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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Cupping Esmeralda
Coffee: La Hacienda Esmerelda 2007, gesha varietal
Roaster: Simon Hsieh, Taiwan
Sorted with a 30% rejection rate
grounds aroma: Blueberry compote (fruity sugary - not rotten fruit ferment 'fake blueberry')
cup aroma: Distinctly floral, balanced, pleasant, sweet
hot cup profile: Distinct floral honeysuckle. Not the soapy perfume potpourri we expected. Reminiscent of chamomile. Clean and effervescent with a cream soda finish. Wonderful light berried fruits.
Very balanced character, drinks like an extremely high grade tea.
cool cup profile: Clean, clean, clean. Orange citrus. Sugary longan fruit.
So you are asking why I am posting cupping notes for this coffee after proclaiming no reviews? Largely to point out one thing, reviews are often bunk. Our cupping notes for coffees almost never are the same as other roaster's notes. While CoE notes have always proved valuable, it leaves us largely confused by cupping notes made by others on coffees like Esmeralda. The point is, it all depends on the roast and the cupper.
I read reviews about Esmeralda being so potent and intense with people layering descriptions on it about how they could not drink it everyday. I don't think they are drinking the same roast as this to make those statements. It's so balanced and clean, it makes you wonder what the others are cupping. I could drink this everyday. Part of that is the excessive sorting and a larger part is the roast. Simon does a unique roast.
I think half of the feedback I have given Simon Hsieh on his coffees probably would make/has made many roasters upset or simply stop talking to me. The reason behind that in this specific case is Simon's approach lets you evaluate the beans for what they are. It really is whether I like the coffee and not about what the roaster did to it. There are no complaints, merely observations about character which at times can be simply, I don't like this coffee even though you did a spectacular roast. There is no baking, tipping, scorching, dulling, muting, or dozens of other adjectives I can use to describe the hundreds of ways a roaster can mess up a coffee's potential. The Esmeralda Simon roasted/sorted is amazing and I look forward to trying to repeat it with our green samples of the lady Esmeralda.
Cheers to Simon for this coffee and a big thanks to Eugene for shipping and gifting it to us (~$35 for 100g[3.5oz] which is two brews of 2 cup vac pot and two 5oz cupping).
Coffee: La Hacienda Esmerelda 2007, gesha varietal
Roaster: Simon Hsieh, Taiwan
Sorted with a 30% rejection rate
grounds aroma: Blueberry compote (fruity sugary - not rotten fruit ferment 'fake blueberry')cup aroma: Distinctly floral, balanced, pleasant, sweet
hot cup profile: Distinct floral honeysuckle. Not the soapy perfume potpourri we expected. Reminiscent of chamomile. Clean and effervescent with a cream soda finish. Wonderful light berried fruits.
Very balanced character, drinks like an extremely high grade tea.
cool cup profile: Clean, clean, clean. Orange citrus. Sugary longan fruit.
So you are asking why I am posting cupping notes for this coffee after proclaiming no reviews? Largely to point out one thing, reviews are often bunk. Our cupping notes for coffees almost never are the same as other roaster's notes. While CoE notes have always proved valuable, it leaves us largely confused by cupping notes made by others on coffees like Esmeralda. The point is, it all depends on the roast and the cupper.
I read reviews about Esmeralda being so potent and intense with people layering descriptions on it about how they could not drink it everyday. I don't think they are drinking the same roast as this to make those statements. It's so balanced and clean, it makes you wonder what the others are cupping. I could drink this everyday. Part of that is the excessive sorting and a larger part is the roast. Simon does a unique roast.I think half of the feedback I have given Simon Hsieh on his coffees probably would make/has made many roasters upset or simply stop talking to me. The reason behind that in this specific case is Simon's approach lets you evaluate the beans for what they are. It really is whether I like the coffee and not about what the roaster did to it. There are no complaints, merely observations about character which at times can be simply, I don't like this coffee even though you did a spectacular roast. There is no baking, tipping, scorching, dulling, muting, or dozens of other adjectives I can use to describe the hundreds of ways a roaster can mess up a coffee's potential. The Esmeralda Simon roasted/sorted is amazing and I look forward to trying to repeat it with our green samples of the lady Esmeralda.
