AAAustin Senior Member Joined: 16 Jun 2012 Posts: 8 Location: Las Vegas NV Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Jun 24, 2012, 10:33pm Subject: Single Origin Coffees Question
Greetings All!
My first post...I've read all of the Aeropress thread, most of the Brikka Lover's thread, most of the Opinion essays, and random chunks of the other content here.
Now that I'm feeling a little more educated (thanks to the many people who have dispensed top-quality wisdom on these fine pages), I would humbly submit the following query:
I have formed the crazy idea that a reasonable approach to begin developing some sort of palette would be to try out (sequentially) a range of single-origin coffees.
So far, I've tried a Guatamalan (Ixil A'achimbal), and a Panamanian (El Jardin del Cafe). A Sumatran (Mandheling) will be here Tuesday. I'm doing this one at a time because I'm the only coffee drinker in the house and I don't want anything going stale. There are three local roasters here, and also I'll be ordering from the sources advertising or recommended on coffeegeek.
I have what I think is a "good enough" setup for me to embark on this little "world tour": Aeropress + Hario Mini Slim +scale + thermometer. Lots of other coffee related items/equipment is in my future but I think this will do for the moment. I am in fact a geek by profession (networks & digital radiography), so playing around with dosage, grind, temp, and time to see what particular coffees "like" is a bit of a compulsion :-)
So the question (finally) is, if I am looking for SO coffees which are examples of particular (noteworthy?) flavor profiles, which ones are suggested?
Thanks in advance for any and all advice on this topic!
Cerridwyn Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2010 Posts: 395 Location: Inland Empire California Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Mon Jun 25, 2012, 5:12am Subject: Re: Single Origin Coffees Question
That is really so up to you. You will need to try places from all over the world to determine what you are looking for and what you like. Pay attention to the characteristics the roaster gives and after you have tried some from Africa, some from South America and some from SE Asia, look for what you like and go from there. Spread it around a bit at first. From Africa I would try from at least Ethiopia and either Rwanda or Burundi in your initial round. From SE Asia try Celebes for something very different from that Sumatran Mandheling (and Blue Batak will be different still)
I happen to love some of the African Heirlooms. Others prefer a different profile. I really do not like the newer tea-like almost brews coming out of SA these days. There is something that just doesn't suit me.
AAAustin Senior Member Joined: 16 Jun 2012 Posts: 8 Location: Las Vegas NV Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Jun 25, 2012, 10:00pm Subject: Re: Single Origin Coffees Question
Thanks for the advice, I shall put your suggestions at the top of my list :-)
This "pass" isn't so much about finding out what I like as it is seeing what is out there...it's too bad I don't live someplace civilized, I could probably try examples of all these SO coffees in only a week or two.
OTOH, by the time I go through 12oz or a pound of each, I'll be familiar with at least that particular example...
Is Yirgacheffe an example of the Heirlooms you referenced?
Posted Tue Jun 26, 2012, 4:40am Subject: Re: Single Origin Coffees Question
Yep - Ethiopia Yirgacheffe or Sidamao, or even Harrar. Variations on a theme, but these will have the classic wine-like or blueberry/black currant notes. Stick with local roasters that know what they are doing - Ethiopia pushed well into second crack (like a Medium Roast Starbucks) will kill a lot of this flavor profile.
Kenya or Tanzania seems to be a great consistent representative for me. Less of the fruits, more of the florals, and a distinct lemon or citrus, it will be brighter in character than the Ethiopia.
Centrals are neat when contrasted with the standard South Americans. Try contrasting a Brazil (or Colombia) with any of the more well-known Centrals (Guatemala Huehuetenango is one of the central hallmarks, tho the Ixil is great too (local roaster around here gets it near the beginning of the season), Costa Rica is another fairly decent and consistent product, something along those lines).
If only for interest, you can try the lowland island coffees, but I have been completely unimpressed (that includes anything from the Carribbean, even the "legendary" Jamaica Blue Mtn, and Kona has been decent but not worth the price - I find you have to go to the $30+/lb microfarm Hawaiians to get good coffee, but then you're chasing something that others will have a hard time experiencing)
Have fun! It'll be a great ride.
Some other suggestions:
When you're making several cups of a particular kind, don't be afraid to experiment.
If your standard Hario MMS is ~9 de-clicks, try two more Aeropress cups at only 5 declicks (that will be extra fine), one with very hot water, one with cooler water.
Press slowly, this increases clarity. It gives time for the grounds to settle against the filter and decreases the level of fines moving into the cup.
If you're not, you should consider inverted Aeropress. Allows a good control over contact time.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
The Sumatra I found very much to my liking, and I tried a Brazilian (smooth and tasty, but I think I like coffees with a bit more "funkiness"). The Ixil was a bit sour the first time I made it, but longer steep times and higher temperature water fixed that (still seems really "bright"). Now I have an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe on the way, and picked up a Sidamao from Whole Foods (the local WF roasts Allegro coffees daily in these big hot air roasters that look a bit like 1920's gas pumps). After that Kenya, I think, as you are suggesting . I can really taste the differences between each of the coffees I'm trying, but I'm in no danger of naming the various flavor components. I guess I'll just have to keep going until I can (drat!).
I just received my Disk Fine, which so far I am very pleased with...more body, more flavor, and nearly as clean as the paper filters were. I played with inverted, but there is so little "drip" with the Disk that I may just stick with "normal". Using 18~20 grams per 10oz cup (the most I can fit into a 1 cup pyrex), water just of the boil, and agitating for 3:00, I'm getting what I think is a consistently great cup. There is a good local coffee shop that uses the same Sumatra beans I tried, and mine is at least as good as theirs, maybe better (I might be biased).
I'm having a great time :-)
Next up, since the local whole foods roasts, they have green beans...and I have a heat gun and big steel bowl...time to experiment! I'm pretty sure that I *must* start roasting because (particularly) Sweet Maria's has so many great looking green beans and I could roast in small quantities (I only go through a pound in 10 days or so). I like the local roasters but Vegas is such a small market that their choices are limited.
I'm also reading pretty much everything that shows up in these forums and feeling slightly educated as a result.
666madmonk Senior Member Joined: 22 Feb 2012 Posts: 5 Location: Washington State Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Fri Aug 17, 2012, 11:44am Subject: Re: Single Origin Coffees Question
I bought green Sulawesi beans awhile back, and with the proper roast, they make a very good SO espresso, IMO, especially if you like the fuller body of a "heavier" coffee like the Sumatran. It has some berry notes on the finish, but not overpowering fruitiness. One thing about Sumatran (and Sulawesi--same region) coffee beans that I learned, is that you can't judge the roast on color alone. If it is roasted until it appears as dark as FC+, or if you take it to a "viennese" roast,it may be already over-roasted. CoffeeBeanDirect is another place to look for both roasted and green beans, of single-origin.
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