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.

CIAPEC (100% Organic) - 2

Bolivia

All I can say is "YUM!!!" I re-read the post of the original CIAPEC tasting and it still holds. This bean is a very flavorful bean roasted at Full-City and it smells wonderful. I know because my wife commented to the fact.

Washed Bourbon - 2

Rwanda

I roasted this bean for the second time using the Popcorn Popper. This was a City Roast being removed from the heat just after the First Crack finished.

I made two cups using two methods. The first was with the French Press and the second was with a very coarse ground and my wife's tea infuser. Both cups turned out well. The flavor was highly floral / fruity and very mild.

It seems to me that this is a good coffee if I ever figure out how to make it well. I will keep you posted when I figure it out.

Tres Rios La Magnolia - 2

Costa Rica

With this second batch of Magnolia I went light on the roast in order to taste the bean's intrinsic flavoring. What happened was that I did not find it to be as dynamic as I had hoped. My first experience with this bean was wonderful but that was with a dark roasted bean. While I did not dislike the coffee I suspect that this bean needs to be roasted enough to have the sugars in it caramelized in order for the flavors to be exploited.

With that said, I like this bean because it seems to have a wide variety in the flavoring and I am left with much yet to explore. I think the next roast will be a very dark Espresso roast and then made into a cup of espresso. I 'll let you know how it turns out.

CIAPEC (100% Organic) -2

Bolivia

This round was roasted to firm Espresso. The beans were so oily that they stuck to each other when they dried. It made for a very dark coffee and it lost some of the nuance in flavor that it had before but it did retain its extravagant aroma.

The body was not as deep as I had hoped it would be with this dark of a roast. I am still trying to decide if Body quality is a function of the roast or the ground to water ratio.

All in all, not a bad coffee but not one that I consider great either. The next time I roast this bean I am going to try a lighter City-Roast to examine its more raw qualities.

Tres Rios La Magnolia

Costa Rica

I roasted this bean to a City to Full-City and the smell of the beans was sweet and syrupy - like caramel corn. The ground beans were a bit less caramelish but it was still possessed a sweet smell that promised a very rich cup - it did not renege.

The aroma of the brew was very aromatic and pleasurable. It smelled sweetly fragrant, almost like milk-weed, and deep like a coffee shop smells.

This Costa Rican was very rich with a fine balance as the sweetness was evident and the complexity kept me guessing at what sort of flavors I was experiencing. Although this cup was not as distinct as the Peaberry it had a distinction that commands an audience of its own. I am looking forward to someday brewing this cup next to some of the other beans and making a side-by-side comparison

From 1 to 10 I rate this coffee a 8.

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.

CIAPEC (100% Organic)

Bolivia

The aroma of this Bolivian brew was very enjoyable. If you have ever smelled chocolate pudding on the stove-top while it was cooling (but only not so sweet) then you can begin to imagine the richness of this brew's aroma.

I roasted this bean to a full-City roast and the flavor is earthy and floral with a touch of fruity sweetness which blends this coffee together nicely for a balanced feel in the mouth and palette. I like this coffee and really expect it to perform well when served over ice but I do not think it unique enough to enter into a contest.

What makes coffee organic? I will have to do some investigation into this question. In my naivete I have visions of Juan Valdez walking leisurely around a mountain picking a bean here and a bean there from wild coffee bushes to deliver to me organically grown coffee. I will post when I learn about this.

From 1 to 10 I rate this coffee a 4.