Yirgacheffe from Essence of Coffee
Essence of Coffee from Rapid City, South Dakota was my first from SD
I do have a preference for Ethiopian Coffee, so I usually add one to my order. As much as I like them, they are NOT all the same. Two beans grown on the same tree, washed or dried the same but roasted by different people are not the same. :-) Even thought I've had lots of Yirgacheffe coffees, it's always a treat to try a new one.
I was happy to see the 1/2 lb option. Definitely encourages someone like me to try more than one. They also had very fast shipping and tracking so I could be my usual obsessive self.
This Essence of Coffee has a pretty cool history. It started in 2007 in Perth, Australia. I'm fascinated by Australian coffee culture since it's one of the places where Starbucks has really struggled. Starbucks beats Folgers but fresh, quality coffee beats the heck out of Starbucks too. Australia is also the birthplace of my favorite, the flat white. At least it's my favorite at PT's. Not a lot of places around here do them, and when they do they just seem like a small latte. The milk is different, it really is!
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I asked how a company from Western Australia ended up with a branch in South Dakota. Turns out one of the owners, Jessie, grew up in Rapid City so she and her husband Dale moved there to open a branch. I've never been to South Dakota, so it's on my list and I will stop in grab a cup of coffee in person when I go there.
The coffee. This was a medium roast, but somewhat lighter in color than what some people call medium. I have to admit to a bit of nervousness when I saw that. Sometimes light = green and bitter and kind of planty. The bitter part can be true of badly roasted dark beans too - just add burned and roasty instead of green and planty. And this bean was just LIGHTER, not LIGHT. Medium is a wide range.
The aroma was pretty wonderful though in the bag and in the grounds, following through to the brew. I used my stand by Bee House as well as the Kalita Wave and the aeropress. Thought I would make an espresso, but half a pound only goes so far - so that didn't happen.
The coffee had a light, kind of floral aroma. There was a delicate sweetness to the cup, like a crisp fruity white wine. Not dry and heavy like a red wine. The fruit reminded me of my favorite macintosh apples. Not that it tasted apple like I would say more summer fruits, but the way it was sweet and tangy tart at the same time. It was a bright and happy coffee. The body was lighter, but not really tea like which I sometimes see in relation to washed Ethiopian beans.
I had this one pretty much all day. I also drank it the day I was doing a mini fast (I do that sometimes) It didn't bother my stomach at all despite the lack of solid food. Most of the time I don't drink coffee when I'm fasting because it's a choice I will later regret. However I wanted a cup and risked it. No problem.
I did have it with food too. Great with waffles & my lunch salad. Also great with baked salmon. Not so good that one time I tried it with a baked sweet potato. That's a NOPE combination.
Check out Essence of Coffee. Not sure if this is the one you want? Buy half a pound of something else and give it a try. You can give it a go and not be stuck with tons of coffee you don't care for.
I do have a preference for Ethiopian Coffee, so I usually add one to my order. As much as I like them, they are NOT all the same. Two beans grown on the same tree, washed or dried the same but roasted by different people are not the same. :-) Even thought I've had lots of Yirgacheffe coffees, it's always a treat to try a new one.
I was happy to see the 1/2 lb option. Definitely encourages someone like me to try more than one. They also had very fast shipping and tracking so I could be my usual obsessive self.
This Essence of Coffee has a pretty cool history. It started in 2007 in Perth, Australia. I'm fascinated by Australian coffee culture since it's one of the places where Starbucks has really struggled. Starbucks beats Folgers but fresh, quality coffee beats the heck out of Starbucks too. Australia is also the birthplace of my favorite, the flat white. At least it's my favorite at PT's. Not a lot of places around here do them, and when they do they just seem like a small latte. The milk is different, it really is!
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I asked how a company from Western Australia ended up with a branch in South Dakota. Turns out one of the owners, Jessie, grew up in Rapid City so she and her husband Dale moved there to open a branch. I've never been to South Dakota, so it's on my list and I will stop in grab a cup of coffee in person when I go there.
The coffee. This was a medium roast, but somewhat lighter in color than what some people call medium. I have to admit to a bit of nervousness when I saw that. Sometimes light = green and bitter and kind of planty. The bitter part can be true of badly roasted dark beans too - just add burned and roasty instead of green and planty. And this bean was just LIGHTER, not LIGHT. Medium is a wide range.
The aroma was pretty wonderful though in the bag and in the grounds, following through to the brew. I used my stand by Bee House as well as the Kalita Wave and the aeropress. Thought I would make an espresso, but half a pound only goes so far - so that didn't happen.
The coffee had a light, kind of floral aroma. There was a delicate sweetness to the cup, like a crisp fruity white wine. Not dry and heavy like a red wine. The fruit reminded me of my favorite macintosh apples. Not that it tasted apple like I would say more summer fruits, but the way it was sweet and tangy tart at the same time. It was a bright and happy coffee. The body was lighter, but not really tea like which I sometimes see in relation to washed Ethiopian beans.
I had this one pretty much all day. I also drank it the day I was doing a mini fast (I do that sometimes) It didn't bother my stomach at all despite the lack of solid food. Most of the time I don't drink coffee when I'm fasting because it's a choice I will later regret. However I wanted a cup and risked it. No problem.
I did have it with food too. Great with waffles & my lunch salad. Also great with baked salmon. Not so good that one time I tried it with a baked sweet potato. That's a NOPE combination.
Check out Essence of Coffee. Not sure if this is the one you want? Buy half a pound of something else and give it a try. You can give it a go and not be stuck with tons of coffee you don't care for.
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