Bali Kintamani

Bali

So far the only offering from Bali that I have had is the Bali Blue Moon which is an exceptional bean.  So when I received the Bali Kintamani I was anticipating something on the same level - And boy was I wrong.

The Kintamani is so far above the level of goodness over the Blue Moon that it should have its own level of goodness attributed to it. It is so good that the name Kintamani should replace the word "good".  If the word awesome was not already designated to describe the glory of God I would suggest that Kintamani should replace it.  In fact, this coffee is so good Kintamani that it was dubbed the "Hug" coffee because after people tasted it they wanted to chase me down the street and give me a hug.  One lady gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me that it was much better than even a hug.  But let me continue.

The exotic and colorful island of Bali produces a small volume of coffee in the interior highlands. This is a dry-processed, or "natural" coffee, which walks on the wild side, with a fermenty, alcohol sweetness that conveys considerable complexity as well as a faint overripe, composty shadow.  Kintamani coffee has a cherry-brandy aspect which possesses a background of cedar wood.  The aroma is said to possess a minty-chocolate note and its body is rich and sturdy with a syrupy mouth-feel. The finish is sweet and flavor-saturated which reveals a very slight composty edge that is indigenous to many Organic coffees.

With all of that said, it boils down to this being a unique and exceptional coffee that if you ever have the chance to procure - Get it! I am sad that I only grabbed 5 pounds of this bean when I should have stock piled it. 

Bali Blue Moon

A Syrupy mouth feel and a sweet sort of spice.  Confused? Sorry that's about the best that I can describe this cup.  My wife and I tasted this cup (again) this morning and we both were stymied to come to any concrete conclusions about it.  

She said it simply smelled like coffee but admits that her sniffer was still snuffed from the evening sleep.  I thought it smelled thick - like warmed maple syrup and a touch on the sweet side as well.  Not sweet like maple syrup but as a memory of it.

My wife described the flavor like this - "It reminds me of BBQ'd meat, like something from a pot luck at your mother's church."  Uhm, Really?  I would fire her for that description but then again tastes are always subjective.  I on the other hand could not imagine BBQ in my best Alice In Wonderland dream that this coffee tasted like BBQ'd meat.  I was enchanted by the flavor because I could not peg it down.  It was slightly sweet from the citric trees that surround and mulch this coffee with its fallen fruit.  As I tasted each sip I was looking for a descriptor for the flavor but it was the mouth feel that kept begging to be noticed.  I was simply looking in the wrong direction for the wrong thing and so I was confused as I explored this cup.  However, all is right in the world again as I discovered this coffees real richness lies in its body.

This Bali Blue Moon is a well known treasure among roasters. This growing region that has been very regulated by Bali's government which means that both the quality of the stock and the handling processes are in our favor.  If you ever get a chance to try this coffee you will not be disappointed.

Jamaican Blue Mountain

One of my clients who had gotten coffee for Thanksgiving said that one of his friends had some of the coffee and asked if I would roast some Jamaican Blue Moon?  So he asked me to look into it and get back with his friend.  So I did look into it and decided that I could do it for $48.00 a pound.  I called the friend and he ordered 2 pounds without batting an eye.


When the Blue Mountain I ordered came in I first inspected the green beans themselves.  Perrrrffect, absolutely perfect.  Each bean appeared to have been hand chosen and hand washed.  Each was a beautiful shade of light green and each was as clean as freshly washed infant.


When I began to roast the Blue Mountain, many of the beans began to blow out of the machine to the waste bin - Eeeek!!!  At $48.00 a pound I was burning my hands trying to save these most precious and expensive beans.  I told my wife how the price changed in my mind the value of the individual beans themselves.  The fact that many of the beans were blowing out of the machine indicated that the water-content of the beans themselves were much lower than the standard beans that I was used to cooking.  Proving that it was indeed unique.  The chaff was less than normal and they roasted up without any complaint.  I was careful to not roast too much past the first crack in order to retain the natural flavor of the bean.


I would never had paid the price for this coffee but since I had some in the house, and I was selling it to a client,  I decided that I had better brew some and taste it.  I have decided to refrain from an extensive review of this coffee here (lest my praise be deemed not worthy) but I will point out that the flavor of the Jamaican Blue Mountain has the best balance that I have ever tasted in a coffee before.


PS.  If you are still looking for the perfect Christmas gift, I still have Gift Certificates available that I can wrap and drop ship for you.  Email me for details.