October 2024 Newsletter
When setting our roast profiles for our beans we do a lot of experimentation - trialing several different profiles and brewing methods for each bean to ensure that what we’re selling to you folks is going to be a tasty, rewarding experience that showcases the best that a varietal has to offer.
Often, there’s more than one viable profile for a bean depending on what we’re looking in terms of palate and utility. Lighter roasts in particular can showcase interesting flavours that will fall by the wayside in a more balanced roasting profile, but we find they often lack in certain areas affecting our cupping grade and as such, will never be sold.
This month’s special is actually an experimental blend of two coffees that showcase this phenomenon: a Tanzania which expressed almond orgeat flavour notes at but lacked acidity and body at lighter roasts, and an Ecuadorian Miel-processed bean that had the requisite acidity and body alongside biscuity notes with a twist of bitter orange peel.
We’ve found it to be surprisingly moreish and well suited to our preferred brewing methods (syphon for Alan, plunger for me) and as a result, we’ve decided to put a limited quantity of it up for sale. Would I score this at an 85+ when extracted as espresso? Probably not. Has the resulting blend been something I’ve thoroughly enjoyed drinking? Absolutely.
$40 Per Kilogram
Medium
Medium bodied, light roasted blend of Tanzanian and Ecuadorian beans. Bright acidity, almond orgeat on the front palate and notes of bitter orange and dry cocoa. Light roast primarily suited for syphon, plunger or filter brewing.
In wider industry news, drought in Brazil and a Typhoon Noru affecting Vietnam has put a significant dent in the midterm global coffee supply which will send shockwaves through green bean pricing across the entire supply chain given that the two countries are collectively responsible for more than half of all coffee produced globally.
We’ve ordered heavy on select green stocks to hopefully insulate ourselves (and by extension, you) from significant price increases in the short term.
Hope you’re all keeping well!
Until next time,
Marc Frew