El Conquistador Tarrazu - 2

Costa Rica

I presented this Tarrazu at a coffee demonstration the other day - it was a hit roasted at City. With this batch I roasted it Full-City+ to Espresso when the second crack was in full force and the beans displaying a beautiful oily sheen. I've been grinding just two cups of beans (very coarse) and soaking them in boiling water in the French Press.

This coffee is strong, straightforward, and possesses a flavor that is in full-swing. It is a very enjoyable cup when the temp cools a bit and it has a great body. It is unique in that it burps bacon (please forgive the unsophistication of this description but it seemed the best way to communicate it).

I am learning that there is a happy point with coffee. Too many grounds to water ratio and your coffee is too much like a bully forcing its flavor upon you but too little grounds and you have a cup of hot brown water that desires to be good coffee when it grows-up.

El Conquistador Tarrazu

Costa Rica

As I have seated myself and am preparing to write this review I ask that you would bear with me a bit while I go get another cup of this Tarrazu.

O.K., I have returned. Thank you for waiting.

As a Full-City+ roast I find this cup to be very pleasing. The aroma is strong and spreads around the house like a fine linen blanket that invites you to snuggle in while it brews. Very smooth with a strong fragrant scent.

The flavor is very earthy, and (as someone else describes it) pleasingly straightforward. Straightforward is a great term that describes the flavor in this cup because other adjectives do not seem to identify the quality here. It really is a flavor that has to be experienced to be understood. I read that the Tarrazu is a classical bean that is known for its fruity and nutty attribute but I am afraid that the nut is lost on me - all I taste is the pleasing fruitiness that seems to make this cup "straightforward".

From 1 to 10 I rate this coffee a 6.