules.
Unfortunately for Bialetti they were more or less a one trick pony, although they did sell over 100 million moka pots. They never really diversified into other areas, and the rapid changes to the market caught up with them.
In the USA the FDA has decided to block the requirement that coffee (beans, ground and brewed) come with cancer warnings in California. I wrote about this in the April 2018 newsletter, and also my opinion of the lawsuit that led to the requirement: "That these lawsuits, which are at heart the attempted and actual legalised extortion of money from large companies, can go ahead and even succeed says a lot about the state of the USA these days."
It seems that someone in the FDA has used a commonsense approach and decided that any unproven potential problems with coffee are outweighed by the proven potential benefits. Now the happy news is that coffee is considered somewhat preventative for dementia, may prevent some cancers and is known to improve liver function. The FDA has stated that "strong and consistent evidence shows that in healthy adults moderate coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of major chronic diseases, such as cancer, or premature death, and some evidence suggests that coffee consumption may decrease the risk of certain cancers. The federal government, not California, is the nation's expert on food safety and labelling."
Now on to this month's special, which is very special indeed. One of the flavour attributes of coffee is "Winey", that is, tasting the coffee reminds you of a particular wine. It's a fairly rare attribute, but unusually prominent in this coffee:
Kenya AA Kii
$64.00/kg
The winey analogy is that of an un-oaked chardonnay. This coffee has a dried apricot and almonds aroma, and opens with a distinct white peach acidity. This persists through a complex stone fruit mid palate and a full creamy body to a persistent peach aftertaste.
This is the best Kenyan coffee I have ever tasted (and after 33 years in the business, that's saying quite a bit.) Most Kenyas, including our normal Kenya AA, have a recognisable blackcurrant overtone, and tend to vary along a spectrum of acidity and intensity but with the same basic taste. This one is so out of the box that I couldn't have picked it as a Kenyan in a blind cupping, but is superb anyway.
The only problem is the very limited quantity. I was going to ration it, but with December and our equally excellent Christmas coffee coming up so quickly decided not to.
Until next month
Alan