Cheers to Simon for this coffee and a big thanks to Eugene for shipping and gifting it to us (~$35 for 100g[3.5oz] which is two brews of 2 cup vac pot and two 5oz cupping).
Labels: coffee review, esmerelda, panama, Simon Hsieh
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 3:48 PM 4 Comments
Friday, December 08, 2006
First look at Paradise Roasters
"FINCA HARTMANN is a small family farm owned and operated by Ratibor Hartmann and his sons and daughter. The land use is predominantly shade-grown coffee, under towering remnant rainforest trees, and intact pre-montane highland forest that serves as a buffer zone to Parque Internacional La Amistad. At elevations between 4000-6000ft there are a number of accessible dirt roads that pass through many habitat types that are excellent for birding, hiking, and exploring. The family is very supportive of conservation and research and often has Smithsonian affiliated researchers living and working on the land." - Paradise Coffee Roasters
A nice even roast that was clean and balanced and let the coffee speak for itself.
This is not a love letter to a coffee. This is about a roaster letting the coffee speak for itself.
In the last week I have been pleasantly suprised by offerings we sampled from Paradise and Brown Coffee Co(more to follow on Brown). Solid coffees where the roaster had a soft touch.
This Panama had that signature flavor you would associate with it's origin. Good terroir, if you will... It was pleasant and had a dark sugar sweetness. The roaster, Miguel Meza, did a great job on all the offerings we had. It really came down to personal preference in terms of the bean choices though. I didn't like the dry processed SOE Yirgacheffe, but it was honestly the most balanced 'strawberry' ferment(almost cherry-like though there was a lot of debate about potential blueberry!) I have tasted in a Yirg. I just don't enjoy that level of ferment in any coffee. A hell of a statement actually, where I didn't have to bemoan the lack of clarity in the roast and could just look at what I liked/disliked about the bean. When you have sourced from as many roasters as we have, this is refreshing to find.
Meza has this very round and soft flavor profile that leaves a very velvet texture to the coffee, even in drip. Kudos to Miguel Meza, we will be ordering some more in the future!
"FINCA HARTMANN is a small family farm owned and operated by Ratibor Hartmann and his sons and daughter. The land use is predominantly shade-grown coffee, under towering remnant rainforest trees, and intact pre-montane highland forest that serves as a buffer zone to Parque Internacional La Amistad. At elevations between 4000-6000ft there are a number of accessible dirt roads that pass through many habitat types that are excellent for birding, hiking, and exploring. The family is very supportive of conservation and research and often has Smithsonian affiliated researchers living and working on the land." - Paradise Coffee Roasters
A nice even roast that was clean and balanced and let the coffee speak for itself.
This is not a love letter to a coffee. This is about a roaster letting the coffee speak for itself.
In the last week I have been pleasantly suprised by offerings we sampled from Paradise and Brown Coffee Co(more to follow on Brown). Solid coffees where the roaster had a soft touch.
This Panama had that signature flavor you would associate with it's origin. Good terroir, if you will... It was pleasant and had a dark sugar sweetness. The roaster, Miguel Meza, did a great job on all the offerings we had. It really came down to personal preference in terms of the bean choices though. I didn't like the dry processed SOE Yirgacheffe, but it was honestly the most balanced 'strawberry' ferment(almost cherry-like though there was a lot of debate about potential blueberry!) I have tasted in a Yirg. I just don't enjoy that level of ferment in any coffee. A hell of a statement actually, where I didn't have to bemoan the lack of clarity in the roast and could just look at what I liked/disliked about the bean. When you have sourced from as many roasters as we have, this is refreshing to find.
Meza has this very round and soft flavor profile that leaves a very velvet texture to the coffee, even in drip. Kudos to Miguel Meza, we will be ordering some more in the future!
Labels: coffee, coffee review, panama, paradise roasters
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 7:55 PM 0 Comments
