Bali Blue Moon

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Just South-East of Vietnam in the Flores Sea comes the Bali Blue Moon.  Highly regulated and hand-washed this bean looked very promising.


While I roasted I noticed that there was very little chaff.  It smoked a little on the initial heat-up and then it did not smoke again until the end of the roast.  I read that this coffee was better when the bean was roasted to a Full-City Roast so I took it in to the Second Crack when the flecking was quite evident.  The beans looked very good and dry except for a couple that showed signs of oiling.


I brewed with the syphon pot which uses a slightly higher than normal grind/water ratio.  The coffee I would say was strong because of this but not so strong that bitterness became a factor.  

On a scale from 1 - 10 I rate this coffee a 9 - Right up there with the Peaberry.  The aroma is fruity like a sweet-and-sour sauce and very pleasing to the nose.  The flavor was solid and smooth as it boasted of a cocoa-bean note as well as a mellow tone.  The brightness of this cup was medium though it was quite complex and deep.  The body of this cup was buttery and weighed on the pallet long enough to let you know it was there and lingered on the tongue like a fond memory.

Espresso Coffee - Flores Bajawa

Flores Bajawa

This is the Primula Aluminum Espresso Coffee Maker

I often tell people that coffee is an "acquired taste" and people agree - especially those people who do not like coffee. But now I think the most honest statement is that "coffee is an acquired taste and espresso is at best tolerated."

Wow! Espresso coffee is coffee times 10. I've been using 2 oz. of grounds for a 12 cup pot but with the espresso maker I use 1 oz. of grounds for just one cup of coffee. It is not so much the caffeine jolt but the flavor is potent. I wish I could say that it tastes good but all I can taste is dark-roast. There seems to be no flavor from the bean at all. I am sure this is by design but I am still going to try the various coffee beans as espresso just to see if there is any difference between them.

I made my first cup of espresso with the Flores Bajawa. As I said I could taste nothing but very strong espresso roasted coffee. Since I do not know what "good" versus "bad" espresso tastes like I am going to rate this first brew a 5 out of 10 just to give me a base line to start from.

NOTE - I have since rescinded this rating of 5 to a rating of 3 because as I learned what to expect, I learned that this espresso was just too bitter to be considered good.