This is one of the coffees given to me by KC Coffeegeek. It's from Equator Coffee & Teas and I was more than a little surprised when he told me how much it goes for per bag. 8oz bag is about $50. I looked at the beans - just looked brown to me. Not sure if I was expecting flakes of gold or what. Then I smelled them. Smelled like coffee. Good coffee, but $100/lb coffee? He gave me a lot of coffee so I hadn't tried this one yet. Then yesterday I read his post about the "Best Guatemalan coffee" he's ever had. So in my best Brain voice I told the dog "I know what we're going to do tomorrow" he just looked at me and went back to sleep. I need a new Pinky.
I didn't read KC Coffeegeek's review before I brewed it. Just saw the twitter post. I like to try them and see how I compare with what I get. Same reason I like Angel's Cup.
Made some in my Kalita. I use a 15:1 ratio much of the time. I've heard that 17:1 is perfect or 18:1 or 16:1 or 20:1 What can I say- I like a strong cup of Joe and I use 15:1 although at least a couple of times I've dropped it down to 14:1 for coffees that just didn't develop at my normal brew. Also gone up to 16 for ones that just seem to strong. I don't go much higher than that most of the time.
I didn't read KC Coffeegeek's review before I brewed it. Just saw the twitter post. I like to try them and see how I compare with what I get. Same reason I like Angel's Cup.
Made some in my Kalita. I use a 15:1 ratio much of the time. I've heard that 17:1 is perfect or 18:1 or 16:1 or 20:1 What can I say- I like a strong cup of Joe and I use 15:1 although at least a couple of times I've dropped it down to 14:1 for coffees that just didn't develop at my normal brew. Also gone up to 16 for ones that just seem to strong. I don't go much higher than that most of the time.
I wasn't sure what to expect. How fancy is expensive coffee anyway? Well sometimes a lot I guess. Right away the smell was sweet with vanilla and kind of marshmallowy. Like that moment when you first start toasting them and the sugar starts to caramelize but BEFORE the thing catches fire. Those 15 seconds of wonderful smell. Or when you make marshmallows at home. It was a good smell, but not a super strong one. I could smell it by the Kalita, but it didn't fill the kitchen with that tasty aroma.
On my first sip I was hit by the brightness of it. Not in a bad way, but was a sunshiney, sweet Florida fruits kind of brightness. Not lemon lime like sprite, but like oranges and lemons. That was followed by some heavier fruits. Like it faded from orange colored fruits into purple/black fruits like plum and blackberries and maybe mulberries - fruits you would spice when cooking. It was still sweet, but there was a hint of spiciness to it. The finish was kind of rosey with some cocoa tastes. The body was like heavy tea. More of an Earl Gray or breakfast tea than the lighter iced tea we drank down south. The kind of tea people actually add milk to.
Something that I thought was great - this worked cold. You know how when you go to some chain coffee places and iced coffee is just left over brew that got cold so they put ice in that? Yeah, ick. It almost always tastes terrible. I had some of this left over after drinking my first cup and it was cold. I tasted it just because and it was really really tasty. Not flat or bitter or just ewww. It was good with a lot more of a floral taste coming out, still having a lot of the brightness.
On my first sip I was hit by the brightness of it. Not in a bad way, but was a sunshiney, sweet Florida fruits kind of brightness. Not lemon lime like sprite, but like oranges and lemons. That was followed by some heavier fruits. Like it faded from orange colored fruits into purple/black fruits like plum and blackberries and maybe mulberries - fruits you would spice when cooking. It was still sweet, but there was a hint of spiciness to it. The finish was kind of rosey with some cocoa tastes. The body was like heavy tea. More of an Earl Gray or breakfast tea than the lighter iced tea we drank down south. The kind of tea people actually add milk to.
Something that I thought was great - this worked cold. You know how when you go to some chain coffee places and iced coffee is just left over brew that got cold so they put ice in that? Yeah, ick. It almost always tastes terrible. I had some of this left over after drinking my first cup and it was cold. I tasted it just because and it was really really tasty. Not flat or bitter or just ewww. It was good with a lot more of a floral taste coming out, still having a lot of the brightness.
I don't see myself buying very many $50 bags of coffee. I'm a balloon artist - not a millionaire. However I am very grateful to KC Coffeegeek for giving me the opportunity to try this one. It is a really good coffee and I can see why it's high priced. It's easy to write it off as just overpriced brown water, but that's like saying good wine is overpriced grape juice or excellent champagne is overpriced fizzy drink. Something just cost more because they are rare and excellent.
And while I won't be buying a bag of this one Equator Coffee has several I plan to try. In particular the Kenya Kuguyu and the French Laundry Blend - both of which had taste notes that appealed to me. From this sample I gather that they can roast a fine bag of beans, so I'm excited to see try some of their others!
And while I won't be buying a bag of this one Equator Coffee has several I plan to try. In particular the Kenya Kuguyu and the French Laundry Blend - both of which had taste notes that appealed to me. From this sample I gather that they can roast a fine bag of beans, so I'm excited to see try some of their others!
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